During the winter of my first year of graduate school, I started a new breakfast tradition. Instead of a bowl of my favorite Trader Joe’s granola with cold milk, I switched to hot oatmeal to combat the chilly morning fog on my bike ride to campus.
So early each morning, after a quick workout and hopping out of the shower, I padded into the kitchen to shake out a serving of oats into a bowl, pour water on top, and pop it in the microwave. When the timer dinged, I shook cinnamon over it (usually a little overzealously!), stirred everything together, and sat on the sofa to enjoy my cozy meal.
One day, after running out of time to pack my lunch the night before, I stayed in the kitchen to eat spoonfuls of my warm spiced oatmeal. Once I had squirted mustard onto two slices of whole wheat bread, layered chicken and lettuce on top, and slid my sandwich into a zip-topped bag, I turned to the jumbo bag of baby carrots, grabbing a few handfuls to tuck into my lunch as well.
As I held those sweet veggies in my hand, I caught a whiff of my cinnamon oatmeal, and a light bulb went off in my sleepy mind. “Carrot cake smells just like this…” I thought to myself. “What if I added carrots to my oatmeal tomorrow to make it taste like that dessert??”
The next morning, I practically ran into the kitchen after showering, much more awake and excited compared to the day before. I finely grated a few of those baby carrots into my bowl before slipping it into the microwave, and a few minutes later, after stirring in another generous amount of cinnamon, I took my first bite.
Perfect!
However… There was one downside to my new favorite carrot cake oatmeal breakfast. It wasn’t exactly portable, so I often rushed through eating in order to arrive to my first class with enough time to prepare for my students.
Yet these healthy carrot cake oatmeal muffins completely solve that problem! They’re definitely portable, unlike traditional bowls of oatmeal, and they’re also perfect for meal prepping both breakfasts and snacks.
Moreover, with all of their cozy spices and sweet carrots, these healthy muffins really do taste just like carrot cake! They’re supremely moist and fluffy, even with no refined flour or sugar, and completely lightened up too.
QUICK OVERVIEW – HEALTHY CARROT CAKE OATMEAL MUFFINS
Difficulty: Mainly easy, including for many beginner bakers.
Taste: Cozy, comforting, and sweet with a backdrop of warm spices and oats paired with plenty of carrots throughout.
Texture: Really soft and moist muffins laced with supremely tender carrots.
KEY INGREDIENTS TO MAKE HEALTHY CARROT CAKE OATMEAL MUFFINS
Let’s go over what you’ll need to make these healthy carrot cake oatmeal muffins! Since your kitchen probably holds common baking staples like baking powder and salt, we’ll mainly cover the more interesting ingredients.
Oats. More specifically… Instant oats. No, not the kind in those individual brown paper packets with flavors like “apple cinnamon” or “maple brown sugar!”
Instant oats are also called “quick cooking” or “one minute” oats, and they only contain one ingredient: oats. In a nutshell (or an oat groat, in this case!), the main difference is that instant oats are smaller and thinner than old-fashioned rolled oats. This means they soften faster, which creates an extremely moist and fluffy texture in your carrot oatmeal muffins!
Tip #1: You can usually find instant oats right next to the old-fashioned rolled oats at the grocery store. If you don’t see any canisters or bags labeled “instant oats,” then look for one of their other names: “quick cooking” or “one minute” oats.
Tip #2: If you’d like to make your healthy carrot cake oatmeal muffins gluten-free, then use certified gluten-free instant oats. They work perfectly!
Hint: Instant oats are great for baking oatmeal cookies and snack cakes too!
Flour. For these breakfast muffins, I chose white whole wheat flour. I know it can sound a little confusing! Contrary to what some people assume, white whole wheat flour is not just a combination of white (aka all-purpose) flour and regular whole wheat flour. Instead, it’s made by finely grinding a special type of soft white wheat (hence the name!), whereas regular whole wheat flour comes from a heartier variety of red wheat. They both have the same health benefits (like extra fiber!), but white whole wheat flour has a lighter taste and texture… And that lets the moist and fluffy texture of your healthy carrot cake oatmeal muffins truly shine!
Hint: It’s similar to the difference between red and green grapes. Noticeably different appearance, somewhat different flavor, but very similar health benefits!
Tip: If you’d like to make your healthy carrot cake oatmeal muffins gluten-free, then see the Notes section of the recipe. I’ve shared how to do so there!
Spices. You’ll need three: cinnamon, allspice, and nutmeg. Cinnamon provides that classic warm and cozy flavor that’s so iconic of carrot cake. Then the allspice and nutmeg create a deeper and richer flavor, which helps make your healthy carrot cake oatmeal muffins taste just like the classic dessert.
