Vegan Carrot Muffins

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Vegan carrot muffins - these easy vegan muffins are like carrot cake in muffin form with warming spices, walnuts and raisins.

They are soft, moist and fluffy, simple to make and perfect for snacking on, especially over Easter.

Six vegan carrot muffins on a tea towel, one sliced in half.

These easy vegan carrot muffins are a great alternative to carrot cake that are easy to grab and go for snacks or breakfast.

They are perfectly soft, moist and fluffy with nice tall muffin tops, and they are packed with carrot flavour, warming spices and walnuts and raisins for texture.

Vegan carrot muffins are the perfect recipe to make for snacking on at Easter, or any time in the Spring, and they are really simple to make with mostly basic ingredients too!

A labelled photo of the ingredients needed to make vegan carrot muffins.

Ingredient Details:

Yogurt: The yogurt helps to keep the muffins nice and moist, with a light, fluffy texture. I use a soy yogurt but any kind will work; ideally it should be unflavoured and unsweetened however (vanilla is fine though).

Milk: You can use any kind you like but it should ideally be unsweetened and soy milk is best as it has the highest protein content.

Sugar: I prefer to use light brown soft but caster or granulated sugar is fine too.

Oil: Any neutral flavoured oil will work, I use olive or sunflower.

Plain flour: Plain (all-purpose) flour is best. I haven't tested these gluten-free.

Baking powder and soda: Using both baking powder and bicarbonate of soda (baking soda) will give you the best rise and texture. Don't swap one for the other, you will not get the same result.

Vinegar: This reacts with the bicarbonate of soda to help the muffins rise and give them a light texture. I use either apple cider vinegar or white wine vinegar. You can also use lemon juice instead.

Vanilla extract: Extract is better than essence and you can also use vanilla bean paste.

Spices: Carrot cake needs spices! I use cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg but feel free to vary them to suit you. A spice blend such as mixed spice or pumpkin spice would work well.

Carrot: Use freshly grated carrots, not pre-grated from the supermarket, as they would be too dry. I prefer to use a regular size grater rather than a fine one but either should be fine. Make sure to weigh out the carrot after peeling and grating it to get the right amount.

Walnuts and raisins: These are optional, but I like to add some chopped walnuts and raisins or sultanas to my vegan carrot muffins. Any other kind of nuts and/or dried fruit would work too.

Two vegan carrot muffins stacked on top of each other, the top one sliced din half.

How To Make Vegan Carrot Muffins:

(Full measurements and instructions can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of the page)

Step 1: Sift together the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, spices and salt in a large bowl.

Step 2: In a separate jug whisk together the milk, yogurt, oil, sugar, vinegar and vanilla extract until smooth.

Step 3: Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir with a balloon whisk until no dry streaks remain, a few small lumps is fine.

Step 4: Gently stir in the carrot followed by the walnuts and raisins.

Step 4, the batter with the carrot, walnuts and raisins added.

Step 5: Divide the batter between 9-10 muffin cases, filling them right to the top.

Step 6: Bake at an initial high heat for five minutes then turn the oven down and bake for a further 20 minutes until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.

Vegan carrot muffins on a tea towel with a bowl of walnuts.

Top Tips:

USE SCALES. As with all of my baking recipes I really do recommend using the metric measurements with a digital scales rather than the cup conversions. Cups are a wildly inaccurate measuring system and you will get far better, more consistent results using a scale, not to mention that it is also easier and less messy than cups!

Don't over-beat the batter as that can make the muffins tough. Just stir the mixture with a balloon whisk until no dry streaks remain, a few little lumps is fine.

For nice tall, bakery-style muffins, fill the cases all the way to the top. This recipe makes nine rather than twelve muffins as we are making them a little bit bigger. You can make ten to twelve slightly smaller ones if you prefer though, bear in mind that smaller muffins will probably bake a little quicker.

An optional extra step to create nice tall muffins is to rest the batter for an hour before baking them. This is optional but recommended.

I like to space the cases out across two muffin tins as this can help to create tall muffin tops. If you only have the one tin then you can either bake them all in one tin or in two batches.

An initial blast in the oven at a high heat helps to create a nice domed top; we then turn to oven down to ensure that they cook properly in the middle.

To make sure that the cases don't stick, use good quality ones and allow the muffins to cool completely before eating them, they are more likely to stick when they are warm. You can also spray the muffin cases with baking spray or oil, or bake the muffins straight in a well greased non-stick muffin pan.

FAQ's:

How to store them?

The muffins will keep for about 4 days in an airtight container at room temperature.

Can I freeze them?

Yes, these vegan carrot muffins freeze really well. Ideally freeze them on the day they are baked to preserve freshness but allow them to cool completely first. Freeze in an airtight container and allow to defrost at room temperature to serve.

More Vegan Muffin And Mini Cake Recipes:

Close up of a vegan carrot muffin sliced in half.

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5 from 3 votes