These morning glory zucchini carrot muffins are like your favorite zucchini bread and cozy carrot cake had a baby, and truly make the BEST breakfast or snack.
After making my Chunky Monkey Zucchini Banana Muffins, I knew I wanted to perfect another super nutritious and delicious zucchini muffin. They’re kid-friendly (my boys gobble them up every time), easy to customize with your fav mix-ins, and taste even more delicious as the days go on!
Bake a batch or two and freeze some for later — they’re truly the best on-the-go snack.
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Mornings made better with zucchini carrot muffins
Get ready to absolutely fall in love with these nutritious zucchini carrot muffins. These muffins are:
- Naturally sweetened with a bit of pure maple syrup.
- Packed with sneaky veggie thanks to both zucchini and carrot.
- Delicious straight from the oven and even more flavorful as the days go on.
- The perfect breakfast or snack that kiddos will love!
What you’ll need to make healthy zucchini carrot muffins
These easy muffins use a mix of fresh produce and plenty of pantry staples for a wonderful, perfectly sweet muffin you’ll come back to time and time again. Here’s what you’ll need to make them:
- Veggies: you’ll need a zucchini and a couple of large carrots to add moisture and a boost of vitamins.
- Applesauce: a little unsweetened applesauce adds additional moisture and flavor to the muffins.
- Maple syrup: they’re are naturally sweetened with some pure maple syrup!
- Eggs: you’ll also need 2 eggs to help them bake up properly.
- Coconut oil: a bit of coconut oil gives them the perfect texture.
- Flour: these muffins are made with a mix of nutritious oat flour and all-purpose flour to keep them nice and fluffy.
- Coconut: unsweetened shredded coconut makes them taste like your fav carrot cake!
- Spices: gotta have cozy cinnamon and nutmeg.
- Baking staples: don’t forget the vanilla extract, baking soda & salt.
- Mix-ins: add some walnuts or pecans and raisins or chopped Medjool dates for a wonderful texture in every bite.
Simple ingredient swaps
Out of a few ingredients? Here’s what I can recommend for swaps in these kid-friendly zucchini carrot muffins:
- For the applesauce: feel free to use 1 ripe mashed banana.
- For the coconut oil: melted butter or vegan butter also works well.
- For the all-purpose flour: a 1:1 gluten-free all-purpose flour should also work.
Make your own oat flour
Easily make your own gluten-free oat flour by simply placing rolled oats into a blender and blending/pulsing until they’re smooth and resemble flour. Get all of our tips & tricks for making your own oat flour here (plus recipes!)
Tips for baking with zucchini
- Use the small side of your grater so that you get little shreds of zucchini.
- Squeeze out your zucchini shreds as much as possible to get all of the excess liquid out.
- Measure the shreds before you squeeze the moisture out.
- Feel free to shred a bunch of zucchini and freeze it for later! Follow my tips and tricks here.
Want to make mini muffins?
I love making mini muffins for my littles to nosh on for their afternoon snacks. Here’s how to do it:
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F, and make the batter as directed.
- Pour the batter into a mini muffin tin with mini liners. I also recommend spraying the liners with nonstick cooking spray!
- Bake the muffins for 9 to 14 minutes. Mine are usually done around 12 minutes!
Storing tips
- To store: feel free to keep these muffins at room temp for one day, then I recommend storing them in the refrigerator. They get even more flavorful as the days go on! Simply warm them up in the microwave.
- To freeze: allow the muffins to cool completely, then put them in an airtight container and freeze for up to 3 months. Once ready to reheat, you can thaw at room temperature or heat up in the microwave in 30-second intervals.
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More zucchini recipes you’ll love
- 30 Minute Brown Butter Goat Cheese Grilled Veggie Orzo
- Good Morning Healthy Maple Blueberry Zucchini Muffins
- Fluffy Whole Wheat Zucchini Bread Pancakes
- The Best Zucchini Brownies You’ll Ever Eat
- Healthy Zucchini Bread
Get all of my zucchini recipes here!
I hope you love these morning glory zucchini carrot muffins! If you make them, be sure to leave a comment and a rating so I know how you liked them. Enjoy, xo!
Ambitious Kitchen
Cookbook
125 Ridiculously Good For You, Sometimes Indulgent, and Absolutely Never Boring Recipes for Every Meal of the Day
Morning Glory Zucchini Carrot Muffins
Ingredients
- For the wet ingredients:
- 1 medium zucchini, squeezed of excess moisture with a paper towel (1 cup shredded zucchini)
- 1 cup (100g) shredded carrot (from 2 medium to large carrots)
- ⅓ cup (83g) unsweetened applesauce (or sub 1 ripe mashed banana)
- ½ cup (156g) pure maple syrup
- 2 eggs
- ⅓ cup (75g) coconut oil, melted and cooled
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- For the dry ingredients:
- 1 cup (95g) oat flour (I used store bought oat flour)
- ¾ cup (90g) all purpose flour (or all purpose GF flour)
- ½ cup (43g) shredded unsweetened coconut (not the large flakes)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- For the mix-ins:
- ⅓ cup (37g) chopped walnuts (or pecans)
- ⅓ cup (53g) chopped Medjool dates or raisins
- For topping (optional):
- Rolled oats
- More chopped walnuts
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Line a muffin tin with 10 muffin liners and grease the inside of the liners with nonstick cooking spray to prevent sticking.
- Prep the zucchini: Shred and measure out zucchini (it should be about 1 heaping cup), then place in a paper towel or cheese cloth and squeeze out all the excess moisture.
- Mix the wet ingredients: In a large bowl mix together the shredded zucchini, shredded carrot, applesauce, maple syrup, eggs, coconut oil and vanilla extract until well combined.
