Carrot Cake Muffins Recipe (2024)

Carrot cake muffins are filled with naturally sweet shredded carrots, and topped with a brown sugar crumb topping and cream cheese glaze. Perfect for breakfast or brunch, and an especially great addition to Easter brunch!

This muffin recipe is perfect for Easter brunch, but there really is no wrong time to enjoy a sweet, tender, carrot-filled muffin. But because I wanted these to be special enough for spring gatherings, I added crumbly brown sugar streusel topping that’s drizzled with a little cream cheese glaze. You can choose just one or the other, but both toppings together make these muffins a total brunch stand-out.

With their warm cinnamon flavor, these muffins taste just like your favorite carrot cake recipe, but in a compact muffin size. They’re easy to grab on-the-go or great to pack in school lunches (though skip the cream cheese glaze in that case!).

This muffin recipe can be made in under an hour, and like most of my favorite baking recipes – Muffin Pan Strawberry Shortcake, Vanilla Cake, and Peanut Butter Cake just to name a few – it doesn’t require a mixer. You can make a batch of these muffins before spring activities are in full swing, and they’ll be ready to go when a craving hits or as delicious Easter muffins to serve guests!

Here’s How to Make Them

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F / 177°C.
2. Make the streusel topping. Stir together flour, brown sugar, granulated sugar, and salt. Pour melted butter over top, then stir to combine. Refrigerate until ready to use.
3. Make the muffin batter. Whisk together the eggs, brown sugar, and oil. Add the cinnamon, baking soda, and baking powder and then whisk until completely mixed. Add flour and stir just until everything is even.
4. Add the carrots and mix-ins. Gently mix in the shredded carrots. You can add walnuts and raisins if you’d like (or skip them).
5. Fill the muffin tins. Line a muffin tin with liners and fill them to 2/3 of the way full. Crumble the streusel over the top.
6. Bake for 20 to 22 minutes. Insert a tester to check for doneness.
7. Make the cream cheese glaze. Beat the cream cheese, then add the sugar, milk, and vanilla, and continue to beat until smooth and glossy.
8. Serve and enjoy! Let the muffins cool for about 5 minutes and then drizzle with glaze.

Everything You Need to Make Carrot Cake Muffins

• Streusel Topping – A real stand-out of this recipe is the sweet streusel topping that adds crunchy flavor and texture to the top of the muffins. Make it with just a handful of pantry staples and unsalted butter.
• Large Eggs – To bind the muffin mixture together, and add moisture.
• Light Brown Sugar – Using brown sugar gives the muffins a rich caramel flavor, without being too sweet.
• Cooking Oil – Any cooking oil will work in this recipe. Try vegetable, avocado, grapeseed, or olive oil.
• Ground Cinnamon – Warming cinnamon works so well with the carrots, raisins, and walnuts.
• Baking Soda, Baking Powder, All-Purpose Flour – Basic baking ingredients.
• Shredded Carrots – The key ingredient.
• Raisins (optional) – Raisins add a touch more sweetness, and more texture. These are a controversial addition to carrot cake and to these muffins, so use them if you like. Skip them if you don’t.
• Walnuts (optional) – Walnuts add a fun crunch to carrot cake muffins. You can skip these as well if you prefer.
• Cream Cheese Glaze – For an extra special finish, drizzle the muffins with cream cheese glaze – just softened cream cheese, powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla extract. Be sure to use block cream cheese, rather than the whipped kind for the muffin glaze.

How to Shred Carrots for Cake or Muffins

Finely shredded carrots work best because they become perfectly tender, compared to larger pieces of grated carrots that take longer to cook. An easy kitchen hack is to use the fine side of a box grater to shred the carrots. If you don’t have a box grater, you can also use a food processor.

Variations

• Have fun with mix-ins – Try shredded coconut or pecans in place of raisins and walnuts.

• Add spices – Nutmeg, ginger, cloves, and allspice give carrot cake muffins an extra cozy touch.

How to store carrot cake muffins

These will stay moist and flavorful for 2 to 3 days if stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. You can also store these muffins in the freezer for up to 3 months. If you plan on freezing the muffins, freeze them right in the muffin tin so that the streusel stays intact. Once they are frozen solid (4 to 5 hours), transfer them to a well-sealed freezer-safe bag. Wait to add the cream cheese glaze until right before serving. Thaw these tasty carrot cake muffins at room temperature for 24 hours before serving.

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