These almond flour carrot muffins are super moist, lightly sweetened with honey, and even a little fluffy! They’re the perfect Easter treat, and the reviewers have been loving them for the past 11 years. They’re paleo but have a cream cheese frosting option.
Originally posted in 2014, I’ve updated this recipe with more information and new photos.
Here’s an old one for reference. They were originally called healthier carrot cake cupcakes, which was a dumb name because they just had a tiny bit of frosting on them. But the texture is very cupcake-like!
I changed the name because people kept asking how to make these with only coconut flour – which doesn’t work. More on that below.
So, these are now almond flour muffins with a tiny bit of coconut flour to help improve the texture.
Ingredient notes
Here are some notes on select ingredients. Please scroll to the bottom of the post to find the full recipe card!
- Finely ground blanched almond flour – do not substitute with coconut flour or another flour, as it will drastically change the recipe. Almond meal would work, but then you’ll have little brown specks of skin in your muffins. They won’t taste differently, though.
- Coconut Flour – before I posted this recipe, I had made these muffins with just almond flour several times. But no matter how I changed the recipe, they kept coming out greasy. So I added a little coconut flour, which helps absorb moisture and adds structure. Problem solved and they came out perfectly! Unfortunately, there isn’t a substitute for coconut flour.
- Eggs – I’ve tried egg subs in this recipe, and they just don’t work. Grain-free muffins are definitely way more finicky than regular muffins and omitting 2 eggs from a recipe that only yields 8 muffins just doesn’t work.
- Refined coconut oil – you can use unrefined if you don’t mind coconut flavor. You can use melted butter or another neutral oil instead.
- Grated carrots – pre-shredded carrots are thicker and drier, which would affect the texture of the muffins. So I really recommend shredding them yourself. I usually use this Microplane Medium Ribbon Grater when grating carrots for carrot cake and other treats, and it works great here. The photographer grated them more coarsely than I did in the original photos, and that’s why the muffins in the new photos look a bit different.
Can I just use all coconut flour?
I had one commenter say her muffins came out dry, despite following the recipe – except for using coconut flour in place of almond flour.
That doesn’t work. Coconut flour isn’t interchangeable with any other type of flour.
It’s SO much more absorbent than other flours. Please follow the recipe if you want it to work.
If you want to only use coconut flour, you have to find a recipe already calling for that.
Can I add walnuts, raisins or pineapple?
I’ve tried it out with 1/3 cup of raisins and 1/4 cup walnuts. That worked great.
One commenter said that they had used crushed pineapple, but they didn’t come back to say how much they added or if they made other adjustments.
I don’t see how that’d work. Even if you pat it dry, I just think it’d make the muffins soggy.
Another commented said they added 1/3 cup of fresh chopped pineapple and had good results. I think that’s more likely to work out better than crushed pineapple.
How to make them
- In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients.
- In another bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients until smooth.
- Slowly mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.
- Stir until just combined.
- Gently fold in the grated carrots.
- Divide the batter evenly between the muffin cups.
- Bake until the tops are golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Let the muffins cool in the pan before transferring them to a wire rack.
Tips for success
Here are a few key tips to ensure your muffins turn out perfectly every time.
- Use room temperature eggs – this helps them incorporate more evenly into the batter.
- Finely grate the carrots – larger pieces won’t blend as well and can create a dense texture.
- Measure the flours correctly – coconut flour is highly absorbent, so too much or too little can change the texture. Please use a scale!
- Let them cool completely – they will be delicate when warm but firm up as they cool.
Can I make it as a layer cake?
I’ve made this recipe several times as a layer cake, and the result is a bit too dense for my liking. I’ve often had this issue when trying to use a grain-free muffin recipe for a cake.
Grain-free flours, like almond or coconut flour, tend to make muffins denser and more compact. Muffins can handle this because they’re baked in small portions, but a layer cake needs a lighter, more structured crumb to support stacking and layering.
Another reason is that many grain-free recipes rely on ingredients like eggs, nut flours, or coconut products, which hold a lot of moisture. While this works for muffins, a cake made with the same formula could turn out too wet, heavy, or unstable when layered.
Muffins also don’t need as much rise as a cake, so a muffin recipe may not have enough leavening agents (like baking soda or baking powder) to create a tall, fluffy cake. Cakes require more aeration to achieve a tender crumb that can support frosting.
If you want to try, anyway, you can double the recipe and baked it in two 8″ (22 cm) pans for 17 minutes.
How to make ahead, store and freeze
Once baked, the muffins can be kept at room temperature in an airtight container for up to two days. If you need to store them for longer, place them in the refrigerator, where they’ll stay fresh for up to four days.
To extend their shelf life, wrap individual muffins in plastic wrap and store them in a freezer-safe bag. They can be kept frozen for up to three months. When ready to eat, simply thaw at room temperature or warm them slightly in the microwave.
Troubleshooting
- Muffins are too dry or dense – check your coconut flour measurement and make sure you didn’t overbake.
