The best, most scrumptious date carrot muffins — my family’s ABSOLUTE favorite. We make these moist, sweet, and healthy-ish muffins ALL THE TIME. They are just that yummy. Plus, they’re nut-free and perfect for popping into school lunches.
It’s time to introduce you to my family’s favorite muffin recipe—these oh so yummy, date carrot muffins. They are THE BEST MUFFINS and we make them over and over (and over) for good reason. I guarantee these moist and sweet (and sort of healthy-ish) muffins won’t linger around your kitchen for long.
About these healthy date carrot muffins
Ok, let’s get down to business.
These muffins are very moist (as all good muffins should be), thanks to the combination of finely grated carrot, chopped dates, and a full cup of milk.
The sweet mixture of carrot, dates, brown sugar, and cinnamon will make you feel like you’re having a ‘treat,’ when really, you’re only using a half cup of sugar and a quarter cup of oil (high fives)—not bad when comes to muffin recipes.
You can make these carrot muffins even healthier by swapping the brown sugar for coconut sugar. I use this brand. The flavor is lovely and no one will notice the difference. I also occasionally swap out the all-purpose flour for whole wheat flour.
And last but not least, your kitchen will smell a-mazing. Just saying.
How to make date carrot muffins
Combine all the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl and toss in the chopped dates. Use your hands (really the best tool for this) to incorporate and break up any date clumps (see the pic below). Do the same with the grated carrot — toss in and mix well before adding the wet ingredients.
In a smaller bowl, combine egg, milk, oil, and vanilla. Pour into the dry ingredients and mix until well combined. That’s it. Time scoop into prepared muffins tins and bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes.
If you give these healthy date carrot muffins at try, let me know in the comments below. I love to hear from you!
xo Bri
Looking for the best muffin recipes? Try these fan favs!
- Strawberry shortcake muffins
- Chocolate chip bran muffins
- Orange cranberry muffins
- Banana chocolate chip oatmeal muffins
Healthy Date Carrot Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 cup of quick or regular oats
- 1 cup flour
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 cup roughly chopped dates
- 1 cup finely shredded carrot 3 small-medium carrots
- 1 large egg beaten
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup milk
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, combine dry ingredients.
- Add in dates and toss until they are well coated. Break up any date clumps.
- Repeat with the shredded carrot—add, toss to coat, no clumps!
- In a small mixing bowl beat egg with oil, milk and vanilla.
- Pour into flour mixture and stir to combine well.
- Spoon into a parchment paper lined muffins tins (about a 1/4 cup per muffin).
- Bake at 400 for 20-25 minutes. Enjoy!
Really good – next time I will grease the cupcake pans as the muffins stuck to the liners. I also used the steel cut oats. Next time I will use regular oats.
Glad you enjoyed them, Pat! I use Paper Chef parchment paper muffin liners and the muffins never stick——I highly recommend them. Re the oats, I find quick oats (steel cut or regular) work really well and result in a nice texture. Sometimes I’ll do a mixture of large flake rolled oats and quick oats.
i know this is an old post but I wanted to comment in case you see it – these are SO good, like truly unbelievably moist & decadent. 11/10 recipe. thanks so much!! even my fiancée who isn’t a huge fan of dates just devoured these.
i followed the recipe exactly. my only tip for anyone who stumbles on this is – the batter is really wet and that’s fine! resist the urge to add more flour. i consider myself a pretty experienced muffin baker and i was so worried they were too wet, but they set perfectly.
for the author – it was so smart to coat the carrots and dates prior to adding the wet ingredients because they were dispersed so nicely, even some stayed on the top giving them a lovely appearance.
i’m so glad i had leftover carrots and dates and Google led me to your recipe. they’re definitely gonna be a new staple in my kitchen 🙂
Try buying the parchment paper cups. They come off so easily and you won’t lose half your muffin on the paper!
What is calorie per muffin
Hi Shirley! Sorry, I don’t have a nutrition/calorie counter up and running (yet), but I can say these only use half a cup of brown sugar (which you could easily swap out for honey, maple syrup or coconut sugar). Fat-wise the recipe calls for a mere 1/4 cup of vegetable oil——coconut or olive oil would be a healthy substitute. For the milk, I use 1%, but skim works as well! Hope this helps! xo Bri
What type of flour do you use ?
