My parents hosted a small party for the Super Bowl last month, inviting their old college friends who currently lived in the area over for an afternoon of food, drinks, and funny commercials. (My dad, one other man, and I seemed to be the main people who focused on the game!)
Because Dad loves cooking, but rarely has the time, he spent the morning enjoying every minute of chopping vegetables, seasoning pork tenderloins, stirring quinoa, frying bacon, and lighting the coals in the Weber grill outside. Mom ran out to the grocery store to pick up appetizers and small bites, like crudités and dip, chips and salsa, cheese and crackers, and dried fruit and M&Ms.
She also returned with two cakes, and she explained that even though I provided plenty of these cookies and these incredible truffles, she purposely bought them because one of our guests never had cake growing up since it was too expensive for her family to afford, so cake was always an extra special treat.
I peeked inside the boxes and immediately smiled… Because Mom knew I wouldn’t have the time to bake homemade ones (I had my plate full {no pun intended!} with The Healthy Jumpstart!), she purchased two of my favorites: chocolate cake with dark chocolate ganache and carrot cake with cream cheese frosting!
Although our guests served themselves at least one slice after the halftime show, we still ended up with plenty of leftovers of each flavor. I fell asleep thinking of those extra slices of carrot cake, and they were the first thought that popped into my head the next morning, too!
Waking up with those delicious cake thoughts would’ve been so much easier to handle if I had these Healthy Carrot Cake Mini Muffins lying around too! I could’ve satisfied that cake craving first thing… Without any guilt! These muffins contain no butter, refined flour or sugar, and they’re just 33 calories!
I can’t be the only one who loves “dessert” for breakfast… Right?? ?
To make these healthy muffins, you’ll start with whole wheat flour. Just regular ol’ whole wheat flour! (Or gluten-free, if you prefer!) This is the kind I use because it has a lighter flavor and rises higher than other brands. You’ll also whisk in plenty of cinnamon and a hint of nutmeg for those iconic cozy spice flavors!
Although this recipe includes just 1 tablespoon of coconut oil, these muffins still have the same texture as a traditional carrot cake! That’s all thanks to one of my favorite ingredients in healthy baking… Greek yogurt! Greek yogurt adds the same moisture as extra butter or oil for a fraction of the calories, and it gives your mini muffins a big protein boost, too.
You’ll skip the refined sugar and sweeten your healthy mini muffins with another one of my favorite ingredients instead: vanilla crème stevia. Stevia is a plant-based, no-calorie sweetener that’s clean eating friendly, and it’s highly concentrated. You just need 1 ¼ teaspoons to sweeten all 36 muffins! This is the kind I buy because I love its warm vanilla flavor, and I don’t notice any strange aftertastes like with some other stevia products. You can find it at many health-oriented grocery stores, but I always purchase mine online here because that’s the cheapest price I’ve found. (And you’ll use it in all of these recipes of mine, too!)
Now for the most important part… The carrots! You’ll use freshly grated carrots in these muffins. Don’t use store-bought pre-shredded carrots! They’re thicker and drier than freshly grated, so they won’t soften while baking. To ensure that your carrots fully soften, I highly recommend using the smallest holes on your box grater. (Sometimes carrots grated with the traditional sized holes still turn out a little “al dente” with a hint of crunch!)
Before you bake your muffins, I have one last special tip… If using liners like I did in these photos, make sure you generously coat your liners with cooking spray! Low-fat muffin batter (and cupcake batter!) sticks to liners like superglue, so coating them with cooking spray allows the liners to peel back easily from the muffins. If you forget to spray them—or don’t quite spray them well enough!—then seal your muffins inside of an airtight container for 24 hours to help loosen the liners a bit more.
