Delicious breakfast muffins packed with vegetables, fruits and seeds – perfect for when you’re running late for an important date. Readymade, these muffins will help you get out the door quickly like a bunny.
These breakfast muffins are delicious and pack in a surprising amount of fibre and nutrients, so I’d personally consider them fairly healthy. They’ve got carrots, apples, dried fruit, and seeds, to name a few added benefits.
I’ve added a few suggestions in the recipe about how to make them even healthier, such as substituting the sugar for a mashed banana, swapping the dried fruit for chopped nuts, replacing some of the oil with seed or nut butter, and even substituting some of the flour with protein powder. I baked with protein powder for years and it does work. It is fairly absorbent though and generally has a noticeable flavour, so I wouldn’t add too much of it.
This recipe is also versatile in terms of the type of fibre you choose to add: try using pear instead of apple, grated zucchini instead of carrot, or swap some of the flax seed for bran flakes. There’s quite a lot you can do with this recipe.
One of my under-appreciated skills is being late for everything – late for work, late for school, barely on time for appointments. I choose to look at this as a skill because it means I probably packed everything including the kitchen sink into my bag, so at least I’m over prepared for whatever happens that day.
That being said, it took me a long time to be able to eat breakfast in the morning. Literally over a decade. Preparing quick, compact breakfasts like these muffins has helped me so much with this. It’s even in the small details – hiding a vegetable and some seeds in them, and giving them a cute name. I mean, who doesn’t want to eat a “carrot cake muffin”?
I’m one of those very tried and true night owls that has an almost impossible time getting to sleep before 2am, and this has been true basically my whole life, even as a kid.
In caveman times, I probably would have been one of the graveyard shift night watchers. I’m so alert and creative after 10pm, it’s ridiculous, but in the morning – forget about it. Mornings for me are about glaring at the overtly cheerful sun and pulling the curtains shut with a hiss.
It’s funny that even with years of working and getting up early for school I was never able to adjust my sleep schedule, even with medication and my best efforts; I just ended up sleep deprived and tired. So anyways, having a nutritious quick and easy breakfast is a big help for a night owl like me. Just as long as I also get some caffeine with it.
Healthy Carrot Cake Breakfast Muffins
This recipe makes approximately 12-16 muffins, and is ready in under 2 hours. Serve them with a little nut or seed butter, or even a dollop of yogurt for a balanced breakfast. They’re perfect for taking on the go or eating at the table for a quick breakfast.
Ingredients
Wet Ingredients
- ½ cup oil (or ¼ cup nut/seed butter + ¼ cup oil)
- ½ cup orange juice including the orange pulp (1 large orange’s worth) – or crushed pineapple + the juice
- zest of 1 orange
- 1 tsp vanilla
- ½ cup brown sugar (or 1 mashed banana)
- 2 eggs
Dry Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cups whole wheat flour (or 1 cup flour + 4 tbsp protein powder)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground cardamom
- ½ tsp ground ginger
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
Texture Ingredients
- ¾ cup rolled oats
- 2 tbsp ground flax seeds
- 2 tbsp hemp seeds or “hemp hearts”
- 1 cup shredded carrot (approx. 2 medium carrots)
- 1 cup diced apples (approx. 2 smaller apples)
- ½ cup dried fruit or chopped nuts (e.g. currants, raisins, pecans, walnuts, etc.)
Topping (optional)
- optional: 12-16 pecans (or other nuts to top the muffins with)
Tools
- grater
- zester
- cutting board
- knife
- measuring cups
- measuring spoons
- mixing bowl
- spatula or mixing spoon
- oven mitts
- muffin cups
- muffin baking tray
Instructions
1. Peel and grate the carrot, dice the apple, then set both aside.
2. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
3. Line a muffin baking tray with muffin cups.
4. Zest the outsides of the oranges, adding the zest to the oil. Cut the oranges in half and squeeze out the juice and orange flesh directly into a large mixing bowl.
5. Add the oil, brown sugar, vanilla and eggs, then stir.
6. Next add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices. Stir until fully incorporated into the wet ingredients, but do not over-mix.
7. Add the rolled oats, seeds, then stir the batter.
8. Lastly, add the grated carrot, diced apple, and dried fruit or nuts. Fold into the batter gently.
9. Spoon the batter into the muffin cups. The cups should be about ¾ full of batter.
10. Top each muffin cup with a whole pecan, if desired.
11. Bake the muffins at 350˚F for 25-30 minutes, or until a cake tester or knife pulls out clean from a muffin.
12. Let the muffins cool before serving, or just eat a couple while they’re piping hot out of the oven. Store in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 5 days. Enjoy!
A Good Breakfast for Morning Nibblers
Does anyone else struggle with eating in the first half of the day? Being a night owl, mornings are always a slog for me. Sometimes I have to force myself to nibble at a piece of toast or fruit in the morning and I feel completely uninspired, or even worse -slightly ill.
That makes me appreciate these breakfast muffins that much more, since they are easy to eat in just a few bites, even when you don’t feel like eating. They’ll also keep you full for a surprisingly long time, without making you feel uncomfortable first thing in the morning.
You can top them with a dollop of yogurt or a spoonful of nut or seed butter to add a little more protein if desired. Pair them with a cup of tea or coffee for a complete breakfast to get you hopping to it!
Did you make these breakfast muffins? Leave a comment below!
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