- Muffins are too wet – did you use finely ground blanched almond flour? If your almond flour isn’t finely ground, it won’t be as absorbent, resulting in wetter, greasier muffins.
- Muffins didn’t rise – ensure your baking soda is fresh and that you used large eggs.
Other gluten-free Easter desserts
These Birds Nest Cookies are also paleo (and vegan!) and super cute for Easter.
This Gluten-free Carrot Cake is super moist and the best carrot cake I’ve ever had.
This Italian Lemon Almond Flour Cake isn’t exactly healthy, but people love it.
Almond Flour Carrot Muffins
- Prep Time:
- Cook Time:
- Ready in:
- Yield: 8 muffins
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups (125 grams) blanched almond flour
- 2 tablespoons (16 grams) coconut flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 2 large eggs (50 gram each, out of shell), room temperature
- 1/3 cup (75 grams) refined coconut oil1, melted
- 1/3 cup (106 grams) honey or maple syrup
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup (50 grams) grated carrots2
- optional - 3 tablespoons finely chopped walnuts for the muffin tops
- 2 ounces (56 grams) cream cheese
- 4 teaspoons maple syrup
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- a dash of salt
For the carrot muffins:
For the optional cream cheese frosting:
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 350 °F (175 °C). Line a muffin tin with 8 muffin liners.
- In a medium bowl, mix together the dry ingredients (almond flour through nutmeg). Set this aside.
- In a large bowl, mix together the eggs, oil, honey or maple syrup, and vanilla.
- Add the dry mix to the wet mix just until combined and then gently fold in the grated carrots.
- Divide the batter evenly among the liners (about 62 grams per liner) and top with chopped walnuts, if using.
- Bake for 17-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
- Let the muffins cool for 5 minutes in the pan and then remove to a wire rack to cool completely. Do not frost until completely cool!
- For the cream cheese frosting, mix everything together until thoroughly combined. Spread a thin layer on top of each cupcake.
- Unfrosted muffins can be stored in an airtight container at room temp for up to 2 days or refrigerated for 5 days. Frosted muffins should be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
Notes
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628 comments on “Almond Flour Carrot Muffins” — Add one!
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These carrot cake cupcakes are quite possibly one of my most favorite sweet treats ever! I added 1/4t. salt because I like a little more salt in my baked goods and I did not make the icing. I also added raisins to some of them which tasted great! I warmed them up and ate them with grass fed butter, cinnamon and salt on them, soooooooooooo delicious!! They froze well too. Thank you for using honey as the sweetener as it’s the only one I’m supposed to use! Awesome recipe!
Aww, yay! I was so happy to read how much you liked the cupcakes. :) Added raisins sound great and it’s good to know that they freeze well! Thanks for the tips and for your feedback. :)
My 8-year-old daughter just made these (with some help from me) for her daddy’s bday. We all loved it. We like to try different things bc my daughter doesn’t like traditional carrot cake and sweets in general. These however, weren’t overly sweet and hit the spot. Thank you so much Erin!
That’s great that your daughter (and the rest of you!) enjoyed the cupcakes. :) And I’m jealous of your daughter not really liking sweets. I wish I were the same. ;) Thanks a bunch for your comment!
can i use butter instead of coconut oil?
I haven’t tried it but I think that’d work fine. :) Enjoy!
I think doubling the amount of carrots would make more like true carrot cake, although this is very good, I increased nutmeg and added one ripe banana. I used coconut flower and regular gluten free flour. Texture was perfect.
I’m happy that they came out well, especially with all your changes! Thanks for your comment. :)
Thanks for this recipe it is very easy to follow…quick to make and absolutely delicious! These are some of the best muffins I have ever made!
My son is intolerant to almonds, is there anything i can use to replace it? Thank you!
Nut flours are usually interchangeable with other types of nut flours so you could try that. And I haven’t tried this myself but supposedly you can make your own sunflower seed flour and it works as a sub for almond flour. I hope that helps!
We recently found out that our 4 year old has celiac disease and so all my family recipes are no longer easy to recreate. Thank goodness I found your recipe and it was approved by the whole family including my 4 year old picky eater :)
I used freshly grated nutmeg and maybe next time I will put a little less and more cinnamon. I love cinnamon! Overall it was perfect, very moist. I just had another one for breakfast! I also loved using the weights. Thank you again and have a great day!
I’m so happy that you found something that your 4 year old and the rest of the family could enjoy! And I agree that more cinnamon is never a bad thing. ;) I’ll have to try these with freshly grated nutmeg and see if that yields a stronger taste than the pre-ground stuff. Thanks a bunch for your nice comment!