Tip: Saigon cinnamon is my favorite cinnamon because it tastes stronger and sweeter than the regular kind. It’s also really affordable! Many stores have started to stock it, but I typically buy mine online here.
Unsalted butter or coconut oil. Whereas traditional muffin recipes call for ¼ to ½ cup of oil to keep them moist, you just need ½ tablespoon in these… And that really helps keep your healthy carrot cake oatmeal muffins low calorie and low fat!
Egg whites. The egg whites act like glue and bind together the other ingredients. Because they contain the majority of eggs’ protein, the egg whites also help your muffins maintain their height, structure, and lovely bakery-style domed tops while cooling.
Vanilla. A staple baking ingredient! Vanilla extract adds to the warm, comforting, and sweet dessert-like flavor of these healthy carrot cake oatmeal muffins.
Greek yogurt. Remember how you only need ½ tablespoon of butter or oil? That’s because you’re stirring Greek yogurt into the batter! It’s so versatile and one of my favorite healthy baking ingredients. In this recipe, Greek yogurt adds the same moisture as extra butter or oil but for a fraction of the calories. It also adds a protein boost!
Sweetener. Instead of sugar, I opted for another one of my favorite ingredients: liquid stevia. If you haven’t heard of it, stevia is a plant-based, sugar-free, no-calorie sweetener, and it contains nothing refined or artificial (aka it’s clean eating friendly!). It’s also highly concentrated. You just need 1 ½ teaspoons to sweeten your entire batch of healthy carrot cake oatmeal muffins!
This is the kind I use because I love its flavor and don’t notice any strange aftertaste like with some other stevia products. Although you can find it at many health oriented grocery stores, I buy mine online here because that’s the best price I’ve found. (And you’ll use it in all of these recipes of mine too!)
Tip: Many stevia brands and products have different sweetness levels, so they’re not necessarily 1-for-1 substitutes for each other. For the best flavor and texture, I highly recommend using the same one that I do!
Milk. Almost any type will work, so feel free to reach for whatever you already have stashed in your fridge! I use nonfat milk and unsweetened vanilla almond milk the most. Both perform beautifully!
Carrots. Of course… You can’t make healthy carrot cake oatmeal muffins without that bright orange vegetable, right? So the final ingredient you’ll need is freshly grated carrots. Yes, they must be freshly grated by you! (Or your spouse. Or your best friend. Or your kids. Or… Well, you get the picture!)
The problem with store-bought pre-shredded carrots (also called “matchstick” carrots) is that they’re thicker and drier, so they don’t soften properly while baking. (I also think they don’t taste as sweet or flavorful!) To get the most moist and tender muffins possible, I promise it’s worth the few extra minutes of grating your own carrots!
Tip: If you have a food processor with a grater attachment, that makes the process much faster!
HOW TO MAKE HEALTHY CARROT CAKE OATMEAL MUFFINS
Now that you’ve gathered your ingredients, let’s cover how to make the best healthy carrot oatmeal muffins. Like I promised earlier, this recipe is simple and straightforward! I also have some tips to ensure your muffins turn out deliciously soft, comforting, and sweet.
Measure correctly. I repeat this so often that I could recite it in my sleep… And probably do!
It’s extremely important to measure all of the ingredients properly.
For the oats and flour, use this method or a kitchen scale. Do NOT scoop either one directly from its container with your measuring cups! This can result in adding up to 1 ½ times as much as is called for by the recipe. That extra flour or oats throws off the ratio of dry and wet ingredients, and it’ll make your muffins dry, crumbly, and taste bland. This is especially true of the oats — they act like little sponges and soak up lots of moisture from the batter!
For the carrots, measure by cups or grams — NOT by number of carrots! Not all “large” carrots are the exact same size. If yours fall towards the bigger end of the spectrum, the extra grated carrots would prevent your muffins from holding together and make them fall apart. If the opposite were true and your carrots were on the smaller side, your muffins wouldn’t have as strong of a carrot cake flavor.
So the moral of this measuring story? Take those few extra moments to measure correctly, and you’ll end up with the softest and most flavorful carrot cake oatmeal muffins!
Mix by hand. Leave your stand mixer and hand-held mixer alone! Those tend to overmix low fat batters, like this one. Overmixing leads to a tough, rubbery, gummy, or dense texture. Not good! Yet if you mix by hand, your muffins should turn out beautifully tender and moist.
