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Carrot Cheesecake Muffins

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These sweet Carrot Cheesecake Muffins are soft and delicious and will make you think you are eating carrot cake for breakfast.

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Carrot Cheesecake Muffins - these soft carrot muffins have a big cheesecake center and pecans on top. Perfect recipe to make for breakfast or afternoon snack. #breakfast #muffins #muffinrecipe #carrot #cheesecake #easter #pecans #carrotcake

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Say hello to my new favorite breakfast muffin recipe. Well, for right now anyway. I adore these Carrot Cake Donuts, and these muffins reminded me of those yummy treats, but with a creamy cheesecake center. Oh, yeah.

Our kids love having muffins that they can grab for a quick and easy breakfast before they head off to school.  They also like having leftover muffins to munch on when they get home in the afternoon too.

My original plan was to actually bake blueberry muffins because usually we have a big bag of blueberries in our freezer. Then I realized the last Triple Berry Orange Smoothie I made last week wiped out the rest of the blueberries. So, I had to get creative with what we already had. 


Carrot Cheesecake Muffins - a cheesecake center inside these soft carrot muffins will make them disappear in a hurry. Great recipe for breakfast or as an after school snack. #breakfast #muffins #muffinrecipe #carrot #cheesecake #easter #pecans #carrotcake

I looked through the cupboards and the refrigerator and came up with a big bag of carrots. As I was working on the recipe for these carrot cake muffins, I had to make a few batches to get it absolutely perfect.

Ingredients needed to make Carrot Cheesecake Muffins:

  • Sugar
  • Canola Oil
  • Orange Extract
  • Eggs
  • Flour
  • Baking Powder, Baking Soda, and Salt
  • Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Anise
  • Buttermilk
  • Carrots
  • Cream Cheese
  • Pecans

Carrot cake with cream cheese frosting is one of my all time favorite cakes, so it just made sense to make these carrot cake muffins with a cheesecake filling.  

After a few test runs on these carrot muffins, I doubled the cheesecake center because more cheesecake is never a bad idea.  Am I right?

Carrot Cheesecake Muffins - a soft spiced carrot muffin filled with a cheesecake center makes a delicious breakfast. Easy recipe to make for mornings or afternoon snacks. #breakfast #muffins #muffinrecipe #carrot #cheesecake #easter #pecans #carrotcake

How to make Carrot Cheesecake Muffins:

Shred your carrots using a food processor or with a hand held grater. Do NOT buy the all ready shredded carrots that are available in the stores.  These do not provide enough moisture for baked goods.

Mix your oil, sugars, extract, and eggs in a large bowl.

Stir together all the dry ingredients and slowly mix them into the sugar mixture.

Add the buttermilk and carrots and stir until mixed in.

Divide the batter evenly into 18 greased muffin cavities.  You will need a 12 count pan and a 6 count pan.

Beat together the cheesecake filling and spoon it into two large plastic baggies. Cut one tip of each bag. Use one bag to squeeze cheesecake into the center of the muffin batter. 

Use the second bag to go back over each muffin and add another swirl of the cheesecake batter on top of the muffins.

Sprinkle the outside edges with diced pecans. This is totally optional, but it really makes the muffins look a little prettier and taste so good.

Carrot Cheesecake Muffins - a cheesecake center makes these spiced carrot muffins taste amazing. Easy recipe to make for breakfast or as an afternoon snack. #breakfast #muffins #muffinrecipe #carrot #cheesecake #easter #pecans #carrotcake

More breakfast muffin recipes that you may enjoy:

Our kids request these Double Chocolate Banana Muffins all the time!

These Coffee Chocolate Chip Muffins are a great way to start each morning.

These Grab N Go Pancake Muffins from All Day I Dream About Food are perfect for busy mornings.

A batch of these Chocolate Avocado Muffins never last long in our house. Trust me and make these today!

These sweet Banana Coconut Muffins are loaded with shredded coconut and toffee bits. They are so good.

