Morning Glory Banana Carrot Muffins are a delicious breakfast or snack to have stocked in the freezer! These are hearty protein muffins made with banana, apple, and carrot plus packed with healthy ingredient swaps like almond flour, whole wheat flour, oats, nuts and seeds. They make the perfect breakfast on the go, a healthy addition to a lunchbox, and are a great snack for kids!
- These Banana Carrot Muffins are Healthy! - I love muffins, especially with coffee for a late morning snack. But, I want them to be a snack, not a dessert! A lot of the healthy muffin recipes aren't really very healthy. They are full of lots of flour and sugar mixed in with a banana or two to give them their healthy claim. I've created this recipe to be able to eat two if you want! With a clean list of ingredients, they make a healthy addition to breakfast or snack time! This is a large batch so stock extras in the freezer!
- Healthier Ingredients but Easy to Make! - Morning Glory Banana Muffins have quite a long ingredient list, but don't let that scare you away! These muffins are nutrient dense, packed with the good stuff in every bite! I've replace the sugar with maple syrup, and the applesauce, fruit, and orange juice give it extra natural sweetness. I've also swapped white flour with healthier substitutes - whole wheat flour, almond flour, and rolled oats. The nuts, seeds and extra eggs give you more protein and nothing is short on taste! You probably have most of the ingredients in the pantry, and these healthy banana protein muffins are so simple to make!
- If you Love these Healthy Carrot Banana Muffins, be sure to check out my Zucchini Banana Bread Muffins, Double Chocolate Zucchini Muffins, Chocolate Pumpkin Muffins, and my Banana Carrot Oatmeal Muffins!
Ingredients & Substitutions
- Whole Wheat Flour - Swapping all purpose flour for whole wheat flour makes these a higher protein banana muffin. It's an easy substitute that doesn't affect the taste! But, regular white flour is fine to use if that's what you have!
- Almond Flour - Making these almond flour banana muffins really packs the additional nutrition and protein over regular white flour while adding a delicious nutty flavor. Try these Almond Cherry Scones too!
- Rolled Oats - All the dry ingredients, including regular rolled oats increase the nutrition in these high-protein oatmeal muffins. These are the same oats we buy in bulk to always make Homemade Almond Vanilla Granola!
- Nuts and Seeds - I've used chopped walnuts or pecans as well as sunflower and flax seeds for a delicious nutty flavor while giving a nice texture to the muffin. You can easily substitute any nuts or seeds that you have. It's better to use raw nuts versus nuts that are already roasted and salted.
- Raisins - Chewy when baked, raisins add a sweet bite. Golden raisins, dried cranberries or cherries could also be used.
- Baking Powder and Baking Soda - These are the leveners for your muffins, making them rise when baked.
- Salt and Spices - Morning Glory Muffins are loved for their warm spiced flavor. These muffins use cinnamon and nutmeg, as well as a bit of salt to bring out the flavor of all the ingredients.
- Eggs - Eggs add structure and richness to your carrot banana muffins, as well as extra protein.
- Applesauce - Adds moisture for a soft texture. We love making homemade applesauce in the fall and freezing it, great for baking and eating all year!
- Maple Syrup - These are refined sugar-free muffins! Banana, apple, applesauce, raisins, and most importantly, real maple syrup are what sweeten the muffins. You could substitute honey or brown sugar for the maple syrup.
- Coconut Oil - Provides a healthier fat for the muffins to give them the best texture. You could also use melted butter.
- Orange Juice - Orange juice brings flavor, sweetness and a touch of acid, balancing the warm spices.
- Carrots, Apples, Banana - Here's where you can feel good about eating these muffins for breakfast! These are healthy fruit and vegetable muffins! Apple banana carrot muffins are full of the good stuff, perfect for a healthy snack or a great lunchbox addition!
- Vanilla Extract - Adds rich delicious flavor!
- Topping - The topping is the best part! We like to mix oats, nuts or seeds, and chocolate, white or butterscotch chips. The kids love the chocolate chip toppings, making these semi-healthy muffins feel like an indulgent treat!
See recipe card below for quantitites.
Step-By-Step Instructions
Step 1 - Preheat the oven to 425°, THEN LOWER the temperature to 375° when you put the muffins in.
Step 2 - Add all dry ingredients to a large bowl and whisk together. Add all other ingredients and mix to combine with a spatula. Batter will be thick.
Step 3 - Line muffin tins and fill the cups full. Add a spoonful of topping to each muffin. Bake at 375° for about 35 minutes.
