Healthy Carrot Cake Protein Muffins

 
Every September, my dad and a bunch of his buddies from college load up their cars, drive a few hours away into the mountains, and spend the better part of a week backpacking in the wilderness. They hike along the dusty trails during the day, carrying all of their gear in oversized packs (they’re so tall that they stick up over their heads!), and stop at a different lake or stream each afternoon to set up a temporary campsite for the night.  

After cooking dinner—sometimes fresh fish that they’ve caught from the lake, other times the food they’ve lugged around on their backs—they usually sit around a campfire while the stars twinkle overhead. Many nights, they pull out a deck of playing cards and deal out a few rounds of poker, using M&Ms instead of real money as their chips.

The only danger is when somebody gets hungry!
 

 
Six months later, usually in the beginning of March, my dad hosts a little reunion at their house and invites the guys over for a night of barbeque and poker—this time, with real money! Well, only nickels and quarters… And sometimes a few fun additions to the ante, like homemade tie-dye shirts or homegrown avocados and oranges. Just a friendly game, nothing high stakes!

This year, three of the six other men couldn’t make it for various reasons, and the wife of one of those guys always sends along a batch of freshly baked cookies for the poker players to snack on in between hands. When I found out the morning of the reunion, I quickly offered to donate baked goods to the cause, but I nearly regretted that…
 

 
Because these Healthy Carrot Cake Protein Muffins were the only things left from my baking that week, and I wanted to keep them all for myself! They truly taste like that classic dessert for breakfast—sweet, tender, and full of cozy spices—but they’re incredibly healthy with no butter, refined flour or sugar and packed with nearly 10g of protein!

The guys ended up with this gingerbread and these oatmeal cookies that I thawed from the freezer instead…
 

 
Since it’s impossible to have carrot cake without the veggies, you’ll need 1 cup of freshly grated carrots for these muffins. Don’t substitute the store-bought packages of pre-shredded carrots! Those are thicker and drier, so they won’t soften enough while baking. Freshly grated carrots are still really juicy, and they do soften and keep the muffins tender. You’ll also add in a generous sprinkling of cinnamon and nutmeg, two of the coziest spices, for that classic carrot cake flavor.

When baking with protein powder, it’s incredibly important to remember that all types and brands of protein powder behave differently in baking recipes. This recipe was designed for whey-based protein powders, specifically the vanilla protein powder from Jamie Eason’s Lean Body for Her line. While I don’t generally like the taste of whey, I love this protein powder! It has a sweet vanilla flavor and virtually no funky whey tastes. I use it in all of my protein muffin and protein cookie recipes!

UPDATE: Unfortunately, this exact protein powder is no longer sold in stores. However, this protein powder, this protein powder, and this protein powder are all really similar!

If you decide to substitute a different whey-based protein powder, you’ll want to measure based on the size and weight of your brand’s scoop, rather than the weight of the Lean Body for Her scoop. However, I cannot guarantee that the recipe will turn out with the exact same taste and texture. Do not substitute plant-based protein powders scoop-for-scoop. Plant-based protein powders are much more absorbent than whey-based ones, and that would make your muffins incredibly dry and crumbly.
 

 
To keep these muffins low-carb, you’ll use coconut flour. Coconut flour is about three times as absorbent as regular flour, which means that any extra will make your muffins really dry instead of moist and tender, so it’s incredibly important to measure the coconut flour correctly using either the spoon-and-level method or a kitchen scale. I highly recommend the latter! This is the inexpensive one that I own, and I use it for making every recipe that appears on my blog because it ensures my baked goods turn out with the perfect taste and texture every time.

Here’s my secret trick to getting those tall, nicely domed muffin tops… You’ll start baking the muffins at a really high temperature—yes, crank it up to 425°F!—for the first few minutes. Then, without opening the oven door, lower the temperature back to 350°F for the remainder of the time.

This high heat quickly activates the baking powder, which creates an internal burst of steam (aka air bubbles!) that forces the muffins to rise much faster and keeps them nice and tall. Trust me, it works like a charm! (I was a chemist before a baking blogger, so I love foodie science like this!)
 

 
Now who wants carrot cake for breakfast?? And when you bake these, remember to snap a picture and share it with me on Instagram using #amyshealthybaking—I can’t wait to see your muffins!
 

View Nutrition Information + Weight Watchers Points