🥕Healthy Carrot Muffins with Pineapple recipe

carrot muffin on blue wood-like surface, pulled into 2 pieces , with wrapper, more muffins and carrots in background

5 from 6 votes

🥕Healthy Carrot Muffins with Pineapple recipe

These Healthy Carrot Muffins with Pineapple are made with healthy ingredients like grated carrots, Greek yogurt and walnuts. It tastes like carrot cake, but it's Weight Watchers friendly! They are make-ahead and great for an on-the-go breakfast, snack and throwing in the lunch bag.

Course Breakfast, Snack

Cuisine American, Canadian, North American

Keyword carrot, healthy, muffins, pineapple

Special Diet Vegetarian

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 25

Total Time 40

Servings muffins

Calories 144kcal

Author Terri Gilson

Ingredients

1 large egg
¾ cup non- fat plain Greek yogurt (0%)
3 tablespoon vegetable oil
¾ teaspoon vanilla
⅔ cup packed brown sugar
½ cup crushed pineapple Note: Just make sure you really squeeze out all the liquid, reserving 1 tbsp
1 ½ cups finely shredded carrots
⅓ cup finely chopped walnuts * leave this out if making for toddlers
1 ½ teaspoon cinnamon
1 ¾ cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon reserved pineapple juice

US Customary - Metric

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Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F/175 degrees C.
Line muffin pans with paper muffin liners.
In a large bowl beat egg till fluffy,
Beat in oil, then add in yogurt, sugar, and vanilla. Stir in carrots and crushed pineapple.
In a separate bowl, combine flour, spices, baking soda, and baking powder.
Add dry mixture to wet mixture and stir until combined.
Stir in pineapple juice.
Pour into lined muffin tins to about ¾ full, dividing batter evenly by all 16.
Bake in preheated oven for approximately 25 minutes or until a toothpick or cake tester inserted comes out clean.
Let cool in pan 5 minutes, then remove from pan and cool completely on cooling rack.

Notes

Expert Tips

- Cool the muffins completely before removing the muffin liners. Don't even try to remove the muffins from the liners before these muffins have been cooled for at least 20-30 minutes or you'll take a lot of the muffin away with it.

- Grate the Carrots Finely. Use the fine side of a box grater for the carrots. This ensures they blend seamlessly into the batter and provide the right amount of moisture without making the muffins too chunky.

- Properly Drain the Pineapple. Be sure to thoroughly squeeze out the crushed pineapple. Excess moisture can make the batter too wet and prevent the muffins from baking evenly. Use a fine-mesh strainer or cheesecloth to remove as much liquid as possible, reserving 1 tablespoon for the recipe.

- Toast the Walnuts. For extra flavor, toast the walnuts before adding them to the batter. Spread them on a baking sheet and bake at 350°F (175°C) for about 5-7 minutes or until fragrant. Let them cool before chopping and mixing in.

- Measure Flour Correctly. Spoon flour into the measuring cup and level it off with a knife. Packing the flour too tightly can result in dry muffins.

Storage:

You can keep these healthy carrot muffins at room temperature for up to 3 days in an airtight container, then they should be frozen. I usually freeze them right away because they stay fresher. When you take them out of the freezer, you can let them defrost or pop them in the microwave for about 20 seconds.

I freeze these muffins in a container first so they don't get squished. Then I move them to freezer bags to save room in the freezer. I don't know how things are at your house, but freezer space is prime real estate at my house!

🔢WW Points

These pineapple carrot muffins are Weight Watchers friendly at 4 WW points. A muffin from Tim Horton's is 14 WW points, as is Starbucks, while a McDonald's carrot muffin is 17 WW points. So I feel pretty successful getting this carrot muffin down to 4 WW points, and without the use of artificial sweeteners.

Nutrition