I rarely leave reviews because I hardly ever follow a recipe closely enough to feel like I can really comment, but I did this time, and they were great! Okay, I maybe skimped a little on the nutmeg and cinnamon, but I weighed all the main ingredients. THANK YOU for giving weights, I love to cook with a scale–so easy. Plenty sweet for my taste, and texture was nice. Just little oily, but that seems to happen with coconut oil sometimes, didn’t detract cuz we’re not afraid of a little coconut oil. :)
I love weights, too! I wish everyone who made my recipes would use them so that the recipes would come out exactly as intended. ;) I’m so happy that you enjoyed the cupcakes! Thanks a bunch for your comment and taking the time to leave a review. :)
These were tasty, but didn’t quite taste like carrot cake. I thought I’d be able to taste all of the different spices, but all I could taste was the nutmeg. There was a bit too much and next time I’ll just use a little less. They were still tasty, though, and the cream cheese frosting was delicious!
Hmm. Did you use freshly grated nutmeg? I didn’t, so I wonder if that could be it. I’ve never noticed these being especially nutmeg-y. But I’m happy you still liked them! Thanks for your feedback. :)
These look Awesome! Thanks for the recipes.
Thanks, Ashley! And you’re welcome. :)
These are great! I made them for Easter for my niece who is GF/DF/SF, and also made a traditional carrot cake for the rest of us at the party. I was hoping there would be extras for me to take home but everyone really enjoyed these and ate them all before I could sneak any away. I’m so happy to have found a healthy alternative to traditional carrot cake!
Aww. I’m sorry there were no leftovers! But I’m quite happy that everyone liked them so much. ;) Thanks so much for your feedback!
Has anyone substitued the almond flour for something different? Or even did half almond half something else? One of my kids is sensitive to almonds and bothered by carrots during pollen season and I’m thinking those 2 ingredients together might be overload for her and induce her asthma? Any ideas????
Almond flour and other nut flours are only interchangeable with other nut flours so you could try a different nut flour / meal. But if she’s bothered by carrots, I’d suggest finding a different recipe because there’s no sub for it in these cupcakes. Sorry about that!
You can make a “One Minute Muffin” for your allergic daughter using coconut flour or ground flax. You can put fruit or nuts in them if you are just looking for a “cup cake” kind of dessert for this child. Look it up online, there are tons of variety out there.
I’d never heard of those! They look so easy. Thanks for sharing. :)
Cheryl, thank you for that info, I’ll definitely have a look for that recipe. :)
I am making these for the second time – they are that good! I have not made frosting -just eat them as is. Delicious! Thanks for creating a healthier alternative for my carrot cake obsession:)
And thank you for your nice comment and feedback! I’m so happy you enjoyed them. :)
Hi Erin, can these be made without an electric mixer? Just by hand? Also, what type of ginger do you mean? Minced ginger like you would use in asian cooking, or is it a powdery dry ground ginger? Thanks for your help! Emma
Hi Emma! No electric mixer is needed. :) Just mix everything together by hand. And you’ll want to use ground ginger. I hope you’ll enjoy them!
Thanks Erin!
can these be made without eggs? like with phylum husks?
I’m sorry but I haven’t tried an egg-free version! I know one person used flax eggs but since I haven’t tried it, I can’t guarantee it’d work. I hope they’ll come out well if you give it a try. :)
I added nuts and raisins and they came out kind of heavy. Do I need to change the recipe?
They’re light and kind of fluffy without the nuts and raisins so I’m guessing they did weigh them down (though I’ve never had that problem in other recipes!) I wouldn’t recommend changing that recipe because you’re not actually adding or changing anything to the make-up of the batter. Perhaps you could just use less? Sorry I don’t have a better answer for you!
Do you know if these freeze well? or how long they stay fresh? or… what the best way to store them is?
Thanks! :)
They stay fresh for 2-3 days at room temperature (without the frosting) and I haven’t tried freezing them but I imagine they’d be fine. And to answer your other question, I’m not sure about subbing maple syrup for honey. A lot of people do that but maple syrup is so much thinner and less sticky than honey so I never recommend it unless I’ve tried it myself. I hope your kid has a great birthday. :)
Hi! I’m thinking about making these for my 1 year old’s bday party. Do you think I can sub maple syrup for the honey?
Thanks!
Oh, no! I remember typing out a reply but I’m not seeing it here for whatever reason. I’m so, so sorry! I said that maple syrup is more runny and less sticky than honey so I’m not quite sure if it’d work out well. Did you try it out? Sorry again! :(
I used sugar free maple syrup…so not real syrup but it worked beautifully. I have to watch my carbs, so I try not to use anything that is an added carb!
That’s great to know! Thanks a bunch for your tip. I’m happy it worked well!
These look amazing! Could I use olive oil instead of coconut oil and almond flour instead of coconut flour, do you think? Thanks
Thanks! :) Olive oil should work but coconut flour can’t really be subbed. It absorbs a lot more liquid than every other flour and so there aren’t really any subs for it. Sorry about that!
Have you tried these with just coconut flour? I made your vanilla cupcakes and they were perfect! Thanks much.
I’m so happy you liked the cupcakes! Do you mean the coconut flour based ones in the Samoa cupcake recipe? And I haven’t tried these with coconut flour, unfortunately. Coconut flour isn’t really interchangeable with any other flours so I’m afraid it wouldn’t work. Sorry about that!