Apple Carrot Zucchini Muffins are an incredibly delicious way to sneak in vegetables!
POST FROM JULY 2014 | PHOTOS UPDATED JULY 2017
MY LATEST VIDEOSHave I told you that Gavin doesn’t like cake? Â One time we were at a birthday party and when they were serving up the cake he turned to me and said, “Do you think they have any apples?” Â I seriously love that kid.
What Gavin does love? Â Apples. Â He LOVES apples. Â He eats at least one apple a day, and sometimes when asking for a snack I have to remind him that he’s already had one apple and maybe we should come up with something else.
So his all time favorite treat, the thing he asks for instead of cupcakes to be sent to school with him on his birthday are these apple muffins. Â I have made them so many times now for him that I pretty much know the recipe by heart. Â They are so moist and so delicious that they should almost be called cupcakes. Â Like apple cupcakes.
I decided to add a little vegetable to his favorite treat by subbing in some zucchini and carrot and then I cut the sugar just a tiny bit and didn’t add the streusel topping.
Apple Carrot Zucchini Muffins are insanely good
I actually think they 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.
Apple Carrot Zucchini MuffinsRecipe
Apple Carrot Zucchini Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup oil
- 3 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 cup shredded zucchini about half a medium zucchini
- 1 cup shredded carrot about two carrots
- 1 cup shredded apple about one apple
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.
Recipe adapted from The Girl Who Ate Everything
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I’m drooling over this Lemon Zucchini Cake from Mom on Timeout!  And I’ve never had Zucchini Cobbler Bars, but I’m putting these ones from Taste and Tell on my bucket list!  And I love the the idea of combining zucchini and blueberries in this Blueberry Zucchini Snack Cake from The View from Great Island.
Thalia @ butter and brioche says
what a great recipe.. love how guilt free these muffins are. yum!
Thalia @ butter and brioche recently posted…Boozy Gingerbread Hot Chocolate
Audrey says
Guilt free???? With 1.5 cups of sugar???!!!
JenV says
I used 1 cup of sugar and whole wheat flour. Made 24 muffins (so you get a lot of muffins for that much sugar) and still super sweet. I will likely use even less next time.
JenV recently posted…Slow Cooker Spaghetti and Meatball Soup
Tracy says
I substitute half the sugar with unsweetened applesauce, and I’ve also used whole wheat flour instead of white.
Kim {Pinspired Home} says
Sounds delish! I have plenty of zucchini, so I think I’ll give this a try. 🙂
Found you at Creativity Unleashed!
Kim {Pinspired Home} recently posted…Garlic-Herb Pizza Crust (100% Whole Wheat and No-Knead!)
Kelly says
Yum! I love sneaking veggies into muffins. Pinning for later!
ang says
YUM! These are right up my alley 🙂 I’ll be making these soon for sure – my family will LOVE them! Thanks for sharing on Cook it! Craft it! Share it! I’m sharing them on the FB group page today, and pining to our board.
Happy Tuesday!
ang
Shannan says
Trying these out today. Did you peel the apple and veggies before you shredded them? I’ve seen some recipes that don’t. Can’t wait to try!
Lisa Longley says
Hi Shannan! The carrots and the apples got peeled, the zucchini I didn’t. I hope you like them!
miriam magbanua says
Thanks for sharing this recipe.It’s really delicious..
Rachel says
I made these tonight, and they are delicious!! Thinking next time I will substitute the oil!!! Thanks for the recipe!
Lisa Longley says
I’ms so glad you liked them Rachel!
Kelly says
As a novice baker, I just tried these and my family/friends are begging for more! So glad I found your recipe.
Lisa Longley says
Thank you so much Kelly!! I always love hearing when a recipe turned out well, it’s so rewarding! 🙂
Allie Cat says
I just made this recepie and it is amazing, I subsituted the oil for 3/4C Greek yogurt as I didn’t have enough oil and they are so light and fluffy. Will be making these regularly 🙂
Heidi says
These were AMAZING. My 17 month old daughter, my husband and I all absolutely love these. What a great recipe! Thank you for sharing!
Lisa Longley says
I’m so glad you liked them Heidi!
Mary says
So does the rest of her family! Her Mother and Father in law and sister in law!!! Thanks for the awesome recipe!
Sarah says
Do I have to squeeze out the excess water of the apples and zucchini after they are shredded? They seem very moist.
Lisa Longley says
Hi Sarah! I didn’t squeeze out any excess water.
Sarah says
They are delicious!!!! Any suggestions on reducing the amount of sugar?
Lisa Longley says
I’ve been playing around with a lighter version, Sarah, but the consistency just doesn’t turn out right :/ You could try the Truvia baking blend!
Mary says
Can you make these in a loaf pan? I only have one muffin pan and when it’s hot out I don’t like to keep the oven on that long! And about how long do you think that would take? Thanks again!
