Healthy Carrot Raisin "Sunshine" Muffins Recipe
These grain-free carrot raisin muffins are loaded with wholesome ingredients like grated carrots, apples, coconut, and raisins. They're flavored with a touch of cinnamon and ginger, and are naturally sweetened with maple syrup. They make for a hearty treat, and are great for breakfasts and snacks.
Servings: 12 Muffins
Ingredients
Dry ingredients
- 1 ¼ cups (138g) almond flour
- ¼ cup (25g) coconut flour
- ¼ cup (25g) shredded unsweetened coconut
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
Wet ingredients
- 3 large eggs
- 1 packed cup (100g) grated carrots (from about 2 medium carrots)
- ½ packed cup (100g) grated apple (from about ½ large apple, include the juices)
- ¼ cup (80g) maple syrup
- ¼ cup (50g) melted coconut oil (or you can use neutral vegetable oil)
- ½ teaspoon orange zest (optional)
- ¼ cup orange juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla paste or extract
- ½ cup (70g) raisins
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350˚F (175˚C). Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners.
Whisk the dry ingredients
- In a large bowl, whisk together the almond flour, coconut flour, shredded unsweetened coconut, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, and salt.
Whisk the wet ingredients and combine
- In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs until smooth. Stir in the grated carrots, grated apple, maple syrup, coconut oil, orange zest, orange juice, and vanilla.
- Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and stir to combine. Fold in the raisins.
Bake
- Divide the batter among the lined muffin cups (an ice cream scoop works great for this!). Bake until the muffins are golden brown on top and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 20-25 minutes. Cool the muffins in the tin for 5 minutes, then transfer them to a cooling rack and let cool completely.
Notes
Recipe Tips
- Use a box grater to grate the carrots and apple. There's no need to peel them.
- You can omit the orange zest if you’d like (although I recommend it), and you can swap out the orange juice for clementine, mandarin orange, or even pineapple juice.
- I always recommend using an inexpensive kitchen scale when baking with gluten-free flours, as it’s much more accurate and easier as well.
- Light-colored muffin tins are best, as dark tins can cause the sides of the muffins to brown too quickly (but if you only have a dark muffin tin, don’t stress; just check the muffins a couple of minutes early).
- An ice cream scoop with a lever makes it really easy to scoop the batter into the muffin cups.
- If you don’t have muffin liners, feel free to grease your muffin tin with a neutral cooking oil or cooking spray.
- If you’d like to make mini muffins, spoon batter into your lined or greased mini muffin pan and bake at 350F for 10-12 minutes until the muffins are golden brown on top and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Serving and Storage Tips
Serve these carrot muffins as an afternoon snack with a cup of tea or as a wholesome breakfast option. Eat by themselves or with a smear of butter and a sprinkle of flaky sea salt. Store the muffins in an airtight container for up to 2 days at room temperature, or freeze them for up to 3 months. Loved this recipe? Check out @nickisizemore for more!