Carrot Cheesecake Muffins - these soft spiced carrot muffins are filled with a creamy cheesecake center. Great recipe to make for breakfast or after school snacks. #breakfast #muffins #muffinrecipe #carrot #cheesecake #easter #pecans #carrotcake

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Yield: 18 muffins

Carrot Cheesecake Muffins

Carrot Cheesecake Muffins
These sweet Carrot Cheesecake Muffins are soft and delicious and will make you think you are eating carrot cake for breakfast.
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes

Ingredients

For the Muffins

  • 2/3 cup oil
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1 teaspoon orange extract
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 1/4 cups flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 2 teaspoons cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1/2 teaspoon anise powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup buttermilk
  • 1 cup finely shredded carrots

For the Cheesecake Filling

  • 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
  • 4 Tablespoons sugar
  • 1 teaspoon orange extract
  • 1 Tablespoon flour
  • 1/2 cup diced pecans

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Spray a 12 count muffin pan and a 6 count muffin pan with nonstick baking spray.
  2. Beat the oil, sugars, and extract until combined. Add the eggs and beat again.
  3. Stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, anise, and salt. Slowly add the dry ingredients into the egg mixture.
  4. Add the buttermilk and shredded carrots and stir until completely combined.
  5. Spoon the batter evenly in the prepared muffin tins.
  6. In a small bowl, mix together the cream cheese, sugar, orange extract, and flour. Spoon the mixture evenly into two large plastic baggies and cut one tip off each bag.
  7. Squeeze half the cheesecake mixture evenly into the center of the muffin batter. Use the second bag of cheesecake to add a swirl of cheesecake to the top of the batter.
  8. Sprinkle the pecans around the outside of the muffin batter. Bake for 15-16 minutes.
  9. Remove and let cool in the pan for 2-3 minutes before gently removing them from the pan and placing on a wire rack.

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Nutrition Information:

Yield:

18

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving:Calories: 252 Total Fat: 16g Saturated Fat: 4g Trans Fat: 0g Unsaturated Fat: 11g Cholesterol: 34mg Sodium: 222mg Carbohydrates: 25g Fiber: 1g Sugar: 12g Protein: 4g
© Jocelyn @ Inside BruCrew Life
Cuisine: American / Category: Muffins & Scones
Carrot Cheesecake Muffins - the creamy cheesecake center in these soft spiced carrot muffins makes them taste absolutely amazing. Great recipe to make for breakfast or as an after school snack! #breakfast #muffins #muffinrecipe #carrot #cheesecake #easter #pecans #carrotcake

*The post for Carrot Cheesecake Muffins was originally published on September 24, 2012. The photos and post have been updated and republished on March 25, 2019.

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Comments

  15. Karen S Booth says

    September 25, 2012 at 7:36 AM

    Thanks so much for your lovrely write-up of me and my recipes – and wow, my cheesecake muffins look lovely as well as beng a great idea to use carrots too! Love your photos and thanks for being such a lovely secret baker of my recipe this month for group D! Karen 🙂

    Reply

  20. Winnie says

    September 27, 2012 at 5:55 PM

    Wowwwww Jocelyn – these are looking GREAT 🙂
    I loooooooooooove the idea of using Cinnamon-Toast-Crunch cereal as the topping and it’s something I just have to try

    Reply

      • Jocelyn says

        May 21, 2019 at 8:11 PM

        That’s a great idea, but I do think the added moisture of the pineapple will affect the bake time. Since I haven’t made this particular recipe with pineapple, I can’t give you an exact time. Definitely keep me posted if you try it this way.

        Reply

    • Jocelyn Brubaker says

      December 20, 2012 at 10:30 PM

      I am so sorry to hear that these didn’t work for you. Every oven is different…I wonder if that had something to do with it.

      Reply

  30. April H says

    May 17, 2019 at 10:38 AM

    These look great! Would there be any reason I can’t use fresh orange juice or zest instead of extract?

    Reply

    • Jocelyn says

      May 22, 2019 at 1:27 PM

      Orange extract is very concentrated, so it gives a stronger flavor to the muffins. You could use orange juice and zest, but it might not be as strong. Let me know if you make them that way.

      Reply

  32. Mandy says

    June 5, 2019 at 10:40 AM

    I made these today but the cheesecake filling has all disappeared and I am left with muffins with a hole in the centre. They taste amazing but what can I do to rectify next time?

    Reply

    • Jocelyn says

      June 5, 2019 at 12:55 PM

      Ok, so I’m completely baffled on that. I have made them so many times and never had the cheesecake disappear. Was your cheesecake filling thick when you squeezed it into the muffin batter? And did you add the filling to the muffins twice? I always squeeze half into the center of the batter, then the other half on top of the center of the batter.

      Reply

      • Mandy says

        June 5, 2019 at 12:59 PM

        No it wasn’t very thick at all. I squeezed some into the muffin and then some on top. Was suggested that I should put an egg into it to bind it more. I will definitely try again hopefully it will be better next time

        Reply

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