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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.
Notes
Nutrition
My toddler and I made these today. So, so good! Thanks!
I’ve made these twice now, because my (non-veggie eating) kids couldn’t get enough of them the first time. I switch out 1/4 cup of the oil with applesauce but don’t change anything else, and they’re so good. They do freeze well. Just pull them out the night before to thaw and they’re ready for breakfast in the morning. Thanks for sharing!
we just made these today and my super-picky 5 year old loved them! have you ever tried freezing them? do they hold up well? if yes, how do you freeze them? just throw them into a ziploc bag or individually wrap in saran wrap?
thanks!
for the rolled oats, which kind? quick oats ok?
Either will work well.
Does anyone have the approximate calorie count for these?
My Fitness Pal says 179 calories per muffin.
My fitness pal says 304 🙁
Hi, I just wanted to tell you these are so good. I decreased the sugar to 1 cup , used a jar of pear baby food ( trying to use up the last jars from my 15 month old) in place of 1/2 the oil and used crushed pineapples in place of raisins. My health food hating husband loved them. Thank you so much.
How many muffins does this recipe yield?
About a dozen.
I made these tonight but felt the batter was way too dry so I added 3/4 cup fat free milk. Also I used beet sugar….they turned out delicious! The recipe is for 24 regular sized muffins.
Can you sub the flour for Coconut or almond flour?
I haven’t tried either of those, but I would think you could.
You can’t substitute coconut flour for white or wheat flour using a 1:1 ratio. Coconut flour is very absorbent and, therefore, requires less flour. Google to find the necessary adjustments. I don’t know about almond flour.
I’ve baked with coconut flour as wel as many other GF flours before. The thing about coconut is that it draws the moisture if you use it you would not want to cut back on the oil and use a whole egg in place of the egg white.
Can you add walnuts?
Yes I think nuts would be a great addition!
I know this is a healthy recipe and I am definitely going to make it, but I am thinking I will replace raisins with semi-sweet chocolate chips as well as use apple sauce to replace oil.
Made these today! My daughter loved them. This time we only substituted raisins for craisins, but I do think we will try apple sauce & less sugar next time. YUM!
Just made these tonight and they are tasty! I made a few substitutions to cut down on the calories: 1 cup of sugar + 1/2 cup of Splenda, 1/2 cup no sugar added applesauce (1 individual cup)+ 1/4 cup of oil, and reduced the raisins to 1/2 cup. Made this way, the recipe yielded 18 muffins at 167 calories each. Will definitely be making these again!
~Molly~
Coconut palm sugar is a great natural substitute that scores half on the glycemic index from regular sugar. It also bakes one to one, which is great as some recipes (like cookies) are tricky and you may not get the same texture results if you reduce the volume of sugar. I bake with it all the time. You can get it at the bulk barn and most other grocerie stores.
I made these today. I used 1 cup of sugar, coconut oil, and I thought the batter was dry so I added 1/2 cup of Greek yogurt. They turned out delicious. Thanks!
what kind of oil? vegetable? olive?
Great recipe! I used one cup of brown sugar instead of 1.5 cups and used coconut oil for the oil portion to make it a bit healthier. Also substituted the raisins for walnuts.. next I will add flax seeds! Our house loves them – thank you!
How much flax seed would you add?
Just made these and really like them. I used 1/2 c. applesauce and 1/4 c. oil, replaced the raisins with dried cranberries and added 3/4 c. chopped walnuts. When I mixed them, they seemed on the dry side, so I added another 1/4 c. applesauce. I ended up with 22 muffins, but mine were on the big side. They aren’t overly sweet, so I think they’ll make a great breakfast.
Did you adjust the sugar?
What does the applesauce replace?
Generally applesauce would replace the oil.
How many does this make? That seems like a lot of sugar!
Found this recipe through Pinterest and we made them yesterday…left out the raisins because I have once child who doesn’t like them, and they were delicious! We used carrots and zucchini from our garden…thanks for sharing the recipe!
Hi, I was thinking to use these in school lunches also, however my kids despise raisins. Can I leave them out completely or do I need to replace them with something? I could probably get away with them if I chopped them up, if I NEED to leave them in!
You can use craisens if they like those. Blueberries will work, small chunks of apple or even crushed drained pineapple- or nothing at all.
I left the raisins out and they baked well! Delicious!! I have a question. What is best way to keep them for the week. Out in ziploc or in the fridge?
Personally I would keep them in the fridge. I usually just keep some in the freezer and then defrost as needed.
is it ok to use large flake oats?
and white flour only instead of whole wheat?
I used white flour instead of wheat flour and my 8 year old swears by them.. doesn’t even realize how healthy they are! I love it!!
I’ve used large flake oats in similar recipes and they tend to be a bit undercooked and change the texture, I’d wait until you have the right ingredients
These look delish! I’ve pinned them future reference – probably in school lunches come September. Thanks for sharing!
Hi any nutrional info on these ?
I don’t provide nutritional information since I’m not a nutritionist and it can vary with the products/brands you use, but you can get great info on myfitnesspal.com.