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.
Deanna
I'm so confused! All of the reviews rave about these...but mine were terrible. Extremely bland and tough on the outside and really underdone on the inside. I successfully bake regularly, so it's not like I don't know how to measure correctly, etc. Oh well...at my least my kids and I had fun baking together.
Amy
Hi Deanna, I'm sorry this didn't work well for you. I'm trying to think what went wrong. This is a healthier muffin with low sugar content so will taste very different to a regular muffin. Was your banana really ripe? The riper the sweeter and that can help with flavour. I'm not sure why the inside didn't cook well for you, my only thought is a difference in ovens. Glad you managed to have fun cooking with the kids and it wasn't completely wasted. 🙂
Ghada Gaber
Hello
Can I replace eggs with another thing as my baby has histamine from eggs ?
Amy
Hi Ghada, you could try a chia or flax egg but as I haven't tried it I can't say for sure how it will turn out.
Tierney
Wow! I just made these and they are DELICIOUS! The texture is fantastic. The flavor is yum yum yummo too. I added cinnamon and cloves.
Thank you for this recipe.
Amy
Thanks, Tierney. I'm delighted you liked them. Love the idea of cloves in these 🙂
Sarah
THANK YOU for this recipe! I have the same issue - all of the "no added sugar" recipes I find for my toddler have tons of added sugar and it's so frustrating. These muffins are delicious, and something I feel good about feeding her. Excited to explore the rest of your blog.
Amy
Hi Sarah, thank you so much for taking the time to rate and leave a comment. I'm delighted that you liked the muffins and hopefully you find other recipes that you love 🙂
Aileen
My son Finn is going into year 2 of being sugar free by choice. So I found it funny how your site has "feeding Finn" as that's exactly what I'm doing. I look forward to making these soon! Hope he likes them!
Thank you
Finn's mom
Amy
Hi Aileen, Good name choice! My site used to be called Feeding Finn but I changed it a couple of years ago to Healthy Little Foodies as I was feeding more than just Finn 🙂 I hope your Finn enjoys the recipes as much as my Finn does! Amy
Tracy
Hi Amy, can salt be omitted?
Amy
Yes, I actually made without salt and it worked great. I should actually remove it from the recipe.
Michelles phan
i don't have almond flour, can i only put flour? thanks
Amy
Hi Michelles, sorry for the late reply, I have been travelling with little wifi. I haven't tested the recipe substituting the almond flour so can't say for sure how it would turn out. Sorry.
Marnie
Thanks for the recipe! My muffins were quite mushy on the inside after 35 mins. And they also were very stuck to the liners. I didn’t have any spelt flour so I just did all almond flour.
Amy
Hi Marnie, thanks for your comment. Sorry you didn't have success with the recipe but I am guessing it was because you used 100% almond flour. The recipe would have to be tweaked quite a bit for this. Almond flour is moister and has a higher fat content so the recipe would have to be changed to accommodate this. Also, a cup of almond flour weighs more than a cup of spelt flour.
Gayle
Love these muffins. One little question. I am completely off flours (carbs etc) as well as sugar (I’m a diabetic who has successfully reversed it). So I used more almond meal instead of spelt flour and they were a little too moist. Still yummy tho 🙂 I’ve just made more and added a tad of coconut flour and they still seem moist. I’d appreciate any feedback as I do like them.
Amy
Hi Gayle, I'm glad you like the flavour, it is a shame you can't get the texture to work. Without playing around with the recipe I can't really help, sorry.
G
Yum!! Hubs and I are avoiding sugar this month and finding this recipe was a delight. I used a GF flour blend, ground flaxseed instead of ground almond, almond milk, and added some chopped dates too (and that definitely sweetened it up). Loved how versatile this recipe was. Thanks!
Amy
Fab! So glad you liked them, thanks for including your modifications as I know readers find it useful. Thanks also for rating and taking the time to comment, it means a lot 🙂
Victoria
Has anyone made these with a non dairy substitute? My youngest has a dairy allergy and I am always trying to find her and her sister good recipes but it's hard when there is always dairy of some sort in everything
Amy
I'm sure someone said they made these with almond milk and they turned out well. I haven't tried so can't guarantee the results, sorry.
Heather Hopson
Made these muffins today!! My daughter has given up sugar for lent, so snack time has been a bit of a challenge these last couple days! Im so glad I found this recipe with no added sugar!!! We are a gluten free house due to my other daughters celiac, so I substituted GF Flour for the spelt (its not gluten free) and used rice milk for the milk. I ground up almonds as I didn't have any almond flour on hand and its raining here in Spain so I didn't feel like heading to the market!! They smell delicious, Im looking forward to trying them when they come out of the oven in 18mins and 16 seconds!!
Amy
Hi Heather, thanks for your comment! I hope you and your daughter enjoyed them!
Hero Scott
Amy, the moment I read your first line in your article, I know this is the recipe I was looking for. Indeed, I am just like you, go totally bunker when you put in google search “no sugar” mufffin recipe and when you check out those recipes, they are laced with honey, syrup, artificial sweetener, horse dead and cow fat. I only saw your recipe today (25.01.2018), so I will try them one week from now as I already baked some muffins today. Your muffins should be my signature muffins when I have friends and family over for dinner. Thanks for sharing, and if it is not too much trouble, could you send me all you “real sugar free” recipe. Thanks in advance.
This recipe looks 5 star quality and I am sure the taste is going to be a know out
Hero
* “Horse dead and cow fat” is a Jamaican saying, which means rubbish, none sense, poppycock, codswallop, bunkum. Example: I was sitting with friends talking and all of a sudden this guy came talking his horse dead and cow fat. What was he talking about? Telling us that President Donald Trump is going build a bridge to link Miami and Kingston, Jamaica. That is total rubbish, wouldn’t you agree, Amy?
Amy
You actually made me laugh out loud! Thanks for making my day! Enjoy the muffins!!!!
m
thank you so much for another great recipe! i used whole wheat flour and unsweetened soy milk and it came out delicious!!!! my children and husband loved it, cant wait to try it again!
this is definitely going to be a staple in the house!
Amy
Thank you! So lovely to read! I'm glad they were both kid and husband approved!
Destiny
Awesome recipe!
We grew an extra sweet variety of carrots this year, so I put extra carrots in the batter instead of the 1/3 cup apple sauce. It was extra carroty and so tasty!
Mine were done after only 15 minutes in the oven.
Thank you for the recipe!!
Amy
Thanks for the feedback, Destiny. Love that you didn't need the apple sauce, your extra sweet carrots sound delicious!
nidhi r
hi,
what can be used instead of spelt flour?
Amy
Hi Nidhi, you can you plain / all purpose flour if you want ??