Recipe Tips
- Start with the oven at a higher temperature, then lower - Starting your muffins in an oven preheated at 425° gives them a burst of hot air, helping them rise. Lowering the temperature to 375° when putting the muffins in the oven helps them to cook all the way through without burning. For the best muffins, you want both, that initial rise, and then a lower even temp to cook them through.
- Bake without peeking in the oven! Opening the oven door can cause muffins to sink when they are trying to rise! Allow muffins to cook the full 35 minutes, or at least 30 before checking them for doneness. That even steady hot air will give you nice big domed tops on your muffins.
Recipe FAQs
These Morning Glory Carrot and Banana Muffins can be stored in an airtight container on the counter for a few days or in the fridge for up to 6 days. This is a large batch, ideal for freezing muffins! Cool muffins completely first and store in the freezer for 4 to 6 months. A frozen muffin makes a great snack, either microwaved or thawed in a kid's lunchbox!
YES! And you should! These Morning Glory apple banana carrot muffins are a large batch meant to be frozen, giving you a quick healthy breakfast or snack to pull out as needed! Freeze muffins for 4 to 6 months.
If you don't have applesauce, you can substitute an extra mashed banana.
More Favorite Muffin Recipes!
If you made this recipe, I'd love to hear how you liked it! Be sure to leave a star rating by clicking the stars in the recipe card, or leave a comment below!
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Morning Glory Banana Carrot Muffins
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Print Pin RateIngredients
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 1 cup almond flour
- 1 cup rolled oats
- ½ cup walnuts or pecans chopped
- ½ cup sunflower seeds
- ½ cup raisins
- 2 Tablespoons chia or flax seeds
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- 3 eggs
- ½ cup applesauce
- ½ cup maple syrup
- ½ cup coconut oil or butter melted
- ½ cup orange juice
- 2 carrots grated (about 1 cup packed)
- 2 apples grated or diced small
- 1 banana mashed
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Topping
- 1 Tablespoon butter melted
- 1 cup any combination of rolled oats, chopped nuts, sunflower or pumpkin seeds, chocolate, butterscotch or white chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°, THEN LOWER temperature to 375° when you put the muffins in.
- In a large bowl, mix all dry ingredients with a whisk.
- Add all other ingredients and mix with a spatula, batter will be thick.
- Spray or line muffin tins, or use reusable silicone muffin liners. Fill cups full and add topping. Bake at 375° for 35 minutes.
- Makes about 20-23 muffins. Enjoy with a pat of butter!
Notes
- Store Muffins in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days or in the freezer for 4 to 6 months.
- Bake without peeking in the oven! Opening the oven door can cause muffins to sink! Allow muffins to cook the full 35 minutes, or at least 30 before checking them for doneness.
- Substitutions - This recipe has a long ingredient list but substitutions are fine! The wheat flour, almond flour and oats can be really any combination of different flours totaling 3 cups. Any kinds of nuts and seeds can be substituted. Honey or brown sugar can be used in place of the maple syrup. The applesauce can be subbed with an extra mashed banana. Nutmeg can be left out if you don't have it.
John says
I love that this recipe requires I keep wonderful ingredients in my pantry. Fun to make. I ground up chocolate chip cookies for the butter topping!
Meryl Downing says
Glad you liked them John!
ANN says
These are a great snack muffin, but also delicious for breakfast with your coffee. There are a lot of ingredients, so they take awhile to come together, but worth the effort! I put half in the freezer to be rewarmed anytime. Very healthy!
Meryl Downing says
Thanks Ann, so glad you liked them! You are right, a long ingredient list but lots of healthy stuff!
Kaillie says
Really, really good recipe. My family deals with gluten & dairy intolerance and I substituted gluten free flour for the whole wheat flour and the muffins turned out perfect! Really nice recipe!
Julie says
Do you think I could use an extra banana or two in lieu of the apples? Thanks!
Meryl Downing says
Yes I think that would be fine.
Karen says
How many calories are in these
Meryl Downing says
Hi Karen, At this time, I don't have the capabilities to calculate the nutrition information. This is a paid for feature of the recipe card I use and I haven't invested in it, though I plan to in the future.
Karima says
These came out fantastic. I added 1/2c of unflavored protein powder in place of 1/2c almond flour. Everyone loved them. I made 10 large muffins.
Meryl Downing says
Thanks! Glad they came out great! Protein powder is a great substitute, I had never thought of that!
J. David Rice says
These are great, Meryl. Thanks for posting.