Lunchbox Harvest Muffins
Updated August 12, 2025
Johnny Miller for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Vivian Lui.
- Total Time
- 35 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
140 grams (1 ⅛ cups) whole-wheat pastry flour
5 grams (1 teaspoon) baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
½ cup olive oil
1 tablespoon honey
70 grams (⅓ cup) packed dark brown sugar
1 small apple, grated, and juices reserved (½ cup)
½ cup grated carrots or butternut squash or parsnips
½ cup grated zucchini or beets
55 grams (⅓ cup) raisins
40 grams (½ cup) unsweetened shredded coconut
Nutritional analysis per serving
9 grams carbs; 12 milligrams cholesterol; 79 calories; 3 grams monosaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 5 grams fat; 1 gram fiber; 54 milligrams sodium; 1 gram protein; 4 grams sugar
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease mini-muffin tins.
- Step 2
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.
- Step 3
In a large bowl, combine the eggs, olive oil, honey, brown sugar, grated apple and juices and grated vegetables.
- Step 4
Using a spatula, fold the dry ingredients into the wet mixture until just combined. Gently fold in the raisins and coconut.
- Step 5
Fill each muffin cup ¾ of the way up, and bake for about 15 to 18 minutes for mini-muffins and about 20 to 22 minutes for regular muffins. The muffins are finished baking when an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
Private Notes
Comments
I make these about once a week now. Very forgiving recipe -- I've messed with it all kinds of ways: Used regular flour instead of whole wheat, all carrots for the veg (and all zucchini too), accidentally doubled the amount of veggies, on-purpose doubled the amount of raisins, and skipped the coconut. It's always come out fine. And my kids vacuum them up.
I took the olive oil down to 1/3 cup and the brown sugar down to 1/4 cup and they were delicious and moist. Thank you!
Ditto. Once the dough was in the muffin tins, I realized I forgot to add the coconut and raisins. I ended up stirring them in to each little muffin cup that was already filled. I was sure they would never release once the muffins were baked, but they popped out no problem. This is a keeper!
I used Bob's Redmill Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour instead of the whole wheat flour to make the muffins gluten-free. I also swapped the shredded coconut for hemp hearts to increase the protein and reduce saturated fat. They turned out great! I'll definitely make them again.
I have made these several times and as others have mentioned it is a very forgiving recipe. The proportions of veggies is often different based on what I have in the refridgerater. I use craisens instead of raisins.
I began making these a few months ago and I am hooked! Not only do they taste terrific, but they’re packed with veggies and fruits that are good for the body and soul. Yes, the brown sugar and honey give them a warm sweetness, to have with my morning coffee. The only change that I have made is using canola oil instead of olive oil. A cup of good olive oil(I double the recipe) is too expensive for a muffin with my coffee. Plus, i like to taste the veggies and fruits. I’ll leave my imported olive oils for finishing a steak or a salad dressing.