Buckwheat Flour Carrot Muffins (V, GF, Oil-Free)

These delicious buckwheat flour carrot muffins are perfect for those following a vegan, oil-free, and/or gluten-free diet. Enjoy as a healthy and satisfying treat any time of day.

Add Vegetables to your Muffins for Good Health

I made it back from California and I’m ready to start the New Year, and, inspired by the beautiful produce I gazed upon (and subsequently gobbled) at Monterey Market in Berkeley, I am dedicating my first posts of the new year to vegetables.

I don’t have much trouble eating plenty of fruit throughout the day, but vegetables are a different story. I definitely need a game plan to remind myself of my options; otherwise, my good intentions end up as slimy bits in the refrigerator produce drawer.

Moreover, I’ve long thought that starting healthy eating resolutions in January is a cruel trick: it’s cold, we’re all pooped from the holidays, supermarket produce looks lackluster, and the thought of vegetables is less than thrilling after a month-plus of chocolate.

But solutions abound, and I’ll be writing all about them in the days and weeks to come, including ideas for stocking the pantry and freezer with vegetables, as well as quick and easy recipes to incorporate vegetables in delicious, innovative, and even sneaky ways to energize you into 2008.

Since I’m still recovering from the combined effects of red-eye jetlag and baby wrestling through airport security (I think I can develop the latter into a new workout plan–I’m sore in places I haven’t been sore in years), I’m keeping today’s entry relatively brief.

Vegan Gluten-Free Buckwheat Flour Muffins

Recipe Benefits

I’ll get right to the point with my first vegetable recipe, which offers a way to get your vegetables at the beginning of the day: moist, delicious buckwheat flour carrot muffins that are loaded with feel-good ingredients. They are:

• Vegan (egg-free, dairy-free)
• Gluten-free (despite it’s name, buckwheat is not a form of wheat; these are naturally gluten-free)
• Oil-free (e.g., no coconut oil, olive oil, or seed oil)
• High-fiber
• Low-sugar
• Quick & easy to make (and no weird ingredients, either)

Ingredients

The exact amounts of each ingredient are indicated in the recipe card at the end of the post. Toggle between US Customary (volume) and Metric (weights) for preferred measurement option.

• buckwheat flour (light or dark)
• baking soda
• salt
• pumpkin pie spice or ground cinnamon
• coconut sugar (see notes for options)
• smooth nut butter or seed butter (e.g., almond butter, cashew butter, tahini, sunflower seed butter)
• unsweetened applesauce
• cider vinegar, or other light-colored vinegar
• shredded carrots
  • Optional add-ins (see notes)

Step by Step Instructions

Note that the complete directions are also in the recipe card below.

1. Preheat oven to 350F (180C). Line 12 cups in a standard size muffin pan with silicone liners, paper liners or foil liners
2. In a large bowl whisk the dry ingredients–buckwheat flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and pumpkin pie spice–until blended.
3. In a medium bowl whisk the applesauce, nut butter, and vinegar until blended.
4. Add applesauce mixture to flour mixture, mixing until blended. Stir in carrots and (optional) raisins. Divide batter among prepared cups.
5. Bake in the preheated oven for 19 to 22 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out with only a few damp crumbs attached.
6. Let the muffins cool in the muffin tin for 10 minutes, then remove muffins to a wire rack or other cooling rack. Cool completely.

Storage

Store the cooled muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for 2 days, the refrigerator for 5 days, or the freezer for up to 6 months.

Variations

• Extracts or Zests: Add 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or almond extract. Or add one to two teaspoons of finely grated orange zest or lemon zest.
• Spices: Replace the pumpkin pie spice with other spices, such as 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (or more), cardamom, ginger, allspice, nutmeg, or a combination of spices.
• Dried Fruit: Add up to 2/3 cup of chopped dried fruit, such as raisins, dried cranberries, dried apricots, dried cherries, dried blueberries, or dried figs.
• Chocolate: Add up to 2/3 cup of your favorite dark chocolate chips or chocolate chunks, or add 1/4 cup cacao nibs.
• Nuts or Seeds: Add up to 2/3 cup chopped nuts or seeds (raw or toasted), such as walnuts, pecans, peanuts, pepitas, or sunflower seeds. Alternatively, sprinkle a few nuts or seeds on top of each muffin before baking.

FAQ

• What can I use in place of the buckwheat flour? For best results, I recommend sticking with buckwheat flour. If you want to experiment, I recommend replacing no more than 1 cup buckwheat flour with another flour, such as oat flour or millet flour.
• What can I use in place of coconut sugar? The coconut sugar can be replaced with an equal amount of brown sugar, cane sugar, monkfruit (a variety designed for baking), or maple syrup.
• What can I use in place of baking soda? Replace the baking soda and vinegar with 2.5 teaspoon baking powder.
• What can I use in place of the applesauce? Use an equal amount of mashed, very ripe bananas.
• Can I make these muffins into bread? I do not recommend it. I tried several batches and the center of the loaf sank. This gluten-free vegan batter needs the structure of smaller muffin cups to rise (and stay risen, once removed from the oven).

I was able to whip up a batch of these buckwheat flour carrot muffins in no time, despite my semi-delirious, sleep-deprived state. They keep well in both the refrigerator and freezer, too , perfect for on-the-go weekday breakfasts.

Cheers, and happy baking!

More Great GF & Vegan Buckwheat Recipes:

• Vegan Buckwheat Banana Bread (gluten-free)
• Gluten-Free Buckwheat Sandwich Bread {vegan, no yeast}
• 4-Ingredient Buckwheat Flax Chia Bread {vegan, GF, oil-free}
• Healthy No-Bake Buckwheat Granola Bars {vegan, gluten-free}
• Vegan Chocolate Buckwheat Cookies {easy, gluten-free}
• Easy Vegan Vegan Buckwheat Muffins (gluten-free)