I don’t suppose I can say I’m known for my healthy recipes.
Really though, we believe in everything in moderation, which means all the sweets and treats you see here are eaten in small quantities and shared liberally. And they are balanced with (mostly) healthy meals and fillers. But these muffins are an extra step in healthiness, even for us.
4 cups of vegetables in only 1 dozen muffins?
It’s true.
AND they’re delicious.
Especially with a large mound of butter or cream cheese, or a slab of cheddar cheese. (I jest. They really are good all on their own. But with one of those additions…mmmmm.)
I love eating these and knowing I’m getting 1/3 cup of vegetables in one muffin, and I love even more giving them to my kids for breakfast, lunch or snacks and knowing their little bodies are getting that 1/3 cup of vegetables!
This is the first recipe that had the honor of sullying my shiny brand new KitchenAid mixer, courtesy of my truly fabulous husband! It was a worthwhile first spin, and I will definitely be adding these to my regular muffin rotation.
Adapted from someonewhobakes
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup brown sugar, lightly packed
- ⅓ cup vegetable oil
- 3 large eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup grated sweet potato (about 1 medium sweet potato)
- 1 cup grated carrot (about 1 large carrot)
- 2 cups grated zucchini (about 1 large zucchini)
- 1 tsp grated lemon OR orange zest
- 1 Tbsp chia seeds or ground flaxseed
- ¾ cup chopped walnuts (optional...I knew these would prevent my kids from eating them so I left them out).
- Preheat oven to 350. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners and set aside.
- In small bowl, whisk together flours, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
- In a larger bowl, cream sugars and oil on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing after each addition. Add the vanilla, vegetables, zest, seeds and nuts. Gradually add in the dry ingredients with the mixer on low speed, mixing just until combined. (Overmixing will make your muffins tough).
- Divide batter among prepared muffin tins and bake for 22-25 minutes, until golden brown and toothpick comes out clean.
- Cool in pans for 10 minutes before removing to rack to cool completely...best eaten warm, either fresh or "fresh" out of the microwave.
The flowers really add to the breakfast experience :)
Question…I don’t have chia seeds or ground flaxseed…anything I can use as a substitute?
You can simply omit them! If you have wheat bran or wheat germ those would work too :)
You could replace the vegetable oil with all or mostly applesauce, and a bit of really mashed banana ‘sauce’. More fruit=healthier. And being able to afford to decrease the sugar=healthier. Win win!
I’ve been making these for years so I thought I should comment. They are my go-to
Muffins. I usually use half or 2/3 the amount of sugar. I make some with walnuts and some with frozen blueberries – so good! Thanks for the recipe. And if anyone is wondering, they freeze great! Just microwave for 30 seconds
These muffins are phenomenal! I always make “healthy” muffins for my two year old boys, but these are the best so far. I substituted honey for the granulated sugar and I used lemon zest. They are so yummy and moist and delicious. I did squeeze a lot of the moisture out of the zucchini and I’m glad that I did. Thank you this yummy recipe to sneak some veggies into my kiddos!!
Great to know about the honey substitute, I’ll have to try them that way!
These are SO good. I subbed some pure maple syrup for the granulated and halved the brown, but otherwise followed the recipe. Baby and I love them :-)
i just made these and next time i will make them without the sugar and the essence they are way too sweet for me but other than that they are yummi
These are great. I made them for my 15 mo old and they’re a hit. My only change was that I used 4 cups of pre-made carrot slaw (had in the fridge already) and subbed in applesauce for 1 egg. Thank you!
I just made these, followed the recipe exactly. They are awesome. And I don’t mean awesome like, “ok for a healthy muffin”, I mean I would make these regularly and they rival the unhealthy delicious muffins I make!
Haha, I know, it’s surprising given all those veggies! Glad you liked them :)
Do you drain or squeeze the zucchini before adding it to the rest?
Nope! I have also used it thawed from frozen, and I include any liquid that is with the zucchini after thawing as well.
I tried to make these today. I ended up baking them much longer than suggested, but the centers still turned out mush. I thought maybe I should have drained the veggies, but this is saying no. Any idea what else I may have done wrong? They smelled amazing and my 4 year old was so excited to try one. I’d love to get them right.
Shoot, I’m not entirely sure what went wrong! Hopefully these ideas will help. Try draining only the zucchini – it’s a much “wetter” veggie than the other two and some have more moisture than others. Mix the eggs in reaalllly well. There are a lot of eggs and I’ve definitely undermixed them before and had some gumminess to the muffins. Make sure everything is well incorporated once you have added everything – the recipe stresses not to overmix, but you do want everything really well combined in order to distribute the veggies and their moisture evenly and this can be tough with such a heaping bowlful. Hope that helps – let me know if you try again!
I just wanted to make sure, do all the gated veggies go in uncooked? I’m looking forward to trying these.
Yes, they’re all raw when they go in. Let me know how you like them!
Can you substitute applesauce for the veggie oil?
You can – I prefer to only substitute half of it to maintain a good texture. Let me know if you try it!
These turned out awesome! I didn’t have sweet potato so just did 2 cups of carrots. They are so moist and fluffy!
Glad you liked them! The prep with grating the veggies is such a pain, but so worth it :)
I really want to make these again, but I don’t have zucchini. My kids love these, and I love that they’re eating veggies without even knowing it! By the way, my mother in law also loves these, but she would never actually comment herself, lol. :-)
Curious if I can use just the whole amount of flour with regular white flour. I don’t really keep wheat flour in the house.
You absolutely can!
Wow, these are delicious. My 1 year old and I loved them. I am not a baker and this was probably my first time making muffin so I was amazed by how great they came out. I will definitely be making these again.
Thanks for letting me know, Rebecca! I love how much my kids love these, and how many vegetables they don’t know they’re getting :)
Yum yum yum! Just made them, just ate one, they are DELICIOUS! Definitely been added to my “to make regularly” list. The boys loved them too!
Yay, so glad you tried them! These are such a hit with my kiddos too :)
These look great, Anna. I love veggies like this in my breads. They sound delicious!
This would be a great breakfast muffin. I love all the veggie incorporated!
Oh my, these sound so yummy! When I first read the title I thought they were going to be savory, but then saw that they are kind of like a carrot muffin. Yummmmm!
Aww, I’m so honored you used my recipe to break in your mixer! Hooray! I’m so glad you like them — aren’t they just the moistest muffins ever??
They are, and I love the spiced flavor with the sweet potatoes, thanks so much for sharing it :)
I love this kind of muffin using garden vegetables. Never thought of adding sweet potatoes and it’s so smart.
These look really good. I’ve never tried sweet potatoes in a muffin before though and I’m not the biggest fan of most sweet potato recipes so please tell me their taste isn’t too strong hidden in everything else. Your pictures are great too :)
It’s more of a sweetness than a sweet potato taste…you’ll have to give it a try :) You could always swap it for another cup of carrot if you’re worried!
Full of nutrition, and I bet they taste amazing too. I love zucchini muffins. Yum!
I love this recipe!! Great use of vegetables!! I am going to make this!