Hi! Can these be frozen?
I ran the calorie count and it was 168 per muffin.
Can I use date syrup I stead of whole dates?
Have made these muffins a few times, always a favourite
Love them
Great recipe! I left out the sugar and used double the amount of dates. I was too lazy to chop up the dates so instead blended it with the milk. Still worked out well. Toddler and I both enjoyed this batch of muffins.
This was an easy recipe and was awesome flavor and very moist. I used Good Oats organic steel cut oats as well as quick oats. After the muffins cooled they stuck a little to the paper but not bad. I may add nuts, bananas, or applesauce to reduce the oil slightly. Thank you so much for the fabulous breakfast!😋
Debi, so glad you enjoyed the recipe! It is one of my favs! xoxo Bri
Oh my gosh I made these this morning when I realised my boys needed an added extra in their lunchbox- I added a zucchini, walnuts , flaxseed and some sultanas also and they were sooo delicious. I did have the same problem in that they stuck to my cupcake holders but maybe I’ll just buy silicone ones. All in all these were delicious!! 🙏
Could I add millet or flax?
Could I use oat milk instead of regular milk?
Ann
Hi Ann! I have zero experience using oat milk, so I can’t say for certain, but from what I’ve Googled, I think it would. I’m making them later today with cashew milk and will report on the results:) If you try with oat milk, please let me know how the muffins turn out! xo Bri
I made mine with oat milk today, very delicious!! My oven temperature is off so unfortunately they burned. But SO delicious!!! I also added walnuts for extra crunch and protein.
Love the addition of walnuts! xo Bri
Fabulous recipe! Moist and delicious. I added a small amount of coconut.
Should really figure out nutritional information and post it…
Very tasty! Used my food processor for chopping dates and carrots together to simplify that step. Used old fashioned oats and some chopped walnuts for some crunch. Will be putting these on my baking rotation!
Very moist and great texture. I addrf a small amount of cloves and nutmeg as well as some raisins. Will definitely be making these again.
Hey Ann! I’m so glad you enjoyed them! Music to my ears. xo Bri
Thank you so much for this recipe. Really yummy, moist and healthyish!?
Made this recipe this morning and it was scrumptious!! Not overly sweet. Thanks for the recipe
Flavor is all there, but the texture was not fluffy, but dense and I had to use a fork to scrape off the muffin from the cupcake liners, unfortunately. I Googled why this happened and found that low-fat muffins tend to have a gummy texture and stick to the liners. However, this is a perfectly delicious “healthy” muffin recipe if you’re looking to use carrots and dates. 🙂
Glad you enjoyed the recipe Millie! I’ve found the same re liners and for the past few years I’ve been using these really great parchment paper muffin liners. NOTHING sticks to them! xo Bri
Hi Bri thanks for amazing recipe!
I made this in the weekend for school lunch boxes but its all gone within a day. We just couldnt stop eating them. Hubby asked to save this recipe (he is not a foodie but he loved this so much and claimed this is the best muffin 😁)
Looking forward to trying your other recipes.
Greetings from New Zealand x
Hi Mel! This is music to my ears! So glad your family enjoyed the recipe——we love these muffins and make them every couple of weeks! xo Bri
Absolutely great. Definitely no sticking with parchment paper muffin liners. I added 1/2 c chopped walnuts. Will certainly make these again and often.
