Cinnamon Carrot Muffins

The softest, fluffiest carrot muffins with a hint of cinnamon and the perfect balance of sweetness. Not at all like the dry, bland carrot cake you may have avoided your whole life—these are addictive! And you’d never know these are full of healthy carrots, applesauce, and whole wheat flour!

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These muffins were kind of created by accident. I’ve been trying to recreate the amazing carrot muffins served at Kimo’s in Maui. Years ago, a waitress gave me a list of the ingredients, since they had that on hand due to possible food allergies.

But they didn’t know the ratios.

So, exploring and experimenting I went. I started with my blueberry streusel muffin recipe, since both use applesauce. My first batch was okay, but not my favorite. Among other things, I’d added too much flour, feeling the batter was too thin and couldn’t possibly turn out a good muffin. Miraculously, my second try was perfection. And not at all like the Kimo’s muffins.

But I didn’t care.

Quite on accident, I’d made a perfectly sweet, slightly cinnamon-y, super soft and fluffy carrot muffin.

So while I’m still on the hunt for recreating the bread-y, hearty muffins we love, I’m also happy making these all the time. Because wow.

Why this recipe works

First, these muffins are moist yet fluffy. The combination of a light oil (I used avocado, the original used cottonseed), whole milk, and applesauce creates this incredibly tender, fluffy, soft texture. They’re very, very moist and yet very, very light. And honestly, it was almost an accident, since I was going for a more bread-y texture.

Second, these muffins taste delicious. Like, picky four year old approved kind of delicious. I used quite a bit of carrot, yet you don’t taste it beyond that faint hint of carrot that carrot cake lovers will notice. And the use of a little cinnamon helps balance the earthiness with the sweetness, which is pleasant and not overly sweet.

Key ingredients

Whole wheat flour. You can use half whole wheat, half all-purpose, but they’re perfect with all whole wheat. Be sure to sift it and to measure carefully—spoon the flour into the measuring cup then level it off with the flat side of a knife (known as spoon-then-level).

Salt. Try to use sea salt, if possible, as it won’t create an overly salted taste and is actually better for you!

Baking powder. Not baking soda! Baking powder is more delicate and helps this rise without being dense.

Cinnamon. I like a lot of cinnamon! You can actually use a tiny bit more, if you’d like. I also suggest using high quality cinnamon, as the flavor is better.

Eggs. Be sure these are room temperature so they mix well with the other ingredients! If you forget to take them out ahead of time, you can put them in a bowl of warm (not hot) water for 15 minutes.

Oil. I suggest avocado or cottonseed oil, as these have a mild flavor but are healthier than vegetable or canola.

Applesauce. Be sure it’s unsweetened.

Whole milk. I prefer whole milk, as it makes for a better texture.

Vanilla. Use pure vanilla extract! Imitation will have a slightly different flavor and won’t give you the same pleasant flavor.

Granulated sugar. Brown sugar helps this stay moist while granulated helped it rise. Using both gives you the best of both worlds.

Grated carrot. Use freshly grated carrot, not pre-shredded as that has dried out. I used a fine cheese grater (not the one that’s for parmesan, but that grates fine shreds).

How to make cinnamon carrot muffins

1. Grate your carrots. Be sure to peel them first. A fine cheese grater works well.

2. Sift and whisk together the dry ingredients. Sifting isn’t necessary, but I prefer it to keep the lumps to a minimum.

3. Whisk wet ingredients. Whisk well, ensuring eggs and oil have emulsified (meaning fully blended together).

4. Whisk in the sugar. Whisk well. You want the sugar mostly dissolved before you add the flour.

5. Stir in the grated carrot. Don’t whisk, as carrot will usually get stuck in the whisk.

6. Fold in the dry ingredients. You actually want to leave a few dry streaks, which will get folded completely after you add the walnuts.

7. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Check a middle muffin to ensure there is no raw batter. Let cool 5-10 minutes then serve warm.

Enjoy!

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Tips and FAQ’s for this recipe

Can these be made ahead of time?

Certainly! You can make them 1-2 days ahead, but try to reheat them briefly in the oven, as they are best enjoyed warm. They can be frozen and thawed at room temperature, but they won’t be quite as soft and fluffy.

Don’t mix the flour in completely!

Weird, but true. This is one of the things I first learned about baking from my mom. I thought it was so weird that you don’t mix the muffin batter until smooth. What kind of madness was this?? Mixing too much causes gluten to develop, which we don’t want too much of here or we’ll get dense, chewy muffins. So, I only mix the flour until it’s just combined. Those lumps of flour will dissolve as the muffins bake, creating the perfect crumb.

How do I know it’s baked through?

