Easy Carrot Zucchini Muffins
Carrot zucchini muffins are quick and easy to make from scratch. They are sweet, moist and spiced with cinnamon.
This summer has brought an abundance of summer squash to the gardens. I took full advantage of this harvest and baked carrot zucchini muffins. These muffins are so easy to make and turn out sweet and tender. I personally love a sprinkle of cinnamon sugar on top and kids love these muffins too!
Why this recipe works: It’s a very forgiving recipe so it’s easy to make healthy substitutions. You can also add mix-ins for extra texture and flavor. You can also make these carrot zucchini muffins ahead of time and freeze them.
How to make carrot zucchini muffins
A few basic ingredients are needed to carrot zucchini muffins: vegetable oil, eggs, granulated sugar, light brown sugar, vanilla, flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, zucchini and carrots. Then it’s just a few easy steps!
- Preheat oven to 375 F. Line a muffin tin with paper liners and set aside.
- Whisk together wet ingredients: vegetable oil, eggs, granulated sugar, light brown sugar and vanilla. Mix in a medium bowl until combined and set aside.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together dry ingredients: flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.
- Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients. Stir just until combined.
- Stir in shredded zucchini and carrots. Again, stir just until combined.
- Scoop batter into prepared muffin tin dividing evenly among 12 cups. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar if desired (optional).
- Bake at 375 F for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
How to shred carrots and zucchini
- Rinse and dry vegetables. Use a vegetable peeler to peel skin off carrots. Leave zucchini skin as is. Cut one end off of the zucchini.
- Place box grater on a sturdy surface such as a cutting board or, if possible, over a big bowl to catch the shredded vegetables.
- Slide zucchini/carrot up and down the coarse holes of the box grater. Continue until you get to the end of the vegetable (be careful with your fingers). Discard the stub.
Recipe variations
Carrot zucchini muffins lend themselves well to mix-ins. When stirring in the shredded carrots and zucchini, you can also add 1/2 cup of any of the following: chocolate chips, walnuts, pecans, raisins, dried cranberries, etc.
You can use different types of flour in this recipe as well. Substitute all purpose flour with equal measurement of gluten free all purpose flour, whole wheat flour or oat flour. For low fat carrot zucchini muffins, you can use equal measurements of applesauce or mashed banana instead of oil. For low sugar carrot zucchini muffins, cut the sugar measurements in half.
Frequently Asked Questions
Store muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the refrigerator for 5 days. Muffins are best when eaten the day they are baked.
Yes, once the muffins have cooled, wrap them individually with plastic wrap. Store in an airtight container or ziplock bag in the freezer. Muffins can be frozen for up to 1 month. Defrost in the refrigerator before bringing to room temperature and serving.
Preheat oven to 300 F. Place muffins on a baking sheet or in a muffin tin. Warm in oven until heated through, about 10 to 12 minutes. You can also reheat muffins in a toaster oven.
Related Recipes
Do you have a lot of zucchini and carrots in the house? Try these recipes next!
Did you love this recipe? Please leave a 5-star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 rating in the recipe card below and if you REALLY loved it, consider leaving a comment further down the page.
Get the Recipe: Carrot Zucchini Muffins
Ingredients
Carrot Zucchini Muffins
- ⅔ cup (156 ml) vegetable oil
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- ½ cup (100 g) packed light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups (250 g) all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 ½ cups (160 g) finely shredded unpeeled zucchini, patted dry¹
- ½ cup (40 g) finely shredded carrot, patted dry¹
Cinnamon Sugar Topping
- 4 teaspoons granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375° F. Line a muffin pan with muffin liners and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, mix together vegetable oil, eggs, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla until well combined. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until combined (be careful not to over mix). Add shredded zucchini and carrot, and stir until incorporated.
- Use a spoon (or an ice cream scoop) to transfer batter into prepared muffin pan until each cup is about three-quarters full. Whisk together cinnamon sugar topping and sprinkle on top of muffins. Bake at 375° F for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out with little to no crumbs.
- Cool muffins in the pan for 3 minutes then remove muffins to a wire cooling rack. Serve warm or at room temperature. Store in an air tight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
Notes
Inspired by The Spruce.
