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Vegan Carrot Cake Muffins (GF + Oil Free)

March 2, 2020 By Lisa Kitahara 28 Comments

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carrot muffins with tahini on top

These Vegan Carrot Cake Muffins are moist, flavourful and loaded with healthy ingredients! They're easy to make and are perfect for a on-the-go breakfast or snack. Oil free, Refined Sugar Free & Gluten Free Option

carrot cake muffins on a white plate stacked

It's March. It's carrot season ya'll.

Okay, I actually don't know when it's officially carrot season because they're sold all year around for relatively cheap BUT I do know that march means we're approaching spring, which means easter is right around the corner, and to me easter means carrots!

ingredients for carrot cake muffins laid out

What You Need for Carrot Muffins

Even though these carrot cake muffins taste like a treat, they're actually made with healthy ingredients! So yeah, totally have one (or 5) for breakfast.

  • Carrots: (duh)
  • Flax Egg: we're using the handy flax egg to replace eggs thats typically used in muffins
  • Non dairy milk + apple cider vinegar: this combo makes a butter milk and will help activate the baking soda for that nice fluffy tall muffin
  • Banana: makes these muffins moist without adding any oil
  • Coconut Sugar: or any sugar of your choice
  • Walnuts & Raisins: it ain't carrot cake without walnuts and raisins people... but if you really want swap it for other nuts, seeds or dried fruit
  • Spelt Flour: you can also use all purpose flour, gluten free all purpose mix or oat flour (see notes)
  • Almond Flour: again helps with the moisture without added oils
  • Tapioca Starch: helps bind these muffins and make the perfect crumb
  • Baking Powder + Baking Soda: for the tallest fluffy carrot muffins!!
  • Flavour: vanilla, ginger, nutmeg, cloves & salt
how to make carrot cake muffins step by step

How to Make Vegan Carrot Cake Muffins

Muffins are a meal prep lovers best friend. Not only do they keep and freeze really well, but they're also so easy to make! Let show you just how easy:

  1. Mix all wet ingredients together
  2. Add the dry ingredients and fold it into the wet until JUST combined (you will see streaks of flour and thats okay)
  3. Fold in the carrots, raisins and walnuts (this will finish off mixing the dry ingredients)
  4. Bake for 20 minutes or until cooked all the way through-- use the handy toothpick test to check.
top shot of carrot muffins

Tips to Making Vegan Carrot Muffins

  • Fill Muffin Tins to the TOP: Filling them to the top will help achieve that tall muffin!
  • Toss Raisins in Flour: if you have sticky raisins, toss them in 1-2 teaspoon of flour so you don't end up with half a batch of muffins packed with raisins.
  • Size of Grated Carrots: I like to use a medium to large size grate because then I can actually get the texture and flavour of the carrots.
  • Weigh Ingredients: as always, I recommend weighing out the ingredients as this ensures the most accurate and perfect muffins!

How to Store Carrot Cake Muffins

  • Room Temperature: once fully cooled, store in air tight container lined with paper towel for up to 3 days.
  • Freezer: to keep them for longer, freeze them individually in an air tight bag or container. To reheat, microwave for 30-60 seconds with a damp paper towel around it until warmed through.
vegan carrot muffins stacked with a bite shot

I hope you try and LOVE these carrot cake muffins as much as I do! You can totes go all out and frost them up with some cashew frosting, coconut whip cream or even a nice coconut butter glaze!! Okay yeah, that definitely needs to happen..

spelt flour almond flour muffins with tahini

More Delicious Vegan Muffins to Try!

  • Vegan Banana Blender Muffins (gluten free, oil free)
  • Healthy Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins (gf, of)
  • Banana Protein Muffins (gf, of)
  • Healthy Vegan Pumpkin Muffins (gf, of)
  • 1-bowl Chocolate Chip Tahini Muffins (gf, of)
spelt flour almond flour carrot muffins bite shot

If you recreate this Vegan Carrot Cake Muffins recipe let me know how you liked it by leaving a comment and rating below or by tagging me on Instagram @Okonomikitchen, I love seeing all of your tasty recreations!
Hungry for more? Be sure to subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Instagram, Youtube and Pinterest for more deliciousness!

