Pineapple pulp makes these pineapple carrot cake muffins deliciously moist and is a great way to use up the juicing leftovers.
Ever wonder what to do with the pulp in the juicer?
Yeah, me too.
Almost 5 years ago, we honeymooned in Tahiti where we had fresh pineapple juice about 2 times a day for 12 days straight. To call it juice from the Gods would be an understatement. That stuff was incredible. Needless to say, we bought a juicer pretty soon after getting home for the sole purpose of juicing pineapple. It doesn’t compare but it sure beats some store bought Dole.
Until this past week, I’ve always thrown the pulp out and cringed each time. I hate throwing food out. Even pulp. It just bothers me to the core. I’m the kind of person that cuts mold off cheese, doesn’t pay attention to expiration dates and will eat leftovers weeks after they’ve been in the fridge. Throwing away pulp irks me.
Sometime last week, Ulysses decided to juice the pineapple we had in the house. I was sitting on the couch as he was cleaning the juicer when he said “we should do something with this pulp.” Now, don’t think he had any brilliant ideas of what to actually do with the pulp, that was just his indirect way of saying “you should do something with the pulp.”
Challenge accepted.
These muffins taste like a healthy version of a pineapple upside down cake + a carrot cake. Besides the pineapple keeping them super moist, it acts as a natural sweetener as well. There’s no sugar in these, just an 1/8 cup of maple syrup.
Whole wheat, pineapple, shredded carrots, raisins….they’re practically a health food!
Although, I promise they don’t taste like one.
I can now sleep again at night knowing no pulp has gone wasted.
Pineapple Carrot Cake Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
- 1/2 cup all purpose unbleached flour
- 1 cup pineapple pulp
- 1/2 cup shredded carrots
- 1/4 cup whole raisins, chopped
- 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup, (*see note)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons canola oil
- rolled oats for topping, optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Grease muffin pan.
- In a large bowl combine flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt and chopped raisins.
- In small bowl combine the remaining ingredients.
- Add wet ingredients to dry and mix to combine.
- Scoop evenly into muffin pan.
- Top with oats if using.
- Bake for approximately 20 minutes.
- Let cool in pan for 5 minutes before transferring to cooling rack.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Gina Matsoukas is an AP syndicated writer. She is the founder, photographer and recipe developer of Running to the Kitchen — a food website focused on providing healthy, wholesome recipes using fresh and seasonal ingredients. Her work has been featured in numerous media outlets both digital and print, including MSN, Huffington post, Buzzfeed, Women’s Health and Food Network.
I don’t know what went wrong, but I followed the recipe exactly and they didn’t cook through for me. I cooked them for 40 minutes, and they’re brown and crispy now on the outside but mush on the inside—as though all flour mixture formed a casing for the pulp. I suppose they’re edible—the one egg in there must be cooked after 40 minutes, but they’re not enjoyable.
Hi. Sounds yummy! Another idea is using blender for making pineapple jiuce inctead of juicer. So the pulp will remain in the juice. Completely delivious. You can add bananas, avocados es well. In Bali pineapples are always juiced in blender and dranj woth the pulp. I recommend.
I made these today. Cooking time and yield were about right; I needed a little longer in the oven for the very bottoms to get cooked through. I added the whole 1/4 C of maple syrup and still didn’t over-sweeten them by ANY means. I think they’d taste good with a little apple butter or regular butter for a touch of moisture and sweetness at serving. Maybe more pineapple pulp, too.
I think I would use coconut oil instead…just my preference.