These Oatmeal Carrot Muffins are tender, moist and oh-so flavorful. Made with whole wheat flour, rolled oats, and less added sugar than most muffin recipes, these muffins are packed with a cup of grated carrots! Mixed all in own bowl + done baking in under 20 minutes, these veggie-loaded muffins are a great grab-and-go choice for a healthy breakfast or hearty snack.

My superpower is making a good veggie muffin recipe and I have (yet another) tasty veggie-loaded muffin to add to your rotation.
These Oatmeal Carrot Muffins are hearty, full of warm spices, and loaded with wholesome ingredients. Rocking a cup of grated carrots and sweetened with applesauce and little bit of brown sugar, these muffins are tender, moist and mixed all in one bowl. Made with a combination of whole wheat flour and rolled oats, these muffins are truly the perfect quick snack or veggie-loaded breakfast option. They are naturally dairy-free, and can easily be made gluten free, egg-free, and nut-free with a few adaptations. This recipe makes a batch of 12 and only take 20 minutes to bake, so make a quick batch today and enjoy the leftovers for days to come.
Pssst. If you love these muffins, be sure to check out my Fluffy Whole Wheat Carrot Zucchini Muffins and my Hearty Whole Wheat Banana Zucchini Muffins too!
Did you know you can freeze grated carrots and then use them later in these carrot muffins (and other recipes)?! Here is my how to freeze carrots for the best taste and texture…including grated!
Suggested Adaptations
- Jazz them up with some add-ins: these muffins would be great with 1/3 cup chocolate chips or raisins.
- Make them nut-free and leave the walnuts out!
- Replace the applesauce with mashed banana.
- Boost the nutrition: You could also stir in 2 to 4 tablespoons of nutritious add-ins like hemp seeds, chia seeds, or ground flax seeds.
- 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.
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!
How to make Healthy Carrot Oatmeal Muffins
Bake for 20-22 minutes.
How to store these muffins
These muffins can hang out on your counter for a day, but if you plan to enjoy them over several days pop them in the fridge! Keeping them in an airtight container in your refrigerator will help to keep these moist muffins fresh longer and prevent molding.
You can also freeze these muffins for up to 2 months when stored in an air-tight freezer safe container. I like to thaw on the countertop overnight or by zapping one in the microwave for 15-30 seconds.
Other veggie muffin recipes…
- Chocolate Muffins (with veggies!)
- Whole Wheat ABC Muffins
- Oatmeal Green Smoothie Muffins
- Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Zucchini Muffins
- Healthy & Wholesome Banana Zucchini Muffins
- Hearty One-Bowl Parsnip Muffins
- Healthy Morning Glory Muffins
Did you try these carrot muffins and now you’re hungry for more?
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One-Bowl Healthy Oatmeal Carrot Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 cup peeled and grated carrots
- 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 2 large eggs can sub 2 flax eggs
- ¼ cup olive oil or vegetable oil
- 2 teaspoons 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 chopped walnuts plus extra for topping, optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375℉. Line a standard muffin tin with paper liners or grease with oil.
- Add grated carrots 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 carrot mixture. Whisk together again to incorporate everything.
- Add the flour and rolled oats to the bowl. Stir until just combined. Do not over mix, as this can result in dense muffins.
- Finally, add in the walnuts (if using). Fold them into the batter.
- Spoon the batter into the 12 prepared muffin cups, filling about ¾ of the way. Top with additional walnuts, if desired.
- 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 keep finding tidbits of the recipe for the oatmeal/carrot muffins but never the actual measurings of flour, etc. Help please.
Hi Lisa. I’m unsure what is going on, but I can see the measurements for the recipe in the recipe card on both desktop and mobile. Perhaps you are watching the WedStory?
Delicious and simple to make!
So glad you enjoyed them, Leslie! I love a simple muffin recipe that also tastes great. Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a review!
Hello! I’d like to try these.. but want to go without oil.. anything you’d suggest to replace? Thanks!
Hi Sylvia! I haven’t tried these without the oil but find that replacing oil with applesauce tends to work well in most baked goods, so I would suggest starting there. Also, since you would be removing the oil, they are likely to stick to the pan or muffin liners. I’d suggest using a silicone muffin tin or liners to prevent this as much as possible! Let us know how they turn out, please!
These are ridiculously delicious. Moist and flavorful, the hardest part is not eating all of them in one sitting!! The whole house smells amazing as well, which is an added bonus.
I’m so happy that you loved these as much as we do! They do make eating veggies extra easy!
WOW are these good! I used an over-ripe banana for part of the applesauce. Used coconut oil, and added 1/3 cup of mini chocolate chips along with the walnuts. All of the flavors were well balanced with just the right sweetness. And only 1/3 cup of brown sugar! I love these and will definitely being making them again, and experimenting with other add ins. One note–mine were done after 17 minutes.
Hi Jeff! I’m so glad you enjoyed these so much and I love your modifications. I find that all ovens cook a little differently and most don’t bake true to temperature, which is why I share the tip about cooking until muffins are 200F in the middle for the perfect muffin. I’m guess your oven cooks a bit hotter than mine, but I’m glad you caught them before they burned!
These are great! I love that they can easily be altered. I used half applesauce and half mashed banana, subbed one egg for a flax egg, and tossed in some hemp hearts as suggested. They turned out so tasty, and I love that they are pretty healthy. Husband approved.
I bet these were delicious with the banana and hemp hearts! So glad you and your husband enjoyed them, Kelsey. Thanks for taking the time to leave a review!
I have made your green smoothie muffins before (one of my favorite recipes). In that recipe, I blended the oats to create a “flour”. would this work there instead of wheat flour by blending the oats completely, while keeping the 3/4 cups of rolled oats?
Hi Michelle! I haven’t tested these muffins with oat flour, but it might work. I often find oat flour to be a good swap for whole wheat flour in many baking recipes. Just an FYI that your muffins might be a bit heavier, since I find oat flour to be a denser four to bake with. If you try it, please let us know how it goes.
I’m really glad I tried this recipe.
Easy to make and delicious.
So glad you enjoyed them, Cathy!