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Home » Recipes » Dish Type » Baked Goods » Muffins

Healthy Morning Glory Muffins

Published: Apr 27, 2022 by Terri Gilson · Modified: Apr 27, 2022 · As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. This post may contain affiliate links · 7 Comments

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pin with photo of morning glory muffins on wire rack on top and grey and orange text on white background on the bottom

If you're looking for a Morning Glory Muffin recipe that is healthy and naturally dairy-free but doesn't compromise on flavor, you will love these! I fell in love with Morning Glory Muffins many years ago when you could find them in every cafe and coffee shop (especially in the 1990's). I don't see them around very much anymore and it's unfortunate because they really are the best muffins! Read on to find out why they are called morning glory muffins and why they were so darn popular in the 1990's.

healthy morning glory muffins on a wire rack

However, I have created a lighter version so they can be enjoyed at home, without the added fat and calories of the coffee shop variety. These Healthy Morning Glory Muffins were inspired by the recipe in the cookbook that came with my new food processor, and by my own Healthy Carrot Muffins . They are full of healthy and wholesome ingredients like carrots, sunflower seeds, oats, walnuts and coconut and are great for a quick snack, dessert or on-the-go healthy breakfast or breakfast dessert!

Jump to:
  • 🥘Ingredients
  • 🔪Instructions
  • ⏲️ Baking time
  • 📖Variations & Substitutions
  • 🥗 Side Dishes
  • 👪 Serving Size
  • 🔢WW Points
  • 🍽Equipment
  • 🌡️Storage
  • 💭Top tip
  • ❔ Frequently Asked Questions
  • ⭐ Reviews
  • 📋Healthy Morning Glory Muffins recipe
  • ➕More Healthy Muffin Recipes

🥘Ingredients

Although there is still healthy fat in this recipe, I cut a lot of the fat by replacing the vegetable oil with unsweetened applesauce.

For this morning glory muffin recipe, you'll need:

ingredients for morning glory muffins in glass bowls and labelled
  • all-purpose flour
  • whole wheat flour
  • salt
  • baking soda
  • cinnamon
  • quick rolled oats
  • orange zest
  • chopped walnuts
  • carrots
  • brown sugar
  • eggs
  • unsweetened applesauce
  • vanilla extract
  • shredded, unsweetened coconut
  • raw, unsalted sunflower seeds

*See recipe card for quantities.

🔪Instructions

Hint: I would recommend toasting your walnuts as it really brings out the nutty flavor and adds that extra special something to your muffins!

Toast Walnuts:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F/175 degrees C and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Scatter walnuts on sheet and bake for 7-10 minutes until fragrant. Cool and set aside. *You can chop them once cooled, if you're not using pre-chopped walnuts.

walnuts on parchment covered baking sheet

Make Muffins:

  1. Line a 12 cup muffin pan with liners or non-stick cooking spray. Add the flours, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, oats and zest into a large bowl and stir together.
  2. Add the walnuts and shredded carrots to dry ingredient mixture.
  3. Add brown sugar, eggs, applesauce, and vanilla to a separate bowl and stir until combined.
dry ingredients added together
Step 1
walnuts and carrots added to dry mixture
Step 2
blue mixing bowl with wet ingredients and blue spatula
Step 3
  1. Add the flour and carrot mixture to the egg mixture. Add coconut.
  2. Mix until combined.
  3. Scoop the batter evenly into the 12 prepared muffin cups and sprinkle on sunflower seeds, dividing evenly between all 12 muffins.
blue bowl with dry ingredients and coconut added and wooden spoon
Step 4
muffin batter in blue bowl mixed together
Step 5
batter in lined muffin tin with sunflower seeds sprinkled on
Step 6

⏲️ Baking time

  1. Bake until a tester inserted in the middle comes out clean (about 20 -22 minutes)
morning glory muffins baked in tin

📖Variations & Substitutions

There are many different variations of Morning Glory Muffins out there. Some have zucchini, apple, raisins and even pineapple. Here are my recommended variations or substitutions.

