by 
These Carrot and Apple Muffins are sweetened only with fruit. They are perfect for breakfast or as a healthy snack.
If you are looking for an indulgent, sweet muffin then this isn't the recipe for you. They certainly don't fall into that category. However, if you are looking for a healthy breakfast or snack idea then these ABC Muffins (A (Apple), B (Banana), C (carrots)) are perfect. They are made up of
- grated apple
- mashed banana
- grated carrot
- apple puree (apple sauce)
- egg
- spelt flour
- almond flour
- milk
- spices (cinnamon & ginger)
- baking soda
- coconut oil
There are so many recipes out there for "healthy sugar-free muffins" only for the ingredient list to contain lots of honey, maple syrup or coconut sugar (eh, not sugar-free then!). I'm sure these recipes taste amazing but they shouldn't be advertised as sugar-free and often have a very high sugar content (sometimes more than regular muffins.)
Technically these Carrot Apple Muffins aren't sugar-free either but they are sweetened only with fruit and are great for little ones.
How to Make Carrot and Apple Muffins
Once you have prepared all your ingredients (grated carrots & apples, mashed bananas, chopped nuts), preheated the oven and greased a muffin tray, then making the muffins can be done in four easy steps:
- Mix the wet ingredients together (milk, egg, apple puree, grated carrot, grated apple, mashed banana, coconut oil) in a large mixing bowl.
- Mix the dry ingredients (spelt flour, almond flour, cinnamon, ginger, baking soda) together in a separate bowl.
- Combine the wet and dry ingredients. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and gently stir until just combined.
- Divide the batter evenly between 12 muffin cups, top with chopped walnuts (optional) and bake for 35 minutes, or until the muffins are golden and a toothpick inserted into a muffin comes out clean.
Top Tips
- Use very ripe bananas - The apple, banana and carrots provide the sweetness. The riper the banana the sweeter the muffin will taste and this recipe works best with really ripe ones
- Be organised - Preheat the oven, prepare your muffin tin, measure your dry and wet ingredients in separate bowls all before combining the wet and dry ingredients. Once the raising agents in the batter are activated, (when the baking powder gets added to the liquid mixture), you need to capitalise on this chemical reaction quickly so that the heat of the oven can set the air bubbles in place.
- Keep an eye on the baking time - Take the muffins out of the oven too soon and they will be sticky and uncooked. Bake them too long, and you run the risk of dry muffins. Every oven is different, so while you should still follow the bake time in this recipe, use a skewer to test your muffins a couple of minutes before the end of the bake time. Your skewer will come out clean if they are ready.
- Pump up the sweetness - if you are looking for something a little bit sweeter then why not try adding ½ cup of sultanas (soak in boiling water and drain before stirring through the muffin mixture). Alternatively, you could replace ¼ cup of milk with maple syrup.
Are these Carrot Muffins Suitable for Babies / Toddlers?
Yes! They are great for babies and toddlers for the following reasons...
- Fruit Sweetened - It is recommended that children under two should not consume any added sugar. Most muffin recipes are packed with sugar, maple syrup or honey. These are sweetened with apple, banana, carrots and cinnamon - perfect for little ones.
- Texture - These muffins are very soft and spongy and are a great texture for little ones.
- Veggie Exposure - It is always good for toddlers to see how versatile and delicious vegetables are.
You may wish to...
- Skip the walnuts on top. (If not, make sure to finely chop.)
- Bake in mini muffin trays. Mini muffins are a much more manageable size for little ones and saves you cutting the muffin into pieces.
Storage Instructions
Cool the muffins completely before storing. (Packing them away when they are even a little warm, will result in condensation and soggy or mouldy muffins.)
- Cool on a wire rack. Transfer your muffins to cool.
- Storing at room temperature - Store in an airtight container for 1-2 days.
- Refrigerating - Refrigerating the muffins alters the texture and is not recommended.
- Freezing - If properly frozen, in an airtight container, then the muffins will be good for 2-3 months. To reheat - just pop them out of the freezer and place them back in the muffin tin. Cover with foil and reheat at 170c /350f until heated through. Alternatively, reheat them in the microwave.
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Carrot and Apple Muffins
Equipment
- 12 Cup Muffin Tray
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon Coconut Oil (melted)
- 1 Ripe Banana (mashed)
- 1 Apple (grated)
- 135g (1 packed cup) Carrot (grated)
- 80g (⅓ cup) Apple Puree (apple sauce)
- 125ml (½ cup) Buttermilk (or ½ cup milk mixed with 1½ teaspoon fresh lemon juice)
- 2 Eggs (beaten)
- 185g (1½ cups) Spelt Flour
- 56g (½ cup) Almond Flour
- 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon Ginger
- 1 ½ teaspoon Baking Soda
- 35g (¼ cup) Walnuts (chopped)
Instructions
- Pre heat oven to 190c/375f and grease a 12 cup muffin tray.
- In a large mixing bowl, add the coconut oil, mashed banana, apple, carrot, apple puree, milk and eggs. Mix together until combined.
- In a separate bowl add the spelt flour, almond flour, cinnamon, ginger, and baking soda. Gently stir to mix through
- Add the dry flour mix to the wet ingredients and fold in gently until just combined.
- Divide the batter evenly between the 12 muffin cups and sprinkle with the chopped walnuts (optional).
- Bake muffins for approx. 35 mins or until the muffins are golden and a toothpick inserted into a muffin comes out clean.
