These Zucchini Carrot Muffins are a delicious way to sneak in extra veggies. Kids and adults alike love this sweet muffin recipe and you will too!
These Zucchini Carrot Muffins are chock full of healthy ingredients and taste scrumptious! Sweet apples, carrots and zucchini blend together in a moist, cinnamon muffin batter that tastes like carrot cake!
My son Gavin actually requests these for his birthday instead of cake. They’re inspired by these apple muffins that we make often. I combined that idea with my delicious zucchini muffins recipe to create a whole new muffin recipe. They’re so good, they’ve now become a permanent fixture in our family.
I would LOVE your ideas on how you get your kids to eat more fruits and veggies. Please leave a comment below and let’s swap stories!
“I have to say, this is probably the best and most perfect recipe I have ever tried. I’ve had it as muffins, but one time I had it made into a loaf. Both were perfect.”
TIPS FOR MAKING THE BEST MOIST MUFFINS
- The veggies in this muffin recipe help make them super moist! I like to shred my carrots, apples and zucchini with a food processor or you can use a hand held grater.
- Store muffins in a sealed container or Ziploc bag in a single layer. To keep them from getting to sticky, line the bottom of the container or bag with a paper towel, then cover the top of the muffins with another paper towel.
- Be gentle with the batter. If muffins are coming out crumbly and dry, you may be overmixing the batter. Try to just fold in the ingredients until everything is just barely combined.
- If the muffins seem too moist, they’re probably not cooked enough. Usually it’s because the oven isn’t hot enough or the cooking time was too short. I’ve never had an issue with the instructions in the recipe card below, so follow those directions and you should be good!
- I cut the sugar just a tiny bit from the original apple muffin recipe, and didn’t add the streusel topping. These zucchini carrot muffins turned out absolutely amazing.
- For added crunch, you can toss in a handful of walnuts, almonds or pecans to this muffin recipe. The beauty of this recipe is that it is so versatile you can switch things up a bunch of different ways.
- If a super sweet tooth strikes, these muffins would taste delicious with a dollop of my cream cheese frosting! So yummy!
MORE FAVORITE MUFFIN RECIPES
Muffins or sliced quick breads always make any breakfast or brunch seem a little more special. And they’re so easy to make from scratch so you don’t need to spend money on boxed muffin mixes. Try some of my favorite recipes:
- Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
- Healthy Blueberry Muffins
- One Bowl Chocolate Chip Muffins
- Eggnog Muffins with Cinnamon Rum Glaze
I actually think these zucchini muffins are a little bit better than the apple original, but maybe that’s just me telling myself that I’m having a slightly healthier breakfast with my coffee. I hope you enjoy these healthy, sweet treats! Let me know in the comments below what you think of this recipe. Enjoy!
Zucchini Carrot Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cup granulated sugar 301 grams
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup oil 250 ml
- 3 cups flour 384 grams
- 1 teaspoon salt 5.69 grams
- 1 teaspoon baking soda 4.8 grams
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon 2.6 grams
- 1 cup shredded zucchini about half a medium zucchini (150 grams)
- 1 cup shredded carrot about two carrots (180 grams)
- 1 cup shredded apple about one apple (150 grams)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a muffin tin with cupcake liners.
- In a large bowl, mix together the sugar, eggs, and oil.
- In another large bowl whisk together the flour, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon. Slowly add the flour mixture to the sugar and egg mixture. The batter will be very thick.
- Mix in the zucchini, apple, and carrot.
- Fill the muffin tins 2/3 full.
- Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until the muffins are golden brown and a toothpick stuck in one of the middle ones comes out with a crumb or two.
did you make this
Zucchini Carrot Muffins
Recipe adapted from The Girl Who Ate Everything
Lynn Y says
I just made these Muffins and they are terrific. So easy and tasty
I’m so glad you liked them!
Kat Kappen says
Any thoughts on making these into mini muffins? we call this ZAC muffins and my family LOVES them! I figured mini muffins would fit better in the kid’s bento boxes for lunch. Thanks in advance!
I’m so sorry, I’m just seeing this. I would make these in a mini muffin tin and then cut the baking time to 8 to 10 minutes.
Angela says
Does the zucchini need to be squeeze dry?
They do not.
Dawn says
How long should I bake this if I am making it into a loaf, not muffins and how long should it cool in the pan before I remove the loaf to a cooling rack?
I’m sorry, Dawn, I haven’t made this as a loaf of bread. But, based on my other quick bread recipes, I would guess about 55 minutes, letting it rest for 10 minutes before taking it out.
Kim says
Can you substitute applesauce for the grated apples
No, not in this particular recipe. You would want to substitute applesauce for some of the oil. If you add in apple sauce without taking out oil, you are going to have way too much liquid in the batter. You can either leave the apple out, or add more zucchini/carrot.
Nicole J says
These muffins are delicious!! My toddler LOVES them and so does my husband!! Great way to sneak some veggies in! 😉
I’m so happy to hear that, Nicole!
Terese says
I make these all the time for my grandkids in mini muffins. They love them and call them Nana muffins.
This is the cutest thing I’ve ever heard. Thank you for letting me know, Terese.
Kathy Chambers says
This was so good. My granddaughter loved them and at 17 she has a very limited number of veggies she will eat. I did add an extra half teaspoon of cinnamon and yes I put the cream cheese frosting on them!
I’m so glad that she liked them!
Becca says
Do you think I could make this as a 4 inch smash cake for my daughters birthday?
It will be more dense than a cake, but it will work.
Christine says
I’m having problems with sugar. May I use unsweetened applesauce instead of the sugar? Thanks!
I haven’t tried that substitution in this recipe. I know people use it for replacing the oil, but I’m a little worried it will add too much liquid if added in place of the sugar. You could add half the amount of sugar and the recipe will still work really well. Otherwise, I know people have had great results with monk fruit sugar substitute.