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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
These muffins are beyond outstanding! I made these initially for my one year old and we all ended up loving them! The recipe makes soooo many and I love storing them in the fridge and eating cold on the go for breakfast or a healthy snack; they equally taste amazing heated up with honey butter smothered on them. I’ve made them many times and they are a constant staple in our diet. Thank you!
Nice! You are so welcome Nikki! Awesome feedback, thanks for stopping by.
OH. MY. WORD. Best muffins ever!! Doubled the recipe for a reunion and got over 36 muffins (not a bad problem to have!) We don’t care for cooked/baked raisins so I subbed sweetened shredded coconut. Reduced the sugar slightly to account for the substitution. Thank you so much for the new fave!! I’m sure my adult boychildren and granddaughter will love these!
You are so welcome Debra! Awesome feedback, thanks for stopping by.
I have a question: could you make a loaf rather than muffins?
Thanks!
Yes you could make it in a loaf pan. The cook time will be different of course. I would try making it in a square baking pan.
What’s with the flour? So 2 1/2 c total. Why all purpose and whole wheat? This makes a cookie dough
Ok, no, it doesn’t make a cookie dough. I used both to make it a little healthier while still providing the flavor my kids love, because this recipe was created for them. If you don’t like the ingredients you certainly don’t have to make the recipe.
I made these with all organic white flour. Didn’t have raisins I replaced with crushed pineapple and cut back on the sugar. YUMMY!!
Awesome feedback Debra! Thanks for stopping by.
Yes I tried this recipe and it is delicious .
However I didn’t have whole wheat flour or Golden raisins, So I used white flour and 1/2 cup of bran instead and used Sultana raisins instead.
Very good recipe and will make it again. Thank you
Awesome feedback Bonnie! Thanks for stopping by.
Delicious healthy muffins !
I didn’t have whole wheat flour so just used all white flour & they turned out perfectly. I’m wondering how well they would do if they were frozen? …have a lot of zucchini to use up in the next while. Have you tried freezing ?
This is the third time I’m using this recipe, modified for me. I’m diabetic and the recipe is loaded with carbs. I substitute Splenda for the sugar and chopped pecans for the raisins (I’m not that fond of raisins anyway) It makes two dozen regular muffins. This time I made one dozen regular and 24 mini. I prefer spraying the pans to using paper or silicone liners. They taste great and they freeze well. Thank you.
You are so welcome Susan! Awesome feedback, thanks for stopping by.
Hi Susan. I like how you modified this recipe. My husband is a diabetic & I’m pre-diabetic so I would be very interested in how much sugar substitute you used & pecans. Thank you.
Wondering about the egg white. Can I just add a fourth egg. Or just 3 eggs
Hi Debbie, If it’s a savory recipe, that works fine. However with baking it’s about science and precise amounts. Here’s a good article on how to halve an egg.
Wow, what a wonderful combo. I used cucumbers (peeled and seeded) instead of zucchini (what to do with a million garden cukes!?) and they came out great. I did add a bit of nutmeg, used one half cup of stevia along with the cup of sugar, and did squeeze out water from the cukes. The muffins are moist and delicious. Thank you!
This is the best muffin recipe! I made the muffins four times in the last two weeks and my family can’t get enough of them.
Nice! So glad you like it Amy, thanks for stopping by.
If I were to make it again, I would make it without whole wheat flour. Not a favorite. The recipe was a bit blah. I did add the craisins and walnuts.
This is at least the third time I’ve made this recipe! My kids love it!! I use less sugar, add some flax, and double or triple the recipe. I’m trying gluten free flour this time 🙂 Thank you for a great way to get more good stuff into my kids bodies!
You are so welcome Apryl! Thanks for the awesome feedback.
K.