Are you as excited as I am about “dessert” for breakfast?? ? And when you make your own, remember to snap a picture and share it on Instagram using #amyshealthybaking and tagging @amyshealthybaking IN the photo itself! (That guarantees I’ll see your picture! ?) I’d love to see your mini muffins and feature them in my Sunday Spotlight series!
| Healthy Carrot Cake Mini Muffins | | Print |
- 2 cups (240g) whole wheat flour or gluten-free* flour (measured like this)
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 1 ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground nutmeg
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 tbsp (14g) unsalted butter or coconut oil, melted and cooled slightly
- 2 large egg whites, room temperature
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 ¼ tsp vanilla crème stevia
- ½ cup (120g) plain nonfat Greek yogurt
- ¾ cup (180mL) nonfat milk
- 2 cups (180g) freshly grated carrots (see Notes!)
- Preheat the oven to 350°F, and lightly coat 36 mini muffin cups with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the butter or coconut oil, egg whites, vanilla extract, and vanilla crème stevia. Stir in the Greek yogurt, mixing until no large lumps remain. Alternate between adding the flour mixture and milk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture, and stirring just until incorporated. (For best results, add the flour mixture in 4 equal parts.) Gently fold in the carrots.
- Divide the batter between the prepared muffin cups. Bake at 350°F for 13-16 minutes or until the tops are firm to the touch. Cool in the muffin cups for 5 minutes before carefully transferring to a wire rack.
This is my favorite whole wheat flour because it allows my baked goods to rise higher and have a more tender texture than some other brands. White whole wheat flour, whole wheat pastry flour, or all-purpose flour may be substituted for the whole wheat flour.
I highly recommend using the vanilla crème stevia! It’s one of my favorite ingredients, and you’ll use it in all of these recipes of mine, too. (I always buy mine online here because it’s the cheapest price I’ve found!) If you prefer, 8-10 tablespoons of pure maple syrup, honey, or agave may be substituted for the vanilla crème stevia, and the milk should be reduced to 3-5 tablespoons to compensate for the added liquid.
Any milk may be substituted in place of the nonfat milk.
I highly recommend using the finest holes in your box grater for shredding the carrots! I used the standard-sized holes, and some carrots still had a teensy tiny crunch after baking. Using the smallest holes (the “finely shredded” size) will ensure your carrots fully bake through. Do not substitute store-bought pre-shredded carrots.
Be VERY careful if using liners! Generously coat the liners with nonstick cooking spray before adding the muffin batter. This batter will stick to liners like superglue if they aren’t coated with cooking spray.
If you prefer, this recipe will yield 12 standard sized muffins. To bake standard-sized muffins, preheat the oven to 425°F instead. Bake them at 425°F for 7 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 350°F (without opening the oven!) and continue to bake for an additional 12-15 minutes. The muffins will be done when the tops feel firm to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
{gluten-free, clean eating, low fat, low calorie, low sugar}
View Nutrition Information
You may also like Amy’s other recipes…
♥ The Ultimate Healthy Carrot Cake
♥ Carrot Cake Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies
♥ Carrot Cake Bran Muffins
♥ Carrot Cake Scones
♥ Single-Serving Carrot Cake Mug Cake
♥ Carrot Cake Pancakes
♥ Carrot Cake Oatmeal Cookies
♥ Classic Carrot Cake
♥ Carrot Cake Protein Muffins
♥ Loaded Carrot Cake Oatmeal Cookies
♥ Carrot Cake Granola
♥ Classic Carrot Cake Cupcakes
My local grocery store only carries SweetLeaf Liquid Stevia – Liquid Clear … not flavored. So, can I make the Vanilla Creme Stevia called for in your recipe by adding Vanilla Extract to plain Liquid Stevia? If so, what proportions would you recommend? By the way, I love your recipes.
I’m so glad you’re enjoying my recipes Mary Lou! That means the world to me! 🙂 Yes, you can definitely substitute the SweetLeaf Liquid Stevia (unflavored) for the vanilla version that I’ve used in my recipes. The vanilla flavor is actually pretty faint in that vanilla liquid stevia, so you shouldn’t need to add any additional vanilla extract. I can’t wait to hear what you think of these mini muffins!