  • Dairy-free - These muffins are naturally dairy-free
  • Add-ins - Add Chia seeds or flax seeds for extra fiber and add raisins, if so desired
  • Walnuts - you can substitute pecans (you can also toast the pecans the same way you toast the walnuts)

🥗 Side Dishes

Serve these alongside a cup of coffee and/or fresh fruits or a fruit salad. These healthy morning muffins also make an excellent breakfast potluck contribution!

classic fruit salad in a white bowl with wooden serving spoons on each side (on faux wooden surface)

👪 Serving Size

This recipe makes 12 Morning Glory muffins. However, you can half, double or triple the recipe by clicking on the blue serving number and selecting the number of servings you'd like. The ingredient quantities will automatically adjust. You'll just need additional muffin tins.

Morning Glory muffins in a basket

🔢WW Points

These muffins are 6 WW points on my plan, but worth every single point! Plug the recipe into the recipe builder on your app to see how much they are on your plan.

🍽Equipment

You'll need the usual mixing bowls, spoons, spatulas, an electric hand mixer, a box grater and muffin tins. You can use paper or reuseable muffin liners. A food processor comes in handy too, especially if you are grating a lot of carrot to freeze (see Top Tip)

morning glory muffin cut in half on wrapper with black cup of coffee and stack of muffins on black plate, in background

🌡️Storage

Store these muffins in an airtight container for up to 2 days at room temperature and up to 4 days in the fridge. They can be frozen for up to 3 months in a sealed container or Ziplock freezer bag.

💭Top tip

When you're shredding carrots, shred extra and freeze them in Ziplock freezer bags in 2 cup portions. It makes it so much easier if you have a food processor (affiliate link), but even if you don't, you can grate them by hand.

carrots shredded and frozen in Ziplock bag

It takes a few extra minutes of your time upfront, but trust me, you'll be glad you did the next time you go to make anything with shredded carrots, such as my Healthy Carrot Bread, Healthy & Light Carrot Cake , Award-Winning Creamy Carrot Soup or even these Honey Sriracha Chicken Lettuce Wraps (this makes for a super quick dinner with pre-shredded carrots from your freezer! Then pop them into the microwave to defrost for a few minutes (just be sure to drain off excess water, but do not squeeze out the water, as you need some moisture for a moist muffin).

So, if you're looking for healthy morning glory muffins that taste amazing, these are THE BEST morning glory muffins! And I can safely say that because I'm pretty much a connoisseur, having consumed so many when they were all the rage in the 1900's (see why they were all the rage below).

❔ Frequently Asked Questions

What are Morning Glory muffins made of?

Morning Glory Muffins are meant to be a little bit of everything; sort of a harvest muffin. There are many variations but they generally have walnuts, orange juice or zest, coconut, apples, carrots, brown sugar, flour and oats. However, they can also have zucchini, raisins, seeds or pineapple.

Why are they called Morning Glory muffins?

Morning Glory Muffins were created by Pam McKinstry owner of the “Morning Glory Cafe” in Nantucket and the muffin was said to be named after the cafe. She created her original Morning Glory Muffins in 1978. Then in 1981, Gourmet magazine printed her recipe. A decade later, in1991, it was selected by the readers as one of the best recipes of the past 25 years in the magazine. Hence, they were on every cafe and coffee shop menu in the 1990's.

⭐ Reviews

Did you make this recipe? Please RATE THE RECIPE below and leave a comment!

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healthy morning glory muffins on a wire rack
Food Meandering Logo

📋Healthy Morning Glory Muffins recipe

These Healthy Morning Glory Muffins are chock-full of wholesome ingredients like whole wheat flour, unsweetened apple sauce, carrots, coconut, orange, walnuts, and sunflower seeds! They are the perfect on-the- go breakfast, snack and ideal for packing along in the lunch box!
5 from 4 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Breakfast, Dessert, Snack
Cuisine: American, Canadian, North American
Keyword: carrot, morning glory, muffins
Special Diet: Dairy-free, Vegetarian, Weight Watchers
Servings: 12 muffins
Calories: 211kcal
Author: Terri Gilson
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes
Prevent your screen from going dark

Ingredients

  • ½ cup all-purpose flour
  • ⅔ cup whole wheat flour
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • ½ cup quick rolled oats
  • 1 teaspoon grated orange zest
  • ⅔ cup chopped walnuts, lightly toasted
  • 4 large carrots, grated (2 cups shredded) * if using frozen, defrost and drain off excess water, but do NOT squeeze out
  • ⅔ cup brown sugar
  • 4 large eggs, room temperature
  • ⅔ cup unsweetened applesauce
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ⅓ cup shredded, unsweetened coconut

