Morning Glory Muffins
Updated
Updated
Morning Glory Muffins are as if an apple cake and carrot cake got married, filled with so many goodies, they certainly are a fantastic way to start the day! Like any old fashioned recipe, these muffins never go out of style, and are perfect for a Sunday brunch, a holiday get together, or breakfast on the go.
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5 STAR REVIEWS
Morning Glory Muffins sure have a lot going on in such a tiny package. There’s your typical muffin ingredients like flour, sugar, and eggs, but then add to that carrots, apple, pineapple, coconut, nuts, raisins, and spices, you’ve got one amazing baked treat! They are moist and filled with flavor, but not overly sweet.
Don’t let the long list of ingredients turn you off – these muffins are so easy to make, plus all those amazing flavors and textures together make every bite incredible. They don’t even need the help of butter or cream cheese (although nobody would judge you, if you chose to slather a bit on!)
What Is A Morning Glory Muffin?
This muffin is a classic, created years ago by Chef Pam McKinstry, the owner of Morning Glory Cafe on Nantucket Island. The muffin paid homage to the wholesome “back to the land” 70’s hippie movement and was published in Gourmet magazine in 1981, then eventually chosen as one of the magazine’s 25-favorite recipes of the past 50 years.
They certainly live up to their delicious reputation, too, having been replicated so many times in restaurants and by home cooks.
Helpful Tips & Variations
- Gently fold, don’t stir. Gently fold wet and dry ingredients together for tender texture.
- Don’t over mix! It can make your muffins tough. Stir until everything is just combined.
- Don’t over-bake. Check the muffins a couple minutes before the directed bake time (some ovens run hot!) You want barely moist crumbs, no wet batter.
- Try it with zucchini. Swap out half of the carrot with zucchini instead.
- Swap the raisins. Replace the raisins with dried cranberries, or just simply omit.
- Change the nut. Instead of walnuts, try pecans.
- Use a combination of white and wheat flour. A 50/50 ratio of all-purpose flour and whole wheat flour can be used (note this will make them more dense.)
- Replace some of the oil. A 1/4 cup of the oil can be replaced with apple butter.
- Cut back on the sugar. Trust me when I say these muffins are not overly sweet at all and I highly recommend using the full amount of sugar for best flavor and texture, but if necessary you can cut back to 1 cup.
- Use unsweetened coconut. If preferred, unsweetened coconut can replace the sweetened coconut flakes.
- Add in some protein. A tablespoon of wheat germ or flax seed can be added to the mixture.
- Make a loaf cake instead. Grease a 9×5 loaf pan or line with parchment paper. Pour batter in and smooth out the top. Bake between 45-60 minutes until a tester in the center comes out clean. If the top starts to brown too quickly before the center is cooked, you can loosely tent with foil.
Morning Glory Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 3 large eggs
- 3 teaspoons vanilla
- 2 cups grated carrots
- 1 medium apple, grated
- 8 ounce can crushed pineapple, drained
- 1/2 cup sweetened coconut flakes
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
- 1/2 cup raisins
- 2 & 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- 1 & 1/4 cups granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F with a rack in the middle position. Line 2 muffin tins with paper cups for 18 muffins.
- Whisk together oil, eggs, and vanilla in a large bowl. Add in the carrots, apple, pineapple, coconut flakes, walnuts, and raisins and mix until thoroughly combined.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. Add to the wet ingredients and stir until just combined (mixture will be thick – don’t over mix.)
- Divide batter evenly among the 18 muffin cups, about 3/4 full.
- Bake for about 25-27 minutes until tops are golden and springs back when lightly pressed and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool for at least 10 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information given is an automatic calculation and can vary based on the exact products you use and any changes you make to the recipe. If these numbers are very important to you, I would recommend calculating them yourself.
Did you make this? Leave a rating below!
Proper Storage
As with most muffins, these are best enjoyed fresh, but will remain soft at room temperature for a couple days stored in an airtight container or in the refrigerator for a week. And they freeze well up to 2 months in a freezer-safe Ziploc bag. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and heat up (if you prefer) before serving.
More Fantastic Muffin Recipes:
- Pumpkin Spice Muffins (only 4 ingredients!)
- Banana Bread Muffins
- Easy Banana Muffins
- Snickerdoodle Muffins
- Blueberry Muffins
I hope you love this delicious and easy recipe – be sure to give it a review below! Also don’t forget to follow Belly Full on TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube!
A great recipe! They taste like the ones from a local bakery!
I made these when the kids came to visit, and they quickly disappeared! These are soooo good! It took me a minute to prep the ingredients, but the end result was worth a gold medal! Thank you, Amy!
I made these. The smallest recipe is 18 muffins and only last 2 months in the freezer! I made 6. I forgot the sugar in all of the calculations but they are still good. I may hold back a bit on the amount of oil But I will make these again.
Absolutely incredible! Made recipe exact, very moist and delicious. Will definitely make again, thank you 😊
They were great… made them for my Bible study but with nuts and no raisins as they are not my favorite. Would make them again for sure! Thank you!! So moist and flavorful!
I’ve had this recipe saved for a few weeks. I was taking care of my mom after surgery and decided it was a prime opportunity to make them. They did not disappoint! As anticipated, we ABSOLUTELY loved them. They were a delicious way to deliver a few healthy bits, super moist, and oh so flavorful. I used craisins and pecans in lieu of raisins and walnuts, simply because it’s what i had on hand. Will definitely keep these on rotation! Thank you, Amy….fantastic as always.
This was a great recipe. Extra tasty and so moist. Even the next day they were excellent.
Love these muffins. Lots of great ingredients that come together for a tasty snack or breakfast. I’ll save this recipe and make them again. Thanks, Amy, for another great recipe! I’m a follower.
