These sourdough carrot muffins are naturally sweetened and have a fluffy spiced cake paired with a cream cheese filling, and topped with oat streusel. It’s a delightful combination for any time of year.
The air is starting to feel chilly, pumpkins and apples have begun lining the tables, and the last of the summer vegetables are being pulled from the garden.
Carrots are one of my favorite things to grow, being that they are so simple. Just spread the tiny seeds, water, thin out a bit, and be surprised every time you pull them out of the ground.
An easy-growing root vegetable that yields big results. So, what do you do with your carrot harvest?
You can roast them, ferment them, put them in soup, or bake them into a muffin. Hiding veggies in a muffin is an amazing way to get the pickiest of eaters to eat their veggies.
Add in some cream cheese filling and sprinkle with streusel topping, and you’ll find they won’t mind one bit.
These muffins are a delicious combination of hearty and sweet flavors without any refined sugar. Nothing hits the spot quite like a warm muffin straight from the oven.
Easy Recipe With Sourdough Starter
This recipe can be whipped up in a pinch, or long fermented to get the healthful benefits of fermented grain. Just one reason we love sourdough so much here on the farm.
Use discard or active sourdough starter. Either will work.
If you are new to sourdough recipes, make sure to check out how to make a sourdough starter here and how to care for one.
A Few Tips On Making Sourdough Muffins
- You can choose to do either the streusel topping or the cream cheese center, or both, or neither one.
- Add a 1⁄4 cup of raisins or nuts, if you desire.
- Bake the muffins in the upper third of the oven for a better rise.
- Make sure not to over-mix the muffin batter. Muffins will be dense and tough if you mix the batter too much. Just stir with a spoon until the ingredients are just combined.
- Let the batter rest in the fridge for at least an hour if you have time, as this will really help in getting domed muffin tops.
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Tools you may need:
Measuring cups and spoons
Large bowl
Stand mixer (for long fermented version).
Nutrimill (optional)
How To Make Sourdough Carrot Muffins
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
Grease muffin tin well, or line with paper liners.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the spelt flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and spices.
In a separate large bowl, whisk together melted coconut oil and coconut sugar, then incorporate one room-temperature egg at a time.
Next, stir in sourdough starter, crushed pineapple, and grated carrot. No need to drain any water off the carrot. You want the extra moisture in these muffins.
Gradually add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined. If you have time, allow mixture to sit in the fridge for one hour, as this will give the muffins a better rise.
For the cream cheese filling:
Vigorously whip together softened cream cheese with maple syrup in a small bowl until it’s light and fluffy.
Make The Streusel Topping
In a separate small bowl, combine oats, spelt flour, coconut sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Mix well.
Incorporate cold butter until small pieces are evenly distributed in the mixture.
Put Carrot Muffins Together And Bake
Distribute half the muffin batter into the prepared muffin wells. Evenly distribute the cream cheese mixture across the 12 muffin tins, then cover with the remaining half of the muffin batter.
Top with the streusel mixture.
Bake in a preheated oven at 425 for 5-6 minutes, and then drop the oven temperature to 350 (no need to open the oven door) and continue to bake for 13-15 minutes (total bake time is around 20 minutes).
Test muffins with a cake tester. Allow to cool.
Long Fermented Sourdough Carrot Muffins Version:
Mix together flour, sugar, sourdough starter, and melted coconut oil. Cover and allow to ferment for 8-24 hours.
The next day, add shredded carrots, salt, leaveners, spices, and other remaining ingredients. Mix until just combined (I recommend using a stand mixer). Bake as directed the next day.
Storage
Place in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week, or freeze for up to three months.
Find More Desserts Straight From The Farmhouse:
- Sourdough Pumpkin Roll
- Fudgy Sourdough Brownies
- Gluten Free Lemon Cake
- Sourdough Chocolate Zucchini Muffins
- Sourdough Pumpkin Cobbler
If you try this recipe and love it, I would love if you gave it 5 stars! Thank you! Tag me on Instagram @farmhouseonboone
Sourdough Carrot Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups spelt flour, can also use all purpose or freshly milled wheat
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon ginger
Wet Ingredients:
- 1/3 cup melted coconut oil
- 3/4 cup coconut sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 1/2 cups grated carrot, 150g
- 1/2 cup sourdough starter
- 1/4 cup crushed pineapple
Cream Cheese Filling:
- 4 oz softened cream cheese
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
Streusel Topping:
- 1/4 cup oats
- 1/2 cup spelt flour
- 1/4 cup coconut sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- Pinch salt
- 4 tablespoons cold butter
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
- Grease muffin tin wells or line with paper liners.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the spelt flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda and spices.
- In a separate large bowl, whisk together melted coconut oil and coconut sugar, then incorporate one room temperature egg at a time.