Garnish

  • 2 tablespoon raw, shelled, unsalted sunflower seeds
US Customary - Metric

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F/175 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Scatter walnuts on sheet and bake for 7-10 minutes until fragrant. Cool and set aside. *You can chop them once cooled, if you're not using pre-chopped walnuts.
    walnuts on parchment covered baking sheet
  • Line a 12 cup muffin pan with liners or non-stick cooking spray.
  • Add the flours, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, oats and zest into a medium mixing bowl and stir together.
    dry ingredients added together
  • Add the walnuts and shredded carrots to dry ingredient mixture.
    walnuts and carrots added to dry mixture
  • Add brown sugar, eggs, applesauce, and vanilla to a separate large mixing bowl and stir until combined.
    blue mixing bowl with wet ingredients and blue spatula
  • Add the flour and carrot mixture to the egg mixture, then add coconut.
    blue bowl with dry ingredients and coconut added and wooden spoon
  • Mix until combined.
    muffin batter in blue bowl mixed together
  • Scoop the batter evenly among the 12 prepared muffin cups and sprinkle on sunflower seeds, dividing seeds evenly between all 12 muffins
    batter in lined muffin tin with sunflower seeds sprinkled on
  • Bake until a tester inserted in the middle comes out clean (about 20 -22 minutes)
    morning glory muffins baked in tin
  • Cool on wire rack for at least 10 minutes.
    morning glory muffins cooling on wire rack

Notes

 
Nutrition Facts
📋Healthy Morning Glory Muffins recipe
Amount Per Serving (1 muffin)
Calories 211 Calories from Fat 81
% Daily Value*
Fat 9g14%
Saturated Fat 3g19%
Trans Fat 1g
Polyunsaturated Fat 4g
Monounsaturated Fat 2g
Cholesterol 62mg21%
Sodium 279mg12%
Potassium 223mg6%
Carbohydrates 29g10%
Fiber 3g13%
Sugar 15g17%
Protein 6g12%
Vitamin A 4107IU82%
Vitamin C 2mg2%
Calcium 43mg4%
Iron 1mg6%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Nutrition

Serving: 1muffin | Calories: 211kcal (11%) | Carbohydrates: 29g (10%) | Protein: 6g (12%) | Fat: 9g (14%) | Saturated Fat: 3g (19%) | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 62mg (21%) | Sodium: 279mg (12%) | Potassium: 223mg (6%) | Fiber: 3g (13%) | Sugar: 15g (17%) | Vitamin A: 4107IU (82%) | Vitamin C: 2mg (2%) | Calcium: 43mg (4%) | Iron: 1mg (6%)
Did you make this recipe? Please leave a star rating and review below!
Rate this Recipe

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Colleen

    May 03, 2022 at 3:28 pm

    I always loved morning glory muffins but I haven't had one in years. Now I can make my own and I even have all of the ingredients. (I'll use a gluten-free flour blend) Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
  2. Vanessa

    May 03, 2022 at 4:09 pm

    I grew up with these muffins but haven't seen them in ages! Thanks for the recipe! I forgot how delicious they are. Definitely going to start adding these to the breakfast rotation.

    Reply
  3. nancy

    May 03, 2022 at 5:12 pm

    i've been looking for a tasty morning muffin recipe and this one is a winner!

    Reply
  4. Bernice

    May 03, 2022 at 6:40 pm

    These morning glory muffins are so named because they are glorious! They baked up really nice and stayed fresh for a few days. It was nice to have a healthy treat in the morning for a few days.

    Reply
  5. Asha

    May 05, 2022 at 1:31 pm

    These muffins are tasty and perfect for a quick, grab-and-go breakfast on busy mornings. So many good ingredients inside, too!

    Reply
  6. Angie

    November 05, 2022 at 5:50 pm

    Is there something else I can substitute apple sauce with as my hubby is fructose intolerant and apple is v high fructose? Thanks

    Reply
    • Terri Gilson

      November 05, 2022 at 5:55 pm

      Yes, you could use Greek yogurt (non-fat) instead, but you'll likely have to add more sweetener.
      Enjoy!
      Terri

      Reply

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I'm Terri, a passionate home cook and baker, an award-winning recipe developer and a busy working mom that is trying to eat healthy and fit everything into not enough hours in a day! My mission is to share not only my recipes, cooking hacks and tips with you, but also my secrets to successful weight maintenance.

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