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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626 comments on “Almond Flour Carrot Muffins” — Add one!
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The reviews are amazing on these muffins! I really want to try them. Just would like to know how many days do they last at room temperature?
Sorry for just now seeing this! It depends on how moist your kitchen is but they should be fine for at least 3 days. You could refrigerate them after that.
Crazy good!!!
Yay! Happy to hear that! :)
OMG….Erin this recipe is crazy good. I am on path to eliminate white sugar and flour from my cooking and my Mom’s carrot cake was going to be the hardest treat to release until I found you. I replaced honey for Lakanto granulated sweetner and added a couple tablespoons of unsweetened almond milk to adjust for lack of honey in texture. I intended to add peacans and totally forgot and still they were moist, perfect texture and an easy treat for all.
Thank you.
You’re welcome! Thanks for the Lakanto tip. :) I’ll have to try that! I just got some in the mail. Thanks again for your comment!
Hi Erin, quick follow-up…in addition to baking with Lakanto white granules I also prepared the icing with Lakanto powered sweetner. My picky 17yr old daughter is happily packing one of your muffins in her lunch daily. I’m not sure if I am happy she likes them or sad I am sharing them.. both :) Thanks again! I look forward to trying other recipes.
Haha. Well I’m happy that your picky daughter liked them! :) I hope you’ll enjoy the other recipes just as much. And thanks for the tip on the powdered sweetener! I didn’t know that it even existed.
Hi there. I made the muffins and they were awesome! Do yo know how many calories in one muffin? Thank you!
Hi! So happy that you liked them. :) I don’t have that info but you could use this recipe analyzer.
In case others want to try lower sugar, and an alternative to coconut oil or butter.
I subbed honey for 3 tbsp maple syrup (only because I prefer the taste of maple syrup), subbed coconut oil for 3 tbsp coconut yogourt (works with dairy yogourt too, cupcakes end up especially velvety if you use Greek yogurt, even more so if you use Icelandic Skyr yogurt) and doubled the amount of grated carrots. When substituting oil or butter, I tried apple sauce first, and it wasn’t as good as the recipe where I tried yogurt. I had to bake my muffins for 25 min to cook fully in the middle. I also halved the maple syrup in the frosting and the kids still love it!
Can I substitute ghee for the coconut oil?
I’ve never baked with ghee so I have no idea. Sorry about that! I believe some of the other reviewers have tried it with success.
I made these today. They are delicious! I didn’t ice them, left them plain. I added chopped walnuts and I didn’t have any muffin liners, so I sprayed my muffin tin with coconut oil. I will definitely make them again.
I’m happy to hear that you’ll be making them! Thanks a bunch for your feedback. :)
I made the recipe exactly as posted. Perfection. Very very delicious.
When I make it again, I will add walnuts and maybe raisins.
PS
The cupcakes were moist and full flavored.
Haha. Thanks! I love that you came back to add that. :D So happy you liked them!
Sounds like a yummy addition! Thanks for your comment. :)
Hi Erin,
I added 1/4 cup of crushed walnuts and a little less than a 1/4 cup of raisins. Oh my gosh, so good very moist. I also made this as a 2 layer 4 x 4 cake (I did not double the recipe). The cake was moist as well not dense.
I have made this recipe as cupcakes no less than 5 times.
Thanks for sharing how much walnuts and raisins you added! And awesome that your cake came out moist as a layer cake. I’m not sure why mine keeps coming out dense, but only in cake form! Thanks again for your comment. I’m thrilled that you’ve been enjoying the recipe so much!
I’d love to make this as a cake, layered if I can make it two tiered, any recommendations other than putting in a round pan and baking longer? Thanks! I’m hoping to make this today! 😬
Hi there! You can double the recipe and bake it in two 8″ pans for 17 minutes. But the texture is denser and not as fluffy as the muffins. Hope you’ll enjoy it!
I need to do oil and egg free temporarily. Could I substitute shortening for the oil and egg substitute (ground chia seeds) for the eggs?
I’ve never used shortening but I think it’d be fine. I unfortunately don’t recommend egg replacers in this recipe. They didn’t work well for me!
I was also going to ask about egg replacers – did you try flax eggs? I’d love to be able to make this vegan – thanks!
I don’t remember what I used but it was probably a chia egg and the result wasn’t very good. Sorry about that!
I made these for an Easter party yesterday and they were to die for! They were very moist and tasted like regular flour carrot cake cupcakes. Kids and adults gobbled them up! I subbed the coconut oil with butter and added only half the ginger – they were perfectly fine. I did add a little bit of powdered sugar to the icing to make it a bit sweeter. I will definitely make these again! Thank you!
