These carrot cake muffins are super moist and easy to make too. They are a great way to sneak in cake for breakfast.
These muffins have all of the signature spices of carrot cake. With a combination of oil, milk, and sour cream in the batter, they are super tender and stay fresh and moist for several days.
While I have posted three other carrot muffin recipes, including Bouchon Bakery Carrot Muffins, Zucchini Carrot Muffins, and Carrot Ginger Muffins, I couldn't resist making these. They are different enough and definitely worth it.
You can't have too may tasty muffin recipes!
Ingredients in these Carrot Cake Muffins:
Spices: Ground cinnamon, ground ginger, and ground nutmeg.
Carrots: Peeled and finely shredded.
From the Fridge: Eggs, sour cream, and whole milk.
From the Pantry: All purpose flour, baking powder, salt, granulated sugar, light brown sugar, vanilla extract, and neutral oil.
For the Topping: You can use sparkling sugar or granulated sugar.
To Make These Muffins:
First, in a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and spices.
Next, in a large bowl, whisk together the sugars, oil, sour cream, milk, eggs, and vanilla. Add the flour mixture into the sugar mixture and fold everything together until just mixed.
After that, divide the batter among the cavities of a muffin tin and sprinkle the tops with sparkling sugar or granulated sugar.
Finally, bake the muffins for about 30 minutes, reducing the oven temperature part way through.
Cool them in the pan for about 10 minutes before removing them to a wire rack.
Equipment You May Need:
Tulip Muffin Tin Liners: While not necessary, these tulip muffin liners help the muffins bake taller and with less "muffin top" spread. You can also simply grease and flour the muffin cavities and bake the muffins without liners. If you use standard pleated muffin liners, you might want to increase the number of muffins you make to about 15 to 18, because the liners do take up extra room.
While I haven't tried it yet, you can actually make your own tulip liners using quality parchment paper.
Food Processor with a Grater Attachment: For grating the carrots. This takes just a minute or two. You could also use a Microplane for grating the carrots, but it takes so much longer. Another option, if you have a stand mixer, is to use a a shredder attachment if you have one.
Tip: Weigh the carrots before grating them so you don't have to worry about measuring them by volume.
Recipe Variations:
You could add other carrot cake ingredients to these muffins such as golden raisins and/or toasted pecans.
Another option would be to include a cream cheese filling. You can check out the filling I used in these Morning Glory Muffins and these Whole Wheat Pumpkin Muffins. Just follow the instructions when ready to bake.
Another option is to add a streusel to the tops of these muffins. A combination of butter, pecans, flour, cinnamon, and brown sugar would be very tasty.
Make-Ahead and Storage:
These muffins are lightest and freshest the day they are made, but they stay fresh and delicious kept in an airtight container for three to four days. If you microwave the day-old muffins for about 20 seconds before serving, the crumb will become lighter and fresher.
You can also individually wrap each muffin and freeze them for up to 90 days. Thaw them at room temperature and then reheat in the microwave for about 15 to 20 seconds.
Sunday Funday: Carrots!
This week, the Sunday Funday group is sharing recipes that include carrots. We have both sweet and savory recipes to share.
- Carrot Cake Muffins from Karen's Kitchen Stories
- Carrot Pudding from Sid's Sea Palm Cooking
- Carrot Fries from Mildly Indian
- Carrot Roulade from Sneha's Recipe
- Grilled Carrots from A Day in the Life on the Farm
- Nomato Soup - a Faux Tomato Soup with Carrots from A Messy Kitchen
- Roasted Carrots with Burrata from Amy's Cooking Adventures
- Spicy Carrot Ginger Dressing from Food Lust People Love
Carrot Cake Muffins
These carrot cake muffins are super moist and easy to make too. They are a great way to sneak in cake for breakfast.
Ingredients
- 250 grams (2 cups) unbleaches all-purpose flour
- 15 grams (1 tablespoons) baking powder
- 6 grams (1 tablespoon) ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon kosher sat
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 200 grams (1 cup) granulated sugar
- 168 grams (3/4 cup) neutral oil, such as corn oil
- 110 grams (1/2 cup) packed light brown sugar
- 80 grams (1/3 cup) whole milk, room temperature
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 13 grams (1 tablespoon) pure vanilla extract
- 200 grams (2 cups) finely shredded carrots
- Sparkling sugar or granulated sugar for topping
Instructions
- Heat your oven to 375 degrees F. Line a 12 cavity standard muffin pan with tulip liners or spray them with spray oil with flour. I do not recommend pleated muffin liners unless you make about 18 muffins instead.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the the flour, baking powder and spices.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the sugars, oil, sour cream, milk, eggs, and vanilla. Add the flour mixture and fold everything together until the flour is just absorbed. Fold in the carrots until combined.
- Divide the batter among the lined cavities, filling them to the top of the pan, about 1/2 cup of batter, or 95 grams.
- Sprinkle the tops of the muffins with granulated or sparkling sugar.
- Bake the muffins for 10 minutes, and then reduce the temperature of the oven to 350 degrees F. Bake for an additional 20 to 25 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Cool the muffins in the pan for 10 minutes, and then move them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Nutrition Facts
Calories
331Fat (grams)
15 gSat. Fat (grams)
2 gCarbs (grams)
45 gFiber (grams)
1 gNet carbs
44 gSugar (grams)
28 gProtein (grams)
4 gCholesterol (grams)
32 mgAdapted from Bake From Scratch Magazine, March/April 2026. If you love baking, this magazine is worth every penny.
I agree that you can't have too many muffin recipes. These are a delicious addition to my collection. Thanks.
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