My vegan carrot muffins are bursting with spices, and studded with raisins and crunchy walnuts, and covered in a sweet oat crumble topping! They're super easy to whip up and perfect for a sweet snack or an indulgent breakfast.
You've got to love muffins. They're like cake you can eat for breakfast! If you're a fan of my vegan carrot cake, you're going to love these vegan carrot muffins. They have basically the same flavors and spices, but are on the lighter side and socially acceptable to eat for breakfast.
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My vegan carrot muffins feature not just shredded carrots, but also sweet raisins, crunchy walnuts, and LOTS of spices. Each one optionally gets topped with a sweet, buttery oat crumble topping. You can skip the topping if you're looking to keep things on the healthier side (this is breakfast, after all), or use it if you're serious about the whole cake for breakfast thing.
In addition to being delicious and comforting, these muffins are super easy to make!
Tip: If you're a fan of these vegan carrot muffins, give my vegan morning glory muffins a try. They also feature carrots, along with apples, raisins, nuts, and coconut.
Ingredients You'll Need
Below you'll find a list of ingredients in this recipe, with notes and substitutions. Scroll all the way to the bottom of the post to see the full recipe, including the amount of each ingredient.
- Rolled oats. We're using these for the topping. Quick oats should work fine as a substitute, if that's what you have on hand.
- Flour. I've tested this recipe with all-purpose and whole wheat pastry flours. Spelt flour tends to work well in muffin recipes, so I think it will be fine here. I can't say for sure what kind of results you'll get with any other varieties.
- Brown sugar. Make sure it's organic. Conventional brown sugar is often processed using animal bone char, so it's may not be vegan.
- Spices. We're using cinnamon, ginger, and cloves.
- Salt.
- Vegan butter. Most grocery stores sell vegan butter in the refrigerated case, near the regular butter.
- Non-dairy milk. Just about any variety that's unflavored and unsweetened will work, the only exception being canned coconut milk. Soy milk, almond milk, oat milk and cashew milk will all work. Check out my guide to dairy-free milks for more guidance!
- Vegetable oil. Feel free to substitute your favorite baking oil. Melted coconut oil, canola oil, or even olive oil will work just fine.
- Vanilla extract.
- Apple cider vinegar. See my guide to apple cider vinegar substitutes if you need one.
- Baking powder.
- Baking soda.
- Carrots.
- Walnuts. Feel free to skip these if you're not into nuts, or substitute another type of nut like pecans or hazelnuts.
- Raisins. These can also be omitted if you prefer, of you can use another variety of dried fruit like cranberries or cherries.
How They're Made
Below is a detailed photo tutorial on how to make this dish. Scroll all the way down if you'd like to skip right to the recipe!
Step 1: Preheat your oven to 425°F and line a twelve cup muffin tin with papers.
Step 2: Make the topping. Stir rolled oats, flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt together in a bowl, then stir in melted vegan butter. Place the bowl in the fridge to chill.
Step 3: Combine the wet ingredients for your batter. Stir non-dairy milk, oil, vanilla extract, and apple cider vinegar in a small container, such as a liquid measuring cup.
Tip: Make sure your wet ingredients are at room temperature before using them in this recipe.
Step 4: Add the flour, brown sugar, spices, baking powder, baking soda, and salt to a large mixing bowl, then stir everything up until the ingredients are well combined.
Step 5: Use a large spoon to make a well in the center of your dry ingredients, then pour in the wet ingredients. Stir everything just until the ingredients are combined.
Tip: Don't overmix your batter. Stop stirring as soon as you no longer see streaks of flour.
Step 6: Gently fold your shredded carrots, raisins, and walnuts into the batter. Again, be careful not to overmix the ingredients.
Step 7: Divide the batter among your muffin cups, then sprinkle the tops with the crumble topping.
Tip: Most box graters have two grating surfaces for grating different sizes — use the smaller one to grate your carrots. Alternatively, a food processor with a shredding disc can be used.
Step 8: Bake your muffins until the tops are domed, the topping is golden brown, and a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean of batter.
Step 9: Let the muffins cool on a cooling rack before removing them from the tin.
Variations
- Frosted muffins. Skip the crumb toping, and instead top your muffins with some vegan cream cheese frosting or vegan buttercream frosting.
- Vanilla drizzle. Combine one cup of organic powdered sugar with two tablespoons of non-dairy milk and a teaspoon of vanilla extract. Drizzle the mixture over the muffins after they've cooled.
- Citrus muffins. Add one to two teaspoons of orange or lemon zest to the liquid ingredients, for a burst of refreshing flavor.
Shelf-Life & Storage
Vegan carrot muffins will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for about 3 days, in the fridge for about 5 days, or in the freezer for about a week.
Frequently Asked Questions
Unsweetened applesauce might work as a substitute for the oil, but I haven't tested it, so I can't say for sure.
I'm not sure. I think your best bet would be to substitute an all-purpose gluten-free blend like those made by Bob's Red Mill or King Arthur if you'd like to try it.
You can! Just lightly oil the muffin tin cavities before adding the batter.
You can, and there's no need to modify the recipe. Simply skip step 2.
More Vegan Muffin Recipes
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📖 Recipe
Vegan Carrot Muffins
Ingredients
For the Topping (optional)
- ¼ cup rolled oats
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 3 tablespoons organic brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Pinch salt
- 2 tablespoons vegan butter, melted
For the Muffins
- 1 cup unsweetened non-dairy milk (room temperature)
- â…“ cup vegetable oil
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 ¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour (or whole wheat pastry flour)
- ½ cup organic brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon powdered ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup finely shredded carrots (about 2 medium carrots)
- ½ cup chopped walnuts
- ½ cup raisins
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F and line a 12 cup muffin tin with muffin liners.
- To make the topping, stir together the rolled oats, flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Add the vegan butter and stir until the ingredients are evenly saturated with the melted butter. Place the bowl in the fridge while you make the muffin batter.
- Stir the milk, oil, vanilla, and apple cider vinegar together in small bowl or liquid measuring cup. Set this aside.
- Stir the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a large mixing bowl.
- Use a spoon to form a well in the center of the dry ingredients, then pour in the milk mixture. Stir just until the wet and dry ingredients are fully mixed. Make sure not to overmix the batter.
- Fold the carrots, walnuts, and raisins into the batter.
- Divide the batter among the muffin cups, then sprinkle the tops with the crumble topping. You may need to break it up a bit with your fingers as you do this. Gently press the topping into the batter.
- Bake the muffins for 8 minutes, then turn down the oven temperature to 350°F and bake the muffins for 10 to 12 minutes longer, until the topping is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.
- Transfer the muffin tin to a cooling rack and allow the muffins to cool before removing them from the tins and serving.
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I mase this exactly as written and it was extremely dry. What went wrong?,,,
I made exactly as stated and they are delicious! Will make this recipe over and over again. Thank you!
I have made these lots of times. I keep a batch in the freezer and warm in the microwave when I fancy a sweet treat! Great recipe!
Tasty! I added about 2 tsp of flax seed meal, substituted cranberries for raisins and almonds instead of walnuts. I did go oil-free and used apple sauce instead. Taste perfect! Will be great for breakfast.
I also love these! I use lemon juice instead of apple vinegar, it works really well and has a bit more fresh flavor :)
Yum! Super easy and tasty. I didn’t have coconut oil so I used olive oil—delicious!
They are delicious