Lisa Longley says
Hi Mary! I haven’t tried making these in a loaf pan, but I think it would work fine. The only thing is that it would definitely take longer to bake, probably close to an hour. I would suggest that instead you just cut the recipe in half and go with your one muffin pan 🙂
Tiffany says
I’ve got these in the oven now and can’t wait to try them! They smell delicious! I’d love to make a batch of these to bring with us on our beach vacation next month and was wondering if you’ve tried freezing them? Thank you for this recipe!
Lisa Longley says
Hi Tiffany! I haven’t tried freezing them, but if you do, I would suggest doing it with paper towels between the layers so that when they thaw the towels absorb the excess moisture. Good luck and have fun on your vacation!
Sarah says
These muffins are absolutely delicious!! After baking, I wrapped each muffin individually in wrapping and put in the freezer. Each day, I take one out and eat as a late morning snack. They are so perfect and the highlight of my morning! Thanks for a delicious recipe.
Lisa Longley says
What a great compliment! I’m so glad you like them Sarah!! Thank you for coming back to let me know!
Rebecca says
Hi Lisa! Can’t wait to try these. As far as measuring the veggies, did you pack them into the measuring cup or just loosely fill 1 cup?
Lisa Longley says
I did not pack them when I made them. Enjoy!
brian says
These were super delicious! While I was baking I couldn’t help but remember an episode of the TV show ‘Arthur’ I saw as a kid, when their Mom tricks their youngest sister into liking Spinach by sneaking it into a muffin.
Apparently it works better than ever! I fooled my Dad (who almost never eats enough of his veggies!) and he absolutely loves this recipe too. 😀
Lisa Longley says
LOL! I love this story so much Brian, thank you!
sue | theviewfromgreatisland says
OMG bring on the zucchini ~ I can’t wait to make these muffins, and maaaaaybe put a little cream cheese frosting on them? Just a dab??
Joann says
Just made these for my 18 month old grand daughter who is visiting this weekend. I wanted to make her a treat that would be fairly healthy, making her parents happy. I tried them to make sure they would like them – OMGoodness! They are delicious! She will never know there are veggies and fruits in there. Yum! Thank you for this great recipe!
Lisa Longley says
So happy to hear this Joann!
Katie says
Made these last night for quick breakfasts to go with my hubbys protein shakes. Very very delicious! I think I might add in more zucchini and carrot next time and maybe less sugar. But they really are delicious as is.
Lisa Longley says
Soo gold you liked them Katie!
Jess says
My kids love these! I used whole wheat flour and subbed the oil for a mashed avocado and a mashed banana because that’s what we had around. It made the batter a little dryer than I expected so I had to be careful not to overmix, but they are delicious. We ended up with about 36 mini muffins.
Sarah says
I used 1 cup of sugar instead of the 1 1/2 and substituted 1 cup of pure pumpkin purée for the oil and they turned amazing! Love these! Thanks for the recipe!
rosanna frolander says
i was wondering if you have the nutritional facts for this food item. i want to make these but also share this recipe with my fitness class but the instructor needs me to also provide the nutritional facts. thank you
Lisa Longley says
Hi Rosanna! Unfortunately, I haven’t calculated the nutritional information on this yet. You could use My Fitness Pal, though. It’s a great app and it if you put in the URL for this recipe it will import all the ingredients and help you figure it out.
Nadia says
I want to make these for my toddler as he barely touches vegetables. Hoe would you substitute apple sauce. Ratio wise I mean. I’m looking forward to making these.
Lisa Longley says
So if I were going to substitute apple sauce for oil, I would do it one to one. If you try that, let me know how it goes!
LindaRose says
What would The Smartpoints Value be, does Anyone know..??
Holly says
I made these muffins this morning, didn’t peel the apple, they are delicious!! Will try an adapted Gluten Free version next for my daughter. This recipe is a keeper. Thanks for sharing!!
Beverley says
These muffins are insanely delicious! I made a batch (recipe makes 24) and they were devoured in a day! Super moist and flavorful. I also made a cream cheese icing as I was not sure how they’d taste. But they were better without it! So good! I made half the batch following the recipe and the other 12 I tossed in some raspberries. Both ways were delish 🙂 I will be making these again and soon! Glad I stumbled upon these, they will be a staple in my home.
Lisa Longley says
I’m so happy you liked these Beverly!
Melissa Weissman says
I just made a batch of these muffins. I cut the recipe in half and made one tray of muffins. I used coconut oil instead of vegetable oil. To ensure they were the same size/weight, I weighed each of them before baking. I made sure they were between 1.85 and 1.90 ounces. They were golden brown before the 20 minute mark. I can’t wait to try one after dinner or will be good and wait until breakfast.