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Home Recipes Course Snacks Muffins & Breads Healthy Morning Glory Muffins
GF Gluten-Free DF Dairy Free VG Vegetarian

Healthy Morning Glory Muffins

Jump to Recipe Rate Recipe
Posted:3/11/19
Updated:8/2/21
morning glory muffins pinterest

Morning glory muffins made with gluten free flour, sweetened with maple syrup and loaded with so much texture and flavor! Lots of options for this muffin recipe, jump to recipe card for more information.

morning glory muffins on wooden board

Morning glory muffins are probably one of the most popular muffin recipes out there – loaded with so much goodness! They’re basically like carrot muffins on steroids. So if you like carrot cake or carrot muffins, chances are you’ll like these too!

If you don’t like muffins with lots of stuff in them, well you might want to try something a little more basic.

Healthy Morning Glory Muffins

morning glory muffins in paper liners this recipe

This is basically like a kitchen sink muffin recipe, but I’ve always known them as morning glory muffins. I’m not sure if that’s a geographical thing but either way these muffins are delicious.

They’re loaded with a ton of mix-ins that when all combined together, give you a hearty and healthy muffin recipe. 

What You Need

  • gluten-free baking flour or whole wheat pastry flour 
  • baking powder & baking soda
  • salt
  • cinnamon & nutmeg
  • orange juice and zest
  • applesauce & oil
  • maple syrup
  • egg

MIX-INS

  • shredded carrots
  • grated apple
  • dried cranberries
  • chopped walnuts
  • unsweetened shredded coconut
ingredients for morning glory muffins

It might look like a lot of ingredients but a most of them are likely already in your pantry! 

How these muffins come together

mixing bowl for morning glory muffin ingredients

I love muffin recipes because everything can be mixed in a bowl by hand – no fancy equipment needed. This recipe is also fairly customizable in regards to flour, sweetener options and mix-ins. 

Notes about this muffin recipe

FLOUR – This recipe was tested with whole wheat white flour and 1-to-1 gluten-free baking flour. The recipe photographed is using the gluten-free flour, so the texture of the muffins looks a little “rustic”. If using a whole wheat flour, the tops will be a little smoother. See more notes in the recipe card. 

OIL – The small amount of oil here creates a softer texture. If you want to sub the oil, you could likely use 1/4 cup of milk (of choice), mashed banana or more applesauce, but the texture of the muffin will change.

SWEETENER – These muffins are not super sweet, only using a 1/3 cup of maple syrup. If you think you have a sweeter tooth, add 1/4 cup granulated sugar (i.e. coconut or light brown sugar). You should also be fine to sub honey or agave syrup. 

MIX-INS – There are lots of mix-in options here. If you want to get creative, make sure you think about 1:1 substitutions. For example, if you wanted to sub the grated apple be sure to pick an equivalent substitute with the same type of moisture content like grated zucchini, or even grated pear. You can sub dried blueberries, cherries or even chopped dates for the cranberries, pecans for the walnuts, etc. 

morning glory muffins in paper liners on wooden board

Let me know if you try this recipe by leaving a comment and review on the blog! I love hearing from you! Xx Ashley

Print

Healthy Morning Glory Muffins {whole grain, GF, DF}

morning glory muffins in paper liners
Print Recipe
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★★★★★

4.7 from 3 reviews

Healthy Morning Glory Muffins made gluten free friendly, sweetened with maple syrup and dairy-free. Loaded with all the texture from walnuts, apples, carrots, raisins and coconut. Lots of ways to make these your own.

  • Author: Ashley
  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 20 minutes
  • Total Time: 30 minutes
  • Yield: 12 muffins 1x
  • Category: Breakfast
  • Method: Bake
  • Cuisine: American

Ingredients

Scale

Dry Ingredients

  • 1 3/4 cups 1:1 gluten-free baking flour or whole wheat white flour
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 TBSP cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp nutmeg
  • zest of 1 orange

Wet Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup applesauce
  • 1/3 cup maple syrup
  • 1 large egg* 
  • 1/4 cup oil (avocado, olive, whatever you have)
  • 1/4 cup orange juice

Mix-Ins

  • 1 1/2 cup packed shredded carrots
  • 1 cup grated apple (you can leave skin on, about 1 small-medium apple)
  • 1/2 cup dried cranberries or raisins
  • 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
  • 1/3 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 425ºF and line 12-cup muffin pan with liners or spray with oil; set aside.
  2. In medium bowl, mix together dry ingredients; set aside.
  3. In large bowl, whisk together applesauce, maple syrup and egg. Add in oil and orange juice, stir until combined.
  4. Add dry ingredients to bowl of wet until *just* combined. Then add in all of the mix-ins. Be careful not to over-mix.
  5. Evenly distribute batter into prepared muffin pan. Bake for 5 minutes at 425ºF. Then drop oven temperature down to 350ºF and continue baking for 15-20 minutes. Muffins will be done when inserted toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool in pan for 5 minutes before transferring to wire rack.

Notes

FLOUR: You can also use half whole wheat with half all-purpose, or whole wheat pastry flour.