We loved the muffins! My SIL liked them so well he made a trip to town to buy more crushed pineapple! So making more this week. Love your page💜
Just made them. Holly Molly AMAZING not too sweet just perfect. Im so glad I made these and I haven’t baked in awhile freaking easy and super Delicious
Just finished making these. They are very good!! Already ate 2 and thinking about another. 😂 Have you ever made this in a 9×13 cake pan? If so about how long did it take to bake?
I made these several times in the past month-we all LOVED them!!! My daughter asked if we could substitute maple syrup for the sugar -let me know what you think please – definitely going to continue to make these several times!!!!!!
Morning Glory Muffins. Such an easy recipe. A big family hit 🎯 So good. Mini muffins is a great idea that I just read here! Thank you for all you do ❤️
These are my favorite muffins. I lost my original recipe card, but it is exactly the same as yours. I was sooo glad I ran across your version just in time! – They are delicious. They are the best muffins in the world!!
Made these Morning Glory Muffins the other day and they turned out fantastic. I didn’t make any changes and they were perfection. Whole family loved them.
These were soooo good! I followed the recipe exactly, except for the nuts which were omitted because of an allerg. I will absolutely make these again, but may cut the oil by about 1/8 c. The recipe yielded 12 muffins and one loaf. Thank you for this and all of your other delicious recipes!
Can I sub apple sauce for pineapple? 1 for 1?
I’ve never tested that swap. Since the applesauce is much looser than crushed pineapple, you might want to cut back on the amount a bit.
I just made these. Oh so good. I made them as mini muffins. Yield 69. Baked at 350° for 15-16 minutes. They came out perfect. Once cooled enough to try, I could not stop. Thank you for a easy and delicious recipe. Everything I have tried is spot on delicious.
My new favorite muffin!! These were truly amazing. No changes made. 100 stars. LOL.
I made these and they were FANTASTIC! One friend immediately asked me for the recipe.
I don’t like pineapple so just omitted them, used coconut oil instead of vegetable oil and reduced sugar to only 1 cup (200g). They were so easy to prepare and no stand mixer needed. I also converted all the ingredients to metric as that’s how I bake. I got 24 muffins. Next time I am going to make them into jumbo muffins.
Thank you for such a great recipe.
Amy thank u 4 these wonderful recipes, love muffins will try more.
LOVE = LOVE – LOVE watching you cook & ALL of your amazing recipes
Wonderful recipe with tons of flavour that is adaptable….a keeper!
Best muffins ever! Switched the raisins to dates….delicious!
These are AMAZING! Extremely moist and loaded with flavor! I doubled the recipe and ended up getting 4 dozen. I froze half but they didn’t last long. I used half carrot, half zucchini, freshly grated and 1 med, 1 small apple. I was a bit worried because my batter seemed thinner than the video & pics but there was no need, they were probably the best muffins I’ve ever made! Definitely hanging on to this recipe! (They’d taste amazing with a cream cheese frosting too, but I love the less sweet but oh so flavorful taste of them without! YUMMO!
Makes the number it says it will. Delicious! Imake them quite often
The best! Made 3 times last month.
Muffin recipe is amazing! But is there any way to make this into a loaf like a banana bread?
Hi Kels – yep. Instructions are included in the article.
The Morning Glory Muffins were moist, non-high carb and naturally sweet,. We are enjoying these delicious muffins at any time of the day!
Thank you for your amazing recipes, there’s delicious and there each to follow . Morning glory muffins
So good!
Another keeper! Made these this morning and they were so good. Thanks for sharing.
So good. I did replace vegetable oil with coconut oil and only did 1/2 cup sugar instead of full amount. These turned out amazing. I will definitely be making these again. Thanks for the great recipe
I love these muffins. I did half the oil and half buttermilk. Changed the crumb on it, but still delicious.
Just made these and they are delicious! I want to try them next with Craisins!
Hi! Super muffins! Is the 200 cal assessment per muffin?
Can I make this as a bread in a 9×5 pan? What would time be. Thanks
Hi Bonnie – yes, instructions are included in the article
I did in loaves. Cooked around 45 minutes.
My mom’s favourite muffin, but neither of us can eat raisins. Can you recommend a substitute? A fan from Canada. Thanks!
Hi Aldona! You can just leave them out.
These are my favorite muffins ever! They kept more than 4 days in a ziploc bag just fine. Despise shredding the carrots, but the end product makes it worthwhile!
I made these muffins for a breakfast potluck last December and everybody loved them. I plan to take them again this year. They are delicious.
These are so delicious and everyone I gifted them to loved them.
Fantastic recipe with many variable options…the family love these and they disappear quickly!
We thought we died and went to heaven! After the initial prep work, these came together, very easy in the house smells so good! I intended to freeze some, but we didn’t get them to the freezer in time. Wonderful recipe!!
My family loves these I make at least once a week!! Thank you!!
I absolutely love this recipe!
Everyone loved these muffins!
I converted the muffins to a loaf/quick bread as instructed and it was fabulous!
I loved this recipe so much.
I absolutely live this recipe
It is my go for “just cuz” treats for my friends. Delicious with your morning coffee or between meal snack.
Delicious!
I halved the recipe and made a loaf instead of muffins. Didn’t have pineapple or apple so I put in extra carrot. The load needed to go in for about 40 minutes, I checked it every few minutes after it was in for 25 minutes.
I’ve made these muffins at least a dozen times. My husband absolutely loves them! I sub dried cherries for the raisins and add baking powder for a lighter texture which happened by accident when I used bp instead of baking soda, I went ahead and added the soda after I realized my mistake, and now he prefers them this way. With the airier texture, I also get 24 muffins out of one recipe vs.. 18. They have great chew, smell deli house while baking, and keep well in the fridge. They’re yummy warm or cold.
Fantastic muffins