Therefore, use a whisk where explicitly instructed, and use a fork for everything else. Yes — a fork! This is one of my trusted baking hacks.
Compared to the wide and flat sides of spatulas and spoons, the empty spaces between a fork’s tines let ingredients pass through and mix more efficiently. That also helps guard against overmixing!
Soak the oats. I’ve already built this into Step 2, but I wanted to explain why! To make your muffins turn out as moist and tender as possible, you’ll mix the oats with the Greek yogurt, vanilla extract, and some of the milk before measuring or whisking together the other ingredients. As that bowl of oats sits, it lets the oats start soaking up moisture ahead of time, which makes them really soft and plump. That softness and plumpness leads to really tender and fluffy healthy carrot cake oatmeal muffins!
Prep the pan. Before adding the batter to your muffin cups, you must coat your muffin liners with cooking spray. This is particularly true for paper muffin or cupcake liners — and even if you skip them and just use regular muffin pans! Low fat batters (like this one!) tend to stick like superglue, but coating your muffin liners (or pans) with a generous mist of cooking spray helps them peel away from your muffins much more easily.
Tip: If you forget to coat your liners — or just don’t do quite a thorough enough job — then seal your muffins inside of an airtight container once they’ve fully cooled, and refrigerate them overnight. This helps loosen the liners so they peel away a bit more easily.
Bake. It’s time! All that’s left to do is fill your muffin liners with batter… Slide the pan in the oven… Set a timer… And wait (im)patiently for them to finish baking! They’re ready to come out of the oven when the tops feel firm to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with some crumbs attached.
Ready to dive into your warm, cozy, moist, soft, oh so irresistible muffins? 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 healthy carrot cake oatmeal muffins!
Healthy Carrot Cake Oatmeal Muffins
Ingredients
- ¾ cup (75g) instant oats (gluten-free if necessary and measured like this)
- ½ cup (120g) plain nonfat Greek yogurt
- 1 cup + 2 tbsp (270mL) nonfat milk, divided
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups (240g) white whole wheat flour or gluten-free* flour (measured like this)
- 1 tbsp (8g) ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground allspice
- ½ tsp ground nutmeg
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- ¾ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tbsp (7g) unsalted butter or coconut oil, melted and cooled slightly
- 2 large egg whites, room temperature
- 1 ½ tsp liquid stevia
- 2 ¼ cups (236g) freshly grated carrots (about 3-4 large, peeled first!)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F, and coat 13 muffin cups with nonstick cooking spray. (If using liners, then line 13 muffins cups with liners and coat them with cooking spray.)
- In a medium bowl, stir together the oats, Greek yogurt, 6 tablespoons of milk, and vanilla extract. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a third bowl, whisk together the butter or coconut oil, egg whites, and stevia. Stir in the oat mixture, mixing until no large lumps remain. Alternate between adding the flour mixture and remaining ¾ cup of 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 29-32 minutes or until the top feels firm to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with a few crumbs attached. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
View Nutrition Information + Weight Watchers Points
You may also like Amy’s other recipes…
♡ Healthy Carrot Cake Bran Muffins
♡ Healthy Carrot Cake Protein Muffins
♡ Healthy Carrot Cake Mini Muffins
♡ Healthy Carrot Cake Scones
♡ Healthy Carrot Cake Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies
♡ Healthy Zucchini Oatmeal Muffins
♡ Healthy Apple Oatmeal Muffins
♡ …and the rest of Amy’s healthy carrot cake recipes and healthy muffin recipes!
I make these all the time and looks like the King Arthur While Whole Wheat Flour is no longer available. Any substitute suggestions?
Thanks !!
LaDonna
I’m so honored that you make these all the time LaDonna! That really means a lot to me! 🙂 I’ve actually included alternatives in the Notes section of the recipe (located directly underneath the Instructions). I know it can be easy to miss that bit! 😉
Sorry – I didn’t see them – my bad.
I love your receipts and have done quite a few of them.
Stay safe during these weird times.
No need to apologize LaDonna — it happens all the time! I know the Notes sections of my recipes can be fairly long. 😉 I hope you’re staying as safe and healthy as possible too!
The texture was amazing! I was going to make them for a bake sale, so I would probably want to add a cream cheese frosting. I don’t like stevia, so I used maple syrup instead, and found that the muffins could be a little sweeter for my taste. I was thinking of adding 1/2 cup of raisins. Thank you for a great recipe!