Can I use monk fruit instead of stevia?
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe, Fay! What’s the exact monk fruit sweetener (brand and product name!) that you’d like to use?
I just made some and they were DELICIOUS! I halved the recipe though and used 3/4 cup gf flour and 1/4 cup coconut flour and two egg whites (accidental but it worked!). Would definitely make again
I’m so glad you loved these muffins Ella! Thanks so much for sharing your recipe modifications — I always love hearing what tweaks work! 🙂
Hi Amy! This recipe looks great! I can’t wait to try it!
A couple of questions:
1. Can I use whole milk yogurt and 2% milk?
2. If I want to substitute the stevia (1.25 teaspoon) I should use 8-10 TABLESPOONS of agave? Is stevia a super concentrated sweetener?
Thank you!
I’m honored that you’d like to make this recipe, Morgan! I’ve actually answered two of your questions already. If you read the text of my blog post above the recipe, you’ll find the answer about stevia! Then the answer about your 2% milk question is included in the Notes section of the recipe (located directly underneath the Instructions). I know it can be super easy to miss both of these, especially if you get as excited about carrot cake-flavored recipes as I do! (It’s one of my two favorite cake flavors!) 😉 Then for your third question — yes! Whole milk yogurt will work. 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you think of these mini muffins if you try making them!
I just made these muffins this morning and they turned out terrible. They sure did t bake in the time stated in the recipe. Threw the recipe right into the garbage.
I’m honored that you tried my recipe, Evelyn! That sounds really frustrating and not like how these muffins are supposed to turn out at all, so I’d love to work with you to figure out what happened. 🙂 In order to do that, I have some questions for you!
Can you describe what made the muffins terrible? Was it their taste, texture, or something else?
Did you make any modifications to the recipe, including those listed in the Notes section?
Did you use your kitchen scale or measuring cups to measure everything, especially the flour, yogurt, and milk? If the latter, can you describe how you used them to measure?
Did you use the same stevia that I did? (I linked to it in the Ingredients list and Notes section! My links are in pink. I know they can be easy to miss!)
What size grater did you use to grate your carrots?
Did you use a hand-held mixer or stand mixer to make the batter? If not, what did you use instead?
How long did you bake your mini muffins?
I know I just asked a LOT of questions, but I’ll have a much better idea of the culprit once I know your answers to all of them!
Hi!
I can’t find any liquid stevia in stores here. What I have is Peotraco Sugarlyte Stevia Sugar Blend. Can I use this instead? If yes, how much do I need to use?
Thanks a lot!
Another question, my oven only has the ff thermostat temp:
302F
329F
356F
383F
410F
437F
464F
491F
518F
545F
It doesn’t have the exact 450F and 350F. Which temp should I use?
I’m honored that you’d like to try my recipe, Lizzy! I’ve been trying to research the product that you have, but I haven’t been able to find enough information on it. All I can find is that 1 teaspoon of it sweetens like 2 teaspoons of granulated sugar, but I need more information than that to figure out whether it’ll work in this recipe… So on the back of the package, does it include the ingredients and any other information?
For your oven temperature, if it’s a rotating dial (rather something that’s preset that you can’t adjust at all — if that makes sense!), if you can set it slightly below the 356°F mark, that will be best! Otherwise, use the 356°F setting, and start checking your muffins a couple of minutes early, just to be safe. 🙂
If I wanted to dads pineapple what adjustments would I need to make?
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe, Jordan! If you’d like to add diced pineapple (not crushed!), I think that should work. I’d recommend around ½ cup (105g) of diced pineapple, but thoroughly drain it before folding it into the batter. If you don’t, it’ll add too much moisture to the batter, and your muffins may collapse while cooling or turn out overly dense. Both fresh pineapple and pineapple canned in 100% juice will work. To ensure even baking, dice the pineapple to be no larger than chocolate chips. 🙂
I’d love to hear what you think of these muffins if you do end up making them!