Carrot Apple Vegan Muffins
These Carrot Apple Vegan Muffins are kid-friendly, easy and as yummy as they are healthy! Made from oats, naturally sweetened and veggie-loaded, they are mixed entirely in your blender and are gluten free, dairy-free and egg-free!
Carrot Apple Vegan Muffins
Muffins. I love ’em. You guys love ’em. We all love ’em….so I keep baking them. With veggies (and this time fruit!)…because that’s how I roll.
We are heavy in a carrot phase over here. Yes, I said that. Carrot phase.
See, my daughter is a bit obsessed with Easter at the moment. I get it. Cute fluffy bunnies. Pretty pastel eggs. Lovely flowers. It’s basically the holiday where every little girl’s favorite things are splattered everywhere she looks. And the plethora of carrots everywhere has had a very positive effect on her orange veggie intake.
I’m not asking questions, just simply handing my daughter all the carrot things she could want and basking in the moment.
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Carrots are one of those veggies that isn’t weird to put in baked goods (not that the fear of being weird has ever stopped me, hence Oatmeal Green Smoothie Muffins) and you can get pretty much any kid (or strong-willed adult) to eat. But, I decided to sweeten the muffin deal (literally) by adding apple into the mix.
Have you ever tried apple and carrots together?
Heaven! I love making a simple salad for my daughter (or myself) of shredded apples and carrots. The flavors just get each other and make a good muffin better.
These Carrot Apple Vegan Muffins are everything. Super soft, super wonderful and they pretty much melt in your mouth. Full of flavor and yum….but also nutrient dense goodness. Oats, apples, carrots flax and all the good stuff you probably already have kicking around in your kitchen. So you can totally go make these right now….and every day…for the rest of your life.
Go for it! Seriously. I’ll wait here.
Suggested Adaptations
- Make them non-vegan. Replace the flax and water in these carrot apple muffins with 3 eggs and/or use dairy milk if that is what your family prefers.
- Add some raisins or chocolate chips to make these muffins even a bit more exciting!
- Bake as mini muffins. Perfect for extra little ones. Just bake for 10-13 minutes in a mini muffin tin.
- Replace the apple with pear.
- Use whatever apple variety you prefer or have on hand.
Wondering how to store your carrots so they stay fresh as long as possible? Check out my post on How to Keep Cut Carrots Fresh and get the most out of your produce buck!
Other veggie-packed muffins you are going to want to make, like NOW!
- Chocolate Chip Carrot Vegan Muffins (with lentils)
- Kid-Friendly Vegan Spinach Muffins
- Dairy-free Sweet Potato Peanut Butter Muffins
- Dairy-free Chocolate Butternut Squash Muffins
- Healthy Vegan Pumpkin Muffins
Carrot Apple Vegan Muffins
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp ground flax meal
- 9 tbsp water
- 2 cups uncooked rolled oats, (if baking gluten free, make sure oats are also certified gluten free)
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 tbsp cinnamon
- 1 tbsp pure vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup maple syrup or date syrup, (sub honey if vegan isn't needed)
- 1 medium apple, roughly chopped
- 1 cup grated carrot
- 1/4 cup melted coconut oil
- 1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350℉ and line a 12-hole muffin tin with liners.
- In a small bowl combine flax meal and water. Stir a few times to combine and then let sit for 5 minutes to “gel” into a “flax egg.”
- While the flax is gelling, place oats, salt, baking power, baking soda and cinnamon in blender. Blend until oats look more like a coarse flour.
- After the flax + water has had some time to gel, pour it into the blender with the oat flour mixture. Add the vanilla, maple syrup, apple, carrots, coconut oil, and almond milk. Blend until batter has a smooth consistency. You may need to scrape down the sides of the blender a few times and then keep on blending until everything is incorporated.
- Portion out the batter between the 12 lined muffin holes.
- Bake at 25 minutes or until a a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.
- Allow to cool completely (the middle may be a bit moist fresh out of the oven) and enjoy or store in fridge for up to a week!