I always use a toothpick, but a small knife or kebab skewer will work, too. You want to catch the muffins when they’ve just barely stopped being raw, as they will cook a little more in the pan while they cool. So try to use a toothpick to check for moist crumbs but no raw batter.

Can I add nuts?

Sure! I personally like these without nuts, but you could add up to a cup of chopped nuts of any kind. You could also add chopped raisins, if you’re an all-the-things kind of muffin lover, since nuts and raisins are classic carrot mix-ins. Just avoid using more than one cup of mix-ins, as this could cause the muffins to fall apart.

My muffin tools

Here are my must-have tools I use for making these muffins. Affiliate links provided.

Whisk (or stand mixer or handheld mixer)

Mesh sieve

Cupcake/muffin pans (I’ve used many over the years and these are the most consistently successful.)

Vegetable peeler

Small cheese grater

Increasing the recipe

I wrote this recipe to make about 8 muffins, but you can easily double or triple it to get 16 or 24 muffins. (I felt that double and tripling was much easier math than something random like “do a 1.5 recipe or a 1/3 recipe”). Below are the measurements for a double or triple batch.

To make 16 muffins (a double batch):

• 1 ¾ cups (238g) whole wheat flour, spooned and leveled

• 2 teaspoons (8g) baking powder

• ½ teaspoon (3g) salt

• 2 teaspoons (8g) ground cinnamon

• 1 tablespoon (13g) pure vanilla extract

• 2 large eggs, room temperature

• ½ cup (120g) avocado, cottonseed, or vegetable oil

• ½ cup (about 150g) unsweetened applesauce

• ½ cup (120g) whole milk, room temperature

• 1 ⅓ cup (266g) granulated sugar

• 1 cup (about 180g) freshly grated carrot

To make 24 muffins (a triple batch):

• 2 ⅔ cups (363g) whole wheat flour, spooned and leveled

• 1 tablespoon (12g) baking powder

• ¾ teaspoon (3g) salt

• 1 tablespoon (12g) ground cinnamon

• 1 ½ tablespoon (20g) pure vanilla extract

• 3 large eggs, room temperature

• ¾ cup (120g) avocado, cottonseed, or vegetable oil

• ¾ cup (about 225g) unsweetened applesauce

• ¾ cup (180g) whole milk, room temperature

• 2 cups (400g) granulated sugar

• 1 ½ cup (about 270g) freshly grated carrot

You might also like:

My Favorite Carrot Cake

Grandma’s Carrot Cake

Blueberry Streusel Muffins

Pumpkin Streusel Muffins

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

Double Chocolate Greek Yogurt Muffins

Cinnamon Carrot Muffins

• prep time: 10-15 minutes
• bake time: 20-25 minutes
• total time: 40 minutes

servings: 8-10

Ingredients:

• ¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons (119g) whole wheat flour, spooned and leveled
• 1 teaspoon (4g) baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon (1g) fine ground sea salt
• 1 teaspoon (4g) ground cinnamon
• ¼ cup (about 75g) unsweetened applesauce
• ¼ cup (80g) whole milk, room temperature
• 1 large egg, room temperature
• ½ tablespoon (6g) pure vanilla extract
• ¼ cup (60g) avocado, cottonseed, or vegetable oil
• ⅔ cup (133g) granulated sugar
• ½ cup (about 180g) finely grated carrot, slightly packed

Instructions:

1. Peel and grate the carrot. I used the smallest cheese grater I have (not the kind that’s like a zester). For ½ cup I used about 2 medium carrots.
2. Preheat your oven to 350F/175C. Line 8-10 wells of a muffin pan with liners (or you can simply spray each well lightly with baking spray and skip the liners).
3. Using a large fine mesh sieve, sift then whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Set aside.
4. In a large bowl, whisk together the applesauce, milk, vanilla, eggs, and oil until very well combined.
5. Add the sugar to the wet ingredients and whisk for about 1 minute, until the sugar looks partially dissolved. You can whisk it by hand or, if using a stand or hand mixer, mix on medium.
6. Using a wooden spoon or rubber spatula, stir in the carrot until fully combined.
7. Add the flour mixture and fold in gently until just combined. (If you’re unsure what folding means, you basically run a rubber spatula along the edge an entire turn around the bowl the pull the spatula toward the middle once you’ve come fully around the bowl, “folding” the batter on the edge into the middle part.)
8. Fill each muffin tin about ¾ or so full with batter.
9. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the tops of each muffin have rounded slightly and a toothpick inserted in one of the middle muffins comes out with some moist crumbs. Check early so they don’t over bake–each oven is different. Let cool in pan 5-10 minutes. Remove and serve warm.

Enjoy with your morning coffee!

Cover leftovers and store on the counter 2-3 days.