Why I love these healthy morning glory muffins
A while back we went totally crazy and bought a 10 pound bag of carrots at Costco. We were making macaroni salad for a party or something – I can’t even remember now. In my usual dramatic fashion, the thought of actually driving across the street to the regular grocery store for a reasonably-sized bag of carrots made me want to cry, so we bought 10 pounds worth of carrots instead.
That didn’t matter though. I saw it as a challenge to use them all before they went bad. I was prepared to put carrots in everything – just to avoid making one more stop that day. I shredded carrots constantly and put them in everything – pasta sauce, soup, chicken salad. I even started making cooked carrots like my tarragon glazed carrots, just substituting the herbs to change things up.
If you like this recipe, you have to try these zucchini muffins, and these chocolate banana muffins and these chocolate zucchini muffins.
Searching for more sweet breakfast recipes? dairy free blueberry muffins with crumb topping / overnight oats / oatmeal banana bread / lemon blueberry pancakes
Ingredients & substitutions
- Unsweetened applesauce – This unique ingredients adds moisture to the muffins without adding additional sugars.
- Honey – You could use agave nectar if you want, this adds sweetness since we are not using sugar for these healthy muffins.
Making changes to a recipe can result in recipe failure. Any substitutions listed below are simple changes that I believe will work in this recipe, but results are not guaranteed.
The following is a detailed overview of the recipe steps with added tips and tricks for recipe success. For a simplified and printable version, including ingredient amounts and more formal instructions, see the recipe card below.
How to make healthy morning glory muffins
Preheat oven to 350˚F and line a muffin pan with paper liners.
Mix the dry ingredients. In a mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Set aside.
Mix the wet indredients. In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together oil, honey, vanilla and applesauce until combined.
Combine wet and dry ingredients. Slowly add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients until well combined, making sure not to overmix.
Add the mix-ins. Gently, stir in carrots, pecans, coconut and raisins until evenly distributed into the batter.
Fill muffin pan. Scoop batter into lined muffin pan. You only need to fill each liner about halfway since the muffins will rise while baking.
Bake the muffins. Bake for 20 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for about 10 minutes before removing the muffins from the pan.
For added moisture, cover muffins and allow them to sit overnight. This is optional but trust me they will be so moist when you are ready to eat them in the morning.
Healthy Morning Glory Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
- 2 tablespoons canola oil
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1 cup grated carrots
- 1/2 cup pecan pieces
- 1/2 cup shredded coconut
- 1/2 cup raisins
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350˚F (180˚C) and line a muffin pan with paper liners.
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt until even.
- Add honey, vanilla and applesauce, whisking or stirring until combined.
- Stir in carrots, pecans, coconut and raisins until evenly distributed in the batter.
- Scoop batter into muffin liners until about half full.
- Bake for 20 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
- Remove from oven and allow muffins to cool for about 10 minutes.
- Cover muffins and allow them to sit overnight for added moisture (optional).
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this? Leave a comment below!
Recipe adapted from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe.
Just wanted to let you know how much we love these! I have made them about 4 times now (so easy to make as well) and my boyfriend can’t get enough of them! I had one for breakfast this morning! So delicious! 😀 Thanks! Olga