Vegan Veggie Breakfast Muffins

As I'm trying to eat less animal products and more plant based products, I'm in the search for some new breakfast options. It has to be able to be made ahead and frozen. This is the first recipe I've tried. These zucchini and carrot muffins are vegan and gluten-free and packed with veggies and fiber.


rep Time 10 minutes Cook Time 30 minutes Total Time 40 minutes

Servings 12 muffins
Calories approx 200 each

Ingredients:
2 medium carrots, grated (one heaping cup)
1 apple, grated
1 small zucchini, grated squeeze out the water
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup rolled oats
1.5 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup brown sugar (or replace with Agave)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 small banana, mashed
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup canola or olive oil
1/2 cup almond or oat milk
3/4 cup walnuts, roughly chopped

Instructions:

1. In a medium bowl, combine all dry ingredients.
2. Add the grated carrots, the apple, the zucchini, and the mashed banana. Stir in the almond or oat milk, oil and chopped walnuts. Mix until well combined.
3. Place 12 paper liners in a muffin tin (or grease the tins with cooking spray or coconut oil) and divide the mixture evenly.
4. Bake for about 30 minutes at 350 °F.
5. Let the muffins cool down in the muffin tin for at least half an hour before removing or eating them.

Tips:

• I used agave as my sweetener and would use less next time. It might also work to use dates or even apple sauce as a natural sweetener. but I haven't tried that yet. 
• Make sure to squeeze out the water of the zucchini with your hands after grating and before adding them to the muffin batter otherwise the texture of the muffins will get too wet. 
• You could also replace the walnuts with almonds or hazelnuts. 
• As every oven is a bit different, it’s best to do a toothpick test to check if the muffins are done. Just stick a toothpick into the center of your muffin. If there is wet batter on the toothpick, your muffins need more time. But if it comes out clean, they’re done! 

The zucchini carrot muffins can easily be made gluten-free. For a gluten-free version, replace the whole wheat flour with a gluten-free flour blend. Also, make sure that the rolled oats are labeled as gluten-free.