Morning Glory Muffins
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Morning glory muffins are wholesome, delicious, and true to their name—a glorious way to start the day!
Morning glory muffins are brimming with wholesome goodness. Made with whole wheat flour, carrots, apples, raisins, walnuts, orange juice, coconut, and wheat germ, they were created decades ago by Chef Pam McKinstry for her Morning Glory Café on Nantucket Island. These muffins are a throwback to the 1970s “back-to-the-land” era, when wholesome hippie foods were all the rage. True to their name, they’re a glorious way to kick-start your day—a feel-good, homemade treat.
If you love the cozy flavors of carrots, raisins, and warm spices, you might also enjoy my classic carrot cake—it shares many of the same ingredients but in a more decadent dessert form. For more muffin inspiration, try my blueberry muffins or banana muffins—both are simple favorites that bake up beautifully.
“I’ve been making this recipe for a few years now and it never disappoints! The muffins are moist and delicious. I usually double the recipe and keep some in freezer so we always have them on hand!”
What You’ll Need To Make Morning Glory Muffins
- Raisins, carrots, apple, walnuts & coconut: This mix gives the muffins their signature balance of sweetness, moisture, and a subtle tropical note, with just the right amount of crunch from the nuts.
- White Whole Wheat Flour, brown sugar, wheat germ, and baking soda: This combination forms the dry base. The flour provides structure (I like King Arthur), the sugar adds depth with its hint of molasses, the wheat germ lends a subtle nuttiness and extra nutrition, and baking soda leavens the muffins.
- Eggs, oil, orange juice & vanilla extract: These wet ingredients bind the batter, add sweetness, and keep the muffins tender. The orange juice adds brightness, and the vanilla rounds out the flavor.
- Cinnamon & ginger: These spices add cozy warmth and just enough zing to balance the fruit and nuts.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-By-Step Instructions
Step 1. Soak the raisins. Place them in hot water to soften and plump.
Pro Tip: If you’d like to experiment, try soaking the raisins in hot tea (like Earl Grey or chamomile) instead of plain water for a subtle flavor twist.
Step 2. Prep the produce. Grate the carrots and apple (a food processor makes quick work of this, but a box grater works just as well). If making your own orange juice, juice the orange now.
Pro Tip: If you’re using a box grater, grate the carrots first—it’ll keep the apple from sitting too long and getting watery.
Step 3. Mix the dry ingredients. In a large bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, and salt. Use your fingers to break up any brown sugar lumps.
Pro Tip: Like regular whole wheat, white whole wheat flour is 100% whole grain—the difference comes from the lighter-colored wheat it’s milled from. It has the same nutrition but a milder flavor and color. If you can’t find it, use regular whole wheat flour, or go half whole wheat and half all-purpose for lighter muffins.
Step 4. Mix the wet ingredients. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, oil, orange juice, and vanilla extract.
Step 5. Combine everything. Add the wet mixture to the flour mixture, then stir in the apple, carrots, wheat germ, walnuts, coconut, and drained raisins. Mix until evenly moistened; the batter will be very thick.
Step 6. Bake. Divide the batter into the wells of a greased 12-cup muffin pan. The wells will be very full. Bake in a 375°F oven for about 25 minutes, until nicely domed.
Pro Tip: If you have an ice cream scoop, that works well to fill the muffin pan.
Step 7. Cool and serve. Let muffins cool in the pan for a few minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool completely. The muffins keep nicely for several days; freeze for longer storage.
Morning Glory Muffins Mix-and-Match Swaps
These muffins are super flexible—here are a few easy substitutions to make them your own. Just be mindful of maintaining the overall moisture and texture of the batter when making substitutions:
- Wheat germ: Swap with wheat bran, ground flaxseed, or even finely ground oats.
- Raisins: Use dried cranberries, chopped dried apricots, or just leave them out.
- Coconut: Skip it, or replace with extra shredded carrots or apples for moisture.
- Walnuts: Try chopped pecans, almonds, or hazelnuts—or omit altogether.
My starting point for this recipe was the Morning Glory Muffins on the King Arthur Flour. I found their version to be a bit bland, so I increased the spices, raisins, walnuts, and sugar.
More Healthy Breakfast Recipes to Try
Morning Glory Muffins
These hearty morning glory muffins are a 1970s throwback, loaded with carrots, apples, raisins, and warm spices—a feel-good treat.
Ingredients
- ⅔ cup raisins
- 2 cups King Arthur White Whole Wheat Flour (or Whole Wheat Flour), spooned and leveled
- 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons light brown sugar, packed
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 3 large eggs
- ⅔ cup vegetable oil
- ¼ cup orange juice (if making your own, you'll need one orange)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 cups peeled and shredded carrots (you'll need 4-5 large carrots)
- 1 large tart apple, such as Granny Smith, peeled, cored and shredded
- ½ cup shredded coconut, sweetened or unsweetened
- ⅔ cup chopped walnuts
- ⅓ cup wheat germ
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F. Grease a 12-cup muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a small bowl, cover the raisins with hot water. Set them aside to soak.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, brown sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, and salt.
- Drain the raisins, squeezing out any excess water with your hands.
