Apple & Carrot “Superhero” Muffins
This apple carrot muffin recipe is naturally sweetened and gluten free! These hearty apple-carrot muffins make a great grab-and-go breakfast or snack.
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on August 30, 2024
In the mood for some fall baking? Me, too! I’m cozying up with these apple carrot muffins and a cup of coffee. My dog, Cookie, is hoping for some crumbs.
My sweet publisher sent me a cookbook called Run Fast. Cook Fast. Eat Slow. a few months ago. The cookbook was co-written by Olympian/NYC Marathon champ Shalane Flanagan and chef/nutrition coach Elyse Kopecky.
I should confess that I hate running and only qualify for the “hangry” portion of the book’s subtitle, “Quick-Fix Recipes for Hangry Athletes.”
Nonetheless, the book is up my alley because it’s full of energizing, whole foods-based recipes. I haven’t been able to get this hybrid apple-carrot muffin recipe out of my mind. They didn’t disappoint!
The authors call these muffins “superhero” muffins because they are muffins that sustain. They offered three versions in the book, and I chose the muffins featuring grated fresh carrots and Granny Smith apples.
These muffins are very hearty and wholesome, which makes them perfect grab-and-go breakfasts or snacks. I think they would freeze well for several months, if you want to keep them on hand for hangry moments.
Bonus? These muffins are gluten free and naturally sweetened, and easy to mix up by hand. Apple carrot muffins for the win.
I have recipes for apple muffins and carrot muffins, but I love this combination of the two. Warming cinnamon brings the fruity apple and earthy carrot flavors together.
This recipe uses almond meal instead of whole wheat flour, which yields a nutritious and moist interior. These muffins are a little dense, in a good way, rather than light and lacking in substance.
Watch How to Make Apple & Carrot Muffins
You can easily change up the mix-ins, or leave them out if you’d rather. The authors suggest walnuts, raisins or chocolate chips, and note that Shalane likes to sweeten them up with chocolate chips. I opted for pecans in lieu of walnuts, and I think you could substitute any dried fruit for the raisins (chopped if large).
I easily grated the carrots and apple with this box grater (affiliate link). The authors suggested lining the muffin tin with paper liners, but I have full faith in the non-stick silicone finish on my muffin tin. It worked great.
The authors report that these muffins are a hit with kids, too. Please let me know how they turn out for you in the comments, and be sure to check out Run Fast. Cook Fast. Eat Slow. if it sounds like it’s up your alley.
Apple & Carrot “Superhero” Muffins
This apple carrot muffin recipe is naturally sweetened and gluten free! These hearty apple-carrot muffins make a great grab-and-go breakfast or snack. Recipe yields 12 muffins.
Ingredients
- 2 cups packed almond meal or almond flour (10 ounces)
- 1 ½ cups old-fashioned oats (certified gluten free if necessary)
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- Optional mix-ins: ½ cup chopped walnuts (I used pecans), or raisins or chocolate chips
- ½ cup honey or maple syrup
- 3 eggs
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 1 cup grated Granny Smith apple (about 1 ½ apples)
- 1 cup peeled and grated carrots (about 3 carrots)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a 12-cup standard muffin tin with paper muffin cups (I didn’t because I have full faith in my muffin pan, but use them if you’re uncertain).
- In a large bowl, combine the almond meal, oats, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, and optional mix-ins, if using.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the honey, eggs and butter. Whisk in the grated apple and carrots. Pour the mixture into the dry ingredients, mixing until just combined.
- Spoon the batter into the muffin cups, filling each to the brim. Bake until the muffins are nicely browned on top and a knife inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes. Allow muffins to cool completely before storing.
- Store leftover muffins in an airtight container in the fridge or freezer. If you like them warm, reheat them on low power in the microwave.
Notes
Recipe from the Run Fast. Cook Fast. Eat Slow. cookbook by Shalane Flanagan and Elyse Kopecky.
Make them nut free: (The muffins will no longer be gluten free with this variation, which was provided by the recipe author.) Whole wheat pastry flour or whole wheat flour can be used as an alternative to the almond meal. Increase the butter to 8 tablespoons (1 stick), since wheat flour is much drier, and reduce the oats to 1 cup.
Whole wheat flour option: See above!
Make them dairy free: I haven’t tried, but I’m confident you could substitute coconut oil for the butter. Please report back if you give that a try!
