These Parsnip Muffins are moist, tender, made with whole wheat flour, rolled oats, warm spices, and are perfectly sweet! Mixed in one bowl and done baking in under 20 minutes, these hearty muffins are perfect for a healthy breakfast or quick snack.
Veggie muffin recipes are kinda what I’m known for. You love them. I love them. And muffins are just a magical way to not only get more veggies into your life, but also to try vegetables that you might be trying to warm up to.
Like parsnips. Do you love them or do they make you feel all kinds of iffy? If you are in the parsnip-iffy group like I have been for years, you simply MUST try them in muffins. Really. Parsnips grated into muffin batter is a total GAME CHANGER in all the best ways.
These Parsnip Muffins are perfectly sweet and full of incredible warm spices. Rocking 1 cup of grated parsnips and sweetened with applesauce and a little brown sugar, these muffins are fluffy, tender, moist, and mixed all in one bowl. Made with a combination of whole wheat flour and rolled oats, these muffins are as hearty as they are delicious. This recipe makes a dozen and only takes 20 minutes to bake, so make a quick batch today and enjoy the leftovers for the most magical of breakfasts and snacks for days to come.
Bonus: these Parsnip Muffins are dairy-free for those who need it and can easily be make gluten free and egg-free with a few changes.
How to grate the parsnips for these muffins
Simply peel the parsnips and then use the large holes of a hand or box grater to break them down. Or the grating attachment on a food processor works beautifully, too. No need to squeeze out any of the excess moisture before adding them to the muffin batter, since parsnips tend to be pretty starchy.
Do I need to peel parsnips for this recipe?
If you give the parsnips a good scrubbing, peeling is optional.
But here is why you might want to peel them. The peels of root veggies like carrots, sweet potatoes, and parsnips are totally edible. However, some people find the tender skin bitter. So, if you are trying to love parsnips, taking the extra step to peel them before cooking might help you enjoy them more!
Suggested Adaptations
- Make them gluten free: Use a cup-for-cup style gluten free flour mix instead of the whole wheat flour and make sure to use gluten free oats.
- Need egg-free? I haven’t tested it, but I think using a common egg-replacer such a flax “egg” would work in this recipe.
- Skip the raisins or dried cranberries if they aren’t your thing.
- Switch up the add-ins: these muffins would be great with 1/3 cup chopped nuts such as walnuts or pecans or even a few chocolate chips
How to store these muffins
Once your Parsnip Muffins have cooled completely, transfer them to an air-tight container and pop them into the fridge to enjoy within 4-5 days. While it is okay to store these muffins in an air-tight container at room temperature for a day or so, I find that their high moisture level can result in them molding faster than other traditional muffin recipes. Keeping them in the fridge helps to keep them fresher considerably longer.
Or, your can freeze these parsnip muffins in an air-tight freezer-safe container and enjoy them for up to a month!
Other veggie muffin recipes…
- Chocolate Muffins (with veggies!)
- Oatmeal Green Smoothie Muffins
- Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Zucchini Muffins
- Healthy & Wholesome Banana Zucchini Muffins
- Banana Carrot Muffins
- ABC Muffins
- Healthy Morning Glory Muffins
Did you try these parsnip muffins and now you’re hungry for more?
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Hearty One-Bowl Parsnip Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 cup peeled and grated parsnips
- 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 2 large eggs
- ¼ cup olive oil or vegetable oil or avocado oil
- 2 teaspoon vanilla
- ⅓ cup light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1¼ cups whole wheat flour
- ¾ cup rolled oats
- ⅓ cup raisins or dried cranberries
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375℉. Line a standard muffin tin with paper liners or grease with oil.
- Add grated parsnips to a large bowl, along with applesauce, eggs, oil, vanilla and brown sugar. Whisk together well.
- Add baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg to the bowl with the parsnip mixture. Whisk together again to incorporate everything.
- Add the flour and rolled oats to the bowl. Stir until just combined. Do not overmix, as this can result in dense muffins.
- Finally, add in the raisins. Fold them into the batter.
- Spoon the batter into the 12 prepared muffin cups, filling about ¾ of the way.
- Bake until the tops of the muffins are golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 20-22 minutes. If you have a kitchen thermometer, cook until the muffins have an internal temperature of 200℉. This will ensure they are cooked through, but not overcooked.
- Allow them to cool in pan for 15 minutes before enjoying. Once cooled completely, store in an air-tight container in the fridge for 4-5 days or in your freezer for up to a month.
Nutrition
The nutritional information is provided as an estimate only and may vary based on the product type, servings and other factors. If you are following a diet, please consult with a professional nutritionist or your doctor. Stay healthy!
Comments
I am/used to be in the parsnip iffy group too. Hadn’t cooked anything with parsnips in ages. So this new recipe was the perfect opportunity to give them another chance! : ) And of course the muffins did not disappoint! Love the subtle sweetness. Perfect with some natural peanut butter and a cup of coffee. The rest of the bag I oven roasted together with carrots. Really like them that way, brings out their tasty flavors and mutes some flavor notes I personally don’t enjoy.
Yay! So glad you enjoyed this one, Eva! From one parsnip-iffy eater to another, I am delighted that these muffins helped you find a way to eat parsnips that you enjoy.
I was so excited to see a recipe for parsnips – as they are a very under-rated vegetable that I wouldn’t think of using in muffins. I didn’t have brown sugar so I swapped brown coconut sugar and it worked great. I also added dried cherries and chocolate chips. These are so good! Try them today!! Thank you for the continued variety of veggie-loaded muffins.
I’m so glad you enjoyed these as much as I do, Valerie! Love the addition of chocolate chips and dried cherries!
These are delicious! The whole family loved them. Added chocolate chips in about half of them – they were great both ways!
Wondering – your muffin recipes often use maple syrup in place of sugar. Would that work with these or best to stick with the brown sugar?
Hi Laura! You are right, I have made most of my recipes with maple syrup or honey. I started to make some with brown sugar because maple syrup and honey are expensive ingredients and wanted to make recipes that might be a bit more affordable for people. I haven’t tested these with maple syrup, but I bet they would work! Since the syrup is a liquid, you’d probably want to reduce the applesauce to 3/4 of a cup to help balance out the dry ingredients : wet ingredients.