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Vegan Carrot Cake Muffins

carrot cake muffins on a white plate stacked
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★★★★★

4.9 from 10 reviews

These Vegan Carrot Cake Muffins are moist, flavourful and loaded with healthy ingredients! They're easy to make and are perfect for a on-the-go breakfast or snack. Oil free, Refined Sugar Free & Gluten Free Option

  • Author: Lisa Kitahara
  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 20 minutes
  • Total Time: 30 minutes
  • Yield: 9 muffins 1x
  • Category: breakfast
  • Method: baking
  • Cuisine: vegan, gluten free

Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 2 tbsp flax meal + 5 tbsp water, mixed together for 10 mins
  • ½ cup non-dairy milk + 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar , mixed together for 10 mins (125ml)
  • ⅔ cup mashed banana (150g)
  • ½ cup coconut sugar (100g)
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 ⅓ cup spelt flour (160g)*
  • ⅔ cup almond flour (74g)
  • 2 tbsp tapioca starch (15g)
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • ½ tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • ½ tsp ground ginger
  • ¼ tsp nutmeg
  • ¼ tsp cloves
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • ⅓ cup nuts walnuts (40g)
  • ⅓ cup raisins (50g)
  • 1 cup shredded carrot (155g)

Instructions

  1. Pre-heat oven to 220 C (425 F). Line or grease 9 muffin tins. 
  2. Into a large bowl, mash the banana until pureed. Add in the 'butter milk', flax egg, coconut sugar and vanilla and whisk to combine. 
  3. Add in the spelt flour, almond flour, tapioca starch, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves and salt and fold all the ingredients together until JUST combined. 
  4. Fold in the carrots, raisins and walnuts using a spatula. 
  5. Divide the muffin batter between the 9 muffin tins (fill them to the top).
  6. Bake for 5 minutes at 220 C (425 F) for 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to 180 C (350 F) and bake for another 20 minutes or until cooked all the way through. 
  7. Let the muffins cool in the pan for 3 minutes. Carefully transfer muffins to a wire rack and let them cool completely. 

Notes

  • *If using oat flour, use 1 ¼ cup oat flour + ¼ cup tapioca starch + ⅔ cup almond flour
  • Helpful Equipment: large mixing bowl, spatula, whisk, muffin tin, muffin liners
  • Nutritional Information Disclaimer: Nutrition information is a rough estimate calculated on an online tool (Cronometer). 

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1 muffin
  • Calories: 229g
  • Sugar: 18.7g
  • Sodium: 160mg
  • Fat: 8g
  • Saturated Fat: 0.7g
  • Unsaturated Fat: 6.8g
  • Trans Fat: 0
  • Carbohydrates: g37.2
  • Fiber: 4.7g
  • Protein: 5.8g
  • Cholesterol: 0

Keywords: carrot cake muffins, carrot muffins, healthy vegan muffins

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @Okonomikitchen on Instagram and hashtag it #okonomikitchen

SAVE IT FOR LATER! ↓

carrot cake muffins pinterest image

Okonomi Kitchen is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. When you purchase something through my amazon affiliate links, I earn a small commission that helps me produce consistent content at no cost to you. Thank you for supporting my plant based kitchen!

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Reader Interactions

Comments

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  1. Janna says

    March 04, 2020 at 6:29 pm

    I made these and they are really good!
    They are super fluffy, too! You really don't notice that there is no oil in them.
    I would definitely make them again 🙂

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Lisa Kitahara says

      March 06, 2020 at 2:04 pm

      Hi Janna!

      Happy to hear you enjoyed these muffins, thank you so much!

      Reply
  2. Leen says

    March 12, 2020 at 5:16 pm

    Hey Lisa im planning to make these this weekend, can i use cornstarch instead of tapioca as i dont have it on hand?

    Reply
    • Lisa Kitahara says

      March 13, 2020 at 9:43 pm

      Hi Leen!
      I haven't tried it with corn starch but the texture might be a bit off since corn starch is much goopy-er when combined with wet ingredients. They are very similar though, so you could try sub-ing half corn starch and more flour in place of it. Let me know how it goes!

      Reply
  3. Tiare says

    May 18, 2020 at 2:33 am

    Hi! I’d love to make this recipe but only have oat, whole wheat, almond, and coconut flour...will any of these work?

    Reply
    • Lisa Kitahara says

      May 20, 2020 at 10:44 am

      If you read the recipe notes, it has options for oat flour and almond flour 🙂

      Reply
  4. Jessi says

    July 13, 2020 at 1:48 pm

    I made these last night. They got stuck to the baking cups. I should've just greased the pan and baked them there but I wanted to use the baking cups. Do u think you can suggest why this happened? The flavor is amazing though. I'd totally make again!

    ★★★★

    Reply
    • Lisa Kitahara says

      July 14, 2020 at 11:31 am

      Hi Jessi! Did you use parchment baking cups? I always use those because they don't stick. You can find them on amazon!

      Reply
  5. Rebecca Bozeman says

    August 13, 2020 at 2:51 pm

    These muffins are over the top delicious! Has all the elements of a moist carrot cake combined with raisins and walnuts. I shredded organic carrots which have so much more flavor than non-organic carrots. Also, used the oatmeal flour combo, which always works for me in Okonomi Kitchen recipes. Heed her warning to let them cool before eating because they still are baking after removing from the oven! I am on day three of eating them and they hold up super well.

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  6. Leondra says

    August 29, 2020 at 4:01 pm

    These were good, the flavor is great. I left them in my oven for a little longer though. Used arrowroot instead of cornstarch so it was too soft for my liking. But giving them a bit more time in the oven or even toasting them is *chefs kiss*

    Reply
  7. Ria Khurana says

    September 02, 2020 at 10:18 pm

    Hey do u think using whole grain spelt flour will work too??

