Apple & Carrot “Superhero” Muffins
This apple carrot muffin recipe is naturally sweetened and gluten free! These hearty apple-carrot muffins make a great grab-and-go breakfast or snack.
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on August 30, 2024
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In the mood for some fall baking? Me, too! I’m cozying up with these apple carrot muffins and a cup of coffee. My dog, Cookie, is hoping for some crumbs.
My sweet publisher sent me a cookbook called Run Fast. Cook Fast. Eat Slow. a few months ago. The cookbook was co-written by Olympian/NYC Marathon champ Shalane Flanagan and chef/nutrition coach Elyse Kopecky.
I should confess that I hate running and only qualify for the “hangry” portion of the book’s subtitle, “Quick-Fix Recipes for Hangry Athletes.”
Nonetheless, the book is up my alley because it’s full of energizing, whole foods-based recipes. I haven’t been able to get this hybrid apple-carrot muffin recipe out of my mind. They didn’t disappoint!
The authors call these muffins “superhero” muffins because they are muffins that sustain. They offered three versions in the book, and I chose the muffins featuring grated fresh carrots and Granny Smith apples.
These muffins are very hearty and wholesome, which makes them perfect grab-and-go breakfasts or snacks. I think they would freeze well for several months, if you want to keep them on hand for hangry moments.
Bonus? These muffins are gluten free and naturally sweetened, and easy to mix up by hand. Apple carrot muffins for the win.
I have recipes for apple muffins and carrot muffins, but I love this combination of the two. Warming cinnamon brings the fruity apple and earthy carrot flavors together.
This recipe uses almond meal instead of whole wheat flour, which yields a nutritious and moist interior. These muffins are a little dense, in a good way, rather than light and lacking in substance.
Watch How to Make Apple & Carrot Muffins
You can easily change up the mix-ins, or leave them out if you’d rather. The authors suggest walnuts, raisins or chocolate chips, and note that Shalane likes to sweeten them up with chocolate chips. I opted for pecans in lieu of walnuts, and I think you could substitute any dried fruit for the raisins (chopped if large).
I easily grated the carrots and apple with this box grater (affiliate link). The authors suggested lining the muffin tin with paper liners, but I have full faith in the non-stick silicone finish on my muffin tin. It worked great.
The authors report that these muffins are a hit with kids, too. Please let me know how they turn out for you in the comments, and be sure to check out Run Fast. Cook Fast. Eat Slow. if it sounds like it’s up your alley.
Apple & Carrot “Superhero” Muffins
This apple carrot muffin recipe is naturally sweetened and gluten free! These hearty apple-carrot muffins make a great grab-and-go breakfast or snack. Recipe yields 12 muffins.
Ingredients
- 2 cups packed almond meal or almond flour (10 ounces)
- 1 ½ cups old-fashioned oats (certified gluten free if necessary)
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- Optional mix-ins: ½ cup chopped walnuts (I used pecans), or raisins or chocolate chips
- ½ cup honey or maple syrup
- 3 eggs
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 1 cup grated Granny Smith apple (about 1 ½ apples)
- 1 cup peeled and grated carrots (about 3 carrots)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a 12-cup standard muffin tin with paper muffin cups (I didn’t because I have full faith in my muffin pan, but use them if you’re uncertain).
- In a large bowl, combine the almond meal, oats, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, and optional mix-ins, if using.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the honey, eggs and butter. Whisk in the grated apple and carrots. Pour the mixture into the dry ingredients, mixing until just combined.
- Spoon the batter into the muffin cups, filling each to the brim. Bake until the muffins are nicely browned on top and a knife inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes. Allow muffins to cool completely before storing.
- Store leftover muffins in an airtight container in the fridge or freezer. If you like them warm, reheat them on low power in the microwave.
Notes
Recipe from the Run Fast. Cook Fast. Eat Slow. cookbook by Shalane Flanagan and Elyse Kopecky.
Make them nut free: (The muffins will no longer be gluten free with this variation, which was provided by the recipe author.) Whole wheat pastry flour or whole wheat flour can be used as an alternative to the almond meal. Increase the butter to 8 tablespoons (1 stick), since wheat flour is much drier, and reduce the oats to 1 cup.
Whole wheat flour option: See above!
Make them dairy free: I haven’t tried, but I’m confident that you could substitute coconut oil for the butter. Please report back if you give that a try!
Egg substitution note: I don’t think you can successfully replace the eggs with any substitutes here. I tried with a similar almond meal-based recipe, and it was an epic fail. However, you can use flax eggs in my carrot muffin recipe (and you could even use half grated apple, half carrots to make those muffins more similar to this recipe).
