These morning glory muffins are hearty, healthy and flavorful! Packed with carrots, zucchini, coconut, nuts and raisins they make a great breakfast or on-the-go snack!
If you love muffin recipes, other family favorites include banana bread muffins or lemon blueberry muffins and applesauce muffins!
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My Favorite Morning Glory Muffins
If you’re looking for a healthy snack idea to enjoy throughout the week, these morning glory muffins are perfect for you. I made a big batch over the weekend and my family already devoured them.
A morning glory muffin is customizable and you can add in your favorites or leave out things you don’t like. I usually make half the batch without raisins and walnuts for my kids. They like them plain (yet little do they know, they’re still getting veggies) or with some apple butter.
Morning Glory Muffin Ingredients
If you’ve never heard of healthy morning glory muffins before, they are hearty muffins that are packed with fruits and veggies and have a hint of warm flavor and sweetness.
- Baking staples: I used a combination of all-purpose flour and whole wheat flour and you will also need baking soda, vanilla extract and salt.
- Sugar: Some granulated sugar and a bit of honey add the perfect sweetness.
- Applesauce: Unsweetened applesauce adds moisture and also keeps these muffins oil-free!
- Ground cinnamon: Adds warm flavor and spice.
- Carrots: I prefer to grate my own carrots for moisture and texture.
- Zucchini: I used shredded zucchini because I had some extra on hand, but grated apples can be used, too.
- Large eggs: You will need three eggs to bind the muffin ingredients together.
- Add-ins: Shredded sweetened coconut, chopped walnuts or pecans and raisins.
How to Make Morning Glory Muffins
- Mix. Whisk together the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Then mix in shredded carrots, zucchini, eggs, applesauce, honey and vanilla until just combined. Gently fold in any extras like shredded coconut, chopped nuts or raisins.
- Fill. Fill each muffin cup 2/3 way full with batter using a large baking scoop or 3 Tablespoons. Remember to line muffins pans with paper liners or spray generously.
- Bake. Bake in the oven at 350°F for about 20 to 22 minutes, until the tops are lightly golden. Remove from the oven and let cool in the pan for a few minutes. Then move to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Baking Tips + Variations
- Grating the veggies. I use a food processor to quickly grate the carrots and zucchini.
- Zucchini. Make sure all of the water is removed from the grated zucchini before mixing it in so that the muffins aren’t soggy. I like to put the zucchini in a paper towel or cheesecloth and ring it out over the sink.
- Grated apple. You can substitute grated apple for zucchini if preferred. Both taste delicious.
- Applesauce. I used applesauce in place of oil to cut back on calories and make them a little healthier. It’s a great substitution and still adds the perfect amount of moisture to the muffins.
- Orange zest. For even more flavor, add in 1 teaspoon of orange zest to the batter.
- Extras. I like to sprinkle a few extra nuts and raisins in each muffin cup right before baking.
- Don’t overmix. Make sure to mix just until combined. Over mixing causes the muffins to dry out and lose their moisture.
FAQs
If you’ve never heard of morning glory muffins before, they are hearty muffins that are packed with fruits and veggies. They were first made by a chef at the Morning Glory Cafe on Nantucket Island, hence the name!
These muffins will be more dense in texture due to all the added ingredients. If they are overly dense, you may have over mixed them when stirring the ingredients.
While these do contain more moisture than a regular muffin, overly wet texture could mean that you underbaked them.
Place muffins in an airtight container or zip top bag. The muffins will keep for about 3 days at room temperature, or about a week in the fridge. If your home is overly warm, I would store them straight to the fridge!
Yes! Let them cool completely, then place in an airtight container or freezer bag. They will keep for a couple of months in the freezer. To reheat, place in the microwave or toaster oven and heat until warm.
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Morning Glory Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup whole wheat flour , can sub for all-purpose
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ½ Tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- ½ teaspoon Kosher salt
- 2 cups grated carrots
- 1 cup grated zucchini , water removed (can substitute for grated apples)
- 3 large eggs
- 2/3 cup applesauce
- ½ cup honey
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ cup shredded sweetened coconut , optional
- ½ cup chopped walnuts or pecans , optional
- ¾ cup raisins or dried cranberries , optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a muffin pan with muffin liners or use a silicone muffin pan.
- Whisk together the flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Stir in the carrots, zucchini (or apple), eggs, applesauce, honey and vanilla. Mix just until combined. Add the coconut, nuts and raisins (or cranberries) if desired.
- Using a large baking scoop or 3 Tablespoons (a little less than 1/4 cup), fill each muffin cup.
- Bake for 20-22 minutes, or until a toothpick comes cleans. Remove from oven and let cool for 2 minutes in the pan. Then remove to a cooling rack.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition provided is an estimate. It will vary based on specific ingredients used.
Did you make this recipe? Don’t forget to give it a star rating below!
Jamielyn Nye is the founder and recipe creator at I Heart Naptime. She is the author of the I Heart Naptime Cookbook and shares easy family-friendly recipes and desserts for every occasion.
Substituted Greek Yogurt for applesauce, apples as I did not have zucchini & reduced sugar for a healthier option. Would spray cupcake papers as muffins stuck to paper, but they were very delicious!
Thanks for sharing your substitution tips with us Donna! I’m so glad you enjoyed the muffins :)
Waking up to these must be an experience to put on a repeat. Fantastic muffins to enjoy in the morning!
These muffins really do have everything. A great way to start the day.
Healthy and delicious muffins and beautiful photography! I have all the ingredients and can’t wait to try these out!
Hope you enjoy! :)
My kiddos and I adore these for a quick breakfast. Love that I can freeze them as well.
I’m so glad to hear they love them! :)
I just bought some more parchment paper muffin liners so I know what I’m doing tomorrow!
I haven’t made these – because I have a question. Is recipe calling for 1 1/4 c. all purpose flour + 1 cup of whole wheat flour, with the option of using ALL all-purpose flour making it a total of 2 1/4 c. of all purpose flour if someone didn’t want to use any whole wheat flour?
One more question, you have listed zucchini with a note “can use for apples”, but there are no apples in the ingredient list – only applesauce. Not sure if you are meaning you can use either zucchini or applies in the recipe or if there is an apple ingredient missing in the recipe. Crazy question, I know, but am a bit confused over the word “for” in both the line for whole wheat flour and the line for zucchini.
Wanting to bake these, but just needed a bit more info. Thanks much. Enjoying your recipes! LOVED LOVED LOVED the Garlic White Pizza Sauce. Made last night for dinner. Yum!
This sounds like a great way to start the day or an afternoon snack.
I love that you added applesauce instead of oil! These are going to be so good!
My kids absolutely love these! They will be gone within a day. Thanks for sharing!
I love making muffins for weekend breakfasts. So great that these muffins are healthy too!
These look so yummy! I love to start my day in a hearty and healthy way, definitely making these!
These look like the perfect way to start the day!!
These muffins look amazing! So tasty
Can you make this in a bread pan?
Love your recipes!
Thank you!
These muffins look scrumptious. Kids will love these. Definitely give this recipe a go.
Thanks
Thank you! They are always a big hit!
Delicious! However, my muffins are sticking TERRIBLY to the liner. Did I do something wrong? I’ve re read the recipe so many times and didn’t see anywhere to grease the pan…
Hi Liz! I’m sorry you have had trouble with these sticking! There are a variety of reasons this could have happened. Here is a post that can explain some of them: https://www.handletheheat.com/prevent-cupcake-liners-sticking/