Whole wheat carrot cake muffins

Overhead close-up photo of whole wheat carrot cake muffins with cream cheese frosting on a white plate with grated carrots and a whisk and green striped towel nearby.

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Whole wheat carrot cake muffins are fun for a healthy breakfast, snack or school lunch.

Prep Time15

Cook Time15

Total Time30

Yield: 12 muffins

Ingredients

1 ¼ cups white whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon salt
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
½ cup pure maple syrup
¼ cup plain nonfat Greek yogurt
½ cup milk of choice
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups finely shredded carrots (from 3-4 medium carrots)

For the cream cheese frosting (optional):

4 oz. reduced fat plain cream cheese
2 tablespoons plain nonfat Greek yogurt
2-3 tablespoons maple syrup
½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners and spray with cooking spray.
In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Stir to combine.
In a separate medium bowl, beat the eggs and add maple syrup, Greek yogurt, milk and vanilla. Stir with a whisk to break up the Greek yogurt until the mixture is smooth.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir just until combined. Fold in the shredded carrots.
Divide the batter between the 12 muffin cups, filling each almost all the way full.
Bake at 350 for 15-18 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Meanwhile, make the cream cheese frosting, if using. Combine all ingredients, starting with 2 tablespoons of maple syrup in a small bowl and use a hand mixer (or stand mixer) to combine. The mixer helps get the glaze smooth. Taste and add extra maple syrup, if desired.
Let the muffins cool then top with the cream cheese frosting, if using.

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Notes

I use white whole wheat flour but you can substitute whole wheat flour or all-purpose flour if you prefer.

I’ve used Greek yogurt to keep these lightened up, but you could substitute a dairy-free yogurt if you need these to be dairy-free.

I finely grate the carrots so that they pretty much melt into the muffin. You could do a more coarse grating if you want some more texture.

Feel free to add some mix-ins to these muffins! You could add ½ cup of raisins or walnuts (or both) when you fold in the shredded carrots. (You may end up with closer to 13 or 14 muffins if you do this.) Or you could sprinkle the tops of the muffins with raisins or chopped walnuts - or both.

Nutrition

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