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
Excellent recipe! I love oats and almond flour so I was happy to find this recipe that combines both. I used the recipe as is and the muffins were delicious! Thank you so much for a recipe that uses wholesome ingredients without giving up flavor! Happy New Year!
Great to hear you enjoyed it, Drew! Thank you for your review.
Hi these look great! How long would you be able to store these in the freezer after baking? Thanks!
Freezer items usually are good for 3-6 months.
I LOVE these muffins! A coworker brought them in so I decided to make them at home. Tried with coconut oil and half Just Egg half real egg. I ended up doubling the recipe since I had enough apple and carrot. They came out delicious but did crumble very easy…definitely needed a plate as they usually feel apart on the first bite…not sure if it was the coconut oil or the egg substitute…still absolutely delicious though so not complaining! Going to keep experimenting with butter and egg alternatives.
I’ve tried it with coconut oil uncountable times over the years, and each time, it comes out very delicious. I just only tried it with butter for the first time this last Christmas, and I couldn’t tell the difference.
For some reason this came out too moist – any idea why? May have used a little more than requested for the apples and carrots, wondering if it weighed it down. They have good flavor but it’s a more dense than a muffin texture.
Thank you for sharing your experience. It could be your apples and/or carrots have a bit more moisture.
My one daughter has made this recipe multiple times. Now my other daughter plans to make these muffins, too. Lucky me! They share!
I’m excited this was a hit!
These muffins are so delicious. I use real maple syrup. I add 1 cup grated zucchini, 1/2 cup chopped walnuts, and 3/4 cup of either dried cherries or cranberries. I used only 1 cup oats. All the other ingredients I kept the same amounts. I call these power muffins.
Hello! Excellent recipe! I added 5oz of apple sauce, half cup of zucchini, and 3 Tbsp of yogurt to mine. Not trying to be original— more so trying to get rid of ingredients in my kitchen. I doubled the recipe and it ended up making a perfect 36 muffins so that’s welcome but odd. Thanks for the recipe! Pinning to make again and again! PS My 2 and 5 year olds love them!
Hooray! That’s great to hear, Alyssa.
I’ve made these probably a dozen times now, they are a massive fan fav at my house. I’ve made as is, but have also made with a variety of substitutions (coconut oil, black strap molasses, courgette, 2x amount of carrots, etc) and they always turn out great. Thank you!
You’re welcome, D! Thank you for your review.
I’m confident these are delicious and I’m going to try them, as the ingredients are similar to your Carrot Cake Breakfast Cookies, which were one of the first recipes I tried from your Real Food cookbook – and I’m still addicted to that recipe as one of my favorite healthy snacks ever! (For those, I did swap out half the whole wheat For almond flour.)
Hello,
What kind of flour can be used if an almond allergy?
Thank you!
Shannon
Hi Shannon! See the notes below the recipe for other options.
Love your recipes, I find them easy to follow, healthy and your explanations on thy whys and what’s.
Awesome!!
Just wish I could get your book here in Australia
Great to hear, Denise! I appreciate your review.
Hi Kate, I made your “Superhero” muffins. They are great! This will become a regular for me :)
I eat Vegan so used vegan butter and flax eggs. They came out perfectly.
Thank you !
That’s great to hear, Linda!
Made these muffins this morning and they are yummy.
I did sub all purpose flour for the almond flour and 1/4 c yogurt for each egg (I used low fat Greek yogurt – 1/2 plain and 1/2 vanilla) as that was what I had on hand. I increased the apple to about 1 1/2 cups to make sure I had enough moisture.
Baked for 20 minutes and made 18 muffins.
Nice flexible recipe. Thanks!
Hi Kate, These muffins amazing subbing plant-based butter, adding grated ginger root, raw pumpkin & black chia seeds for extra nutritional punch!
I love to hear that, Reva!
This looks delish! I’m allergic to almonds so can’t use almond flour. Gluten free flour would still spike my glucose too high. Any other suggestions? Thanks!
Hi, I’m not sure exactly what your needs are. You could try oat flour. However, I haven’t tried it myself.
That helps, thank you.
These apple carrot muffins are amazing! They are so moist and delicious and full of good stuff! I made the recipe exactly as written, using the maple syrup option since that is what I had. They freeze very well, too.
Thank you for sharing, Peggy!
These muffins are terrific! Moist, tasty and easy. Thank you!
You’re welcome, Margaret!
I made these and they are delicious. I substituted butter with plant based butter and added a teaspoon of olive oil. Yum-my!!
Great to hear you loved it, Irma!
These are incredible! I added some ground flax seed meal to replace part of the oat flour and I used all maple syrup and a little less than was called for (no honey). They are a hit! I shared with friends and family and they freeze beautifullly! I will make these to have on hand all the time now!
