Vegan Carrot Muffins
Bakery-style vegan carrot muffins with high muffin tops and a delicious streusel topping. These muffins are easy to make and come together in one bowl. They’re perfect for Spring, or any time of the year just like my vegan carrot cake.
Simple ingredients you’ll need
The full list of ingredient quantities and instructions are in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Notes about the ingredients
All-purpose flour (plain flour) for the fluffiest vegan carrot muffins. For more wholesome muffins, you can use whole wheat or spelt flour.
Brown or coconut sugar. The molasses in brown sugar adds depth of flavor and complements the spices perfectly. Coconut sugar will make the muffins slightly less sweet and lends a lovely caramel undertone.
Grated carrot. I prefer coarsely grating the carrots as it gives the muffins more texture and ensures they aren’t too soggy. Finely grated carrot will leak more water so you may need to bake your muffins for longer.
Chopped walnuts are optional but recommended for depth of flavor and texture! Alternatively, you can add raisins.
Ground cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger and a healthy dose of them! This recipe contains a little more spice than others as it’s a quick and easy way to add flavor.
Even though this recipe is eggless, you don’t need any special egg replacers to make these fluffy, moist and in-tact!
How to make vegan carrot muffins
The batter for these muffins comes together in ONE BOWL, and you don’t even need a mixer.
First, add all the dry ingredients to a large mixing bowl and mix until well combined. Make sure the raising agents are mixed in well, otherwise you may get chunks of baking powder in your final muffins (no one likes that)! Then add the rest of the ingredients (including any walnuts/raisins), and stir until just combined. Some lumps are fine, as long as they aren’t lumps of dry flour.
Initially, your batter will be very thick but don’t worry. After a couple of minutes, the sugar will start to liquify and the carrots will naturally leak water, and your batter will become runnier.
If you want to minimize any dirty dishes, and want to make the crumb topping, divide your cake batter and use the same bowl to mix the crumble!
Optional crumb topping
The crumb topping is optional but it adds a lovely texture to these vegan carrot muffins.
It’s easy to make as you just mix all the ingredients in one bowl. It might look like a small amount of crumble, but it’s enough to generously top all 12 muffins.
Easy techniques to get higher muffin tops!
These muffins bake beautifully as they are. However, for even higher muffin tops, I’ve tested a few methods that are easy to do.
The easiest method is to bake your muffins in alternating cavities in your muffin tray. There’ll be more space between each muffin, so each muffin gets an extra boost of oven heat which encourages them to rise more. If you have a 12-cup muffin tray, you’ll bake 6 muffins at a time in 2 lots.
Also, make sure your oven isn’t too cool, and really is 180°C (350°F). If your oven runs cool, your muffins will be smaller and denser. Many ovens aren’t accurate, and are cooler or hotter than what they say. If you can, I recommend buying an oven thermometer as it’s the most accurate way to see the real temperature of your oven.
How to customize this recipe
Substitute the flour with whole wheat or spelt flour and use coconut sugar. I do not recommend using maple syrup as it may be too heavy for this recipe. Granulated sweeteners such as erythritol and stevia will work but don’t often add the caramel undertones that brown sugar does.
I haven’t tested the recipe replacing oil with applesauce or banana.
Yes, you will get around 15-20 smaller muffins from this recipe (similar in size to my vegan carrot cake cupcakes). They’ll take only around 20-25 minutes to bake. Or make them even smaller as snacks for kids! Or you may like my vegan carrot cake cookies.
I suggest using my carrot cake loaf recipe instead.
Yes! My vegan zucchini muffins has been adapted from this recipe, and are made with shredded zucchini.