Do you add the oats along with the other ingredients (apple, sweetner, almond milk, etc) ?
Yes!
Is there a way to substitute egg for the flax meal? I have flax seeds but not flax meal, and I’m cool with eggs. 🙂 Would love to try these!
Totally! They work great with 3 eggs instead of the flax eggs.
Yay! So take out both the flax meal and the warm water?
And shoot, sorry for another question, lol — does this need to be done in a blender, or will a hand mixer do?
(Done, I swear.) 🙂
Definitely needs to be in a blender or food processor so that all of the ingredients get finely chopped up!
yes, both!
I don’t have Flax Meal on hand and kiddo is allergic to egg. Is there another substitute the Flax Meal besides egg?
You could try chia “eggs”
Have you tried this without the oats? We have a sensitivity to even gluten free oats. What gluten free flour ratio would you recommend? Thanks!
Any update on this? I also can’t do oats even gluten free oats!
Hi!
I have never tried making this recipe with a gf flour blend, but I do have an apple cinnamon almond butter muffin that works well with carrots added. Unfortunately it is not egg-free if that is import (working on adding more paleo & egg-free recipes to the blog).
https://www.thenaturalnurturer.com/blog/apple-cinnamon-almond-butter-muffins-paleo
I’ll attempt to make this with a coconut flour and let you know how it turns out! lol
Hi there! Can these be made as mini muffins?
While I haven’t tested them as minis, I’m sure it can be made into them! I’d bake them at the same temp for about 11-13 minutes.
I’ve had decent luck with almond flour instead of blended oats! Not sure of measurements though since this recipe is measured before blending…
Full disclosure I haven’t made this recipe yet, but I’ve subbed almond flour for oats in other recipes just fine.
If you were to use unsweetened applesauce instead of the medium size apple, how much would you use?? Thanks 😉
Can I sub zucchini for the various? Looking for a zucchini muffin recipe for all this summer goodness!
I honestly haven’t tried and it sounds like such a good idea! You might need to squeeze some of the water out of the zucchini but i think it could work!
If I take out the honey/maple syrup entirely, do I need to sub some liquid? I’m making these for my 10-month old so I can’t use honey and I’d love to avoid the syrup. (I made these last night without the sweetener but added a little extra almond milk and they never fully baked. I think I added too much liquid. But I’d like to try again!) Thanks!!
I don’t think so. The apples and carrots should add enough liquid to make up for the moisture!
Taesha the zucchinni works great as a sub for the carrots! I grated them and let them drain a bit. I also added some extra spices like nutmeg. You could add raisens and nuts too at the end if you so desire. They were wonderful and warmly spiced! Almost as good as grandma’s!
Can these be frozen? If so, what would be the process of thawing them?
Yes! I just let them thaw on the counter overnight!
Hello! What can I use as a substitute for the almond milk? One son is allergic to milk and the other to nuts! Thank you
Coconut milk should work just fine! I hope your son enjoys them!
Sounds delicious. Can I use oat milk instead of almond? My daughter has a nut allergy.
Hi there! I’m doubling these and making them as mini muffins for my 8 month old. Are they OK to freeze, and if so how long would they be good?
I find that they freeze beautifully in an air-tight container for up to 2 months.
Hi! The first time I made these my 2 year old asked for them all day long… the were light and moist. The second time they turned out really dense and he said “no like muffin”, lol. I don’t think I did anything differently… any thoughts on what went wrong to make it change? (I used 3 eggs instead of flax/water both times.)
Interesting. It’s hard to know what went wrong without being in the kitchen with you! Did you make any other changes? Use less of something or more of something? Not blend as long?
I find that when I don’t blend these kinds of recipes until REALLY smooth, they come out denser. So perhaps that?