I love these muffins and I make them regularly. In fact, as I write these review, I have a batch baking in the oven. I do substitute the butter with coconut oil and add walnuts. They turn out perfectly each time. Thank you for such a great recipe!
I love to hear that, Susan!
Total disaster. Never had such a disappointment with C&K recipes. The batter was incredibly dry and felt more like wet sand. I tried to “build” the muffins, but baking did nothing but make the wet sand hot. It all went into the garbage. What a waste of good ingredients.
Oh no! I’m sorry to hear that. Did you miss the liquid component? How did you measure your flour?
I went over and over the recipe to see if I missed something. I didn’t. I measure by weight (which is one thing I particularly like about your recipes). I’be been looking into different almond flours to see if that was a factor. In the mean time, I will simply have to make one of your other muffin recipes. PS. Thanks for all the other wonderful recipes.
Superwow muffins! I was a little dubious about the gluten-free muffin but had lots of carrots on hand and decided to try them. They are moist, flavorful and, delicious and you won’t miss the gluten. I will definitely be making these again and again. I added some chopped macadamia nuts and golden raisins. The golden raisins raised the sweetness level just a bit so next time I may do half the maple syrup.
These muffins are so delicious. I added walnuts, currants and dried cranberries.
All your recipes are terrific.
Great to hear you enjoyed them, Michelle! I appreciate your review.
I’m gonna keep this for ever! Best recipe ever! For egg subtitution you can use flax seeds. Look flax seed egg in Google.
I’ve made these multiple times following the recipe as listed. I’ve also had good results subbing pumpkin for the apple, using pumpkin pie spice instead of cinnamon, and then a sprinkle of pumpkin seeds on top of the muffins.
Well, I couldnt find my glasses and thought it said 1 1/2 C of the grated apples. Also it seemed that the batter was too dry, so i added about 1/4 C almond milk and some vanilla and almond flavor. They are wonderful. A very forgiving recipe. Thank you.
You’re welcome, Julie!
Have made these twice and they are amazing! Kind of like a Morning Glory Muffin, Great for gluten-free friends. And they freeze well!
That’s great to hear, Barb!
These are amazing!! I made one batch and they were so good I made another double batch ;) (yes that’s about 50 muffins total.) The reason I tried it in the first place is because I made a bunch of carrot juice yesterday and had to do something with the pulp to ease my conscience. So I used (for 1 batch) 1 1/2 cups of carrot pulp (juiced carrots have less flavour than normal) and added some water (since I’d already juiced all the juice away). I used nearly 1/2 cup sweetener (slightly less than the recipe): 1/4 cup maple syrup, 1/4 cup honey. I also put in lotsss of raisins and walnuts ;) They took ~30-35 min in my oven. Love these!!!!
Oh I also made a loaf out of a portion of the batter because I ran out of muffins tins. It worked beautifully!! Taste and texture is still spot-on. Took about 40 minutes to bake. Hope that’s helpful to someone :)
Made the recipe as is today and it turned out great! Not too sweet, moist yet intact.
You said whisk in the butter ? Does that mean I should melt the butter ?
These muffins are delicious, husband says the best I have made.Thanks for the recipe. Symone
I’ve made this recipe three times, and although they are delicious, mine never stick together. In the first effort, I did not use paper cups (I, too, trust my pan!). In the second and third attempts, I used muffin cups and allowed them to cool before removing them from the tin, but on all three tries, they completely fell apart. Do you have any suggestions or tips?
I’m sorry to hear that. Are your carrots and apples more moist?
These muffins were delicious, and lighter and less dense than I thought they would be. I substituted the butter with oil and put in less honey, but they were still delish.
Hi Kate!
I am excited to try this recipe! Have you tried to make it as a loaf, rather than muffins? Curious if you have any additional tips :) Thanks!
I haven’t tried it, sorry!
PERFECT!
For above those who find them dense: you could try whipping egg whites separately and folding in.
Using superfine almond flour may help too!
For those who find them dense: you could try whipping egg whites separately and folding in.
Using superfine almond flour may help too!
I’m confused by your weight measurement of almond flour. Typically a cup of almond flour is ~100-120 grams, which would make 2 cups ~200-240 grams, or 7-8oz. You have 10oz here, which I used, which made the muffin batter super dry! I compensated w/ some liquid but just wanted to flag this :) Thanks!
Kate – As usual, my kids adored these muffins. Easy to make and even easier to eat!
Your recipes are always so yummy and easy to follow (I am not a natural baker, and I appreciate how “doable” you make the instructions).
Thanks for sharing your talent with the world!
~Krissy