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 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 this 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!
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!
| Carrot Cake Protein Muffins | | Print |
- ½ cup + 2 tbsp (56g) coconut flour (measured like this… and I love Bob’s Red Mill!)
- 2 scoops (84g) Lean Body for Her vanilla whey protein powder
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- 1 ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 tbsp (14g) coconut oil or unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
- 2 large egg whites, room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ cup (120g) plain nonfat Greek yogurt
- 1 tbsp (15mL) pure maple syrup
- ½ tsp vanilla crème stevia
- ½ cup + 2 tbsp (150mL) unsweetened cashew milk
- 1 cup (90g) freshly grated carrots (peeled first!)
- Preheat the oven to 425°F, and lightly coat 8 standard-sized muffin cups with nonstick cooking spray.
- Whisk together the coconut flour, protein powder, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt in a medium bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the coconut oil, egg, and vanilla. Stir in the Greek yogurt until no large lumps remain. Stir in the maple syrup and vanilla crème stevia. Alternate between adding the coconut flour mixture and milk, beginning and ending with the coconut flour mixture, and stirring just until incorporated. (For best results, add the coconut flour mixture in 3 equal parts.) Let the batter rest for 10 minutes. Gently fold in the carrots.
- Divide the batter between the prepared muffin cups. Bake at 425°F for 8 minutes. Without opening the oven door, reduce the oven temperature to 350°F, and continue baking for an additional 19-22 minutes, or until the tops feel firm to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in the muffin cups for 5 minutes before carefully transferring to a wire rack.
Honey or agave may be substituted for the maple syrup.
An additional 3 tablespoons of maple syrup may be substituted for the vanilla crème stevia. Decrease the milk to ½ cup if using this substitution. However, I highly recommend using the vanilla crème stevia because it keeps these muffins low-carb and lower in calories. (And you’ll use it in all of these recipes of mine, too!)
Any milk (cow, soy, almond, etc.) may be used in place of the cashew milk.
Do not substitute store-bought pre-shredded carrots. They’re thicker and drier, so they will not soften while baking.
These muffins freeze really nicely. To thaw quickly, place individual muffins in the microwave for 40-50 seconds on 40% power.
For more tips and answers to all other questions, including substitutions, see my Protein Powder Recipes: Tips & FAQ page.
{gluten-free, clean eating, low fat, low calorie, low carb, high protein}
Hi Amy! I ordered the vanilla protein powder and the liquid stevia from Amazon. My protein powder arrived (still waiting for my stevia) and I was anxious to make these. I ended up making a batch using the little packets of Truvia (the only low calorie sweetener I had on hand). What a nightmare trying to convert the liquid amount to the packet amount! I did my best and just hoped for success. I used honey in place of the pure maple syrup (because I didn’t have any) and almond milk in place of the cashew milk. All in all, they taste really good. Maybe just a tad dry. Could that be due to the powdered Truvia instead of the liquid Stevia? I also think that I may have cooked them a couple of minutes too long. Another question I have is that I baked these using my convection oven (which automatically reduces the temp by 25 degrees). Do you recommend baking these in my regular oven? Thanks so much for sharing this recipe! I have been looking for a low calorie, quick breakfast that I can eat while doing my makeup in the morning. As soon as my Stevia arrives I will be making more! These will, for sure, be a regular staple in my house.
I truly appreciate your interest in my recipe Gretchen! That means so much that you plan on making these muffins again! 🙂 Baking the muffins for too long would definitely contribute to the dry factor! If you have a convection-style oven, then just bake your muffins at 400°F for the first 8 minutes and then 325°F for the remaining amount of time. I’ve used both convection-style and traditional ovens, and as long as you reduce all temperatures in my recipes by 25°F when using your convection-style oven, the baking times will remain the same! Another thing that could’ve affected the dry issue… How did you measure the coconut flour? Did you use measuring cups or a kitchen scale? Coconut flour is extremely absorbent, so even adding a teensy bit too much can make your muffins turn out more dry than soft and tender!
Hi Amy. I didn’t follow the directions very well. 🙁 You are correct, I measured the coconut flour wrong. I scooped the flour WITH the measuring cup then leveled it with a knife. Is it better to weigh the flour? Thanks for your response!
When measured like that, you can end up with 1.5 times as much flour as when you lightly spoon and level, and that extra coconut flour is definitely causing the issues that you’ve experienced! So… YES!! It’s always more accurate to weigh ingredients, which ensures that your baked treats turn out with the correct taste and texture every time you make them! If you have a kitchen scale, then I definitely recommend using that for my recipes!
If you don’t own a kitchen scale, here’s what I recommend doing for measuring flour (and cocoa powder, oats, etc!): use a fork to “scoop” up flour from the container, and lightly shake the fork back and forth over the top of your measuring cup to transfer the flour into it. Once there’s a small mound of flour extending past the rim of the measuring cup, then place the flat back of a knife against the top of the measuring cup, and gently scrape it across the top to get rid of the excess flour. Never “pat” the flour down with the knife or fork. This fork method acts like a sifter (without dirtying another dish!) and guarantees you’ll add less flour to the batter, so you’ll end up with moist and tender muffins. Does that make sense? 🙂
Wow, I learned something new! Thank you very much, I do have a scale & I will use that method with all of your recipes, as I will be trying many more (especially the chocolate chip banana bread!). Thanks so much for your help.
It’s my pleasure Gretchen! I’m always happy to help! 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you think of the banana bread too!
Hi, any recommendations on how to modify the recipe to use almond flour instead of coconut flour? Has anyone attempted this? I want to add more protein. Cheers!
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Derek! If you’d like to use almond flour, then muffins will most likely turn out denser. As long as you don’t mind that texture difference, then you can substitute it. I go over what to do if you’d like to substitute another flour for the coconut flour on my Protein Powder FAQ page, and there’s a link to that in the bottom of the Notes section of the recipe (located directly underneath the Instructions). I know it can be easy to miss that FAQ page! 🙂 I’d love to hear what you think if you try these muffins!