    Reply
    • Lisa Kitahara says

      September 07, 2020 at 9:55 pm

      Yes I think it will! You might need a bit more liquid just because whole grains tend to absorb more liquid 🙂

      Reply
  8. natasha says

    December 22, 2020 at 8:27 pm

    I cannot find tapioca starch, anything else I can use?

    Reply
    • Lisa Kitahara says

      December 25, 2020 at 1:10 pm

      You can try potato starch but use a tad bit less since it tends to be more absorbent and drying 🙂

      Reply
  9. Stephanie says

    January 11, 2021 at 3:32 pm

    This is a wonderful recipe! I used the oat/tapioca/almond flour combo and chia-seed eggs rather than flax (2Tbsp chia + 6Tbsp water). I baked them for 15 minutes longer. They are delicious! My husband and mother-in-law LOVED them! I whipped up some vegan cream cheese--vegan butter--coconut sugar topping, and holy moly, it's hard to have only one a day! Thank you for this recipe 🤩

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  10. Lindsey says

    January 19, 2021 at 12:40 am

    Also wanted to add that in ingredients it says to make the “butter milk” with 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar, and then other underneath it calls for another tablespoon of apple cider vinegar? Is this correct or is there only 1 tablespoon for the buttermilk?

    Reply
    • Lisa Kitahara says

      January 19, 2021 at 10:17 am

      Hi Lindsey! Just updated the recipe card, thanks for catching that. In terms of the oat flour question, you can see it can be substituted in the notes section 🙂

      Reply
  11. Ahniah says

    January 25, 2021 at 6:54 pm

    These were amazing!!! I totally recommend making these. I substituted oat flour for GF all-purpose, and I did not use raisins.

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Lisa Kitahara says

      January 26, 2021 at 10:48 pm

      So glad you enjoyed, Ahniah! 🙂

      Reply
  12. Anita says

    January 29, 2021 at 2:04 am

    These were LUSH, even for my little cousin with her sweet tooth (topped hers with whipped cream but still)! I did the oat/almond/tapioca variation, subbed most of the banana with applesauce, and made 12 muffins. Needed an extra 10 mins in the oven but all was good after. They disappeared so fast ahha will need to make again.
    I might try using spelt flour next time- do you think it makes cakes fluffier than oat flour does, or not really?

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  13. JoAnn says

    February 05, 2021 at 7:36 pm

    I dont have cloves can i leave out or add more of one of spices in recipe? Thank you

    Reply
    • Lisa Kitahara says

      February 23, 2021 at 10:31 am

      Yes but the flavour may change 🙂

      Reply
  14. Rachel says

    March 30, 2021 at 4:18 pm

    These were very good I will make them again for sure! I didnt add raisins but I should have because that would have made them over the top. I added pecans and shredded coconut to the batter. I used coconut fkour instead of almond and added extra vanilla and butter extracts and used cinnamon and apple pie spice instead of clove etc. I added extra sugar and it still needed to be sweeter for me.Next time im thinking about adding pineapple and maybe a light icing. Thanks so much for the recipe!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  15. Stephanie says

    April 01, 2021 at 2:13 pm

    Hi! This recipe is almost perfect for us! I’m thinking Of using in place of a big ol sugary carrot cake for Easter! However we cannot do almond or coconut. Do you think I could use oat flour in place of the almond? I planned on using GF flour in place is the spelt. Thank you!!

    Reply
  16. Eva says

    September 26, 2021 at 4:47 pm

    My first muffins i've ever made, love them! I substituted some ingredients i didn't have - corn starch for tapioca, only had 1 banana -> made 1/2 cup dattes puree (7-8 medium dattes) and skipped sugar. I used half all purpose flour/half rice flour. Definitely making them again very soon

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  17. Santa Simo says

    October 29, 2021 at 2:14 pm

    Good morning, I am impressed as how to tasty and easy the vegan carrot cake muffins turned out to be. I love carrot cakes and I made these muffins for the first time following exactly the recipe you provided. It came out perfect, just like the picture you have in the website. I was wondering this same recipe can be used to make vegan carrot cake load bread?

    Thanks

    Reply
  18. Hedy says

    May 06, 2022 at 10:28 pm

    Very tasty. I opted for the oat flour option. 1/3cup banana, 1/3 cup grated pineapple, 1/3 cup coconut. Everything else the same. Made 12 medium Vegan, GF muffins.

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  19. Dee says

    May 21, 2022 at 9:16 pm

    Thanks for sharing this recipe. The muffins turned out amazing. I substituted vinegar with lemon juice.
    😊

    ★★★★★

    Reply

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Hi! I'm Lisa. Welcome to Okonomi Kitchen! Here you'll find delicious vegan recipes that are healthy, simple & easy to make.
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