5 from 1 vote

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Learn how to make easy vegan carrot muffins that are soft, fluffy, moist, and filled with shredded carrots and warm spices. They’re the perfect homemade vegan muffins to bake and serve at breakfast or enjoy as a snack.

A carrot muffin sitting on a white plate, more muffins and a glass of milk sit in the background.

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If you love carrot cake as much as I do but don't feel like going through the steps to make one, then these vegan carrot muffins are what you should make instead.

It's a very easy and quick recipe to make, just like my vegan banana oat muffins and vegan applesauce muffins!

Although they may not be exactly like the luscious cream cheese frosting-coated carrot cake you know and love, they're a great stand-in until you can have the real thing!

Just like carrot cake, these muffins are moist, filled with delicious add-ins, and packed with flavour. Plus, you can customize your add-ins, I am a raisin fan, but if you're not, I suggest some alternatives below.

Ingredients You'll Need

An overhead shot showing the ingredients needed to make vegan carrot muffins.

Ingredient and Substitution Notes

Flour - You'll need to use all-purpose white flour for this recipe.

Make it gluten-free: For vegan gluten-free carrot muffins: Use Bob's Red Mill All-Purpose Gluten-Free Flour Blend in the RED bag. Any other gluten-free flour on its own, like almond, oat, or coconut flour, will not work, it must be this specific gluten-free flour blend to get the same results I do. You will also need to bake this version for a shorter amount of time, see the notes in the recipe card below.

NOTE: Measuring flour accurately for baking is essential to the recipe turning out as it should. Read this article: "How to Measure Flour Correctly" before you start.

Shredded Carrots – Only use freshly grated carrots for these muffins. Don't use store-bought pre-grated or matchstick carrots, they're not suitable for this recipe because they're too dry. The carrots need to be finely grated, so use the smallest shredder on your box grater or you can use a food processor with the smallest shredding blade attachment. Make sure to wash and peel your carrots before shredding them.

Sugar – You can use either brown sugar or coconut sugar, but note each one requires a different quantity. I haven't experimented with liquid sweeteners such as pure maple syrup or agave or tried any sugar alternatives.

Applesauce - Make sure you use unsweetened, unflavoured applesauce. The applesauce helps to make the muffins moist and it also acts as an oil replacement so less oil is needed.

Oil - Use a neutral-flavoured vegetable oil, such as refined avocado, safflower or sunflower. Melted coconut oil can also be used, but ensure that the other ingredients are at room temperature to prevent solidification.

Flax Eggs – This recipe is made without eggs, so ground flax seeds and water are used to make a vegan egg replacement. Chia eggs can be used instead of flax to keep the recipe eggless.

Spices – The combination of spices gives the muffins their warm, craveable flavour. I don't recommend leaving any of them out.

Baking Powder and Baking Soda - Make sure both of these ingredients are fresh, they're essential in helping the muffins rise and have the proper texture.

Salt and Vanilla - Just a little of each is needed to help enhance the flavour.

Add-Ins of Your Choice - I know people feel strongly about raisins, either one way or the other, but I happen to like them, so I include them in my carrot muffins. If you aren't a fan, feel free to make the recipe without any add-ins or you can use a different one like chopped walnuts or pecans, dried cranberries, pumpkin seeds, or sunflower seeds.

How to Make Them

(Note: I’ve outlined the step-by-step on how to make this recipe here, but find the full recipe, ingredients, and directions in the recipe card at the end of this post.)

Batter for carrot muffins in a glass bowl.

Mix the dry ingredients in a small bowl, and mix the wet ingredients in a different mixing bowl. Combine the two mixtures to create the batter.

Batter for carrot muffins in a glass bowl with raisins on top.

If you'll be using an add-in, add them to the batter and fold them in, take care not to overmix.

A scoop adding muffin batter to a paper muffin cup in a muffin pan.

Using either a spoon or a trigger ice cream scoop, distribute the muffin batter into a prepared muffin pan. Scooping even amounts ensures all muffins are the same size and that they finish baking at the same time.

An overhead image of carrot muffin batter in a muffin pan about to be baked.

Continue scooping until all muffin cups have been filled and then bake! An optional step is to sprinkle chopped nuts or turbinado sugar on top of each muffin before they bake.

An overhead image of vegan carrot muffins fresh from the oven in a muffin pan.

Once the baking time has ended, remove the muffin pan from the oven and allow it to sit for a few minutes.

Freshly baked vegan carrot muffins cooling on a metal rack.

After a few minutes have passed, carefully remove the muffins from the pan and place them on a cooling rack.

You can enjoy them warm or fully cooled and in case you want to enjoy a cozy drink with your muffins, how about a vegan chai latte or an oat milk latte?

A carrot muffin on a plate, the muffin wrapper has been peeled away.

Storing and Freezing

Store your muffins in an airtight container and keep them at room temperature for up to four days.

Freezing

Once they've cooled completely, tightly wrap them individually, place them in an airtight container or freezer bag, and freeze them for up to two months.

Thaw them at room temperature and once thawed, if you'd like, you can warm them for a few seconds in the microwave before serving.

Have a look through all of my easy vegan muffin recipes to find the next muffin recipe you'd like to make!

Tips for Success

Measure and have all your ingredients ready to go before starting. This will make the process run smoothly, quickly, and easily.
Measure your ingredients correctly. I highly recommend using a scale (this is the one I have) and my weight measurements. Please read my article about how to measure flour correctly.
Don't be tempted to use store-bought shredded carrots, start with fresh carrots and shred them yourself. Pre-shredded carrots don't have much moisture so they will not work well in this recipe.
Make sure your baking powder and baking soda are fresh. If they aren't fresh, your muffins will be dense and chewy.
Use a trigger ice cream scoop to add the batter to the muffin pan. This ensures that each muffin will be almost identical in size and that they finish baking at the same time.
Take extra care not to over-bake or your muffins will be dry.
Read this post from top to bottom before you start. I’ve shared many tips throughout so you get everything right. Also, read through the full recipe before getting started.
Follow the recipe exactly as it’s written for the very best results.

A carrot muffin on a small plate, the muffin has been split in half to show the fluffy interior.

If You Make This Recipe...

Please let me know by leaving a comment and star rating below, I'd love to hear how things went for you and what you think about the muffins.

You can also pin this recipe on Pinterest or post a pic to Instagram and tag me (I’m @delightfuladventures over there), I love seeing your remakes!

Vegan Carrot Muffins