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Want something healthy for breakfast, that is satisfying and wholesome and also really delicious? These Zucchini Carrot Oatmeal Muffins, made with whole wheat and golden raisins, are the perfect option!
*This post has been updated from 2013
Remember a few weeks ago when my son was asking me to make him some muffins, and I was too, well, LAZY? I made him cranberry pancakes instead and it satisfied him, but darn it if he wasn’t still asking for muffins.
Recently my five year old daughter was needed to increase her fiber intake. Ahem. So I decided to make some muffins, and to make them super healthy. I thought they would hate them but they LOVED them! They each had two for breakfast and asked for them the next day. (Despite my daughter catching me dumping shredded carrot in the bowl – “Mom, are those CARROTS???”).
Tips for making the best Zucchini Carrot Oatmeal Muffins:
- Spray the pan generously with nonstick cooking spray. This is my preference over using paper liners because the liners have a tendency to stick sometimes and you can lose a precious raisin or two.
- Squeeze the liquid out of the carrots and zucchini. You want them to be moist, but not mushy. Take a clean flour sack towel or several paper towels stacked together, and wrap the shredded veggies in it. Twist the ends until tightly wrapped, then gently squeeze. This is best done over a bowl to catch the liquid.
- Mix the dry ingredients and the wet ingredients separately. The wet ingredients can be mixed as long as you like and it won’t affect the muffins. Once the dry and wet ingredients mix though, the gluten is activated and over-mixing can cause a very dense muffin. These muffins are already pretty dense with the oatmeal and the whole wheat, so you want to keep this in mind when mixing.
- Fill the muffin cups about ¾ of the way full. Did you know, an ice cream scoop is the perfect size for filling muffin cups? Use an ice cream scoop for muffins and cupcakes and they will be even in size every time!
Interestingly enough, my kids really enjoyed these muffins. They are tender and moist, and hearty enough for a quick stand-alone breakfast. Between the oats and whole wheat and the raisins, there is tons of fiber and lots of vitamins from the carrots and zucchini, which also happen to keep these muffins super moist.
Here are some more delicious muffin recipes to try:
And zucchini fans will love these delicious zucchini recipes:
Zucchini Carrot Oatmeal Muffins
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup rolled oats
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 large eggs
- 1 large egg white
- 3/4 cup oil
- 1 cup grated zucchini
- 1 cup grated carrot
- 3/4 cup golden raisins optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 12-count muffin pan with paper liners, or spray generously with nonstick cooking spray.
- Squeeze as much liquid as possible out of the zucchini and carrots. We want moist, not mushy.
- Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl and set aside.
- In a separate bowl, whisk eggs and oil. Stir in grated zucchini and carrots.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir just until combined.
- Fill muffin cups about ¾ full and bake for approx. 20 minutes. They are done when a toothpick inserted comes out clean, and tops spring back when lightly touched.
- Coll completely in the muffin pans and serve.Â
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer Kristin Maxwell of "Yellow Bliss Road" is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. For accurate calorie counts and other nutritional values, we recommend running the ingredients through your preferred online nutritional calculator. Calories and other nutritional values can vary depending on which brands were used.
What type of oil? vegetable oil? Or is there another kind I can use – perhaps coconut oil?
Yes, typically you would use vegetable or canola oil for baking. I haven’t tried coconut oil, but it should be an easy substitution.
I only have all purpose flour can I use that if I don’t have wheat?
Yes you can swap that out.
Can you use a substitute for sugar? Maybe applesauce?
Applesauce would be a substitute for oil or butter, not sugar. You could cut back on the sugar without really altering the texture, or use a sugar substitute like Stevia.
I just made these and used applesauce instead of sugar! I also used coconut oil. I did 1 cup of applesauce and 1/2 cup sugar. Since applesauce has more liquid than sugar, I only did 1/2 cup of oil. They turned out delicious to me! You can also use cinnamon for sugar, so you could always add more cinnamon so the muffins aren’t soup! Happy baking
How many muffins would this recipe make?
I’ve just made these and they’ve come out wonderfully, I cannot believe how easy they are to make, beats toast for breakfast.
I will definitely be making these alot from now on.
Very good! I doubled the batch and used 5 tsp of baking powder total. I added in nuts.
Also, I was wondering if you know how many it makes.
I just made them and got 18
When to add the raisins? I assume with the zucchini and carrots?
I think 1 tbs of baking soda was way too much. I made these and they were too bitter, I think they would have been great with less baking powder used.
Use baking powder as the recipe says:)
Holy. Cow. These are AMAZING!!!! I ended up using chopped zucchini, carrots and apples and added julienned cranberries. My kids inhaled them!
OMG! Thank you, thank you, thank you for this recipe! My 2 year old is the pickest eater EVER! She does not eat veggies and the food she does it is VERY limited. She’s 2 and weighs only 24 lbs….my 2 month old weighs 14 lbs. Anyways, found this on pinerest and tried it….the family loved them. My 8 year old smelled the cinnamon and thought I was making cinnamon rolls!
The only changes I made was I used all white flour as i didn’t have wheat and I added 1/2 tsp of vanilla extract. Thank you again for the wonderful recipe and I will definitely be looking on your page for more recipes I can get my toddler to eat.
That’s so great to hear Christina!!
Hi there i would like to know what kind of sugar needs 2 b used bc they did not come out right for me although ima try them again
Hi Tori, It’s white, granulated sugar.
Can I pour these directly into the muffin tin well oiled or do I have to use the mini muffin cups?
You do do either. 🙂
What about using baby oatmeal in place of rolled oats? (for the extra fortified iron and nutrients added to it)
Not sure if it would work because it’s ground into a powder?
Hi Gina,
I’ve never tried that so I can’t speak as to whether or not it would work. Let me know if you try it!
Would we be able to replace some of the flour with protein power?
Not sure, I’ve never used protein powder.
These are delicious! Made the recipe exactly. Thanks!
So glad you enjoyed them!
i just made these and followed the recipe to a T. I don’t know what happened but they are a little dry and crumbly
We are eating these yummy muffins!!! Very glad I cut the sugar to one cup. I think with the raisins the sugar could be cut to 3/4. Definitely will keep this recipe!
Just popped these muffins in the oven. I added half a cup of milk and used 4 eggs. The mixture seemed too dry. Should there not be milk or juice as well as eggs for liquid? Looking forward to eating these in 20 minutes!
Nope, the milk isn’t needed. The oil is enough moisture.
Is it 1 cup grated zucchini before or after you wring out the excess liquid?
I do a packed cup, then wring it out.