Egg substitution note: I don’t think you can successfully replace the eggs with any substitutes here. I tried with a similar almond meal-based recipe, and it was an epic fail. However, you can use flax eggs in my carrot muffin recipe (and you could even use half grated apple, half carrots to make those muffins more similar to this recipe).
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
This is quite literally the best.muffin.recipe.EVER. My whole family loves them. My kids will eat three for breakfast!
I’m glad you love them, Abby!
Made with slight variations but really like them! Will be making them again. I used coconut butter in place of butter and it worked well. I did NOT melt it so I used less than 2 cups almond flour. I ground part of my oats as well. And… I didn’t have 1 cup of apple so I used 1/2 apple and 1/2 zucchini!
Have you tried using any applesauce for some of the fat component? Next time I’ll try nuts and coconut flakes in it!
Thank you for sharing! I haven’t tried applesauce with these, sorry!
Do you think I could bake this in an 8×8 Pyrex? I don’t own a muffin or bread pan, but would love to try this recipe!
I’m not sure. It might be quite dense.
Can I use oat flour or a non nut flour to
Make these school safe?
I wouldn’t know without try it, sorry!
Can Plant Butter be substituted for dairy butter in this muffin recipe? Thank you. BTW looks delish
Sure, that should be just fine.
Thank you ~ just as soon as our So Calif October weather decides to stop the mid-90 days, I will try this yummy recipe.
I made these muffins today and they turned out really delicious! I substituted the butter for coconut oil. Same amount as indicated on the recipe for the butter, measured solid and then melted. To prevent it from getting solid again when mixed with the cold wet ingredients, I added it at the very end (after mixing dry and wet ingredients). I also followed someone’s advise and used less honey (about 1/4 cup) and added apple sauce (about 1/4 cup). They are really good and moist. I used silicone cupcake molds and they come out so easily, no grease needed or paper liners. They pop right out! I will definitely make these again.
Thank you for sharing, Marisa!
These are insanely good! My 2.5 year old is OBSESSED with these! I used maple syrup and added mini chocolate chips. My 10 year old and 13 year old also loved them.
These muffins are the best! My husband thought they are better than his favourite cake! I did use coconut oil in place of butter and believe me, you don’t miss the butter.
Thanks for the best recipes!
Cool recipe, just made a couple changes including a quarter cup extra mixed grated carrot and apple, and subbed my homemade unsweetened applesauce for the honey…no Granny Smiths, just used my homegrown backyard Fujis and added a cup of raisins, and also subbed coconut oil for butter. I need up with 16 muffins, but that’s just fine!
These were more delicious than most of the healthy muffins I make my toddler and I. We left out the maple/honey. And we discovered we were out of eggs so we had to use “chia eggs”. I got nervous when I saw your comment about substitute eggs but they were great! I also used 1/2 cup WW flour (reduced the almond). I loved how crispy the outsides got, and the burnt raisins. And they were totally delicious with no sweetener at all! Will make again and check out your insta! Oh, and we added lots of vanilla, and some seeds (chia, flax, hemp).
Thank you for your comment, Jenny! I’m happy your family loved them and were able to work well with your substitution.
I have subbed both coconut and olive oil in these depending on my mood and they turn out great each time!
Cookie & Kate are our go to but this muffin recipe is our favourite of all tried so far. Amazing.
My son can’t have oats, how much extra flour should I add in their place?
I woudln’t know without try it, Valerie. You could try about equal amount of almond flour. However, it might provide a more dense result.
Tried today with Whole Wheat flour because I’m too cheap to pay for the almond flour. :-) They were delicious!
Made the muffins with butter the first time and today with coconut oil. Works fine with the coconut oil but depending on how you mix it up/how cold your eggs are, it can solidify and that was a bit of a headache. I luckily used a metal bowl, so I stuck that in the oven for a few minutes to melt it up a bit.
This recipe looks delicious! Is it possible to replace coconut flour with almond flour in this recipe? I have so much to use up :-). I love your recipes and you have inspired me to eat a mostly vegetarian diet. Thank you!
I’ve been making your delicious recipes for a while now but just recently bought the muffin pan you recommend and it was LIFE CHANGING. I’m getting this pan for every baker I know as a Christmas present. It’s awesome, and so are these muffins. Thank you!
You’re welcome, Rebecca!
I have been making these and adding a little extra fiber with some bran, flax meal, and psyllium husk. They keep me regular! And they are still very tasty, I also add a banana in it sometimes.