Amazing! Thanks for your feedback, Win! Love the addition of walnuts. xo Bri
I made these today and only changed two small things. I used coconut oil and added nutmeg (because I believe where ever there is cinnamon there should be nutmeg lol). They turned out absolutely amazing. Will be making again and again ❤️
Music to my ears! Thanks for your comments Amber! Love the addition of nutmeg:) xo Bri
Muffins are delicious will add less sugar next time as dates are on sweet side. However also had to add about another 1/2 cup flour & oats as the batter was runny
Thank you for sharing this recipe
Hi Freda! So glad you enjoyed them — they are one of our favs. The batter is not super sturdy (agree!), but the muffins do bake up dense and moist! xo Bri
Cannot wait to try these w/some
leftover mejool dates I have. I’ll be adding carrots to my grocery list and Im totally adding some
nuts like someone else did. :0)
Yay! You’ll love them! And definitely add in some nuts! Walnuts or pecans are perfect additions. xo Bri
Fantastic. Made 2 batches..white choc on some dark choc on some and a few plain
Really yummy. No problems with them sticking to the paper as I used muffin liners. Dont have steel oats in nz so used regular oats and cut the cooking time by 5 minutes.
Turned out great. Did stick to paper a little bit that doesn’t bother me. I substituted the egg out for applesauce and the milk out for plain almond milk due to allergies and it worked great!
Muffins turned great, kids loved them. I made a couple of substitutions because I was out of eggs I used 2 Tbsp. of flax and 1 cup of nonfat plain greek yogurt.
Glad you enjoyed them! xo Bri
Thank you for this awesome recipe! I modified by only using 1/4 cup coconut sugar, plus 2 tbs collagen, 3 scoops protein powder, water instead of milk, and buckwheat flour. Turned out perfectly! Cheers from Australia 🙂
Just found your recipe. Haven’t tried it yet.. Was wondering about a flour substitution Can you use gluten free flour for these?
Yum! Made these with my 9 year old for our Saturday movie night and they were a family favorite! Thanks!
Delicious muffins, my 15 month old loved them! Turned out a little too sweet for us though, maybe because I was using medjool dates? I actually lowered the brown sugar by a quarter and think 1/2 of that would actually be enough for us.
Very tasty! I used a ripe banana instead of oil and used almond milk and a flax egg to make it vegan. I also used rolled oats and its really moist but a bit dense but still delicious. The only problem was as other people mentioned they stuck to the liners. I will have to get some of the parchment paper liners that were mentioned . Thanks for a yummy healthy muffin idea!!
Taste ok. I found that the inside did not cook properly, probably because of all the liquid, and so when I took them out eventually the outside was too hard and the inside uncooked. Maybe a lower temp should be used. I’m not sure what happened as everyone else’s seemed to work 🤷♀️
Lovely, although I added way more dates in the second round of making them. Will definitely make again.
What type of flour did you use?
Hi Mitchell, I used all-purpose flour, but you could use whole wheat or a gluten-free mixture as well. xo Bri
Absolutely delicious! I made with whole wheat flour, I used 3/4 cup and 1/4 cup coconut flour and used large flake oats. I added walnuts, delicious! Thanks for recipe.
Awesome! Thanks for sharing your comments, Belinda! So glad you enjoyed them! xo Bri
I made these last night and they are delicious! Thanks for the step by step instructions — no clumps!! My daughter gave me some silicone muffin liners and the muffins came out beautifully (and the liners are reusable). These are a really nice change from my standard banana chip muffins. Thanks for the recipe.
So glad you like them, Jen! I make these all the time—they are truly a household favorite. Thanks for sharing your feedback and rating—much appreciated! xo Bri
Just made these and loved them. Used a coated muffin tin with light spray and muffins fell right out! Never use papers, most muffins do stick to them! Only thing I did different was used white wheat flour!! Thank you for sharing!
Hi can I substitute veg oil for either olive or rap seed?
Hi Mandy! Olive oil and avocado oil are great substitutes that I use in this recipe all the time. Haven’t tried with rapseed though. Hope this helps! xo Bri
These are divine! I had a ripe banana that needed to be used, so added that and cut back a little on the carrot and dates. I used wholemeal flour. Such a scrumptious colour, texture and flavour.
These are Delicious.
Thanks, Harold! Glad you enjoyed them! xo Bri
I added one cup of dates and left out the suger. I sell these at a local farmers market advertising no suger added. People love them and have asked for more. The extra dates sweeten the muffins perfect. Aldi’s has 1 pound for 4 dollars. Thanks.
Glad they are being enjoyed! xo Bri
So Did you put a total of 1.5cups of dates?
Thanks for posting this. I wondered if omitting the sugar and adding more dates would work. I’ll try that next time!
A really GREAT recipe, and so healthy. They stayed moist for days afterwards.
I added a half cup of crushed walnuts.
Thanks, Michael, glad they were enjoyed! xo Bri
I made this today with my daughter and it tasted really healthy, not too sweet . I ran into a small problem though with the muffin sticking to the sides of the muffin liners after baking
Try using a silicone muffin pan. They pop out easily and pan is a breeze to clean .
Great recipe … delicious muffins. Thank you
Great recipe … delicious muffins. Also added some chopped walnuts. Lovely and moist. Thank you
Absolutely deeelicious! I added a bit more dates and they still came out perfectly!
These look great, could I ask how best to keep and can they be frozen for future snacks?
Can i put something else than dates?
I have been making these muffins for a couple of years now and wanted to say thank you as they really are delicious and feel like a lovely treat with a mid morning cup of tea while also healthier with the lower sugar content. I have also adapted the recipe and sometimes add some chopped walnuts as they are a favourite of mine. 🙂
This was really good! I subbed the sugar for honey and used oat milk. I think I may have used a bit too many dates but the kids love it 😊
Thanks Bri!
Delicious! I made them with the help of my grandchildren. They were able to assist me….. stirring, measuring, getting ingredients etc. it was fun and the result was lovely. Thank you.
OMG. Just made these to freeze so I can bring them to University with me!! Healthy, filling and yum. Thank you 🙂 I added walnuts and chefs kiss.
Yummy.. I cant believe I hadn’t come across these before. Definitely will make again. I added some walnuts for more protein. I had date paste at home (from making date cake) so i just chopped it into small pieces. I think next time i will use plain yogurt instead of the milk.
One of the best muffin recipe I’ve ever tried. The muffins turned out great. My husband loves them! A+++
Delicious recipe. I added pecans and a few more dates. Having added more sweetness, I think I could reduce the sugar.
I calculated 130-150 calories. Pretty good for a muffin.
This was indeed a healthy muffin. I added nuts. Recommend baking 20 minutes not 25. Sprayed cooking oil in muffin tins which was a good idea.
I made this recipe with brown flower, grated apple as well as carrot and I used stevia instead of sugar as my husband is diabetic. Result was a delicious treat that did not spike his sugar.
Definitely a keeper. I added 1 cup chopped walnuts and this recipe yielded 10 big muffins.
They are the most delicious muffins I have ever tried! Made them this afternoon and man they are just absolutely yummy. They are definitely to be one regular recipe I will do again again and again! Thanks for sharing this delight!
Thank you so much for this recipe! I’m trying to get back into making homemade snacks etc after a celiac disease diagnosis in our house set me back for a few years. These were yummy, even to our processed sugar palates. I used cup4cup for the flour and half honey/half sugar. They came very nicely out of silicone baking cups and were nice and puffed up in spite of the gf flour substitution. Thanks again!
Best muffins ever! I have made them three times and each time they are fantastic.
My co-workers love them. They freeze really well.
Thank you for creating this muffin recipe.
Moist and flavorful, and EASY thank you!
This is a wonderful recipe, thank you! I appreciate you including the technique of mixing the dates and carrots with the dry so there aren’t clumps, AND adding enough salt. So often I see ‘healthy’ recipes with very little or no salt! Yuck (unless you need that for health reasons).
My kids (7&9) loved these ‘carrot cake’ muffins! They will be a staple for soccer season!
Oh, I forgot to mention that I made these gluten and dairy free, too! I used the King Arthur gf baking mix (the one with xanthan gum included), gf oats from Bob’s Red Mill (a mix of whole and quick cooking), and oat milk.
I use 1 cup gluten -free flour, 1/2 cup quick oats and 1/2 cup regular oats. Also add a few dashes of nutmeg and some powdered ginger. Delicious! Have made several times now. Thanks!
incredible. addictive. amazing. I LOVVVEEE THESE. LITERALLY CANT STOP EATING THEM. IVE ALREADY EATEN 6 IN ONE DAY. literally my fav muffins ever i will be making these regularly.
I made these following the recipe as presented and they were SO good. They were even good three days later after a 10 second warm in the microwave. Perfect with a good cup of coffee. I used rolled oats as that’s what I had in the pantry. Thank you for this morning goodness!
Hi,haven’t made these yet. But I will early this morning. If I sprayed the inside of muffin papers before adding the mix, would it work?
Great recipe! I used old fashioned oats and processed them for a few seconds. I baked the muffins in a silicone muffin pan and they turned out perfect. They are very tasty and moist inside.
Currently, trying to eat 3-6 dates a day for an easier labor and this recipe makes it very easy. Thank you for sharing! I just have to keep my husband from eating them all. Lol
Soo yummy! I added chopped nuts, 1 1/2 ripe bananas, extra carrots, & extra dates, subbed coconut oil, & half the amount of brown sugar. Turned out amazing, I also cooked it in a buttered 14×9 baking dish instead of muffin tin.
Loved these muffins! I subbed out the oil for natural yoghurt and they were delicious. I used silicone muffin liners and no sticking. Have these on heavy rotation now. Makes for a great breakfast with some fruit and a little yoghurt. Thank you!
This is now my master recipe. Absolutely fool proof.
Made it as diabetic muffin as well.
These were great! Easy to make, great texture, nice and soft, and more like a spice cake than a carrot cake. I made full sized muffins for adults and mini ones for toddlers and they were a hit with everyone at a recent picnic. This is definitely going into my regular rotation, though I’m going to try next with half the sugar. With all the cut up dates, it was a little sweet for my taste.
My only alterations were adding a heaping tablespoon of ground flaxseed and using grated cinnamon stick because I ran out of ground and the store was closed.
I had several dates to use up and these muffins were perfect for the job, so delicious and moist. Quite a treat for our Memorial Day brunch. Thank you!
Perfect – I used wholemeal SR flour, rolled oats and 1tsp of garam masala instead (I’m not fond cinnamon), and only half the amount of bi-carb.
Hi Bri, I made a few adaptations to this and we love these muffins! We eat gluten free so I used a gf flour 1 cup, 1 cup almond flour 1/4 cup cornstarch, plus I added 1 c zucchini well drained and walnuts or pecan. I now make these at least once a week and my family is addicted to them. So good! Thank you for the recipe. Jan
Oh, my goodness! Soooo good! Mine did stick to the papers the way some other people said, but I don’t care. I just peeled the stuff off the paper and devoured it! 😂. Maybe I’ll get some of those parchment muffin papers. And I think I’ll add some nuts next time for a bit more deliciousness. Wonderful recipe. Thank you so much!
Yummy healthy muffin option, toddler approved! I used honey instead of sugar and coconut oil instead of vegetable oil and they came out great!
Tasted good. It’s a moist, dense cake and kind of sticky. I did make the mistake of putting cupcake paper cups in the muffin tin and 1/3 of the muffin stuck to the paper. So I couldn’t eat the part stuck and wasn’t happy about that. But I remembered something about putting cooled baked goods that stick in the freezer for 10 minutes or so, will make the paper come off easy. I did it and it worked.
Delicious and indeed very moist!
Is there any way to replace the oats? I want to make them today but I dont have oats.
Hi Bri I’ve just made your date & carrot muffins, haven’t tried theToom yet too hot they look lovely when I was making the mixture I thought it was a bit runny so I put a little more flour in IL let you know how they were regards Olwin
I’m using this recipe to get my dates in for labor prep so much easier than eating them whole , muffins were great thank you
This was really good!! I used melted butter instead of oil.
These were surprisingly so delicious! Will be added to our rotation. Thank you
Brilliant. Used Oat Milk, Coconut Sugar. chai seeds (as egg substitute) Coconut Oil. cooked in a non greased silicon muffin tray. love them with our morning coffee. Am also going to try substituting carrot with beetroot or zucchini yay
These muffins are so good! I added walnuts and coconut and used whole spelt flour and macadamia nut oil. I sprayed the muffin tin and had no issues with sticking. I see someone added apple and I think I will do that next time. I love that they have less sugar and oil than a traditional muffin.