29 Comments on “Easy Carrot Zucchini Muffins”
These muffins looks perfect! I love all things zucchini, and I’m excited about the addition of carrot!
What’s the best way to store muffins so that they don’t go soggy?
Hi Sasha! I like to store my muffins in an airtight container or resealable plastic bag. I place a paper towel at the bottom and avoid stacking the muffins. The paper towel will help absorb moisture!
Instead of oil, can you use yogurt or applesauce
Hi Kathy! I suggest unsweetened apple sauce. I have not made this recipe with apple sauce, however, but breads and muffins use that substitution often.
While searching over the internet about the ideas to manage kitchen pantry I found your food blog. And while start reading your blogs I love it too much and start following your blog recipes for cooking. Great tips for cooking thanks for sharing with us.
Great recipe! Isubstituted coconut oil for the vegetable oil and coconut sugar for the brown sugar. They turned out moist and delicious. Thanks for the fabulous recipe!
Very delicious! My daughters loved them.
I so love the zuchinni and carrot muffins so does the people that work in the office here where i live they are delicious!!! Thank you for recipe,and so does other relatives ive shared with
These muffins are great, I made them exactly as instructed except I accidentally shredded everything on the large shred side of the food processor: They were still awesome in case anybody makes the same mistake. We ate all 12 in one day… About to make a double batch!
First time baking with carrot or zucchini and these were fantastic! Taste like carrot cake and can’t tell there’s zucchini in at all. I grated my veggies instead of finely shredding but it still turned out fine. My toddler also loved them which is great, always glad to fit in more veggies for her. So glad I found your recipe. Thank you for sharing it!
I substituted coconut oil instead. But next time I would use far less sugar. They are way too sweet for me. My husband might enjoy them. The risk of trying a new recipe.
More like cupcakes than muffins, not that that’s a bad thing, just sayin’. Would make again since such an easy, fail-proof recipe & great flavor. Great idea doing both veggies! I did need to add 2 minutes to my baking time.
Followed recipe exactly only added raisins. Delicious! My husband was raving about them and my 3 year old ate it up. Veggie packed muffins for the win!
Such great flavor. I omitted eggs (allergy) and added a mashed banana and 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce. SO good. Can’t taste the banana at all. Thanks for this recipe.
Hey just wondering do the eggs have to be room temperature?
Hi Jenette- Yes, room temperature eggs are preferred.
can you make a bread instead of muffins?
The wet ingredients was not enough for the dry… ratio was very off and it mixed into an almost cookie batter texture. Add a half cup of dairy….
Hi Rachel – Did you measure your flour properly? Be sure to fluff the flour up, then spoon it into the measuring cup before leveling it off. Don’t pack flour into the cup and don’t scoop the cup of flour into the bag (you’ll have way too much flour if it’s packed in!) The best way is to use a kitchen scale.
Followed the directions almost completely, as I added in a few crushed walnuts and golden raisins to a few of the muffins. I definitely want to keep this recipe on hand. Thank You!!
You really can’t substitute applesauce for the oil UNLESS your zucchini/carrot mixture is moist. Also, I added ginger and cloves for sweetness, although I wonder if you could reduce the sugar and make them more of a savory side.
Hi there, I’m trying to make this for my son’s class but I was wondering if I could make mini muffins instead of regular size muffins? I think I already made this and they were so delicious! I just cut the sugar quantity in half and they were delicious.
Hi Nicky – Yes, you can make this in a mini muffin tin. Baking time will be around 8 minutes.
Thank you much for getting back fast!
Do you about how many mini muffins the batch would make? There’s 20 kids in my son’s class so I was thinking making enough so kids can get two to three. Thank you. 🙂😇
About 30 mini muffins 🙂
Wonderful muffins
Batter was thick
Muffins were moist and very tasty
I added walnuts
Family enjoyed
Will make again
We love your muffins!!! They don’t last even if I overpack the veggies, slightly reduce the white sugar & swap out some oil for Greek yogurt. PS 1 tsp pumpkin spice & 1 tsp cinnamon is a great swap. Kid approved 5 stars
Made a double batch with 75% of the sugars and it came out perfect!
Made 27.
I peeled the zucchinis so my picky toddler wouldn’t notice the veggies. I told her they are special sprinkles.