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Healthy Morning Muffins

These muffins are surprisingly moist, even though they're low in fat, thanks to nutritious, flavorful add-ins like carrots, banana, and raisins.
Everyday Food, January 2010
  • Prep Time 10 minutes
  • Total Time 35 minutes
  • Yield Makes 12
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Ingredients

  • Nonstick cooking spray
  • 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
  • 1/2 cup packed dark-brown sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
  • 1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
  • 1/2 cup raisins
  • 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 large egg
  • 1/3 cup skim milk
  • 4 medium carrots, shredded
  • 1 medium ripe banana, mashed

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Coat a 12-cup muffin pan with cooking spray. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder, nutmeg, and salt until there are no lumps. Stir in oats and raisins. Add oil, egg, milk, carrots, and banana and stir until blended.
  2. Fill each muffin cup with 1/4 cup batter. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center of a muffin comes out clean, 23 to 25 minutes. Serve muffins warm or at room temperature.

Recipe Reviews

  • aart
    11 Feb, 2013

    These muffins look delicious but I put them in muffins tins and every single one burnt to the bottom. I made them as the recipe stated but decided to use muffin tins because I was taking them to work. I'm a little disappointed in the outcome.

  • moemmy
    8 Jan, 2013

    delish. I added 1/4 cup buckwheat flour, with only 1 cup all purpose flour. Also used coconut oil instead of Olive oil. Used half yellow raisins and half black raisins. Very dense this way... next time will use some applesauce and coconut flakes. However still yummy enough that my 3 yr old loves them warm with a little butter.

  • Whitney Ferrell
    15 Oct, 2012

    These are phenomenal!! I took them to work this morning and came home with NONE of them! Even young kids thought they were yummy!

  • Linda Prokop
    9 Sep, 2012

    These look and sound great! Where is the nutritional value?

  • CestMoiGab
    8 Sep, 2012

    I took some suggestions and replaced the nutmeg and olive oil with cinnamon and canola to make this more kid-friendly. They are delicious and a great way to get veg, fruit and oats in to my breakfast-averse child. I will say, though, that mine look somewhat gnarly compared to Martha's. Next time, I may cut the amount of carrot in half and add some applesauce to give more moisture and shape. All in all, a great recipe though!

  • B_Forth
    13 Feb, 2012

    Fantastic Concept! I doubled the recipe, replace the banana with canned pumpkin, and added dried cranberries instead of raisins. I also reduced the amount of carrot so the muffin stayed moist, and dusted the top with nutmeg and cinnamon before baking them…Fabulous! My 2 year old loved them, and of course the hubby wouldn’t touch them as they were healthy ;-).

    Happy baking, ~B

  • sarahjorgensen
    11 Jan, 2012

    Replaced half the flour with whole wheat flour. Next time I'll use cinnamon instead of nutmeg. That amount of nutmeg was a little overwhelming for us. They were fairly dried out the next day, not sure if that's b/c the whole wheat. Just warmed them and added some butter.

  • tmelt
    3 Jan, 2012

    We love this recipe (including my 1 year old son). I also use whole wheat flour. I love that it is an easy, portable, nutritious snack.

  • jameehubbard
    28 Aug, 2011

    Made these with my four year old yesterday. They are wonderful! The only thing I will do different in the future may be to replace some of the flour with whole wheat flour. Very moist, chewy, and hearty.

  • MonicaWestlake
    16 Mar, 2011

    This recipe is so easy and tasty. Next time i will try with cinnnamon instead of nutmeg.

  • foodietoo
    2 Oct, 2010

    One more change--used Whole wheat flour instead of all purpose.

  • foodietoo
    2 Oct, 2010

    My family loved these. Did make a few changes to suit out tastes: used canola oil instead of EVOO, used cinnamon instead of nutmeg and replaced the banana with chopped apple. Added a little water to further moisten batter. Baked at 350 degrees (not 400) for 25 minutes. Family agrees--this is the go-to breakfast muffin recipe.

  • ChitownDad
    25 Jul, 2010

    These are my go-to weekend morning muffins. I make a few substitutions: whole wheat flour (not white), cinnamon (not nutmeg), blueberries (not raisins). My family loves them and they are usually gone by noon!

  • everydayhomecook
    8 Jun, 2010

    I made these the other day, and my 15 mo. old loved them! I made a few minor alterations, which I'll probably keep in the future: I used regular olive oil instead of extra-virgin, and cranberries instead of raisins. I think next time I will try to freeze a few to see if they keep in the freezer. They were very moist and flavorful. Thanks!