Ah, maybe the blending. I think I was assuming the opposite – that blending too long would lead to a denser result. I’ll try it again and blend longer. I actually had the same result with your chocolate avocado bread yesterday, super dense. I’ll blend longer…
Actually, with the chocolate avocado bread, I found that over blending is the issue with dense bread. I stop once everything is combined and then bake!
My rule of thumb is:
– oat based recipes, blend until super smooth
– nut based recipes, the less blending the better.
Hey there! I just made these for the first time today (I saw you posted the recipe in your IG stories over the weekend). Mine turned out more like a baked oatmeal, but they are DELICIOUS! I’ll be making them again, for sure, and can’t wait to try more of your veggie loaded muffin recipes!
can i use oat flour ?
Yes!
If you were going to make these in mini muffin size, how would you adjust the oven temp/time?
I would do same temp for 10-13 minutes.
Just made these for the first time because I was trying to use up some carrots and apples. So easy and good! Definitely going into the regular rotation.
I am so glad!
I love all your muffin recipes! I’m wanting to double this recipe because 12 muffins are gone so fast! 🙂 But I don’t think my blender can’t handle double the amount. Would it work to blend just the dry ingredients and then mix everything together in a bowl? I’ve seen those instructions on other recipes like the Banana Carrot Bread. Thank you so much!
I haven’t tried it but I can’t think of a reason it wouldn’t work!
Can I substitute avocado oil for the coconut oil? (I have a coconut sensitivity)
Absolutely.
Hiya. I’m not concerned with these being vegan but I don’t have coconut oil or almond milk. What could/should I sub in?
You can use olive oil or any oil you use for baking on the regular. And any milk you prefer to use in place of the almond milk.
Like!!
We love your muffin recipes, this one is a favorite in our house. The little ones love them!
Yay! I am so glad!
Another fabulous muffin! Seriously so fast to make, and I love the fall color and flavors with the apples!
And they make the house smell so good when baking! Yay! SO glad you enjoyed!
Delicious!
Yay! I am so glad you like them, Megan!
Hi, can I use whole wheat flour instead of oats? Also, butter instead of oil? My kid is sensitive to oats. Thanks!
Yes, you can sub the oil for butter. I haven’t tired these with whole wheat flour, but I find usually it is a good sub for ground oats in a recipe. My guess would be 1 3/4 cup whole wheat flour. Let me know how they turn out!
This recipe is AMAZING and so tasty!! We swapped out the flax eggs for 3 chicken eggs and the muffins cooked perfectly. Love that you just throw it all in the blender. Such easy clean up. My toddler ate 3 muffins as soon as they were cooled. Definitely a winner. Thank you!!!
Mine rose very nice in the oven but once I took them out flattened . What did I do wrong ? 😩 I used eggs almond milk and coconut oil no subs
What a bummer, Mallory! I usually find this happens when a recipe either has too much liquid or it hasn’t been cooked long enough. These muffins have been a big success in other kitchens, so I doubt it was too wet unless you accidentally added more. So I am going to guess maybe they needed longer in the oven. Or perhaps your oven isn’t cooking true to temperature? I have run into that issue a lot and would suggest getting an oven thermometer to ensure you are cooking/baking at the temperature you think you are.
This is my almost 2 year olds favorite snack. He’s always requesting them. I make a batch almost every week. My husband and I love them too.
I’m so glad, Jess! Thank you for taking the time to leave a review!
These are very good! I sub. flax with applesauce and baking powder with cream of tartar/baking soda mix. Will def make again
Love those subs, Erica! So glad you enjoyed them and thank you for taking the time to leave a review!
Love this recipe with a purple passion!!!
Beautiful healthy ingredients, and everyone loves them!
I’m wondering if I could bake this in a bread pan … like banana bread?
Yes! I have done it. I think it took me about 45 minutes to bake through at the same temp as muffins.
How would you suggest freezing these?
After baking, I would let them cool entirely and then pop them in a freezer friendly bag or container in a single layer. They should freeze easily and be good for a month or two. Then take one out to defrost overnight in the fridge or pop it into the microwave.