- Leave to cool in the muffin tray for 5 mins before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Recipe Notes
Nutritional facts
* This recipe was originally posted on Sep 10, 2015. It has been updated with new photos, recipe tips, information and storage instructions.
nidhi
hi,
what can we use instead of spelt flour?
Amy
You can try wholemeal flour or plain. I have only made them with spelt though.
Cristina
I just adore it. It is perfect on all of my preferences
Leah
Thank you for sharing this! I have had such a hard time finding recipes without sweeteners, most say sugar free but then have agave or honey which I usually cut by half so this was a great find! I made a few changes: I used wholemeal and almond flour, pumpkin pie spice instead of ginger spice (has it in there), skipped the walnuts as I have a crunch adverse child, and I baked them as mini muffins. I got 30 mini muffins and baked them for 15-16 minutes and they came out perfectly! As long as the banana is ripe enough they really are fine without sugar but for those cutting down I could see 1/4 cup brown sugar working (I nearly tried this but decided to be brave and my 19 month old INHALED 3 muffins so clearly they were fine!).
Amy
Brilliant! Yes, a lot of sugar free recipes are full of honey / syrups so actually not sugar free at all! I love that you loved these without having to add the sugar and I'm loving the sound of your changes - the pumpkin spice would be so nice in these!
lina
will they work with self rasing flour instead of spelt?
Amy
Hi Lina, I have never tried it but i'd say that it should work and you could miss out the baking soda.
Sue
Hi. Is there a reason why the recipe asks for baking soda and not baking powder? Thanx
Caroline
I've just put a batch in the oven but it only made 12! Was this supposed to go in a mini muffin tin or maybe a fairy cake tin rather than a regular muffin tin?
Karine
They are so so good! My baby loves them and he barely wants to eat anything yet:).
Amy
Yeah!! So lovely to hear, thanks for letting me know. I hope he wants to eat a little more for you soon and that you find other recipes on the site that he enjoys...
Lotte
I was so excited when I found this recipe and the muffins have not disappointed. They are delicious, moist and soooo easy to do. I was looking around for a healthy snack for my teenage daughter to have when she comes back in from school, late afternoon. Too early for dinner and too late for late lunch.
I live in Switzerland and it's a challenge to find a wide range of different flour. Still looking for almond flour but I used oatmeal flour mixed with very fine blended almonds. It seem to work. We all loved them. My daughter couldn't believe how good something without added sugar can taste and smell. I forgot to add the walnuts before I baked them. I wan't forget that next time ?
Thank you for re-educating me and make my family healthier ?
Amy
Hi Lotte, Thank you so much for this lovely feedback. It really means a lot to me and it is the reason I continue to run this blog. Glad you and your family loved them ?, Amy
Victoria Edwards
Hi, do you use baking powder or bicarb of soda? Sorry I both and not sure which you are referring to.
Thanks!
V
Amy
Hi Victoria, it is bicarb of soda. Hope you enjoy x
Sue
I made these muffins yesterday and my little one loved it. The muffins are very tasty but mine came out slightly wet in the middle. If I bake for longer the muffins will burn on the outside. Any advice how to avoid this? I would like to make them again. Thank you.
Amy
Hi Sue, thank you for your feedback, I'm glad your little one loved the muffins. All ovens are different and this works well for mine but I do think I have a hot oven. Maybe turn up the temp 5-10C and cook for the same length of time? Hope this work for you.
Amy
Sue
I will give this a try as I think my oven is a not as hot as other ovens. Thank you!
Melissa
When it calls for ground almonds does that mean almond butter, almond four, or just crushed almonds (tiny pieces)?
Thanks!
Amy
Hi Melissa, almond flour 🙂
AYL
Thank you for this recipe! I am eating sugar-free for 30 days and getting bored with plain fruit - and frustrated at all the muffin recipes with honey, syrup, stevia, sweetener, agave.... just like you. This sounded like the perfect solution. They are in the oven right now and they smell great. I didn't have any spelt flour so I just used wheat flour. I hope the kids don't eat them all so that I manage to keep some to freeze. Off to check out the rest of your recipes. Thanks again!
Amy
Thanks for the feedback, I hope you enjoyed them? x
Ailsa
I did and I am back again to make more!
Amy
Brilliant!!
valerie milhado
This blog is exactly what i need at the moment- a busy mom of 2 little ones, i have run out of creative energy for cooking and baking. i just made these and they turned out moist ad delicious! gobbled up by both the 9mo and 2yo. i substituted a bit more spelt flour for lack of almonds and added some grated zucchini. i also threw in some date and banana pieces for extra deliciousness. looking forward to trying more recipes! thanks 🙂
Amy
Hi Valerie, thank you so much for your feedback. I'm so glad you enjoyed this recipe, I love how you adapted it. I'll give the grated zucchini a try next time. Hope you enjoy more of the recipes x
Liz
Hi Amy! Got one word for ya, MMMMMMM. These are delish! Thank you for sharing your wonderful ideas and recipes for babylead weaning. I also just made your lentil lasagne which was AMAZING. My family loved it! 😀 😀
Amy
Thank you! I'm so glad you are enjoying the recipes xx
Anna
These were delicious! I used plain flour and ground up some cashew nuts as I had run out of ground almonds. I baked them in smaller fairy cake tins for about 20 minutes and they were perfect, with a lovely texture. Thank-you!
Amy
Thanks Anna, glad you liked them and i like the ideas of using ground cashew nuts! x