More vegan muffin recipes
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Vegan Carrot Muffins
Ingredients
Dry ingredients
- 3 cups (375g) all-purpose plain flour, whole wheat flour or spelt flour, spoon and leveled (note 1, and for gluten-free option)
- 1 ¼ cup (240g) packed brown sugar, or coconut sugar
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- Pinch of salt, optional
Wet ingredients
- ~2 ½ cups (250g) coarsely grated carrot, (around 3-4 medium carrots)
- 1 cup (250g) dairy-free milk
- ½ cup (125g) neutral flavored oil
- ¾ cup (85g) chopped walnuts, or 1/2 cup (75g) raisins (optional)
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar, regular vinegar or lemon juice, optional
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, optional
Oat Crumb Topping (optional, note 3)
- ½ cup (65g) all-purpose plain flour
- ¼ cup (30g) rolled oats
- 3 tablespoons (45g) vegan butter, margarine or coconut oil, melted and cooled
- 2 tablespoons (25g) packed brown sugar, coconut sugar or granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Line a 12-cup muffin pan with liners.
To make the muffins:
- Add all the dry ingredients to a large bowl and mix until well combined and evenly distributed. Add all the wet ingredients (including the optional walnuts) and mix until just combined. Initially, your batter may look thick but don't worry. After a couple of minutes, it will loosen as the sugar and carrots will soften.
- Use an ice cream scoop or a spoon to divide the batter into your muffin pan. The muffin batter should be close to the top of each cavity (check the reference images above, note 2).
To make the crumb topping (optional):
- Add all ingredients for your crumb topping to a medium bowl (or use the same bowl as your batter). Mix with a spoon or your fingertips until the mixture is combined, flaky and crumbly.
- Generously sprinkle the crumb topping onto your muffins.
Baking and storing the muffins:
- Bake the muffins for 20-25 minutes or until you can insert a toothpick into one and it comes out clean. These muffins are very moist so a few crumbs on your toothpick are fine.
- Allow the muffins to cool in the muffin pan for 15 minutes (or until they aren't too hot) then place them on a cooling rack.
- Enjoy the muffins warm or at room temperature. They're perfect by themselves or with some vegan butter.
- Store any leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, in the fridge for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 1 month. If the crumb topping softens over time, you can reheat the muffins in an oven or airfryer for 10 minutes at 160°C (320°F) or until heated through.
Video
Notes
- Measuring the flour: If you’re using measuring cups, make sure you spoon and level your flour otherwise your muffins will be dry and dense. Fluff up the flour in the bag, use a spoon to add flour to a measuring cup, then level it off with a knife. If you scoop the flour out of the bag with a measuring cup, it’ll add too much flour to the batter. Alternatively, use the grams measurements.
Gluten-free flour: These muffins work well with King Arthur’s gluten-free measure for measure flour. The batter will be much thicker, but still scoopable. I recommend baking them for 25-28 minutes.
Using whole wheat and spelt flour: These flours are more absorbent so I recommend adding an extra dash of milk to your batter. -
For the highest muffin tops, I recommend baking 6 muffins at a time in a 12-cup muffin tray. Spacing apart the muffins allows the hot oven air to bake them faster, resulting in higher tops. This means you’ll need to bake the muffins in 2 lots.
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Yup. Tried it and very successful. Thank you !
I replaced the sugar with maple syrup and apple sauce ( amazing )
I rarely bake and I had carrots soon to go bad and I found your recipe thank you
Hi Amina, that’s wonderful to hear and it’s great that the recipe worked with your substitutions! Thanks so much for your feedback 🥰
I used freshly ground whole wheat (measured in grams) but couldn’t resist adding ground flax seed and extra carrots (I was making this recipe as I had lots of carrots to use 🙂 I only had sweetened soy milk, so I reduced the brown sugar to just 1/4 c. I probably should have increased the liquid a bit more, but they still taste moist and yummy, just look lumpy instead of smooth on top. Flavour was just a bit flat – I’d try a bit more salt next time, and maybe fresh grated ginger instead of dried ground ginger and perhaps some citrus zest. Love the walnuts.