Hi Kate,
It was a snowy day here today so I decided to bake. Your muffin recipes are the best and they’re the only ones I want to make now. I made your cranberry orange muffins and love them. Later I made your apple carrot muffins. I didn’t have an apple in the crisper today so I used crushed pineapple instead with lightly toasted walnuts as the add-in. So good. Both recipes were easy and came together in no time. The house smells devine. Thanks for all you do in getting these recipes to us.
These are so tasty! I made a single recipe, then made a triple batch today to take to my family for the holidays :) One comment – the recipe multiplier doesn’t work for the mix-ins. It still shows 1/2 C for a triple batch. Thankfully I caught that and used the correct amount.
Thanks for the heads-up! That shouldn’t be happening and I’m lookin into it! I appreciate it. I’m glad you caught it!
Delicious! I baked them as mini muffins as an attempt to get my very picky toddler to eat something besides crackers! The bake time was about 13-15 minutes (and he seems to like them!) I loved them too. Thanks for the recipe!
What would be the measurement of applesauce to put in instead of grated apple? Thanks!
These muffins are delicious! I’ve been making them several times a week. My family loves them!
Excellent recipe!
First time baking with almond flour, so very pleased!
I added 1/4 cup additional oats, apples and carrots, plus crushed pineapple and coconut milk to moisten. Decreased honey by half and subbed 2 tbsp. brown sugar. And I ALWAYS add extra cinnamon + cloves and nutmeg.
I topped them with a crumbly oat/butter/brown sugar mix, about a tsp each.
I love this recipe. They’re healthy but hearty and easily adaptable. I’m not a fan of the texture of gluten free baked goods so I used half almond meal and half white whole wheat flour and used half coconut sugar, half honey. I also added pecans and raisins. The flavor was good but they were a tiny bit dry. Next time I might add a little Greek yogurt or mashed banana to make them a bit more moist.
Thank you for sharing, Ceecee!
I make these frequently and discovered that using just two eggs instead of three works just fine. I was wondering why these need to be stored in the refrigerator or freezer? Are they good on the counter for a day or two? I love them and usually can’t stop at just one! Thanks
Hi Chelsea, that is what worked best for me and with the fresh ingredients (apple & carrot) help to keep them.
I tried the dairy free version by substituting coconut oil for the butter and they were still delicious!
I’m excited to try these! Can I use the same recipe to make a bread loaf instead of muffins?
Yes, I think so, but haven’t tried! Bake it at the temp provided for the muffins. I imagine it will take longer to bake, though.
My kids and I love this recipe! I made it once with whole wheat flour and another time with almond flour. One problem however is that when I made it according to the recipe with almond flour, the muffins fell apart, broken into pieces, crumbled. Didn’t have this problem with whole wheat four. Any suggestions?
Hi Debra! That’s strange—my muffins were not like that at all! Did you pack the almond flour into the cups? It needs to be firmly packed. Also assuming that you did not forget the eggs, which are important for binding the ingredients together.
Made these with my 2.5 year old and we both loved them! They will be perfect for quick breakfasts on busy mornings. The only note is that they did take about 10 minutes longer to bake for me (40 min total).
Made this recipe multiple times and it’s amazing! Kids love it with butter and jam as well. Quick question, what website did you use to calculate the nutrition value.
thank you
Janna
Hi Janna, thank you! I use a paid service called Nutrifox to output the nutrition info.
I’m glad you are loving these Jana. Here is my nutritional disclaimer: https://sooka.info/nutrition-disclaimer/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
Hi Kate ,
I made these muffins using regular flour , substituted coconut oil for butter and baked for 25 minutes.
Although insanely delicious, they came out pretty dry.
What did I do wrong ?
Also can I substitute the cinnamon with something else ? My husband doesn’t like it
Hi Saira, Did you see my note about changing it if you used a different flour? MAKE THEM NUT FREE: (The muffins will no longer be gluten free with this variation, which was provided by the recipe author.) Whole wheat pastry flour or whole wheat flour can be used as an alternative to the almond meal. Increase the butter to 8 tablespoons (1 stick), since wheat flour is much drier, and reduce the oats to 1 cup.
I used nut butter instead of real butter and apple sauce instead of honey and the muffins were delicious. Great recipe!
Followed all the steps correctly and my batter was like cookie dough not runny at all
These turned out very dry and not sweet enough. Will put some butter and honey on them to make them better.
