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Moist Vegan Carrot Muffins

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5 from 19 votes

These moist vegan carrot muffins with domed tops are easy to make, coming together in about 30 minutes. These flavourful breakfast treats are all about the carrot and spices, so they’re totally nut-free. Shredded carrots, cinnamon, nutmeg, buttery coconut oil, orange zest, and vanilla shine in every bite of these wholesome, not-too-sweet muffins.

An up close, slight 3/4 angle shot shows vegan carrot muffins in a linen-lined bowl. The muffins are golden brown with flecks of carrot, and have nicely domed tops.
An up close, overhead shot of a split vegan carrot muffin with a swoop of vegan butter on one side.

The First Mess Cookbook

There’s a whole chapter dedicated to wholesome and delicious breakfast inspiration in my cookbook. You’ll also find lots of hearty vegan dinner inspiration and seasonal combinations.

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An overhead shot of ingredients used in a muffin recipe.
A head-on shot of a box grater that has been used to shred carrots.
An up close, overhead shot of finely grated carrots in a bowl.
An overhead shot of a small mixing bowl with some ground flax seeds sprinkled on top. A small whisk is sticking out of the liquid in the bowl.
An overhead shot of 3 bowls: 1 with dry ingredients, one with wet ingredients, and one with shredded carrots. All will be combined for a muffin batter.

To me, these easy vegan carrot muffins are perfect. Moist and fluffy carrot muffins have always been one of my favourite breakfast treats, and these deliver with the flavour of warm spices, vanilla, uplifting orange zest, and just the right amount of sweetness. Cut one in half, swoop a bit of vegan butter on each side, and serve it with a hot coffee? Sounds pretty ideal to me.

And they’re all about the carrots! No raisins, nuts, or coconut here. To shred carrots for muffins, I recommend using the fine side of a box grater. The coarse side also works if you don’t mind more obvious carrot bits in your muffin. If you’re in a time crunch, you can also shred carrots in a food processor fitted with the grater attachment.

All of the recipes here and in my cookbook are vegan, so obviously these are egg-free carrot muffins. My core vegan muffin batter consists of: white whole wheat flour, ground flax, non-dairy milk, light brown sugar, applesauce, refined coconut oil (not coconut-y tasting), apple cider vinegar, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. It’s a super reliable combination and it’s my little secret to getting moist muffins every time. Once I stir in the flavour accents and add-ins (obviously carrots in this case), I bake the muffins at 400 degrees for about 25 minutes.

More Vegan Breakfast Muffins:

I hope that you give these treats a try soon! I love how puffed up and domed the tops get. Even though these are filled with carrots and other wholesome ingredients, they still have a spring-y and fluffy quality that is quite satisfying. In terms of everyday treats that are more on the wholesome end, I really do think these are the best vegan carrot muffins.

An overhead shot shows liquid ingredients being added to dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
An overhead shot shows shredded carrots being added to a bowl of muffin batter.
An overhead shot shows carrot muffin batter in a large mixing bowl with a spatula.
An overhead shot shows muffin batter portioned into a muffin tin.
An overhead shot shows baked muffins in a muffin tin in direct sunlight.
A slight 3/4 angle shot shows vegan carrot muffins in a linen-lined bowl. The muffins are golden brown with flecks of carrot, and have nicely domed tops.
An overhead shot shows vegan carrot muffins in a linen-lined bowl. The muffins are golden brown with flecks of carrot, and have nicely domed tops. A split muffin is on a plate to the side where half of it is swopped with some vegan butter. There is also a cup of tea nearby.

Moist Vegan Carrot Muffins

These moist vegan carrot muffins with domed  tops are easy to make, coming together in about 30 minutes. These flavourful breakfast treats are all about the carrot and spices, so they’re totally nut-free. Shredded carrots, cinnamon, nutmeg, buttery coconut oil, orange zest, and vanilla shine in every bite of these wholesome, not-too-sweet muffins.
5 from 19 votes
A slight 3/4 angle shot shows vegan carrot muffins in a linen-lined bowl. The muffins are golden brown with flecks of carrot, and have nicely domed tops.
Print Recipe
Prep Time: 10 mins
Cook Time: 25 mins
Total Time: 35 mins
Servings 9

Ingredients

  • ¾ cup non-dairy milk
  • ¾ teaspoon apple cider vinegar
  • 1 ½ teaspoons ground flaxseed
  • 2 cups white whole wheat flour
  • 1 cup light brown sugar, not packed
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 6 tablespoons neutral-flavoured oil, such as refined coconut or sunflower (coconut oil should be melted before measuring)
  • 2 tablespoons applesauce
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon orange zest
  • 2 cups shredded carrot, not packed (2-3 medium carrots)

Notes

  • I prefer these muffins with puffed up, domed tops. If this isn’t a deal breaker for you, you can stretch the batter out to 12 smaller muffins. I would check these smaller ones after 18 minutes of baking.
  • If you want to try making these gluten-free, I recommend turning to an all purpose gluten-free flour blend, such as King Arthur or Pamela’s. Please note that I haven’t tested this, so cannot guarantee results.
  • I love using white whole wheat flour here, but light spelt or all purpose flour will both work.
  • If you would like some whole grain goodness (but still a lighter texture) here, feel free to replace half of the flour with whole wheat or whole spelt flour. 
  • I’ve tried fine and coarse grated carrot with these muffins and both were great–finely grated is good if you need to hide the vegetable aspect ;)
  • Refined coconut oil is my preferred oil for vegan baking. Rich and buttery without a strong coconut flavour.

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 400°F. Grease 9 cups of a standard muffin tin (or 12 cups for smaller muffins–see notes).
  • In a medium bowl, combine the non-dairy milk, apple cider vinegar, and ground flaxseed. Whisk to combine and set aside for 5 minutes.
  • In a large bowl, combine the white whole wheat flour, light brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Whisk to combine.
  • In the medium bowl with the non-dairy milk mixture, add the oil, applesauce, vanilla extract, and orange zest. Give the mixture a whisk to combine. Add this wet mixture to the large bowl with the flour mixture. Stir with a spatula until just combined (this is a stiff batter). Add the shredded carrot and stir until just combined. Avoid over-mixing!
  • Portion the muffin batter out evenly amongst the 9 greased muffin cups in the tin. Slide the muffin tin into the oven and bake until the domes are puffed up, golden brown, and a toothpick inserted into the center of one muffin comes out clean, about 23-25 minutes.
  • Let the muffins cool and enjoy! Cooled muffins will keep in a tin or sealed container for 4-5 days. You can also freeze these muffins in a zipper seal bag for up to 1 month.
Author: Laura Wright
Course: Breakfast, Snack
Diet: Vegan, Vegetarian
Keyword: almond milk, apple cider vinegar, brown sugar, carrots, cinnamon, coconut oil, fall, flax, ground flaxseed, muffin tin, muffins, non-dairy milk, nutmeg, orange, salt, spring, spring entertaining, summer, white whole wheat flour, winter
A slight 3/4 angle shot shows vegan carrot muffins in a linen-lined bowl. The muffins are golden brown with flecks of carrot, and have nicely domed tops.
08/03/2023 (Last Updated: 08/03/2023)
Posted in: autumn, breakfast, carrots, dessert, snack, spring, summer, sweet, vegan, winter
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