- Next, stir in sourdough starter, crushed pineapple, and grated carrot.
- Gradually add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined.
- Optional- Allow the mixture to sit in the fridge for one hour.
- Vigorously whip together softened cream cheese with maple syrup in a small bowl until it’s light and fluffy.
- In a separate small bowl, combine oats, spelt flour, coconut sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Mix well.
- Incorporate cold butter until small pieces of butter are evenly distributed in the mixture.
- Distribute half the muffin batter into the prepared muffin wells.
- Evenly distribute the cream cheese mixture across the 12 muffin tins, then cover with the remaining half of the muffin batter.
- Top with the streusel mixture.
- Bake in a preheated oven at 425 for 5-6 minutes, and then drop the oven temperature to 350 and continue to bake for 13-15 minutes.
- Test muffins with a cake tester. Allow to cool.
Notes
- You can choose to do either the streusel topping or the cream cheese center, both or neither one.
- If you really like nuts and raisins in your carrot cake, add 1⁄4 cup for more texture.
- Make sure not to over-mix the muffin batter. Muffins will be dense and tough if you mix the batter too much. Just stir with a spoon until the ingredients are just combined.
- For a better rise, let the batter rest in the fridge for at least an hour.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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I love all of your recipes so much and sharing them with my whole family and friends.
Can you do this recipe without pineapple? If so do you need to substitute anything?
Thanks Lisa!
I haven’t made the recipe yet, but I was wondering the same thing. Since pineapple adds moisture, I wouldn’t just leave it out, I think I’m going to sub in some plain yogurt.
I need to know too, my sister is allergic to pineapple and would love to make these for a sisters gathering.
Maybe applesauce would work.
I think it would be fine with just leaving it out. Applesauce may work, but it may add a it too much moisture to the batter.
These were a huge hit in our home. My hubby (who isn’t a big fan of desserts) raves over these. I used only coconut sugar to sweeten.
These are so delicious! I love how hearty they are. More of a healthy snack than a treat. I’ve been making them weekly and made several variations! Less sugar, chocolate chips, nuts, zucchini, apple… so many possibilities! Thank you for wonderful and dependable recipes.
I baked these muffins today. Two nights ago I fed my starter and last night I mixed up the ferment & let it sit for 24 hours. When I mixed up the ferment it was very hard to get the flour to mix in with the other ingredients. I kneaded it until I couldn’t see any more flour but it was a tough dry chunk of dough. I added the other ingredients today & used my stand mixer to combine them. The egg/pineapple/carrot mixture would not combine with the ferment. I finally used a spoon & cut the ferment chunks into small pieces. They still would not combine w/the egg mixture when I beat the dough with the mixer. I let the mixture sit in the refer for an hour, then put them into muffin tins & baked them. It took 27 minutes of baking but the soft egg part of the dough finally got done. They actually taste pretty good. I followed your directions exactly but I must have done something wrong. Is the dough as difficult to combine when you make these muffins without the fermenting step?
I’m just getting started with this recipe and running into the same issue. My starter is really thick, I think that is why. When I feed my starter I use a 1:1:1 ratio. In looking at the website here I think she uses a different method so I’m guessing her starter is much looser/wetter than mine.
I feed my starter the same ratio, but it is more like thick pancake batter. If yours batter is too thick, you can add a little bit of water to it. I would just add a teaspoon or so at a time.
Recipe complete. It was very thick and difficult to mix so I added about 1/4 of water and mixed as well as I could then left to ferment on the counter. I kept the juice in the crushed pineapple and used my kitchenaid mixer with paddle. Everything combined beautifully and the muffins are delicious. I think the difference has to be how we feed our starter.
Where do you get crushed pineapple? These look so good!
you can get it as almost any grocery store!
I love these! We made them this morning, I topped with a piece of pineapple to save a little time and the whole family loved them. Thanks for sharing!
yay! so happy to hear that!
Just fed my starter. Such a warming, time accurate recipe. Sure will try.
Come and check out my lentil balls, perfect fall and winter staple for us.
Can not wait to make these! I am extremely sensitive to gluten and all over your long fermented recipes have allowed me to truly enjoy many foods I’ve been missing out on!
We’re fresh out of pineapple. Can the recipe go with out it?
Hey LISA! Can these be made into pumpkin muffins? If so, how much pumpkin would you suggest? I was thinking maybe I could use the pumpkin roll recipe for muffins too..do you think so? Thank you! Happy fall!!
I would just sub the pumpkin in for the 150g of carrots. Not sure if I’d keep the pineapple or what to do there… I subbed in pumpkin for the zucchini in her chocolate zucchini muffins and I thought they turned out good (I did leave out the orange juice). Or you could try using her banana bread/muffins recipe and sub pumpkin for the bananas, then you don’t have to worry about the pineapple. Good luck!