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Carrot apple muffins on a wire rack.

The Best Carrot and Apple Muffin Recipe

Moist and delicious Carrot Apple Muffins full of fresh apples, carrots, and oats. This is the perfect wholesome snack for kids or a sweet breakfast treat on a chilly fall morning.
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Prep Time: 35 minutes
Cook Time: 18 minutes
Total Time: 53 minutes
Servings: 16
Author: Michelle

Ingredients

Brown Sugar Oat Topping

Muffin Batter

  • 3/4 cup old fashioned rolled oats
  • 1 1/2 cups (7.5 oz) all purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
  • 5 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
  • 1 1/4 cup (9 oz) granulated sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 cup 1 medium/large peeled and grated apple
  • 1 cup 1 large carrot, ends trimmed and grated

Instructions

To make the topping

  • Combine the oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt in a small bowl. Give the ingredients a quick stir to mix everything together.
  • Pour the melted butter over the dry ingredients. Stir until all the ingredients are well coated and moistened. Set the topping aside and make the muffin batter.
  • Preheat the oven to 400° and line 16 muffin cups (two pans) with paper liners. Spray the top of each muffin tin with cooking spray, so the muffin tops don't stick to the pan during baking

To make the muffins

  • In the bowl of a food processor, add the oats. Pulse the oats about 20 times to chop them up, but don't turn the oats into flour.
  • Add the all purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon to the food processor bowl with the oats. Pulse 5 or 6 times to get all the dry ingredients combined. Set aside.
  • Melt the butter in a separate bowl until just melted but not hot, and set aside.
  • In a large bowl, whisk together the applesauce and sugar.
  • Add in the egg and the vanilla and whisk until well incorporated.
  • Drizzle the melted butter into the applesauce and egg mixture. Whisk while you drizzle to evenly distribute the butter into the wet ingredients.
  • Pour the flour mixture into the wet ingredients. Using a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, stir the batter until almost fully mixed. Leave the batter lumpy with streaks of flour showing.
  • Add the grated apple and carrots to the lumpy batter. Fold the carrots and apples into the batter until evenly distributed and no flour streaks remain. Do not overmix.

Top and bake the muffins

  • Divide the batter between 16 muffin cups.
  • Top each muffin with the oat topping made earlier.
  • Bake the muffins at 400° for 15-20 minutes. The muffins are done when a toothpick inserted into the muffin comes out clean.
  • After baking, let the muffins cool just enough to be handled, then remove the muffins from the pan. Removing the muffins from the pan while they're still warm will keep the tops from sticking. Finish cooling on a wire rack.
Cuisine Muffins
Course Breakfast

Nutrition

Serving: 1Serving | Calories: 135kcal | Carbohydrates: 17g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0g | Cholesterol: 27mg | Sodium: 186mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g