These carrot and date muffins are super simple and unassuming and yet they always deliver. Pretty wholesome, moist and utterly delicious, they're a lunchbox star. You will love them no matter how old you are. They're vegan too.
We all need few delicious snacks and treats in our recipes repertoire that are quick and easy to make and can be pulled out of the hat at (almost) a moment's notice.
Said snacks should be tasty and ideally a little bit wholesome (if possible) and of course they should bring smile to the faces of the recipients.
Guess what? My carrot and date muffins are all that and more. They're accidentally vegan too and as ever you wouldn't even know it.
You might also want to check out my Carrot Cake Traybake which is a favourite with everyone, proper crowd pleaser.
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✔️ Why you'll love this recipe
- Quick and easy to make, wholesome and delicious.
- Safe for those with allergies as egg, milk and nut free which makes them great as a lunchbox treat, morning snack, afternoon pick me up or even dessert.
- Made with mixture of white and wholegrain flours they're healthier and yet still light and fluffy.
- Dates and carrots add moisture, sweetness and some extra fibre too.
- They freeze extremely well and defrost quickly too.
🛒 Ingredients to make Carrot and Date Muffins
Here's what you will need to make my Carrot and Date Muffins:
Plain (All-Purpose) Flour - Just your standard flour and you could (if you wanted to) make these muffins using just this flour. However, as we want something a bit more wholesome...⬇️
Wholegrain Spelt Flour - I love wholegrain spelt flour in simple bakes for adding that bit of extra goodness. You could also use your standard plain wholemeal flour here instead
***Quick Tip*** I often make these as fully spelt flour muffins with half white spelt and half wholegrain spelt flour.
Baking Powder and Baking Soda - Our raising agents.
Ground Cinnamon and Ground Ginger - These are the spices which go really nicely with both carrots and dates. They add subtle warmth and flavour without being overwhelming. You could swap them both mixed spice which would be nice too.
Milk - I used soya milk here which is my favourite plant milk for baking as it's very similar to dairy when it comes to protein but you could use oat or almond milks as well as long as they're unsweetened. You could of course use dairy milk here instead.
Yogurt - Any plain, unsweetened plant or dairy yogurt will work. I like to use thick Greek or Greek style yogurt.
Apple Cider Vinegar - Just a little bit to react with baking soda and help muffins to rise. We could probably get away without it as we are already adding yogurt which is acidic enough in itself but I'm adding it anyway, just in case.
Brown Sugar - Either light or dark will do here. It adds that extra caramel like flavour to the muffins and so I wouldn't swap it for caster(fine) or granulated sugar here.
Olive Oil - I like to use light olive oil in my baking but any neutral oil will do here.
Medjool Dates - Rolls-Royce of dates. These days they are widely available and not overly expensive either. You could also use Deglet Noor dates here instead which are lighter in colour but also very delicious.
Grated Carrots - They are carrot muffins after all. 🥕
Pinch of salt - It makes all the difference when it comes to elevating flavours and cutting through the sweetness.
🔪 How to make Carrot and Date Muffins
Ingredient quantities & detailed instructions to be found in recipe card at the bottom of the post.
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 170°C/340°F/Gas Mark 3 and line muffin tin(s) with 12 paper cases.
In a large bowl mix together flour(s), ground cinnamon, ground ginger, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
Step 2: In a jug or another bowl whisk together milk, vinegar, yogurt, sugar and oil until you get nice and uniform mixture.
Step 3: To the jug with wet ingredients add coarsely grated carrots and chopped dates and mix some more.
Step 4: Pour wet ingredients into the dry ones and mix in gently (using folding motion) to incorporate. Be careful not to overmix the batter.
Step 5: Divide batter between 12 cases and sprinkle over some oats, other topping of choice or leave your muffins plain.
***Quick Tip*** I like to use 5cm ice cream scoop for portioning the batter. It's way less messy.
Step 6: Bake in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes or until toothpick/skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.
Let the muffins cool in the tin for 5-10 minutes before taking them out onto the wire rack to cool completely.
Enjoy!
🥡 Storing Carrot and Date Muffins
Store: Carrot and date muffins will keep in the airtight container for 2-3 days.
