Morning Glory Muffins Recipe

Nora Rušev | Savory Nothings

Morning Glory Muffins are an easy to make treat that’s filled to the brim with yummy ingredients like shredded carrots and chopped nuts. Use them as a grab and go breakfast or tuck them into lunch boxes for a special treat - it’s a healthy snack your whole family will love!

I first met Morning Glory Muffins at Starbucks.

Morning Glory Muffins Photo

Long, loooong before I had a husband and a bunch of kids to feed, and even longer before I figured out the term “muffin” at a coffee shop is just a fancy way to say “cake for breakfast”.

I never really figured out why they’re called morning glory or what makes them worthy of the title, until I started baking them at home from scratch: They’re actually delicious, somewhere between a healthy carrot muffin and a banana nut muffin, and they’re packed with alll the healthy ingredients.

Because you know the deal: That bunch of people in your care… They want to eat about a million times per day… So better stock your freezer with a double batch of these muffins, so you can always whip some out when you get the most dreaded question: “Mooooom, I’m hungry!”

How to make morning glory muffins:

Tips to make your muffins super easy:

Use your food processor! No, that’s not cheating. With the amount of carrot and apple to be shredded, it’s absolutely worth it to lug that thing out of its cabinet and make good use of it. And especially so if you’re being uber smart and following my second tip.

Make a double batch. Muffins freeze beautifully, and they defrost in a snap without losing much of their taste. I will admit that the taste of the flax seed comes through stronger in defrosted morning glory muffins. Using chia seeds instead will nix that problem. It’s smart to make a double batch in one go because you’re doing the work once and get twice the carbs to feed hungry little bellies.

Morning Glory Muffins Picture

If you have a little “helper” eager to bake with mama and you have zero nerves for it: Yes, it happens. I LOVE taking with my kids, but sometimes the little one is teething and fussy and I just need to get meal prep out of the way. My solution: I give my big girl the banana to mash in a large plastic measuring cup with a plastic potato masher. Not too messy, she’s not spilling flour everywhere AND she can contribute to mom’s muffins. Everybody wins 😉

How to make these healthy muffins budget friendly:

Ingredients to bake from scratch can get crazy expensive, so I try to stick to a few simple habits to save some money on groceries.

Buy things like nuts and seeds in bulk when there’s a really good deal and FREEZE them. They keep for ages like that without going rancid and you can save a lot of money, because nuts are not cheap. This works for whole nuts as well as for ground nuts.

Morning Glory Muffins Image

Be mindful of the amount of spices and oil you’re adding. It’s easy to just eyeball it and then use a bunch more than recipes say - but that’s all extra money you’re putting into your baked goods.

About the flour… So, we grind our own wheat. WHAT?! If you’re following me on Instagram, you’ll know that I frequently show my grain mill. We order very organic hippie grain in bulk (as in, I have a bag the size of my very tall pre-schooler sitting in my pantry), which is an amazing deal. Then I just grind as much as I need for a recipe into true whole grain flour. The things this has done for our wellbeing and gut health is outstanding, in case you were wondering why I’m doing this extra crazy thing. P.S: All it takes is an extra 30 seconds. Try it and you’ll see 😉

As you can see, with a few tips and tricks it’s absolutely possible to a) make healthy muffins from scratch without making a huge fuss over it and b) not break the grocery budget bank while you’re at it.

P.S: These are definitely not the “cake for breakfast” kind of muffin. There’s a little bit of brown sugar in them, yes, but definitely not as much as you’d find in plenty of other recipes.

Morning Glory Muffins Pic

Shredded carrot and apple keep them sweet and moist without going overboard on the sugar, and using applesauce and mashed banana replaces a lot of the fat.

I love using mashed fruit and vegetables in things like muffins, breads or even in pancakes and waffles! Actually now I’m wondering how my Healthy Pumpkin Muffins would taste as a morning glory version… Hmm… Well, that’s something to keep your eyes open for this fall.

To round out the muffins as a balanced breakfast, I like serving these with a simple fruit and yogurt smoothie.

Also, my kids still think this is cake for breakfast, even though it’s not the decadent Starbucks version. I know yours are going to love your homemade morning glory muffins, too!

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Morning Glory Muffins Recipe

    12 Servings

Ingredients

Dry Ingredients:
  • 1 1/2 cups Whole Wheat Flour
  • 1/4 cup Ground Flax Seed, I use golden flax
  • 1/2 cup Chopped Nuts
  • 1/4 cup Raisins
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons Baking Powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon Baking Soda
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons Ground Cinnamon
  • 1/8 teaspoon Ground Nutmeg
  • 1/4 teaspoon Salt
Wet Ingredients:
  • 2 large Eggs
  • 1/2 cup Brown Sugar
  • 1/4 cup Applesauce
  • 1 small Banana, mashed
  • 1 1/2 cups Shredded Carrots
  • 1/2 cup Shredded Apple
  • 1/4 cup Buttermilk
  • 2 tablespoons Oil, I used sunflower
  • 1 teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract

Directions

  1. Prep: Preheat the oven to 425°F. Line a 12 cup muffin pan with liners or spray with cooking spray.
  2. Mix the dry ingredients: Combine all dry ingredients in a large bowl and mix well.
  3. Mix the wet ingredients: In a separate bowl, whisk together all wet ingredients until mixed.
  4. Combine wet and dry: Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and fold together just until combined. Do not overmix or the muffins will turn out gummy and chewy.
  5. Bake: Fill the prepared muffin pan with the batter. Fill the cups almost to the top for a high dome. Reduce the oven heat to 400°F and bake the muffins for 5 minutes.
  6. Reduce the heat to 360°F (do NOT open the oven door!) and finish baking for about 20 minutes, or until the muffins spring back when lightly pushed.
  7. Cool: Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then remove to a cooling rack to cool completely.

 

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Cooking Method:
Baking
Category:
Farm to Table
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Related Recipes:
Farm to Table Recipes, Breakfast Recipes, Brunch Recipes, Baking Recipes, Baked Recipes, Muffin Recipes, Whole Grain Recipes, Carrot Recipes, Apple Recipes, Family Meals and Snack Recipes, Lunchbox Recipes
Recipe Yields:
12 muffins
Prep Time:
Cook Time:
Total Time:
Related Post:
Published:
Author: Nora Rušev
Recipe Yields: 12 muffins
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size 1 muffin
Servings Per Recipe 12

Amount Per Serving
Calories from Fat 63
Calories 202

% Daily Value*
12%
Total Fat 8g
3%
  Saturated Fat 1g
5%
Sodium 109mg
10%
Total Carbohydrate 29g
5%
  Dietary Fiber 4g
  Sugars 14g
10%
Protein 5g

* Percent Daily Value are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
** Nutrition Facts are estimated based on ingredients and data provided by Fat Secret. Please consult a doctor if you have special dietary needs.
Nora Rušev

About Nora

Nora loves to create fresh and easy family meals on her site, Savory Nothings. We're excited to have her as our Farm to Table fanatic. Things are about to get delicious!

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