Thanks for the recipe (even if I can’t manage to follow it! lol)
Thanks for letting me know how you customized this recipe! I’m not sure if you used only 1/4 cup sugar or reduced it by 1/4 cup sugar, but it makes sense how your muffins tasted a bit flat with all the changes. Hope you enjoy these the second time round!
The recipe is clear and easy to follow and they work perfectly every time, not to mention that they are absolutely delicious.
Hi Katy, I’m so glad you’ve made these muffins a few times and enjoy them too! Thanks so much for letting me know 🙂
Delicious!
I swapped the oil for the same amount of applesauce and the texture came out great.
I also made a vegan cream cheese frosting instead of the topping (1/4 cup vegan butter, 4oz cream cheese, 2.5 cups powdered sugar) and that worked well too. Next time I’ll try your topping.
This is a really great recipe that I’ll definitely be using again, thank you!
Hi Lydia, I’m so glad it worked with applesauce! And your frosting sounds like an absolutely delicious way to decorate and enjoy the muffins. Thanks so much for letting me know!
Best carrot cake muffin recipe I have tried. The texture is superb- I subed for coconut milk because its what I had and wooweee! I also made with coconut sugar so the muffin itself has a delicate sweetness to it. The few that I made with the topping are a little more sweet but so good. I recommend with or without the topping!
Aw, what a compliment! I’m thrilled that you loved these muffins and were able to customize them with the ingredients that you have. Thanks soo much for your wonderful feedback!
Thanks for yr great recipes from Greece. It was exactly what I was looking for. Ingredients I have everyday at home, quick and healthy. Small everyday-snack for my family.
Hi Krista, that’s lovely to hear!! I’m glad that you and your family enjoyed these. Thanks so much for your feedback 🙂
Made these to use up some carrots. Loved them really light and fluffy nice easy recipe. Thank you for sharing 😊
Hi Christine, that’s wonderful feedback! Thanks so much for letting me know 🙂
Loved them, they taste like they’re non vegan so fluffy
Hi Jess, aw that’s wonderful to hear!
Wanted to whip something up quick for a family brunch and this recipe worked perfect!! Not only was it easy to follow, but I ended up with muffins that tasted great, weren’t too dry, and looked like they could be on a display in a cute little cafe 🙂 Thanks so much for sharing this!
Hi Rory, I’m stoked that you loved these muffins and thought they were cafe-worthy!! Thanks so much for your lovely feedback 🙂
hi! i’m trying to make this recipe but only making 3 muffins. can i divide it by 4 or will this mess up the ratio?
Hey! Yes you can absolutely do that. I’ve baked smaller batches of this recipe before and it works in the same way. If you click on the number next to ‘Servings’, you can scale down the ingredient quantities.
Hi Is okay if I use whole milk instead as I don’t have dairy-free milk also will it be the same measurement as dairy-free milk
Yes, any other milk will work similarly in the same amounts. I have only tested the recipe as written but other readers make my recipes with their own ingredients all the time.
The easiest and most delicious carrot cake I’ve ever made or had. I don’t like dried fruit so didn’t add any. They freeze well too. I will be making these again and again 😊
Hi Katy, aw that’s really wonderful to hear!! Thanks sooo much for taking the time to leave a comment here 🙂
I love this recipe, they taste good and look great. I’m making them for a second time, I’ve tried the banana ones too. The topping is a great idea and looks so impressive!
Hi Natalie, I’m so thrilled that you enjoyed these and the banana muffins too! Thanks so much for letting me know 🙂
I’d like to add some protein to these muffins using a vegan protein powder. Do you have any suggestions how much powder I could add and what flavor, if any?
Hi! I don’t have much experience with adding protein powder to recipes, and it’s hard to know how a recipe will turn without testing it. I’d suggest using a vanilla or cinnamon flavored powder and replacing just 3 tablespoons of the flour with the powder, and increasing the milk a little as protein powder tends to be more absorbent than flour.