Can these be frozen?
Absolutely! They freeze great.
My husband juices carrots all the time so I’m always looking for recipes i can make with the leftover carrot pulp, so i am working my way through all of Taesha’s carrot recipes and this one is a winner! (Well, they all are) I used avocado oil instead of coconut and did half agave/maple syrup. I also swirled in 1 tsp. of apple butter before baking just for fun. They did flatten after i took them out of the oven but didn’t care, still yummy. We loved them!
Oh I love that you are able to use the pulp from juicing for this! What a great way to reduce food waste and get all the bang for your buck out of a veggie. And the apple butter sounds like an *amazing* addition! Must try
My husband juices carrots all the time so I’m always looking for recipes i can make with the leftover carrot pulp, so i am working my way through all of Taesha’s carrot recipes and this one is a winner! (Well, they all are) I used avocado oil instead of coconut and did half agave/maple syrup. I also swirled in 1 tsp. of apple butter before baking just for fun. They did flatten after i took them out of the oven but didn’t care, still yummy. We loved them!
Hi, I was so excited to make these muffins, I made tonight. I used the 3 eggs and almond milk instead of the flax meal . The mixture looked great, but the muffins were supper dense. I had to bake them for 30 minutes. They tasted good but too dense.
Did I do something wrong?
Hi Sandra! Oat muffins tend to be a bit denser than ones made with APF or other flours, but I find that over mixing makes these muffins extra dense. Is it possible you might have over mixed? So glad they tasted good!
OMG… this recipe is perfect, delicious, and so easy to make…THANK YOU 😍
So glad you enjoyed, Gaby! I just made a batch today to bring to a gathering! They are one of my go-to recipes.
Does the recipe work fine If I don’t use the sea salt or maple syrup? Hoping to try these for baby 🙂
You could leave the salt out and replace the maple syrup with some applesauce or extra plant milk. However, the muffins will be much less sweet than the original recipe. Just a heads up what to expect!
They smell so good !! I was so excited , but they literally taste like nothing lol
Hi Jordan! Did you omit any ingredients or make any changes? While these muffins are definitely less sweet than traditional muffin recipes (and not everyone’s jam), I’m kinda surprised that they taste so bland to you considering the amount of cinnamon and vanilla they have!
These were FABULOUS 🙂 My one year old and myself both loved these!!! She couldn’t get them in her mouth fast enough haha! Thank you!
So delighted to hear that, Hannah! Such a win! Thanks for taking the time to leave a review. I always appreciate it.
Could I use olive oil instead of coconut? That’s all I have on hand thanks
Absolutely!
These are a regular in our household; I’ll often make a triple batch, freeze ’em up, and move them into the fridge about 10 at a time for easy to grab snacks. I love how easy they are to make, I love how tasty they are, and I *really* love the slightly denser texture they have when I’ve made them. 2 of these babies, microwaved for ~10 seconds and slathered with peanut butter, make for such a tasty and filling breakfast when I’m super short on time. If I’m making them for my kid or her friends, I usually sprinkle some additional oats and cinnamon sugar on top before baking for a little “crumble” type crust.
Also, I lived on these post-partum! If you’re looking for a good, freeze-easy, nutrient-dense snack to take to new parents, these work beautifully.
My toddler has an egg allergy so our go-to substitute is applesauce! I use 1/4 cup for each egg so for this recipe I used 3/4 cup and they’re delicious! I ended up baking them for an additional 15 mins because the center wasn’t set when I stuck a toothpick in. I tried eating one right away because I’m impatient and it was like mush so I let them cook completely and that’s when they set into perfect muffin mode! My toddler loves them and so do I! We look forward to trying more of your recipes!
So happy to hear this, Ali! Thanks for taking the time to share
I make these almost every month; so good – highly recommend!!
So happy you love them so much, Brittany. Thanks for taking the time to leave a review. Much appriciated!
Can I use quick oats instead of rolled oats? 🤔
Those should work fine!