I’m glad you enjoyed these muffins, Tammy! Did you use the pure maple syrup option that I provided in the Notes section (1 cup of pure maple syrup in place of the stevia)? If so, then you can use 1 cup + 2 tablespoons of pure maple syrup and completely omit the milk to make these muffins a bit sweeter. 🙂
I love your idea of adding raisins! Have you ever tried hydrating them before adding them to muffin batter? That’s what I like to do; it makes them really plump and juicy! If you haven’t done that before but might be interested in trying it, here’s what I do…
Add the raisins to a microwave-safe bowl, cover them with water, and cover the top of the bowl with a lid or plastic wrap. Microwave on high for 1 minute. Let the raisins sit for 10-15 minutes (or while you measure and mix together the rest of the ingredients). Thoroughly drain the excess liquid before folding them into the batter.
And if it helps… I have a few different cream cheese frosting recipes here and here. I’d love to hear what you think if you try either one! 🙂
Hi Amy!
I was wondering if I can possibly use this recipe but instead of muffins making it into a loaf?
Yes, I think that should work! I’d recommend a 9×5″ loaf pan, baking it at 350°F, and start checking it around 40-45 minutes. It’ll likely take longer, maybe closer to 50-60 minutes, but it’s much easier to put an underdone loaf back in the oven to continue baking than it is to salvage a burnt one! 😉 It’ll be done when the top feels firm to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Then cool in the pan for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Does all of that make sense? 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you think of this recipe, Wendy!
Can I sub 2egg whites for 1 whole egg?
If you’d like to substitute whole eggs for the egg whites, then use 2 whole large eggs. Reduce the milk by 1 tablespoon to compensate for the added volume from the yolks. 🙂 I’m excited to hear what you think of these muffins, Chiharu!
I’ve made these muffins twice now and my husband and I absolutely love them! I wouldn’t change a single thing about this recipe.
Oh my goodness — I’m so glad you and your husband loved these muffins too, Kally! I’m honored that you’ve tried two of my recipes. Thanks again for taking the time to comment; it made my day! (And it sounds like you both might love carrot cake as much as I do too! 😉 )
Hi! Can we use applesauce instead of the oil and egg whites? And if I wanted to use truvia packets instead of liquid stevia what would be the proportion difference?
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe, Apurva! Applesauce won’t work in place of the oil. If you don’t use any oil or butter at all, these muffins will be tough and gummy. It’s a small amount (only about 0.1 teaspoon per muffin, or 1 calorie!), but it makes a HUGE difference in their texture. I haven’t tried using applesauce in place of the egg whites, so I don’t know how that substitution would turn out. If you’d like to use Truvia packets in place of the liquid stevia, you’ll need 18 packets. 🙂
I’d love to hear what you think of these muffins if you try making them!
Hi Amy,
Can I substitute Greek yogurt with regular yogurt?
I have actually made this recipe for my kids a few months back and I used the brown sugar option with instructions, and replaced the yogurt with ripened bananas. Turned out great!!! Better than the baker in the family. This time I intend to make them my way…GF!!!! Using the recipe substitute listed, though with some research I will use psyllium husk instead of the xanthan gum. Yay! Though I will use honey with the milk reduction, and I am concerned about the whole cup worth of honey. Did I read that correctly?? Really excited about this!!!
I’m so glad everyone enjoyed these muffins, Beth! That’s such high praise. Thank you for taking the time to let me know and rate the recipe too — it truly means a lot! ♡
Yes, that’s correct! If you’d like this batch of GF muffins to have a similar sweetness level as the batch made with brown sugar, you’ll need 1 cup of honey. I know honey costs quite a bit more than brown sugar, so if you’d like to avoid using a full cup, you could easily use half honey and half brown sugar! For that option, you’d need ½ cup of honey, ½ cup of brown sugar, and a total of 6 tablespoons of milk (instead of the 1 cup + 2 tablespoons in the original Ingredients list).
I’d absolutely love to hear what you think of your GF batch, whenever you get a chance to try making these muffins again! 🙂
Great! Thank you for the quick response as well and help most recently. So, I made the gluten free flour blend with your notes, including using 1:1 psyllium husk and not xanthan gum (GF flours here are about $10-12usd) and it was lovely. With the sweetener and milk ratios I had to get creative and really scientific. Using 1/2 cup coconut flower syrup which is very sweet, and a little goes far. I figured out I’d need 60g of almond milk, though after the first mixing of 30g, I felt the batter needed more moisture, so I had to play and add the additional 2T but another after another. Coming out with 6T of the milk. So that is in a conclusion of 1/2 cup cfs and 6T almond milk. Also, as it was 9:00pm and no yogurt (I’m dairy free anyways), I got creative again and used one of my many frozen bananas with an even 1:1 of the yogurt required. Otherwise I followed the recipe…even the egg whites. These lmuffins have excited my senses! I can’t know if anyone else in my family will eat these “hippie” muffins; but I will enjoy them greatly! Thanks so much!!
