Vegan carrot muffins

Name: Vegan carrot muffins
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 40 min
Yield: makes 12
Ingredients: 1 chia or flax egg; 150 g / ¾ cup brown sugar; 180 ml / ¾ cup applesauce*; 80 ml / 1/3 cup olive oil; 2 tsp lemon juice; 180 g / 2 cups oat flour (GF certified if needed); 1 tsp baking soda (GF certified if needed); 1½ tsp baking powder (GF certified if needed); a good pinch of salt; 1½ tsp cinnamon; ¾ tsp ground ginger; ¼ tsp ground cloves; ¼ tsp ground nutmeg; 80 g / ½ cup packed almond milk pulp**; 200 g / 7 oz (approx. 1¾ cups) coarsely grated carrots; ½ cup chopped walnuts; a mix of seeds, for topping

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easy gluten-free healthy

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Vegan carrot muffins

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easy gluten-free healthy

vegan carrot muffins top down macro

Today’s recipe is very season-appropriate for most of Europe, at least. I say that as, in its typical fashion, Greece is still in two minds about whether it’s ready to move into autumn full time.

I’m not complaining here. Lovely Duncan is whisking me away to Santorini for my birthday weekend soon so fingers crossed autumn hesitates for a wee bit longer.

So today’s treat is a tray of autumn-inspired, moist carrot muffins fragrant with gingerbread spices (cinnamon, ginger, cloves and nutmeg) and studded with walnut pieces.

These puppies are relatively low fat as applesauce does a great job of replacing some of the oil. Even though I don’t usually count calories, I did in this instance as I somehow managed to inhale 2.5 muffins yesterday. It was a bad day and no, muffins did not help much, but hey, no shame in doing some emotional eating now and again, or is it? I’m working on it…

So in case you are curious, each muffin is just over 200 kCal without the topping as that’s kinda hard to calculate with precision. Anyway, these are not that guilty as far as muffins go. They pack a lot of wholesome goodness into their small stature – oat flour, almond milk pulp, applesauce and heaps of grated carrots – so make them pronto and if, like me, you cannot be trusted with a whole tray, share with your neighbours and friends.

If you make this recipe please tag me on Instagram using the #lazycatkitchen hashtag and @lazycatkitchen. I love seeing your takes on my recipes!

vegan carrot muffins

vegan carrot muffins top down

vegan carrot muffins stack

makes

PREP

20 min

COOKING

40 min

makes

PREPARATION

20 min

COOKING

40 min

5 reviews

5.0

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INGREDIENTS

WET INGREDIENTS

1 chia or flax egg
150 g / ¾ cup brown sugar
180 ml / ¾ cup applesauce*
80 ml / 1/3 cup olive oil
2 tsp lemon juice

DRY INGREDIENTS

180 g / 2 cups oat flour (GF certified if needed)
1 tsp baking soda (GF certified if needed)
1½ tsp baking powder (GF certified if needed)
a good pinch of salt
1½ tsp cinnamon
¾ tsp ground ginger
¼ tsp ground cloves
¼ tsp ground nutmeg
80 g / ½ cup packed almond milk pulp**
200 g / 7 oz (approx. 1¾ cups) coarsely grated carrots
½ cup chopped walnuts
a mix of seeds, for topping

METHOD

Prepare a chia (or flax egg) – detailed instructions here.
Set the oven to 180° C / 355° C. Grease a standard 12-hole muffin tin with a tiny bit of olive oil.
In a bowl mix together sugar, applesauce, olive oil, lemon juice and chia egg. Whisk vigorously with a hand whisk.
In another bowl mix together oat flour, salt, spices, baking powder and baking soda.
Place a sieve over the bowl with wet ingredients and sift the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Mix well.
Fold in almond milk pulp (no need to dry it out first), grated carrots and chopped walnuts.
Spoon the batter between 12 muffin holes, decorate with a mixture of sesame, sunflower, pumpkin seeds and some coconut flakes.
Bake for 40-45 min depending on your oven. The muffins are done when a toothpick comes out fairly clean. Let them cool down completely before removing them from the tin and eating.

NOTES

*To make an applesauce, peel, core and chop 3 apples. Put them in a pot with a cup of water and simmer (covered) until soft and falling apart. Once the apples are cooked, purée them with a hand blender. You can make a bigger batch and freeze spare portions for another use.

**Or 60 g / ½ cup of coarsely ground almonds and an extra 2 teaspoons of water.

NUTRITIONAL INFO

calories

221

11%

sugars

16 g

18%

fats

11 g

16%

saturates

1 g

proteins

3 g

carbs

28 g

11%

*per muffin

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Green bowl with quinoa

Lemon tofu

Greek chickpeas in tomato sauce

Crispy rice salad

Savoury tofu pancakes

Oven vegan tacos

2 ingredient smoothie

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5.0

5 reviews, 20 comments

REVIEWS & QUESTIONS

Jo:

1 Feb 2021

Can I make oat flour by grinding up oats?