Sorry you didn’t love these. Did you use maple syrup or honey?
Love this recipe! So tasty! I made these with gluten free flour instead of almond meal as I didn’t have any and they worked out beautifully!
These are delicious- perfect recipe! I didn’t have Granny Smith, so used whatever apple I had on hand. I think Granny Smith would have contributed more flavor, but still delicious!
These were so good! I’m Nesting in anticipation of baby #3, so i added raisins and subbed 1c oat bran for 1c flour. Even the kids live these muffins! thank you!
I’d love to try these but we’re out of almond flour. Do you think that coconut flour would work as a substitute or is it too light? Thanks!
Hi Kristie, I wouldn’t recommend it as coconut flour soaks up a lot of moisture.
Thanks Kate. What about an all purpose gluten free flour as a substitute?
Hi Kristie! I’m not sure without trying it. Sorry!
Hi Kate and Cookie,
Hope you’re well. I’m making these muffins again to trade with a friend who made us masks! I make them for holiday breakfasts and birthday breakfasts, too. Thanks for the fabulous recipe.
Just made these muffins to have as breakfast/snacks this week. They’re AMAZING. I get tired of eggs and yogurt for breakfast and prefer something that more like bread but more wholesome.
I did have to swap up a few ingredients based on what I had at my house already – used whole wheat flour and upped the carrots a little because I love carrots!
These came out so delicious and super moist. Thanks, Kate!
I can’t eat apples, so do you think these would turn out if I substituted the apple for more carrots? I looked at your carrot muffins, but I need gluten free.
Hey Sarah! Yes, I think you could add more apples to make up for the carrots. Please report back if you give it a try!
I made these with butter the first time, but just made dairy free and they were just as delicious! Thanks for all of the amazing recipes! Is there a way to search for of your all almond flour recipes? Whole wheat flour is sold out everywhere and I’m also trying to use more almond flour in my life.
Thanks!
Hi Michele, happy to hear it! You can find all of my almond flour recipes here (for my recipes, almond meal and almond flour are interchangeable).
I used pecan flour, I’m sensitive to almond flour, but my batter is very dry. Any suggestions?
Hi Diane, I’m not too familiar with pecan flour, sorry!
Kate, I was looking for a recipe for some carrots that were not looking too good. Came across your recipe and I am sooo glad I did. The muffins were hearty and SUPER delicious. I have used some of your recipes for my family. My husband, 8 year old and 5 year old eat it all up, licking their fingers. You do a great job with your website and recipes. Thank you for sharing.
Glad you found this one, Liz! The creators did a great job with it so I was happy to share. I appreciate your review!
These were absolutely delicious. I was able to sub for flax eggs and it worked just fine. Added about 1/4 cup of almond milk just to add a lot more moisture. Turned out great!
Hi Kate, these muffins are awesome! I made them with flax eggs however I used gluten version of this recipe and they turned out very moist and delicious.
Hi Kate,
Loving your recipes! Can you use all purpose flour in place of the almond flour?
Thanks!
Hi Joy! You can use all purpose (2 cups), but you’ll need to follow the adjustments suggested under the recipe note on how to make the muffins nut-free.
I just made these and subbed whole wheat flour for the almond flour. I left the rest of the recipe the same. The batter was thick, so I made them into breakfast cookies instead! My 3 yo LOVED them!
I have been making Shalane’s original recipe of carrot zucchini super hero muffins and I like them the best. The apple carrot ones a excellent as well. I have put all kinds of add ins to the muffins such as dried cranberries, almonds, choc. chips etc. They always turn out great! Buy the cookbooks – there are two. There are lots of healthy recipes in each.
Thank you, Anne! I appreciate your review. I love your add-ins.
Could I make the muffin recipe In a loaf pan? Would I need to adjust anything?
BTW … the muffins are awesome. One of my new favourite recipes!
Hi Devorah! I’m glad you love them. Yes, I think so, but haven’t tried! Bake it at the temp provided for the muffins. I imagine it will take longer to bake, though.
Any ideas on what I could use instead of butter, to lower the fat content?
Hi ST, I didn’t try other alternatives and find butter does really work the best here.
These are fantastic! I didn’t add any of the add-ins, and I needed to increase my baking time by about 10 min at 375, but these muffins are superb! I will be adding these to my weekly baking routine for sure!