Healthy muffins that taste great. Make these easy apple carrot muffins for a delicious and nutritious meal prep snack. You’ll also love my pumpkin cream cheese muffins, chocolate chip protein muffins, protein blueberry muffins, and blender banana muffins.
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As a Registered Dietitian, I’m a big believer in keeping your environment stocked with nutritious options to make healthy eating easier. And one of my favorite ways to do this is to make a healthy muffin recipe weekly.
These apple carrot muffins are my latest snack obsession. Packed with nutrient-dense ingredients like whole carrots, grated apple, unsweetened apple sauce, and oats, they’re loaded with fiber and micronutrients. And they’re simple to make for the perfect easy meal prep each week.
Say goodbye to the afternoon sugar crash, because this delicious muffin recipe will keep you full, satisfied, and energized.
Why you’ll love these apple carrot muffins
- Healthy muffin with fiber, protein, and minimal added sugar
- Wholesome ingredients you already have at home
- Lightly sweet and super moist
- Quick and easy to make
- Kids love them
Are apple carrot muffins healthy?
Here’s what makes these dietitian-designed apple carrot muffins nutritious and balanced:
- 3 grams of fiber per muffin supports digestion and long-term health
- Boost of protein to stay full and help stabilize blood sugar
- Nutrient-dense ingredients like unsweetened apple sauce, whole carrots, and oats for more micronutrients
- Minimal added sugars and sweetened with honey
- No white flour — instead, we’re using whole wheat flour and oats
- Two whole fruits and veggies stuffed inside these tasty muffins
Key ingredients and swaps
Here are some important ingredients and swaps:
- Whole wheat flour: Make sure you’re using all-purpose, whole wheat flour. You can swap white flour, but it will have less fiber and fewer micronutrients.
- Oats: I recommend using quick oats for the best texture. If you swap quick oats for rolled oats or instant oats, the required quantity can change and it might impact the moisture in the muffins.
- Cinnamon and ground nutmeg: I like this blend, but you can omit nutmeg if it’s not your favorite.
- Unsweetened apple sauce: Make sure you buy apple sauce without any added sweeteners or spices. The ingredients label should list apples as the only ingredient.
- Honey: I do not recommend swapping for any other sweeteners.
- Olive oil: Feel free to substitute for avocado oil, vegetable oil, or canola oil if you’d prefer.
- Honeycrisp apple: I recommend grating your apple with the skin in tact for the best results and most fiber. Honeycrisp is my favorite baking apple for its juiciness and sweet flavor, but you can substitute your favorite baking apple if preferred.
- Grated carrot: Grate your own carrot instead of buying the pre-shredded carrots in the bag.
How to make apple carrot muffins
Position your oven rack to the middle and pre-heat to 350 F. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with silicone or paper liners and set aside.
To a large mixing bowl, add all dry ingredients. Whisk until combined and set aside.
To a new large mixing bowl, add all wet ingredients. Whisk until completely smooth.
Add wet ingredients, apple, and carrot to the dry ingredients. Use a wooden spoon or spatula to mix until just combined. Avoid over-mixing your batter or your muffins will be tough.
Spoon batter into prepared muffin pan, distributing evenly. You’ll fill each muffin cup almost to the top.
Bake for 18-25 minutes or until the tops of your muffins look set. You’ll know they’re done when a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out mostly clean with a few moist crumbs. Transfer muffins to a wire rack to cool before eating.
Helpful products and links
How to serve apple carrot muffins
These apple carrot muffins contain energizing carbohydrates and fiber. To balance that, I recommend you serve with a source of protein and/or fat at snack time:
- Crumble over Greek yogurt
- Top with natural peanut butter or nut butter
- Serve with a handful of nuts or seeds
- Enjoy with 1-2 hard boiled eggs on the side
- Serve with a cheese string or meat stick
- Add your muffin to the side of a balanced meal with veggies and protein
Important tips
- Grate your carrots at home and don’t use the bagged shredded carrots from the store. The thickness and moisture is different and this swap will impact the success of your muffins.
- Use a large cookie scoop to spoon your muffin batter into the pan.
More healthy snacks
Healthy sausage cheese muffins
Peanut butter banana bars
Healthy cinnamon crunch banana bread
Chocolate cottage cheese muffins
Healthy apple oat muffins
Gluten-free pumpkin bread
Cottage cheese banana bread
Carrot cake baked oats
Common questions
Nope! You can peel your apple before grating if preferred. I like the skin left on the apple for texture and for the extra fiber.
Yes. Some recipes for apple carrot muffins recommend removing moisture from your grated carrots and apples with a paper towel. This recipe was specifically designed to omit that step, so feel free to use your grated fruits and vegetables as is.
If you’re planning to enjoy your apple carrot muffins within 3 days, keep them at room temperature in a covered food container or bag. For longer storage, keep your muffins in the freezer and defrost (covered) on the counter overnight. You can also gently warm your muffins before eating to make them a little more soft and moist after time in storage.
Leave a rating and review!
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Healthy Apple Carrot Muffins
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour, spooned and leveled
- 1 cup quick oats
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp salt
Wet Ingredients
- 2 large eggs
- 3/4 cup unsweetened apple sauce
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Mix-ins
- 3/4 cup grated honeycrisp apple with skin on, lightly packed
- 3/4 cup grated carrot, peeled, lightly packed
Instructions
- Position your oven rack to the middle and pre-heat to 350 F. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with silicone or paper liners and set aside.
- To a large mixing bowl, add all dry ingredients. Whisk until combined and set aside.
- To a new large mixing bowl, add all wet ingredients. Whisk until completely smooth.
- Add wet ingredients, apple, and carrot to the dry ingredients. Use a wooden spoon or spatula to mix until just combined. Avoid over-mixing your batter or your muffins will be tough.
- Spoon batter into prepared muffin pan, distributing evenly. You'll fill each muffin cup almost to the top.
- Bake for 18-25 minutes or until the tops of your muffins look set. You'll know they're done when a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out mostly clean with a few moist crumbs. Transfer muffins to a wire rack to cool before eating.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Do you have a gluten free flour swap suggestion?
An all-purpose gluten-free flour would work best!
So easy to make and my toddler and I both love them!!!
Delicious!!!!!
I make them once a week, usually adding in some shredded coconut and dried cranberries too. Yesterday I tried using shredded zucchini instead of shredded apple…Amazing.
My 6 and 2 year old love them too.
This recipe is a keeper!
These were yummy! Can I freeze them after baking? If so, how would you recommend I reheat?
Thanks, Erin! I’m so glad you liked them. Yes, you can freeze these muffins after baking! I recommend defrosting in the fridge overnight or on the counter for a few hours. If you want to serve them warm, just pop them in the microwave for 10-20 seconds!