- Whisk the dry ingredients: In a separate large bowl whisk together the oat flour, all purpose flour (or gf flour), shredded coconut, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined. Do not overmix. Fold in chopped walnuts and chopped Medjool dates/raisins.
- Bake: Evenly divide the batter between the muffin liners. Sprinkle the tops with rolled oats and a few more chopped walnuts if you’d like. Bake for 23-27 minutes or until a tester comes out clean or with just a few crumbs attached.
- Allow muffins to cool in the pan for 5-10 minutes, then remove and transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Recipe by: Monique Volz // Ambitious Kitchen | Photography by: Eat Love Eats
This post was originally published on August 3rd, 2021, and republished on June 4th, 2026.
One of my postpartum favorites! Even my husband was pleasantly surprised, haha. Looking forward to making these again soon.
So happy to hear that! Such a great snack or breakfast 🙂
This recipe is by far the best compared to other similar recipes that I tried. The muffins are extremely moist and flavourful. Also, the recipe is forgiving as I added extra carrot and zucchini, substituted canola oil for the coconut oil and used zero sugar maple syrup. I have already filed this in “Repeat Recipes” and expect to make it regularly in the future.
Perfect! So glad you loved these!
I’m sorry, but I find these to have very little flavor.
Sorry to hear that! With all of the spices and 1/2 cup of maple syrup, I’ve always found these to have plenty (as they’re not meant to be overly sweet).
Just my thoughts on recipe spices..,It’s a starting point. Some prefer mild, some prefer heavy. Adjust it to find the personal perfect balance when baking. It’s a starting point.
Made & froze these as a postpartum snack. Exceeded my expectations! Can’t wait to make another batch.
Amazing! Glad you enjoyed!
Wonderful muffins! We made these into mini muffins and my toddler has eaten three and snuck countless more in a matter of 10 minutes. My 5 year old chose not to have a second, but I think it’s because these are subtly sweet and he anticipated more of a sweet muffin. I may experiment with increasing the sweetness next time in an effort to get my 5 year old to eat more, but I personally think these are perfect! I shredded the zucchini and carrot very fine, which I am very happy with! These would go great with coffee and/or breakfast (I always do a breakfast dessert, hence the mini version of these for me!). They’d also be perfect for a snack at any time! These are definitely worth the little bit of effort they require, and I will be making them regularly! Thank you for this delicious creation!!!
Edit to my previous comment: I should also add that I used King Arthur’s gluten free all purpose flour. I always let my GF baked goods sit for a few minutes before baking to give everything time to moisten up. Again, delicious!
Amazing! So happy these were a hit 🙂
These were amazing. Absolutely loved them. I used my own ground GF oats and GF flour and made 12 muffins rather than 10. I omitted the coconut and added some yellow raisins and finely chopped pecans. So much texture and flavor. I love everything you post. I am hooked on your recipes. Thanks for always inspiring me to try something new. Can I add a little baking powder next time to make them rise a bit more? Roz
So glad you loved these and that you’re finding new fav recipes here! For the baking powder — you can do 1 teaspoon baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, and that should help instead of what is there now! But because these have moist veggies and fruits, they won’t rise super high (bakery-style!)
I love this recipe! As a currently-nursing mom of 3 under 3 yrs, I appreciate healthy, tasty, make-ahead breakfasts, and this is one of them. I substitute honey for the maple syrup, and had success making it as a loaf once; just increased the baking time to an hour, give or take. The muffin-form is also delicious and super freezer-friendly.
Amazing! Such a great snack for busy moms!
Me and my toddler LOVE these!! The only way I can get him to eat his vegetables. I made a few times with different substitutions. I used sweetened coconut shreds instead of unsweetened, and subbed the applesauce for either banana or Greek yogurt, and didn’t have to add any maple syrup for them to be sweet enough. These are very versatile and delicious every way!! My only problem was the muffins sticking to the liners even after spraying with oil.
Amazing! These are great for customizing 🙂 Hmm I haven’t had the sticking issue with liners AND cooking spray – so strange! Maybe try a silicone muffin pan?
Excited to try this!! Would this work with white wholehweat flour instead of all purpose flour?
I think that should work fine!
Really enjoyed these, moist, fluffy, not too sweet, and freshly made they had a nice little crust/crunch on top with the walnuts and oats. The top softens up next day but I wonder if reheating in the oven might re-crisp. Made exactly as written (regular AP flour, apple sauce, golden raisins and did add toppings), it was an easy to follow recipe that works! Thank you.
So good! Glad you enjoyed 🙂 The oven will likely help them crisp up a bit, but be careful to not brown them too much!
Delicious muffins! Moist, cozy, and healthy! These are always a hit in our house. Thank you for sharing!
So happy to hear that!
Yum!!! My new landlord has been gifting us from her garden. I used one of the zucchini’s to make these muffins. They are wonderful. Light, a little sweet but not cloying. I feel healthier serving these to my family and friends. Thank you for another winning recipe!
Amazing! So glad you enjoyed!
The combination of ingredients sound quite yummy, even though I usually don’t enjoy carrots in baked goods. Having said that and knowing your recipes combinations are usually very good, I’m going to give them a go! Once I make them, I surely will give you my feedback…if for nothing else, I know my sister and an elderly neighbor couple will b/c they all love carrot cake muffins and my blueberry muffins made with spelt flour.
Thank you, as always, for sharing your recipes!
These might surprise you! Let me know how it goes 🙂
The BEST muffins I have ever made. I subbed bananas for applesauce. The dates are a heavenly addition. I will be making these on repeat and keeping some in the freezer. Delicious!!!
Perfect! So happy you loved them!