If you are a fan of carrot cake, you will love these carrot cake muffins. They’re moist, light, chewy and obviously full of carrots which means your breakfast this week is kind of sort of healthy! Plus, I’ve lightened up the recipe by leaving off the heavy cream cheese frosting to bring you a warm, spice-filled muffin that will satisfy your strongest carrot cake cravings. Serve spiced carrot muffins as a snack or an easy breakfast on the go that you can meal prep days in advance.
Why You’ll Love Spiced Carrot Cake Muffins
- It’s a great way to use up extra carrots. Bought a bag of carrots that you want to use up before they expire? These carrot cake muffins are your answer. You will need a whopping 1.5 cups of grated carrots in them.
- Quick and easy breakfast on the go. Spiced carrot muffins are one of the easiest breakfast meal preps you can make. In just 30 minutes, you’ll have over a dozen fresh muffins that will last all week. Serve them for breakfast on the go or include them as a snack in your kids' school lunch boxes.
- They are flavorful and moist. Grated carrots add sweetness and ensures that your carrot muffins don’t dry out. Plus, the combination of warm spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice adds the perfect flavor to balance it out.
Ingredient Notes
To make these easy Spiced Carrot Cake Muffins, you will need the following ingredients (full quantities in recipe card below):
- all-purpose flour - adds substance.
- baking powder and baking soda - adds lift.
- cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, salt - adds flavour and balances the sweetness.
- eggs - adds flavour, lift and structure.
- vegetable oil - keeps the muffins moist.
- vanilla extract - adds flavour.
- brown sugar - adds flavour and texture.
- buttermilk - thins out the batter (you can substitute this with 1 cup heavy cream + juice of ¼ of a lemon).
- grated carrots - adds flavour. Note that you can grate the carrots manually or in a food processor, or make your life even easier by buying a bag at the store. Use up any remaining carrots from the bag into a weeknight salad or soup, but honestly you might be better off DOUBLING this recipe because the muffins are that good!
You can also add raisins or chopped walnuts (¼ cup each) at the same time as carrots if desired.
You will also need a 12-tin muffin pan, cupcake liners, mixing bowls, measuring cups and spoons, a cookie scoop (or a spoon) for scooping out the batter, and a wire cooling rack.
How to Make the Best Spiced Carrot Cake Muffins
Carrot muffins are super easy and straightforward to make.
- Sift the dry ingredients together, In a medium mixing bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, allspice, and nutmeg. Set aside.
- Whisk the wet ingredients together. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together eggs, oil, vanilla, brown sugar, and buttermilk (or heavy cream with lemon juice).
- Combine. Pour dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and stir with a spatula until most of the flour is mixed in. Add grated carrots and fold in until just combined.
- Scoop batter. Line a 12-tin muffin pan with muffin or cupcake liners or spray the inside with nonstick baking spray. Spoon enough batter into each mold so they are 90% full.
- Bake. Bake in a preheated 375F oven on a rack in the top third of your oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean. So so easy!
How to Serve Carrot Muffins
These carrot muffins are so satisfying and taste amazing fresh from the oven. But if I’m not eating them until the next day, I like to slice them in half, throw them on a griddle or skillet to heat them up, and serve with a little slab of butter. So incredibly delicious. A must make!
Storing Instructions
- How to store muffins: Allow the spiced carrot muffins to cool to room temperature, then store them in an airtight container for up to 2-4 days at room temperature. You can extend their shelf life by storing in the fridge for up to 7-10 days.
- How to freeze muffins: Wrap each carrot cake muffin individually in plastic cling wrap. Use two layers and ensure the wrap is tight. Store in the freezer for up to 3-4 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge before eating.
More Muffin Recipes
- Banana Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Muffins
- Spiced Apple Oatmeal Muffins with Crumb Topping
- Blueberry Yogurt Muffins
- Gingerbread Muffins with Vanilla Bean Glaze
- Leftover Cranberry Sauce Muffins with Oat Streusel Topping
- Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
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Recipe
Carrot Cake Muffins
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 14 muffins
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
Carrot cake muffins are moist, light, chewy and full of carrots which means breakfast this week is healthy! Carrot muffins are great for meal prep too.
Ingredients
- 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon allspice
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- ⅓ cup vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ¼ cup brown sugar, packed
- 1 cup buttermilk, room temperature (or 1 cup heavy cream + juice of ¼ of a lemon)
- 1 ½ cups carrots, grated
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 F.
- In a medium mixing bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, allspice, and nutmeg. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together eggs, oil, vanilla, brown sugar, and buttermilk (or heavy cream with lemon juice).
- Pour dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and stir with a spatula until most of the flour is mixed in. Add grated carrots and fold in until just combined.
- Line a 12-tin muffin pan with muffin or cupcake liners or spray the inside with nonstick baking spray. Spoon enough batter into each mold so they are 90% full.
- Bake in the oven on a rack in the top third of your oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean.
Notes
Equipment used: 12-tin muffin pan, cupcake liners, mixing bowls, measuring cups and spoons, a cookie scoop (or a spoon) for scooping out the batter, and a wire cooling rack.
How to customize: You can also add raisins or chopped walnuts (¼ cup each) at the same time as carrots if desired.
How to store: Allow the spiced carrot muffins to cool to room temperature, then store them in an airtight container for up to 2-4 days at room temperature. You can extend their shelf life by storing in the fridge for up to 7-10 days.
How to freeze: Wrap each carrot muffin individually in plastic cling wrap. Use two layers and ensure the wrap is tight. Store in the freezer for up to 3-4 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge before eating.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Baked Goods
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
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Jessica F says
Made the recipe as is, loved the outcome! Will make again...
Sam Hu | Ahead of Thyme says
That is so great to hear, thank you!
Natalie Dinsdale says
I used melted butter and heavy cream+lemon juice. Plus 1/2 tsp of cardamom! The texture is EXCELLENT - super light and fluffy. Great flavour too. Thanks for the recipe!
Sam Hu | Ahead of Thyme says
Thank you so much Natalie! And thank you for sharing your substitutions. I am glad they worked!
Natasha says
I made these using just 1 XL egg as that’s all I had and 1 cup of unsweetened almond milk and they turned out amazing so moist.
My daughter has a dairy allergy and will LOVE these!
Sam Hu | Ahead of Thyme says
Thank you for sharing! So happy you liked the recipe.
Lily says
Hi,
These look delicous, bu the only spice I have for this recipe is cinnamon. Could I perhaps add more cinnamon if I left out the allspice and nutmeg, and would the results be okay?
Thank you!
Sam | Ahead of Thyme says
Yes, the results will be great. The muffins would just have a slightly different taste, but still good.
Lyndsey says
Loved these. Instead of buttermilk, I used 1 cup of almond milk mixed with 2 tblspn of apple cider vinegar as a substitute (let sit 5min.) I also didn't have vegetable oil so used 1/3 cup melted butter instead. One batch was made with regular flour and one with gluten-free flour. Both turned out delicious!
Sam | Ahead of Thyme says
Thanks! And thanks for sharing the tweaks you made to the recipe. I will have to try it with almond milk next time (since we always have that readily on hand!)
Susanne says
Made these today. Turned out great. Lovely fall recipe.