Moist Gluten-Free Morning Glory Muffins (One Bowl)

If you are looking for healthy gluten free breakfast ideas, these morning glory muffins made with gluten-free flour, carrots, apples, coconut, raisins, and a hint of orange are an easy recipe to start your day. Adding applesauce the muffin batter means the crumb is extra moist without requiring a lot of oil. Plus, these one-bowl gluten-free morning glory muffins use my favorite, simple GF muffin tricks so they bake up light and fluffy without a gummy, dense texture!

gluten-free Morning Glory Carrot Muffins

When I developed this gluten-free recipe for morning glory muffins, I first turned another successful recipe, easy gluten-free zucchini muffins, because they also contain an increased amount of moisture,

When approaching muffin recipes made with both gluten-free all purpose flour and high-water content ingredients, like grated carrots and apples, there are simple expert GF baking tips to keep in mind.

First of all, gluten-free flour does not absorb liquids as well as wheat flour. This causes problematic issues such as a gummy, dense texture or tops that sink after baking. Many recipes don’t do enough to account for this hurdle. This is why it is important to use well-tested gluten-free muffin recipes with guaranteed, consistent results!

These homemade gluten-free carrot muffins compensate for the extra moisture in a few ways. First of all, instead of using all oil for the fat, a combination of oil and applesauce is used. Both ingredients retain moisture for a tender crumb, but unlike oil, applesauce more readily saturates GF starches.

Classic morning glory muffins have a hearty combination of grated carrots, apples, and a variety of other mix-ins, such as raisins, shredded coconut, and nuts. Due to the larger amount of mix-ins, it requires less GF flour to build structure.

A reduced amount of flour also means risking the muffins crumbling while enjoying. Therefore I used my favorite GF muffin hack – let the batter rest for 15 minutes before baking – to yield a softer, fluffier texture. Resting gives time for the gluten-free starches to hydrate, absorb moisture, and bind the ingredients.

Ingredient Notes

The beauty of these easy morning glory muffins is how adaptable they are for varying snack preferences. Similar to almond flour carrot cake, they have a lovely cinnamon-spiced flavor, but additions such as shredded coconut or nuts may be omitted, if preferred.

• Gluten-free Flour – Typically I recommend Cup4Cup GF flour for baked goods, but this recipe works well with a variety of gluten-free flour blends. All the ingredients are dairy-free as well, so if that is a dietary consideration for you, be sure the flour you choose does not contain milk powder.
• Applesauce – I used unsweetened applesauce so no additional sugar was added to the recipe. However, if you only have sweetened applesauce on hand, that will work as well.
• Oil – Use any preferred oil, such as melted coconut oil, canola, avocado, grapeseed, or olive oil.
• Grated carrots and apples – To grate, peel the carrots and apples and use a box grater or grating disc with a food processor. If you’d like to add crushed pineapple to the recipe, I recommend replacing 1/2 cup shredded apples with well-drained crushed pineapple.
• Sweetener – A combination of light brown sugar and honey is used for sweetness and structure. The honey may be replaced with pure maple syrup and brown sugar with coconut sugar, but for best results keep the combination of wet and dry or it will alter the texture.
• Orange – I tested the recipes without orange and with, and I highly recommend using it for maximum flavor! You will only need 1 orange, zested, and then juiced to add a nice citrus flavor to the muffins.
• Mix-ins – Morning glory recipes vary for optional add-ins, so I added a bonus section below with alternatives and more suggestions.

how to make gluten-free morning glory muffins

(Below shows step-by-step photos and modified instructions. For the complete recipe, along with ingredient amounts, scroll down to the recipe card.)

1. This dairy-free gluten-free morning glory muffin recipe makes 16 servings. Prepare a muffin pan with paper liners and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients – applesauce, brown sugar, oil, honey, eggs, orange zest, orange juice, and vanilla extract.
3. Stir in the grated carrots, apples, raisins, coconut, and pecans. Then stir in the remaining dry ingredients. 
4. This is when the muffin batter will rest slightly before baking. Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Use a large trigger scoop to divide the batter between the liners, almost to the top. Set aside for 15 minutes while the oven finishes preheating.
5. Bake for 25 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through. They are done when the tops are fully set and a toothpick comes out clean. Cool slightly before enjoying!

Modifications for Morning Glory Muffins

When adapting gluten-free carrot muffins to your own preferences, some ingredients need to stay the same for the recipe’s success, but many can be swapped out. See some workable recipe adaptations below.

• Nuts – Although pecans are listed in the recipe, any preferred nut or seed may be used, such as walnuts, almonds, macadamia nuts, pepitas, sunfloweer seeds, or simply omit as well.
• Raisins – This may also be left out or swapped with other dried fruit, such as golden raisins, dried cranberries, cherries, or chopped dates.
• Trail mix – For a variety of flavors replace the coconut, nuts, and raisins with an equal amount of trail mix. Read ingredient labels to make sure the mixture is gluten-free!
• Flaxseed – Classic morning glory muffins use whole wheat flour, which can’t be used in a gluten-free recipe. For a hearty, “whole grain” taste and added nutritional benefits, add up to 2 tablespoons whole or ground flaxseed.
• Crushed pineapple – To add to the recipe, I recommend replacing 1/2 cup shredded apples with well-drained crushed pineapple. Be sure to give the pineapple a squeeze to release excess juice. You will want to measure the pineapple after it has been drained.

storing and freezing tips

Once they have completely cooled, store in an airtight container up to 2 days at room temperature. Do not store in the fridge, or they will dry out. Also, covering the muffins with plastic wrap will trap moisture and make the tops slightly wet. Loosely covering with foil is a better option.

For optimal freshness, I freeze GF muffins right away since they don’t stay fresh as long and moisture evaporates quickly. Wrap the cooled and set muffins in plastic wrap and place in a freezer-safe container or freezer bag up to 3 months.