- In a separate bowl, beat together the eggs, oil, orange juice, and vanilla extract. Add to the flour mixture, along with the drained raisins, carrots, apple, coconut, walnuts, and wheat germ. Mix until the batter is evenly moistened and combined.
- Divide the batter among the wells of the prepared pan. They will be very full.
- Bake the muffins for about 25 minutes, until they're nicely domed and a cake tester inserted in the center of one of the inner muffins comes out clean.
- Remove the muffins from the oven and let cool in the pan on a rack for about 5 minutes. Turn the muffins out onto the rack to cool completely. Cover and store at room temperature for several days.
- Freezer-Friendly Instructions: The muffins can be frozen in an airtight container or sealable plastic bag for up to 3 months. Thaw for 3 to 4 hours on the countertop before serving. To reheat, wrap individual muffins in aluminum foil and place in a preheated 350°F oven until warm.
Nutrition Information
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- Serving size: 1 muffin
- Calories: 367
- Fat: 18g
- Saturated fat: 3g
- Carbohydrates: 50g
- Sugar: 29g
- Fiber: 5g
- Protein: 6g
- Sodium: 346mg
- Cholesterol: 47mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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Looked at many recipes, before deciding on this one, love the use of oj and brown sugar.
Have most of the ingredients, all ready to start, but do not see the raisins listed? Also if I do not have White Whole Wheat flour? can I use white flour – will that make a dramatic difference? Thanks for so many great recipes.
Hi Jean, Glad you like the recipes! The raisins are the first ingredient on the ingredient list (you’ll need 2/3 cup). And, yes you can use regular flour here instead of white whole wheat. Hope you enjoy!
Hi Jenn!
Can I sub out a cup of carrots for a cup of grated zucchini? Or is there too much moisture in the zucchini?
😊 Thanks
Lisa
Hi Lisa, Sure, you can swap out a cup of the carrots for grated zucchini. Just squeeze it first to remove excess water. Enjoy! 😊
I made a batch and froze the muffins for quick, healthy breakfasts. This has a lot of ingredients but so worth the effort. I did exchange 1/3 cup oil for applesauce and cut back on the sugar to 3/4 cup. The fruit, nuts and carrots make the muffins plenty sweet. Soaking the raisins was a useful step – they are still plump after freezing. I will remember that for other recipes! I only have a few left so I will be making them again soon.
I’ve read the recipe three times and cannot find the measurement for the raisins…..
Hi Tina, You’ll need 2/3 cup. Enjoy the muffins!
These are the best muffins ever. I am celiac and made them with my gluten free cup for cup replacement flour, gluten free oats instead of coconut as was suggested, and of course no wheat germ. They are just perfect…no hockey pucks as so often is the case with gluten free muffins. I could not be happier that they turned out so well. Passed on your site and the recipe to 2 friends. Thank you so much Jenn…this was the flavour I was missing.
These muffins are both delicious and beautiful! I followed the recipe but subbed dried cranberries for raisins and apple juice for orange juice since my oranges were a bit dry. I did use the zest of one large orange. The batter was very thick at first but loosened as it sat for a few minutes, and my muffin cups were indeed very full. I cooked them exactly 25 minutes, and they were perfectly cooked, had a nice dome, and were moist and tasty. I plan to freeze half the muffins to enjoy later. While the muffins take a little more prep work than usual, I appreciated being able to stir them up without having to use my mixer. I’ve saved the recipe to my recipe box and will make them again.
I make these all the time, great for a grab and go breakfast with lots of healthy ingredients.
This time I didn’t have enough carrots to make the two cups and made up the shortfall with grated sweet potato (figured both root vegetables, both orange) and the muffins came out with no taste difference.
I make mini muffins, bake at 425 for five minutes and then at 375 for 10 to 12 minutes. They dome nicely considering they are a very dense muffin and I love the crunch of turbinado sugar sprinkled on the muffin tops before baking.
Great muffins to make when you have all the ingredients on hand.
My grandson loves these mini muffins.
Help please! I made these but they didn’t seem to rise enough, overflowed tins and tops ran into each other making them VERY hard to store. Tasted great. Sprayed non-stick muffin tin with Bakers Joy as I do with any muffin. Any ideas why? Soda too old?
I’m sorry you had a problem with these! Take a look at your baking soda; if it’s very old or expired, that may have caused the problem. Additionally, did you make any changes or substitutions in the recipe?
Thank you so much for timely reply! I made no changes to the recipe and as said above they were delicious! I will replace baking soda and I do think I may have over filled the tins. Making again tomorrow.
Hope they come out better today!
Thanks for the recipe, Jen. Sounds delish. I plan to make these today. Would it be ok if I use diced dates instead of raisins?
Sure – enjoy!
Wonderful recipe Jenn!! Now a bit of a story – I have the November 1981 issue of Gourmet Magazine. In their “You Asked For It” section, a reader had asked for the recipe for the Morning Glory Muffins from the Morning Glory Cafe on Nantucket and the magazine provided it. The recipe was for 30 muffins so I reduced the amounts to make 12 but that is the recipe I have been using for decades. No offense meant to the Morning Glory Cafe, but I will now be making your interpretation of the recipe!! If you would like to have a copy of the page from Gourmet, I would be pleased to email it to you.
beautiful muffins delicious and nutritious. thank you