CARROT CAKE PROTEIN MUFFINS (VEGAN)

February 17, 2020

These irresistible Carrot Cake Protein Muffins are dairy-free, gluten-free and easily made vegan! Y’all know I love carrot cake – it’s what I request for my birthday each year. So you will find no shortage of “carrot cake” recipes on this blog: Carrot Cake Protein Donuts, Carrot Cake Overnight Protein Oats, and more! Carrot Cake is hands down one of my favorite spring and summer flavors so I had to make these.

Did you know? Besides being beneficial for eye health, carrots have been linked to lowering cholesterol, too! (source)

Protein recommendations

These Carrot Cake Protein Muffins use LIV Body Lean Vegan Protein in Pumpkin Pie flavor, which works so well with the carrot spice! I love that LIV Body contains NO artificial ingredients and has added probiotics and organic super foods. Unlike most vegan protein powders, it also tastes great! Like lick your finger with dry protein great LOL. Use my code “NOEXCUSES” for 20% off all LIV Body products: https://livbody.com/collections/all

I have also tested soy isolate and pumpkin protein in this recipe (both work). If subbing whey or casein, you may need slightly less liquid to get a thick batter. If you omit the protein powder, use an additional 90 grams (three-quarter cup) of flour.

Flour substitutions

I used gluten-free oat flour in these muffins, but you can totally just blend oats in a high speed blender until fine! The oat flour can also be substituted for an equal measure of all-purpose flour, brown rice flour, cake flour, cassava flour (Paleo), gluten-free baking flour, sorghum flour, spelt flour, tiger nut flour or whole wheat pastry flour. You can also trade up to half a cup of the baking flour for a quarter cup of coconut flour to lower the carbs, but this will yield a less “fluffy” muffins.

Sweetener substitutions

To sweeten these Carrot Cake Protein Muffins, I used a monk fruit brown sugar alternative. I just love the hint of brown sugar flavor! You can use any reduced-calorie brown sugar alternative, like Lakanto Golden, Sukrin Gold, Swerve Brown, or Truvia Brown Sugar (use half as much for Truvia). You can also use regular brown sugar or coconut sugar if you’re not worried about the added sugar! Baking stevia, granulated erythritol, granulated monk fruit, or a granulated white sugar will also work, but won’t taste as rich. If using stevia extract or drops, please refer to the brand-specific conversion chart 😉

Other substitutions

I love lots of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves in my carrot cake; however, you can substitute two teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice if you don’t have all the individual spices. You can also swap out the unsweetened applesauce for mashed banana or pumpkin, or even almond butter, cashew butter, or sunflower seed butter!

To help hold these muffins together, you can either use egg whites or three tablespoons of ground flaxseed with six tablespoons of warm water. Feel free to use a vegan egg replacer, too!

The chopped walnuts and shredded coconut are optional, but yummy! You can leave both out for a lower fat version, or add seedless raisins for a higher carb version 😉 Pecans would be delicious in place of the walnuts, too.

Here’s the printable recipe for these Carrot Cake Protein Muffins. I hope you’ll rate and comment below if you try them 🙂

This post contains affiliate links and is sponsored by LIV Body.

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5 from 1 vote

Carrot Cake Protein Muffins (Vegan)

These irresistible Carrot Cake Protein Muffins are dairy-free, gluten-free and easily made vegan. Each bakery-style muffin has 12 grams of protein too!

Course Breakfast

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes

Servings 6 muffins

Calories 115kcal

Author Sarah Wilkins, No Excuses Nutrition

Ingredients

• 2/3 cup (80g) gluten-free organic oat flour*
• 1/2 cup (60g) cinnamon protein powder* I used LIV Body Lean Vegan Protein in Pumpkin Spice flavor, code NOEXCUSES for 20% off
• 1/2 cup calorie-free brown sugar alternative* like Swerve brown, Lakanto Golden, etc.
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. salt optional
• 1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon* or 2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice in place of individual spices
• 1/2 tsp. ground ginger*
• 1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg*
• 1/4 tsp. ground cloves* optional
• 1 cup shredded carrots
• 1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce*
• 1/3 cup egg whites* or 3 tbsp. ground flax + 6 tbsp. warm water
• 1/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut optional
• 1/4 cup chopped walnuts optional

*See blog post above for more substitutions.

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Whisk together dry ingredients (through spices) in a medium mixing bowl.
• Add shredded carrots and remaining wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix until no dry clumps remain.
• Fold in shredded coconut and chopped walnuts if desired (optional).
• Coat 6 wells of a regular-sized muffin tin with cooking spray (or use liners), then divide batter between wells.
• Bake for 20-30 minutes until a toothpick or knife inserted comes out clean. Let cool before removing from muffin tin.
• Leftovers will keep in the fridge in an airtight container at least a week, or in the freezer at least a month.

Notes

Calories (per muffin, minus optionals): 115kcal, Fat: 2.0g, Sat fat: 0.4g, Carbs: 14g, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 2g, Protein: 11g, Sodium: 299mg

Calories (per muffin, including optionals): 173kcal, Fat: 7.6g, Sat fat: 2.8g, Carbs: 15g, Fiber: 3g, Sugar: 3g, Protein: 12g, Sodium: 397mg

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