Vegan Carrot Muffins

These vegan carrot muffins are super quick and easy to make, sweet, fluffy, perfectly moist and secretly loaded with carrots. If you’re a fan of carrot cake, you are guaranteed to love these muffins.

Why You'll Love These Vegan Carrot Muffins

These muffins are perfectly sweet, moist and tender, with not even a hint of carrot flavour. But that doesn't mean the grated carrots are not the crucial ingredient in the recipe. You might not taste them, but it’s the carrots that add just the right amount of sweetness and moisture to these muffins. Plus, carrots are loaded with vitamin D, fibre and potassium, so adding a healthy twist to classic muffins has never been easier.

Why you’ll love these vegan carrot muffins:

• Ready in under 30 minutes
• One-bowl recipe
• Vegan friendly
• Secretly loaded with carrots
• Perfectly sweet, moist and tender
• Wholesome and satisfying

Can You Taste the Carrots?

Not really. You can definitely see them and taste the sweetness that they bring to the mix. But if you expect the classic carrot taste when you bite into this muffin, you’ll be disappointed. In a blind test, no one would ever guess these vegan muffins are secretly loaded with veggies.

Ingredients You’ll Need to Make the Best Vegan Carrot Muffins

Flax eggs - one of the most complete plant-based substitutes for eggs for recipes that need the specific texture of an added egg, but not the flavour. They give these muffins that perfect cakey texture, but don’t add any flavour

To prepare one flax egg, mix one tablespoon of flax meal (ground flax seeds) with two and a half tablespoons of tepid water. You can read more about this magic egg recipe here in this short post on flax eggs.

Coconut oil - use melted refined coconut oil. While non-refined coconut oil has a strong coconutty taste, which is very much desirable in some recipes, refined oil has a very milk, practically non-existent flavour, which is perfect for this recipe, where you want the carrots to be the star of the show.

Mashed banana - naturally sweeteners the muffins, and also adds moisture to make them more tender.

Maple syrup - the flavour of maple syrup goes great with carrots and banana, but if you don’t have any at hand, you can easily substitute it with agave syrup, your favourite liquid sweetener (making the muffins lower in calories and sugar) or even honey (if not vegan).

Sugar - I used regular, granulated sugar, but if you’re looking to make these muffins refined sugar free, coconut sugar would work as well.

Salt - adding salt to sweet recipes helps to bring out all the flavours. Make sure to use finely ground sea salt.

Baking powder - acts as a leavening agent in the recipe. Measure it carefully for the right consistency and fluffiness.

Cinnamon - optional, but highly recommended addition. It goes great with banana and carrot flavour, and makes the whole house smell like you’re baking something delicious.

Almond milk - I used unsweetened almond milk, but you can use any kind of plant-based milk you prefer, such as soy, oat or coconut milk.

Carrots - grated carrots are the essential ingredient of this recipe, so make sure you don’t skimp on them. Go with a heaping, fully packed one and a half cup of grated carrots. It might seem like a lot, but once they’re baked, the carrots are barely visible.

Rolled oats - adding some rolled oats to the mix gives these muffins a slightly chewier, more interesting texture.

Raisins - optional, but highly recommended. Raisins are an additional pop of flavour and sweetness to the muffins. 

Almond meal - made with raw, unpeeled almond. You can use store-bought or make your own by processing almonds in a food processor. 

Flour - all-purpose flour works well in this recipe. I haven’t tried it with a gluten-free flour blend, but it might work.

How to Make Vegan Carrot Muffins

Prepare the Flax Eggs

Begin by preparing flax eggs following the instructions provided earlier.

Mix Wet Ingredients

To the prepared flax eggs, add coconut oil, mashed banana, maple syrup, sugar, and a pinch of salt, whisking until thoroughly combined.

Incorporate Dry Ingredients

Next, incorporate the baking powder, cinnamon, and almond milk into the mixture, stirring until all ingredients are well integrated.

Add Carrots

Introduce the grated carrots into the batter, ensuring they are evenly distributed throughout.

Integrate Remaining Dry Ingredients

Now, add the oats, almond meal, flour, and raisins, stirring until the ingredients are fully incorporated.

Fill Muffin Tins

Carefully divide the batter equally among 12 muffin tins, filling each to the brim.

Bake to Perfection

Bake in a preheated oven for 32-36 minutes, or until the muffins achieve a rich, deep golden brown hue and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Cool and Serve

Once baked to perfection, remove the muffins from the oven and allow them to set in the pan for 15 minutes. Subsequently, gently flip them onto their sides while still in the pan to facilitate complete cooling.

How long do they keep?

Once cooled, store in a covered container or bag at room temp to keep fresh. They will stay fresh for 3 to 4 days. You can also freeze them; they are best in the first 3 months, but will remain safe to eat beyond that.

Can't Get Enough of Muffins? Try These!

• Banana Bread Muffins [vegan + low fat + refined sugar free]
• Zucchini Muffins [vegan + low calorie]
• Apple Pie Muffins [vegan + low calorie]
• Strawberry Mango Oat Muffins [vegan + low calorie + low fat]

Or, click here for a complete list of vegan muffin recipes.