Carrot and Quinoa Muffins

4 from 2 votes

This recipe can be stirred together without the use of a mixer. The combination of almond and whole wheat flours is key to the perfect texture here so I don't recommend substituting other flours unless you want to use gluten-free whole wheat flour in place of the regular whole wheat.

Prep Time10

Cook Time18

Total Time30

Course: Baking

Keyword: muffins, quinoa

Servings:

Calories: 198kcal

Author: Sally Humeniuk

Ingredients

½ cup coconut oil, melted
1 cup quinoa, cooked and cooled
¾ cup brown sugar, firmly packed
½ cup Greek yogurt, vanilla, honey, or even strawberry, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs, room temperature, slightly beaten *
1 cup grated carrots, very loosely packed
½ cup walnuts, chopped
¾ cup whole wheat flour, plus 1 Tablespoon
¾ cup almond flour, plus 1 Tablespoon
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a muffin tin with foil or paper liners and set aside.
Melt ½ cup of coconut oil and set aside to cool to room temperature.
In a large bowl, stir together 1 cup cooked quinoa, ¾ cup brown sugar, cooled coconut oil, ½ cup Greek yogurt, 1 teaspoon vanilla, 2 slightly beaten eggs, 1 cup carrots and ½ cup walnuts.
In a separate bowl, sift together ¾ cup whole wheat flour, ¾ cup almond flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda and ½ teaspoon salt.
Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, mixing until fully incorporated, but don't over stir mixture.
Fill the muffin tins about ¾ full. If desired, you can sprinkle some uncooked quinoa over the muffins before baking for a cute look. For a little extra sweetness and a shiny top, you could sprinkle some granulated sugar on each muffin.
Bake 18-20 minutes, until the tops are a nice golden color.
Remove the muffins from the oven and cool completely on a wire rack. Muffins can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days at room temperature.

Cook's Note:

These muffins freeze well and just need to be brought back to room temperature before enjoying.

Notes

For the Greek yogurt, any full fat, low sugar yogurt works. I love Greek Gods Honey yogurt. Also, I use dairy free yogurt all the time. I also use Green Valley Creamery lactose-free yogurt. I usually prefer honey or vanilla flavored yogurt but have substituted strawberry or coconut when that's all I had and it's fabulous.
The walnuts are optional and these muffins are just as delicious without them. I like to add them for the extra nutrition the walnuts provide and if I want the muffins to have more calories for a growing teenager, they're good for that too.
I cannot stress enough that the combination of almond flour and whole wheat flour is what gives these muffins their fabulous texture as well as adding to the flavor. If you want to use gluten-free whole wheat flour in place of the regular whole wheat, that is fine but any other substitutions simply won't do. (All-purpose in place of either flour will make the muffins heavy and kind of bland.)
There is good reason to let the melted coconut oil cool to room temperature, as well as either warming the yogurt slightly in the microwave or leaving it out to become room temperature. When you add the wet ingredients, if anything is still cold it will cause the coconut oil to harden back up a little and not be evenly spread throughout. That being said, it's happened to me dozens of times and the muffins are still tasty. Just know your batter may look kind of clumpy.
I've made these muffins with reduced and even no sugar at times. You can adjust the brown sugar to your liking. Many readers who are moms of little toddlers have told me that their kids love these muffins so they make them without sugar in mini muffin tins often.

Nutrition