The Best Sourdough Morning Glory Muffins Ever

These sourdough morning glory muffins are going to blow your mind. While they are full of healthy ingredients like whole wheat flour, carrot, apple, flaxseeds and pecans - they are moist, sweet and so full of flavor, they'll be your new favorite way to start the day!

Plus you can use your sourdough starter to make them extra special. They are the perfect make-ahead breakfast options for busy mornings!

These sourdough morning glory muffins are one of my favorite things to bake when I know we have a busy week ahead. Freezing them means I have a stash of "real food" snacks that I can pop in a lunchbox or bag as we all run out the door. It's also such a flexible recipe and I can use things that I have in the pantry and still know they will bake up perfectly!

If you love making muffins with your sourdough starter, you might also like to try these overnight sourdough blueberry muffins, sourdough lemon muffins or sourdough apple and cinnamon muffins. You'll also find 70+ sourdough discard recipes here.

Where Did Morning Glory Muffins Originate?

Morning glory muffins, with their delightful combination of flavors and textures, have become a beloved treat enjoyed by many. These muffins have an interesting history that dates back to the 1970s in the United States.

The original recipe is said to have originated from the Morning Glory Café on Nantucket Island, Massachusetts. It was created by chef Pam McKinstry, who wanted to make a wholesome and satisfying muffin packed with nutritious ingredients. Inspired by the concept of morning glory, symbolizing a new day filled with possibilities, she named the muffins "Morning Glory Muffins."

The recipe quickly gained popularity and spread across the country, with various adaptations and additions made along the way. Today, morning glory muffins are cherished for their hearty blend of shredded carrots, apples, raisins, coconut, nuts, and warming spices, providing a wholesome and delicious start to the day. They continue to be a beloved breakfast or snack option, embodying the spirit of nourishment and enjoyment.

Sourdough Starter or Sourdough Discard?

You can use either active sourdough starter or sourdough starter discard in this delicious sourdough morning glory muffin recipe. You can read more about how to tell when your sourdough starter is active here. If you are going to ferment the batter for up to 12 hours (see notes further down) I recommend using active starter. If you are going to mix and bake the muffins straight away, using discard is totally fine.

Just remember that the muffins use 200g of sourdough discard, so you want it to be fairly fresh and not too sour or the sourness will overpower the flavor in the muffins.

Making sourdough morning glory muffins are a fantastic way to use your sourdough starter and something a little different to making sourdough bread.

You'll find 15+ easy sourdough muffin recipes here.

How To Make The Best Sourdough Morning Glory Muffins

These muffins do use a lot of ingredients, however, this recipe makes 18 muffins and they do freeze really well! They are perfect to bake on the weekend and freeze for easy weekday breakfasts or snacks on the go.

And while there are a lot of ingredients to gather - that's probably the most time consuming part. Once you've gathered the ingredients, it's just a case of tossing the wet ingredients and dry ingredients in separate bowls and then bringing them together. Easy peasy!

​The size of these muffins will depend on the muffin tin you use. I've used 3 x 6 hole muffin tins, lined with paper muffin liners. You could choose to use a standard 12-cup muffin tin for slightly larger muffins or even a jumbo Texas muffin tin for baker style muffins. 

1. Preheat the oven to 180C (356F) and place 18 paper muffin liners into your muffin tins. If you're not using paper liners, simply grease the muffin tins generously with butter.
   
2. Take the raisins and pour the orange juice over them. Allow them to sit for 10 minutes before you start making the muffins.
   
3. Shred your apple, carrots and zest your orange (see notes for easy way to do this).
   
4. Take all of the wet ingredients, including the orange juice soaked raisins, grated carrots, grated apple and orange zest and add them to a large bowl. Whisk them together until the eggs are beaten and all of the wet ingredients are combined. The mixture will be very liquidy - and that's ok!
   
5. Now take all of the dry ingredients (except the raisins because they are in the bowl with the wet ingredients already) and add them to separate bowl. Mix them together until everything is well distributed and there are no lumps.
   
6. Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and pour the wet ingredients into it. Stir the wet and dry ingredients until the dry ingredients are just moistened. It's ok if there are still some dry flour clumps in the muffin batter.
   
7. Take your muffin tin and scoop the mixture into the holes (or paper liners if you're using them).
   
8. Top each muffin with some of the seed mix (you could top with coconut flakes if you prefer).
   
9. Bake the Sourdough Morning Glory Muffins in the oven at 180C (356F) for around 30 minutes or until baked through and golden brown (the time will depend on the size of muffins you're making).
   
10. Allow to cool on a wire rack.

​How To Ferment Morning Glory Sourdough Muffins

While these delicious muffins are delicious when mixed and baked with no further fermentation, if you would prefer to ferment the batter, simply place the mixture into the fridge for up to 12 hours.

I have experimented with fermenting this mixture and have found that 12 hours is more than enough for the starter to ferment the mixture. Fermenting the mixture will mean that the muffins won't rise as much as if you baked them right away. If this bothers you, leave out the baking soda and baking powder and add that right before you bake the fermented mixture.

Ingredient Notes

Because there are a lot of ingredients to these sourdough morning glory muffins, it's important to note which ingredients can be substituted and with what. Here's a list of ingredients that can be swapped out for things that you might have on hand.

• ​Whole Wheat Flour - you can use any flour you'd prefer. I find these taste best with whole wheat flour, but whole grain spelt flour, white whole wheat and Einkorn also work really well.
  
• Brown Sugar - you can use coconut sugar if you prefer not to use refined sugar.
  
• Raisins - you can use any dried fruit you like including cranberries, dried apricots, cherries etc.
  
• Pecans - use any nuts you have on hand. Walnuts work really well in place of pecans.
  
• Vegetable Oil - you can substitute with any light flavored oil like olive oil, avocado oil or even coconut oil. Using oil gives you a really moist muffin and makes them dairy free. You can also use melted butter if you prefer.
  
• Seed Mix - the seed mix for topping the muffin can literally contain any seeds you like - chia seeds, hemp seeds, flaxseed, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds and sesame seeds all work really well on their own, or in a combination seed mix.

​How To Serve Sourdough Morning Glory Muffins

These muffins are perfect eaten warm, straight from the oven. But if you want to add a little more magic to these lovely muffins, here are a few suggestions:

• serve warm with cultured butter and drizzled with maple syrup
  
• serve with whipped honey cinnamon butter
  
• these muffins pair perfectly with this spiced pumpkin cream cheese for a fall delight.

How To Store Sourdough Muffins

These super moist sourdough morning glory muffins store very well in an airtight container for up to 3 days. If you want to keep them longer than that, I suggest placing them in the freezer.

I place individual muffins in ziploc bags and freeze for quick snacks on the go. If freezing, I find the paper liners work really well as they don't stick to the ziploc bags.

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