Lunchbox Harvest Muffins

By Melissa Clark

Updated August 12, 2025

  • Johnny Miller for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Vivian Lui.
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Total Time
35 minutes
Rating
5(3,658)
Comments
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These diminutive muffins make the rotation at least twice a week in my daughter's lunchbox. Although they are filled with plenty of good-for-you ingredients (whole-wheat flour, olive oil, apple and grated vegetables), they are moist and just sweet enough to ensure that they don’t end up coming back home, which is the sad fate of many a salami sandwich.

Featured in: Healthful Muffins, Moist and Sweet, for Anytime

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Ingredients

Yield:About 2½ dozen mini-muffins (or 1 dozen regular muffins)

  • 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

Ingredient Substitution Guide
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

  1. Step 1

    Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease mini-muffin tins.

  2. Step 2

    In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.

  3. Step 3

    In a large bowl, combine the eggs, olive oil, honey, brown sugar, grated apple and juices and grated vegetables.

  4. Step 4

    Using a spatula, fold the dry ingredients into the wet mixture until just combined. Gently fold in the raisins and coconut.

  5. 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.

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Ratings

5 out of 5
3,658 user ratings
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Comments

Jen Braun

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.

Erika

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!

Dalia Varanka

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!

Springradish

These were barely sweet. However, I used regular flour instead of whole wheat pastry flour. Not sure how that may have impacted the flavor. But next time I will add significantly more sugar

Abbey

Made a couple of times- used regular whole wheat flour. Added some nutmeg and ginger to the cinnamon. Next time I may measure and weigh the veggies and apples so I can just grate into the bowl. I packed the veggies and apple but the coconut and raisins soaked up the liquid. Looking forward to trying sweet potato, parsnip and beets!

Deborah

Has anyone tried freezing them?

Renee

@Deborah, I make a dozen of these muffins on a regular basis. I freeze them in a large ziplock bag and take them out to defrost as needed. They taste just as good as freshly baked.

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