*VEGAN / EGG-FREE SUB: You can likely sub 1 TBSP flaxseed meal + 3 TBSP water; let sit for 3-4 minutes. I did not test these this way but with most of my muffin recipes this sub works. If using gluten-free flour and the batter seems a little dry, add another 1-2 TBSP milk.

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1 muffin
  • Calories: 234
  • Sugar: 13
  • Sodium: 139
  • Fat: 11
  • Saturated Fat: 4
  • Unsaturated Fat: 7
  • Trans Fat: 0
  • Carbohydrates: 33
  • Fiber: 3
  • Protein: 2
  • Cholesterol: 16

Keywords: kitchen sink muffins, gluten free morning glory muffins

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @fitmittenkitchen on Instagram and hashtag it #fitmittenkitchen

photography by Hungry By Nature

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About Ashley

"Ashley Walterhouse is the founder of Fit Mitten Kitchen, based in the Greater Lansing Area of Michigan, AKA “the Mitten.” Ashley grew up as a picky eater but later discovered that eating healthy was actually easy and fun. She started FMK in 2015 as a way to share her newfound love of developing healthier recipes for all to enjoy."

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Reader Interactions

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  1. Mary says

    3/11/2019 at 10:57 am

    These muffins sound absolutely wonderful! Just wondering what I can replace the orange juice with. Thank you!

    Reply
    • Ashley says

      3/11/2019 at 11:15 am

      You should be able to sub with a milk of your choice. Or pineapple juice would give it more of the same flavor. But milk works too.

      Reply
  2. Janet Wood says

    3/11/2019 at 4:36 pm

    Has anyone tried using almond flour or coconut flour? Or a mixture?

    Reply
    • Ashley says

      3/12/2019 at 10:32 am

      I have not tried this myself and with it being a whole grain based recipe, I have not had the chance to test with grain-free flours. You’d probably need almost double the amount of almond flour. I do have almond flour based carrot muffins on my blog, where you may be able to then add some additional mix-ins. Paleo Carrot Cake Muffins. Let me know if you try it!

      Reply
      • Karen S says

        3/12/2019 at 11:04 am

        Thanks Ashley for the almond flour info. All I have is almond flour so I will use your carrot muffin recipe.

        Appreciatively ?:)

        Karen S.

        ★★★★

        Reply
        • Laura says

          1/28/2020 at 8:23 pm

          I loved this recipe and so did my family! They are packed full of healthy goodness. I’m wondering if there’s a way to make them slightly fluffier – mine were pretty moist and dense, but delicious none the less.

          Reply
          • Ashley says

            1/31/2020 at 10:05 am

            Hi there! It could depend on the flour you’re using. The gluten-free flours make them a little more dense. Whole wheat pastry flour will lend itself to the fluffiest texture.

  3. Michele Poirier says

    3/14/2019 at 6:27 am

    I made these yesterday for a staff meeting. Everyone who had one, loved them (even the non gluten free eaters)! Shared the recipe with several of the staff members. This recipe is definitely a keeper. ??

    Reply
    • Ashley says

      3/14/2019 at 7:55 am

      Awesome Michele! SO glad you liked them and amazing everyone else did too! Thanks for sharing the recipe with others 😀

      Reply
      • Pri says

        2/9/2020 at 6:33 pm

        Can we do half with protein powder and half with whole wheat flour. I know that protein powder sometimes tend to dry things out. Will I need to increase the orange juice maybe?

        Reply
        • Ashley says

          3/24/2020 at 10:01 am

          It would depend on the type of protein powder – whey doesn’t typically affect much but if using a plant based, you’d likely need to add more liquid, like the orange juice or adding milk. I can’t say how much for sure without testing myself.

          Reply
  4. Cat says

    6/6/2019 at 4:25 pm

    My husband is a little hesitant about trying some of my “healthy” experiments but he was sold on the first bite! It’s a few more calories than I usually go for but it makes for a delicious treat!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Ashley says

      7/1/2019 at 10:15 am

      Glad they were enjoyed, Cat! Thank you for your comment and review!

      Reply
  5. Pri says

    2/9/2020 at 6:34 pm

    Can we do half with protein powder and half with whole wheat flour. I know that protein powder sometimes tend to dry things out. Will I need to increase the orange juice maybe?

    Reply
    • Ashley says

      2/10/2020 at 1:38 pm

      I’d be a little weary of subbing half. I personally would only use maybe 1/2 cup protein powder. Are you using a plant based protein powder? Then yes, you may need some more liquid. I can’t for sure say how much since I haven’t tried this way before.

      Reply
  6. Julie Dolan says

    9/6/2020 at 3:19 pm

    These muffins turned out really well. I used less maple syrup since I made them for my two year old. The whole family loved them.

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Ashley says

      9/21/2020 at 12:24 pm

      So glad they were enjoyed! Thanks for sharing 🙂

      Reply
  7. Sarah Down says

    2/20/2021 at 3:22 pm

    Don’t use coconut flour. I tried them with it and they are way too dry, didn’t even become a batter. I should have just went with the already attempted almond flour.

    Reply

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