Ania:

1 Feb 2021

Absolutely, as long as you grind them finely or else the texture of these will be a bit different. Hope this helps! Ania

Allison Smith:

5 May 2019

I forgot to suggest that you could substitute the apple sauce for the same amount of canned crushed pineapple, that has been drained of its juices, (you could use some of the juice to make the chia or flax egg)

Ania:

5 May 2019

Nice idea, thanks! Ania

Allison Smith:

5 May 2019

I just made these muffins, and used half a cup of raw sugar, and I used almond meal, because I am too lazy to make my own almond milk (I buy it), so no almond pulp, but that doesn't matter.... The secret to moist cakes and muffins is to add a teaspoon of vegetable glycerin to the batter, a French pastry chef gave this tip to my Mother many years a go and it works. I made my muffins in the 'Texas' size as smaller one reminds me of cupcakes, they still turned out extremely well however they did require more baking time

Ania:

5 May 2019

Great to hear, Allison! x Ania

Barb Frances:

30 Jan 2019

I was looking for some way to use the pulp from juicing carrots, apple and ginger when I found this amazing recipe. I didn't have all the ingredients, so I had to do some substitutions.....and as it is with incredible recipes....it came out beautifully! I didn't have oat flour, so I used all purpose white flour. I used Ener-G egg replacer, used only pumpkin and sunflower seeds on the top.....and added 1/2 cup of each into the batter as well.....I also baked some of the batter in doughnut pan and baked for 20 minutes.
These are a huge hit at home, as breakfast, a grab and go or just as a snack....so much so that I gave some to a friend who called this morning saying "OMG! OMG!" and asked for the recipe.
I love this recipe......and love that its flexible in the ingredients and still wonderful!! Kudos!! It's amazing!!!

Ania:

31 Jan 2019

Thanks, Barb! I'm so delighted to hear that! Thanks for taking the time to review and rate the recipe! Ania

Em:

5 Dec 2018

Forgot to rate. Thanks Ania for your lovely recipes.

Em:

5 Dec 2018

5 star recipe! These came out just as in the photos, which almost never happens to me! Delicious, moist and easy to make. I didn't pay attention to the lower quantity needed if using ground almonds so added an extra splash of soya milk at the end. I also didn't have enough walnuts so used half walnuts and half raisins. Thank you! Will be making again.

Ania:

6 Dec 2018

Thanks so much, Em! I'm really chuffed to hear that! And thanks for coming back to leave us a rating - it really helps us. Ania

Paulina:

11 Feb 2018

Hi Ania! In case I decide to use the bananas how many should I use? I came across your blog only yesterday but loving it already. Spanish chickpea and spinach stew is delicious :)

Ania:

11 Feb 2018

Hi Paulina,
Thanks you for your kind words :) As for your question, simply swap mashed up (ripe) bananas for applesauce and you may also want to reduce the amount of sugar a little as bananas are usually sweeter than apples. Hope that helps! Ania

Rosa:

3 Feb 2018

Hi Ania,
Any suggestions for a applesauce replacement?

Ania:

3 Feb 2018

Hi Rosa,
I different fruit or veg puree would work, like pumpkin, carrot, sweet potato or mashed bananas (you may want to reduce the amount of sugar if you use sweet potato or bananas). Thick vegan yogurt should work too. Hope that helps! Ania

Janvi Sidhu:

31 Jan 2018

Hey, Ania! Is it possible to replace the almond milk pulp with something else?
P.S. - I am Indian and I absolutely love your take on Indian recipes.

Ania:

31 Jan 2018

Hello Janvi,
You could replace it with any ground up nuts or seeds, like pumpkin or sunflower and possibly dessicated coconut will work too. Just wet them a little with water to compensate for the fact that almond milk pulp is a bit damp. Thanks for your kind words about my Indian recipes, I'm delighted to hear that! Ania

Andreea:

20 Oct 2017

Hello,
Do you think I could replace chia or flax egg with aquafaba?
PS I really love your recipes :)
Thank you,
Andreea

Ania:

20 Oct 2017

Hi Andreea,
Thanks so much, I'm so glad you are enjoying our recipes. I haven't tried myself but I'm pretty sure it will work well. Just make sure your aquafaba is fairly thick (a bit like an egg white) - if need be reduce it on the stove (without the lid) to allow excess water evaporate. Hope that helps! Ania

Hanne:

28 Sep 2017

Carrot muffins are just the thing to toss at your kids as they leave the house. Love it. I remember our first trip to Santorini with my parents, we slept in a friend's barn with their animals. We were woken each morning to the crowing of the rooster and the lady of the house entering with a fresh picked melon which we'd all devour. Enjoy your B-day in Santorini.

Ania:

28 Sep 2017

Thank you, Hanne! Your Santorini memories sound lovely! One reason this is going to be my first visit there is that its commercialisation and constant overcrowding has been putting me off a fair bit. Your experience sounds so much more relaxed! :) Ania

yumi:

27 Sep 2017

HI,
can I use regular Flour?
thanx! I love your recipe ^_^

Ania:

27 Sep 2017

Hi Yumi,
I have not tried, but I am pretty certain it should work if you replace oat flour with all purpose flour, just make sure you handle the batter gently as over-mixing gluten flour may lead to tough and chewy muffins. Hope that helps! Ania

Vesta:

26 Sep 2017

Hello,
Can I replace sugar with something else? It can be less sweet, no problem :)

Ania:

26 Sep 2017

Hi Vesta,
I think (although I haven't tried myself) that maple syrup would work, for example. Or coconut sugar maybe. I would test on a small batch (3 muffins as it's 1/4 of the recipe) and see how you like it as those ingredients are usually fairly pricey, at least here they are. Good luck! Ania

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