It’s my pleasure, Beth! I’m so glad your next batch of these muffins turned out well. I’m honored that you’d want to give the recipe 5 stars — that truly means so much! ♡
I wish it was easy to locate coconut flower syrup where I live. After hearing you rave about it both via email and in your comment here, I’d love to give it a try. It sounds like a fantastic ingredient! I really appreciate you sharing your modifications too. I always love to hear what recipe tweaks work out — and that’s such a brilliant idea to use frozen, thawed, and mashed banana! You have a natural baker’s intuition!
Perhaps there’s a silver lining of some family members with picky palates… It might mean you won’t have to share any of your yummy muffins! 😉
FIVE +++ stars!!
My coworkers litterally told me that I was trying to buy them with these muffins. They are really good! Do you think there is any way to make the exterior a bit “crunchier” like regular muffins? Thank you!!
What a huge compliment, Anna! I’m so happy you and your coworkers enjoyed these muffins. With a response like that, you must be an incredibly talented baker! 🙂
For the “crunchier” exterior, are you referring to just the muffin tops — like the way bakery-style muffins often have crackly domed tops! — or both their tops and sides as well? I want to make sure I fully understand how you’d like them to turn out before giving advice about potential things to try!
Thank you very much for your kind reply Amy! All was thanks to a great recipe. It is really hard to find healthy recipes that work so well, and yours always surprise me ☺️
I guess I mean specially the tops. But maybe more the general texture. They fill a bit chewy instead of spongy, if that makes sense?
It’s my pleasure, Anna! You’re too sweet. That means the world to me! ♡
Some bakery-style muffins are sprinkled with sugar prior to baking, and that’s how they achieve their crunchier tops. You could try sprinkling yours as well, if that’s the texture you’re trying to achieve! Coarse sugar (sometimes called sparkle sugar or sanding sugar) and turbinado sugar (sometimes called raw sugar) are some of the more popular options because of their large, coarse grain that doesn’t fully dissolve like regular granulated sugar or brown sugar, so it still provides some texture after baking. Is that what you had in mind?
These muffins should be really soft and moist inside — but not chewy, gummy, or rubbery — so I’m happy to help figure out what might have happened with the general texture of your batch! In order to do so, I have some questions for you. 🙂
Did you make any substitutions or modifications to the recipe, including those listed in the Notes section?
Did you use a stand mixer or hand-held mixer to make the batter, by any chance?
If not, what did you use instead?
How long did you bake your muffins?
Did you use the toothpick test, touch the tops, or do something else to determine they were done?
I know I just asked a lot of questions, but I’ll have a much better idea of the potential culprit once I know your answers to all of them!
Yes! I am quite sure it is the sugar, that makes sense. I may try it in a couple next time I bake them if I can get some coarse sugar. Thank you!!
On your questions. I did make some substitutions now that I remember, I am very guilty of that 😳😇. I really like trying new things… But in this case following your instructions, more or less. I used all purpose flour, semi-skimmed milk and whole eggs reducing the amount of milk. Now I see that you don’t comment it in the notes section of this recipe but I am used to seing it in others so I thought I could do it in this one as well. Could that make a difference? I measured most things with a kitchen scale and I just used a hand wisk and fork to mix. I baked them for 32 min. I checked with a toothpick at 29 min but I wasn’t sure it was clean enough so left them for three more minutes.
To be honest the taste was great and it was just a different texture than expected but not bad for a muffin. They had air bubbles inside as usual, maybe a bit bigger than usual. But overall great.
You’re welcome, Anna! I’m happy to help. 🙂 I really hope that texture from the coarse sugar on top is exactly what you’re hoping for!
Thanks so much for sharing this additional information! It’s really useful to know. If you used 2 whole large eggs and reduced the milk by 1 tablespoon, that would’ve been fine! I haven’t gotten a chance to update this recipe’s Notes section to reflect that, but the same thing applies that you’ve seen in my other recipes. You’re such a smart baker! 🙂
I have just a couple of follow-up questions that should isolate the culprit, if you don’t mind…
Did you measure the milk with a kitchen scale, a liquid measuring cup (ie a glass one with a spout), or regular measuring cups?
If you used a kitchen scale, what was the exact measurement and the units that you used?
Thanks for your patience, Anna! We’re nearly there!