Muffins might be a delicious option for breakfasts, snacks and desserts, but they aren’t typically a particularly healthy choice. Even those with fruit in are often packed full of various sugars, and that’s not even considering the ones that have chocolate in instead. However, they don’t always have to be an unhealthy choice.
Looking for a relatively healthy recipe for muffins, I stumbled upon Lazy Cat Kitchen’s Healthy Carrot Muffins, which I thought sounded rather intriguing. I do love carrot cake, so why not five carrot muffins a go? The recipe seemed easy enough, and it would be a rather delicious choice for my breakfast the next day.
As expected, the recipe was quite easy, although it did take quite a long time to grate the correct amount of carrots, and I’ll certainly be purchasing an electric grater before making these muffins again.
I opted to use vegan Greek yoghurt, as that was just what I had in, although I would be interested to see if the taste differs if using the non-vegan option.
The muffins themselves were quite delicious and definitely tasted healthier than plenty of other muffins I’ve had over the years. And it wasn’t just me who thought so; everyone who tried the muffins appeared to be a fan of them.
I used all three of the suggested additions: raisins, glace ginger and walnut pieces, but you can switch one or two out if you’d rather.
Although in mine you could definitely taste the ginger, so it may not taste quite the same if you opt against adding this into your muffin.
Healthy carrot muffins recipe
Ingredients:
- 300g of carrots, peeled and grated
- 210g of Greek-style yoghurt (plant-based or dairy is fine)
- 100-150g of muscovado sugar
- 60g of desiccated (unsweetened) coconut
- 180g of wholemeal flour
- 50g of chopped walnuts
- 30g finely chopped candied/glace ginger
- 25g of raisins
- One teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda
- One and a half teaspoons of baking powder
- One teaspoon of cinnamon
- One teaspoon of ginger
- A pinch of salt
- Coconut crisps
Method
Start by preheating the oven to 180°C and lining a standard 12-hole muffin tin with paper liners. Then, if you haven’t already, grate the carrots using either a hand grater or food processor (the latter will take a lot less time).
In a mixing bowl, combine the grated carrots, the Greek yoghurt, sugar (use the lower amount for a less sweet taste), ginger, raisins and 80ml of water.
Once mixed, add in the coconut and a third of the flour, and fold in gently. Add in the rest of the flour in two batches, with the baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, cinnamon, salt and walnuts going in with the last batch.
Mix everything together and divide the mixture between 12 muffin liners. Top with the coconut crisps. Bake for about 25 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean.