These wholesome morning glory muffins are my very favorite muffin variety. Filled with healthy ingredients like whole wheat flour, flax, apples, carrots, raisins, applesauce, and honey, these cinnamon-spiced muffins taste like apple cake, spice cake, and moist carrot cake combined. (And for breakfast!) There’s plenty of substitution suggestions here, so you can truly make them your own.
Do you remember when I first shared this recipe? It was back in 2015 and weโre revisiting it now because it continues to be a healthful breakfast favorite. I simplified the instructions and added plenty of substitutions so you can play around with the recipe. They’re my best morning glory muffins and here’s why you’ll love them!
These Morning Glory Muffins Are:
- Deliciously moist and spiced, just like pumpkin muffins
- Mega flavorful with hints of orange
- 100% whole wheat
- Healthier and wholesome
- Satisfying and hearty
- The perfect on-the-go snack
- Toddler-approved (victory dance!)
Plus, there’s no mixer requiredโjust use a whiskโand they freeze beautifully!
Are These Muffins Healthy?
The term healthy is, of course, all relative. But I would consider them on the healthier side, yes. They do contain wheat, some oil, and some refined sugar, but also wholesome ingredients like fresh fruit and vegetables, applesauce, flaxseed, honey, and whole wheat flour. Balance! I like to use some applesauce in place of some oil, just like how I replace some butter with unsweetened applesauce in my baked oatmeal. They are similar to my applesauce muffins, where the lighter ingredient replaces some fat while still keeping them extra moist and flavorful. (I don’t recommend replacing ALL the oil hereโthe morning glory muffins will taste rubbery.)
Think of these as my reader-loved harvest spice bread, but in muffin form. ๐
How to Make Morning Glory Muffins
If you felt confident enough, you could probably make these with your eyes closed. I have the recipe memorized by now!
Making these morning glory muffins is as simple as combining all the dry ingredients in 1 bowl, combining all the wet ingredients in another bowl, then mixing everything together by hand. The batter is relatively thick and chunky because of all the flavorful add-ins, but this makes spooning into muffin liners pretty easy.
You need a shredder/grater for the carrots and apple. I always use my box grater, which doubles as a cheese grater. This tool is handy for zucchini bread, healthy apple muffins, zucchini muffins, carrot cake, and grating frozen butter for my scones.
18 Ingredients, But Don’t Worry!
I know the list of ingredients in the recipe below looks overwhelming, but most of them are regular kitchen staples like flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, eggs, brown sugar, and vanilla extract. For all of the extras, there are plenty of substitutions you can make.
The orange zest and ground flaxseed are totally optional, but I usually add both for extra flavor.
Ingredient Variations/Substitutions
Here’s a list of ways you can change the recipe based on your tastebuds. If using any of these substitutions, use the same exact amount of the ingredient you are replacing unless otherwise noted. For example, if you use coconut sugar instead of brown sugar, use 1/2 cup.
- Whole Wheat Flour: Use all-purpose flour if desired instead. (Or use a mix of both, like I do for peanut butter banana muffins.) I haven’t tested this muffin with gluten-free flour alternatives, but I would steer clear of almond, coconut, and oat flours. They won’t hold up to the moisture in the batter. (Try my blueberry almond power muffins instead!)
- Pecans: Leave them out or replace with dried cranberries, chopped walnuts or pistachios, sweetened or unsweetened shredded coconut, sunflower seeds, or more raisins.
- Brown Sugar: Coconut sugar is a dry unrefined sugar you can use in its place.
- Honey: Brown sugar, coconut sugar, or pure maple syrup.
- Oil: Melted butter. I don’t recommend leaving the fat out completely.
- Applesauce: If needed, replace with melted butter or more oil, apple butter, mashed banana, canned crushed pineapple, or pumpkin puree.
- Orange Zest: You can leave it out.
- Orange Juice: Delicious flavor! You can use pineapple juice or milk (dairy or nondairy) instead.
- Raisins: Leave them out or replace with dried cranberries, other chopped dried fruits, sweetened or unsweetened shredded coconut, chopped walnuts or pistachios, sunflower seeds, or more chopped pecans.
- Carrots: Feel free to replace with more shredded apple or even shredded zucchini.
- Apples: You can replace with shredded zucchini or more shredded carrot. I also love replacing the 1 cup of shredded apple with 2/3 cup canned crushed pineapple.
I have tested all of these options. Anything not listed I haven’t tested myself, so use caution! I will say that this is a very forgiving muffin recipe. Have fun with it!
PS: Try them with a swipe of homemade honey butter. What a treat!
More Healthful Baked Goods
- Whole Wheat Banana Bread
- Breakfast Cookies
- Chocolate Zucchini Bread
- Baked Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal Cups
- Chocolate Banana Muffins and Blueberry Banana Muffins
- Bran Muffins
- Vanilla Almond Granola or Pumpkin Granola
- Chocolate Chip Baked Oatmeal Cups
And for even more inspiration, see my complete list of 30+ healthy breakfast recipes.
Print
Morning Glory Muffins
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 24 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 14-16 muffins
- Category: Muffins
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Filled with healthy ingredients like whole wheat flour, flaxseed, apples, carrots, raisins, applesauce, and honey, these cinnamon-spiced morning glory muffins taste like apple cake, spice cake, and moist carrot cake combined. (And for breakfast!) There’s plenty of substitution suggestions available above so you can truly make them your own.
Ingredients
- 2 cups (260g) whole wheat flourย (spooned & leveled)
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/3 cup (35g) ground flaxseed (optional)
- 3 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup (100g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1/4 cup (85g) honey
- 1/3 cup (80ml) vegetable oil, canola oil, or melted coconut oil
- 1/3 cup (80g) unsweetened smooth applesauce
- 1 teaspoon orange zest (optional)
- 1/3 cup (80ml) orange juice or pineapple juice
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups (260g) shredded carrots (about 4 large)
- 1 cup (140g) shredded/grated apple (about 1 large)
- 1/2 cup (75g) raisins
- 1/2 cup (64g) unsalted chopped pecans
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425ยฐF (218ยฐC). Spray a 12-count muffin pan with nonstick spray or use greased/sprayed cupcake liners. This recipe yields 14โ16 muffins, so prepare a second muffin pan in the same manner or bake in batches and reserve leftover batter at room temperature for when the first batch is done.
- Whisk the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, salt, and flaxseed together in a large bowl. In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs, brown sugar, honey, oil, applesauce, orange zest, orange juice, and vanilla together until combined. Whisk in the carrots and apples. Pour these wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, stir a few times with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula, then add the raisins and pecans. Fold everything together until just combined and no pockets of flour remain.
- Spoon the batter into liners, filling them all the way to the top. Bake for 5 minutes at 425ยฐF; then, keeping the muffins in the oven, reduce the oven temperature to 350ยฐF (177ยฐC). Bake for an additional 18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. The total time these muffins take in the oven is about 23โ24 minutes, give or take. Allow the muffins to cool for 10 minutes in the pan, then transfer to a wire rack to cool until ready to eat.
- Cover leftover muffins and store at room temperature for 2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: Muffins freeze well for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and warm in the microwave (if desired) before enjoying.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): 12-count Muffin Pan | Muffin Liners | Box Grater | Glass Mixing Bowls | Whisk | Wooden Spoon or Silicone Spatula | Cooling Rack
- Substitutions: See blog post above for all substitutions I’ve tested.
- Initial High Temperature: The burst of very hot air will spring the top of the muffin up quickly, then lower the temperature as instructed so the inside of the muffin can bake through. This helps the muffins rise nice and tall. I do this for all of my muffin recipes (except mini muffins; see next Note).
- Mini Muffins: If making these in a mini muffin pan, bake 13โ14 minutes total at 350ยฐF (177ยฐC) the whole time.
- Nutritional Information: I haven’t calculated it, but feel free to use a free online recipe calculator with the exact ingredients you use.
Reader Comments and Reviews
These turned out lovely! I used a fresh Valencia orange for the zest and juice and added 1/4 tsp cardamom. Forgot to add applesauce to the grocery list, so had to sub with Greek yogurt. I had raw pecans and toasted them in the coconut oil at the beginning. I also went with dried cranberries over raisins, and I liked the cran/orange pairing. Iโm not a big baker, but these turned out really well with lots of moisture and were surprisingly easy to make despite the plethora of ingredients. With the fresh orange juice, I think the brown sugar could be reduced down to 1/3 cup, and these would still be sweet enough for me.
Sally, I always prefer to make jumbo bakery size muffins. I like your glory morning muffins. Is there any adjustment to the sparkly jumbo blueberry muffin recipe? Obviously other than that carrots oranges etc
Hi Victor! We’d use this morning glory muffin batter with the bake times and instructions from these jumbo blueberry muffins as a guide. Hope they’re a hit!
I made these this am and was super excited to try them . I love morning glory muffins .
Mine turned out dry but delicious . Wonder what I should do differently ? Maybe I should have used more liquid since I did use the flax seed ?
Hi Tammy, Be careful not to over-bake (the most common culprit for dry muffins) and be careful to spoon and level instead of scooping your flour when measuring. These tips should help for next time!
These came out perfectly, what a great recipe. I substituted the 80g of applesauce with unsweetened Greek yogurt and the muffins are delicious and baked up so nicely. I will definitely make these again!
Hai Sally. Iโve made this recipe many times and turned out well each time. Iโve even tried with wholemeal and substitute with plain AP flour (same weight), still turned out well. A big thank you for this.
However, my MIL pointed out on the eggy smell and aftertaste (that unpleasant smell of raw egg). me and my husband never noticed it before. So, should i reduce the eggs from 3 to 2 if I made this recipe using plain AP flour?
Hi Adi, we’re glad the muffins are a hit! With all the heavy add-ins in these muffins, we wouldn’t recommend reducing the eggs for fear the muffin crumb wouldn’t stay together as well. Were the muffins slightly underbaked at all? We’re unsure what could be contributing to that smellโwe’ve never experienced that before.
I have all the ingredients for these delicious muffins but discovered I no longer have my muffin tins (recently moved). Can this recipe be converted to a loaf pan?
Hi Janis, absolutely, you can bake this in a 9ร5-inch loaf pan without making any changes to the recipe. Weโre unsure of the best bake time, but use a toothpick to check for doneness. You can bake at 350 degrees for the entire time. Enjoy!
Delicious recipe! I made them with Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1 to 1 baking flour and they came out just fine. I definitely will make them again but next time, I will use a food processor for the carrots and apple. That was a lot of grating but well worth it.
I made this bread in a glass loaf pan and cooked at 350 degrees F for about an hour. I know itโs amazing because I have made them as muffins before. I used butternut squash purรฉe for applesauce, all brown sugar for the sweetness, walnuts for pecans, no dried fruit, zucchini instead of the shredded apple.
I have a 1.5 qt glass loaf pan but I think that might be too small. Do you know what size your loaf pan was?
Hi Janis, I am not sure what sized glass pan Shannon used BUT I have used a 9×5 loaf pan, sprayed with non stick spray( even if my pan is non stick, b/ c this is a sticky batter. Mine gets done in appx 57 to 60 minutes. Plus I find it easier to test loaves with a very thin bladed knife, like a small paring knife. Glass loaf pans can take just a bit longer to bake.
Hope this helps.
Made these today to freeze for postpartum! Thank you for great recipe! They came out perfectly delicious! I was curious, Is there anything you suggest to add a little more protein to this like Greek yogurt or protein powder ?
Hi Haley, we havenโt tested it, but several readers have reported success with subbing Greek yogurt for the applesauce in these muffins. If you try it, please let us know how they turn out!
I have made these muffins 3 times, My batter appears to be more liquidy than pictured in your video. The first time I thought the muffins were very dense, the second time I calculated time incorrectly and they turned out dry, so my bad. However the third time I again (using the same ingredients) I watched the video again and your batter appears to be thicker when scooping into the cups? How can this be? I used exact ingredients all 3 times. These were the Morning Glory muffins
Hi Tricia, this should be a thicker batter, but the consistency may very just slightly depending on the add-ins and any substitutes you may have used. How are you measuring your flour? Be sure to spoon and level (or use a kitchen scale) to ensure the flour is properly measured. If it’s under measured, then the batter will be thinner. Hope this helps for next time!
Hi – could I use Kamut flour instead of whole wheat?
Hi Leslie, we havenโt tested that substitution, so weโre unsure of the results. Let us know if you do give it a try.
Hi! I just saw that my ground ginger is very old. Can I use pumpkin pie spice instead? If so, what should I omit from the recipe? Thanks!
Hi Amanda! You could use pumpkin pie spice in place of the ginger, or simply leave it out.
Hi Sally!
We LOVE your bakes in our house! They are so reliable and delicious, and they turn out perfect every time. I canโt wait to try these morning glories! My husband is obsessed with pumpkin this time of year – is it possible to incorporate pumpkin puree into this recipe? Would love your thoughts!
Thank you!
Hi Joyce, so glad you love these! You can use canned pumpkin in place of the applesauce.
Thank you so much for your reply! Canโt wait to give it a go!
Made these with a premade mix of hemp seeds, chia seeds, and flax seeds, 1/3 cup instead of just flax seeds since thatโs what I had on hand. They ended up being done 7 minutes earlier in the oven, but I think thatโs just from our oven running very hot. Turned out AMAZING. Not too sweet, soft, perfect bite with the pecans. Awesome recipe
Can these be made in a bread (loaf pan) instead of muffins?
Hi Tiffany, absolutely, you can bake this in a 9ร5-inch loaf pan without making any changes to the recipe. Weโre unsure of the best bake time, but use a toothpick to check for doneness. You can bake at 350 degrees for the entire time. Enjoy!
These look great. Is there a way to adjust the recipe to make blueberries work?
You can replace the raisins or pecans with the same amount of blueberries. Enjoy!
Hi Sally! Am I able to make this in cake pans to be assembled as a cake (with cream cheese frosting)? I was planning on making your carrot cake but these muffins are so good and my mother in laws favorite.
Hi Gretch, this batter would make for a denser cake, but you certainly can. Here’s everything you need to know about cake pan sizes and conversions. Enjoy!
Can you refrigerate this batter overnight?
Hi Linda, We donโt recommend making the batter ahead of time. Once the wet and dry ingredients are mixed together, the leaveners are activated and itโs best to bake the muffins right away.