Freeze: If you'd like to store them for longer I recommend freezing as they freeze extremely well. Flash freeze them in a single layer on a small tray that will fit in your freezer and once solid transfer them to a freezer friendly bag.
Defrost: They defrost pretty quickly so you can take them out of the freezer in the morning and pop in lunchboxes. They'll be defrosted in a couple of hours or even less.
💭 Pro Tips
Use digital kitchen scale for weighing out the ingredients. It's more accurate than cups and so there is less room for error and you are more likely to get consistent results.
Make sure your oven is preheat once you're ready with your muffins to go in. The moment you combine wet and dry ingredients it's the start of chemical reaction and you want your muffins in the oven immediately to make the most of it.
Try not to overmix the batter. Use folding motion and mix only until combined and there is no visible flour.
I like to sprinkle these muffins with some oats but you can use chopped nuts if you wanted to. You could also adorn them with a crumble topping I used on my rhubarb muffins. It will work great.
Ice cream scoop is a game changer when it comes to portioning the batter. So much more efficient and less messy too.
Allowing the muffins to cool completely will make taking them out of paper cases much easier.
❓ FAQ
Yes you can. If using only self-raising flour (no spelt) you can leave out baking powder but keep baking soda.
If using self raising flour only in place of plain (all-purpose) flour and using half spelt I would reduce baking powder to 1 teaspoon and of course still use baking soda.
You could use same amount of your favourite dried fruits. Think raisins, sultanas, apricots etc. A mixture of different ones would work too. Or use a mixture of dried fruits and nuts instead.
If you find the muffins too sweet you can reduce the sugar a bit. I wouldn't go below 90g/3.2 oz. Bear in mind that sugar isn't only about the sweetness but it also helps with moisture and texture of the bake. Feel free to experiment.
Have you tried my Carrot and Date Muffins?
Please consider giving it ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating in recipe card below and share your views or tips in the comments.
📋 Recipe
Carrot and Date Muffins
Ingredients
- 100 g plain (all-purpose) flour
- 100 g wholegrain spelt flour
- 120 g brown sugar
- 1.5 teaspoon baking powder
- 0.5 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 75 g neutral oil/ light olive oil
- 150 ml unsweetened soya milk oat and almond milk will also work; you could use dairy milk as well
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 50 g Greek or Greek style unsweetened yogurt soya or dairy
- 100 g pitted dates of choice chopped; I like to use Medjool dates
- 200 g coarsely grated carrots
- pinch of salt optional but recommended
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 170°C/340°F/Gas Mark 3 and line muffin tin(s) with 12 paper cases. In a large bowl mix together flour(s), ground cinnamon, ground ginger, baking powder, baking soda and salt.100 g plain (all-purpose) flour, 100 g wholegrain spelt flour, 1.5 tsp baking powder, 0.5 tsp baking soda, 1 tsp ground cinnamon, 1 tsp ground ginger, pinch of salt
- In a jug or another bowl whisk together milk, vinegar, yogurt, sugar and oil until you get nice and uniform mixture.120 g brown sugar, 75 g neutral oil/ light olive oil, 150 ml unsweetened soya milk , 1 tsp apple cider vinegar, 50 g Greek or Greek style unsweetened yogurt
- To the jug with wet ingredients add coarsely grated carrots and chopped dates and mix some more.100 g pitted dates of choice, 200 g coarsely grated carrots
- Pour wet ingredients into the dry ones and mix in gently (using folding motion) to incorporate. Be careful not to overmix the batter.
- Divide batter between 12 cases and sprinkle over some oats, other topping of choice or leave your muffins plain.
- Bake in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes or until toothpick/skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Let the muffins cool in the tin for 5-10 minutes before taking them out onto the wire rack to cool completely.Enjoy!
Notes
- Nutritional information is approximate, per muffin (based on 12 muffins) and should be treated as a rough guideline only. It will differ depending on ingredients used.
- For more information regarding ingredients and possible substitutions please see 🛒 Ingredients.
- Muffins can be stored in the airtight container for 2-3 days or frozen for up to 1 month. For more details see 🥡 Storing.
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