You’re welcome! I’m happy to hear that you’ll be making them again and that they were gobbled up at the party. That’s always a good sign. ;) Thanks for your feedback!
Thanks so much for this recipe… I’m on a really strict elimination diet at the moment and I was desperate for a piece of cake! With a bit of tweaking I was able to make a delicious loaf cake using this recipe and the very limited number of ingredients I’m currently able to eat.
In place of the almond and coconut flours I used almond meal and rice flour. I used melted butter instead of oil and I reduced the sugar content and lowered the FODMAPs by using 2 tablespoons of Pure Maple Syrup instead of honey. I doubled the ground ginger and grated carrot.
I baked it in a loaf tin at 340°F (170°C)for approx 35-40 minutes. It turned out great! Dense and moist with a lovely flavour and just a hint of sweetness (I ate it without frosting) Yay, got the cake fix I really needed! Cheered me up no end :-)
You’re welcome! I’m happy that you were able to make it work with your diet. :) Did you replace the rice flour for the coconut flour 1 to 1? Is that a sub that typically works for you? Just curious! And that’s great that just a little maple worked well. Thanks for the tips!
Yep, straight 1:1 substitution…. I swapped 2 tablespoons of rice flour for 2 tablespoons of coconut flour.
To be honest I’ve only just started to bake with these alternatives to standard wheat flours but I’ve had excellent results trading rice flour for coconut flour in the two recipes that I’ve tried so far. Unfortunately I can’t eat coconut at all at the moment so I’m not able to make the original recipes as well and compare them with my amended versions. But both recipes that I’ve made cooked beautifully with the rice flour and they taste great! I’ll continue to experiment and will keep you posted.
I’d definitely be interested to hear how that continues to work (or not work) for you because the two usually aren’t interchangeable. But in this recipe, you only need 2 tablespoons so maybe it’s such a small amount that it doesn’t make a huge difference. Thanks again for your comment! :)
Hi,
I don’t have cases, could I do this as one big cake? If so how would I adjust baking time?
Hi there! You can double the recipe and bake it in two 8″ pans for 17 minutes. But the texture is denser and not as fluffy as the muffins.
I was thinking of making this recipe as a bundt cake.. instead of a double layer cake since I want to make this cake with no icing! Do you think it’d be possible to double the recipe and place it in the oven for say 45-50 mins to make one big cake?
I saw a recipe for carrot cake and it gives you the option to make it as a bundt cake or (2) 8″ ones and the baking time is the only thing that was different. Expect that recipe is strictly a coconut flour recipe while yours calls for both almond and coconut flour which I was intrigued by. Let me know if you think this would work nicely as a big cake as I want to make it for easter and dont want to waste any yummy ingredients or have to toss it! thanks!! :)
The problem is that I’ve never tried it so I can’t really recommend it (because like you said, I don’t want you to waste any ingredients!). Sometimes cake recipes convert well to bundt pans, but sometimes they don’t. The volume would be fine. I just worry that it wouldn’t bake up nice and fluffy. Sorry I can’t give you a better answer! If you try it out anyway, I’d love to hear how it comes out. :)
Do you think they will come out ok if I make them mini cupcakes?
Definitely! I’m not sure of the baking time. I’d check starting at 6 minutes, just to be safe. :)
Could you sub the eggs for chia eggs instead to make it vegan? Thanks!
I’m not sure but I think I tried it at some point with chia eggs and it didn’t come out the same. So I wouldn’t recommend it. Sorry about that. :(
My BF loves these. I made them for him dozens for the past couple months. But now he thinks he’s gaining weight from them. Do you know how many calories is in one cupcake? And I didn’t see your post for making it into a cake, I tried it a couple of time cake form, but the top burnt and it took a loooonnnng time. I wasn’t sure what the directions are for that.
Haha. Well they’re not low-calorie. They’re just made with healthier ingredients. :) I don’t know the calories but you could use this recipe analyzer if you’d like for that info. I don’t have a post for how to make this into a cake but just mentioned it in my vegan cream cheese frosting recipe (where you can see what it looks like). I doubled the recipe and baked it in two 8″ pans for 17 minutes.
My littlest is allergies cocnut. I saw you can sub the coconut oil with olive oil. Do you think I could replace the coconut flour with almond?
So sorry for just now seeing your question! Coconut flour isn’t interchangeable with any other flours as it absorbs so much more liquid. :( Sorry about that. Should the recipe be grain-free? If not, I have a gluten-free carrot cake recipe that I just posted, if that’d help!
This is an AMAZING recipe, Erin! My husband and I both really loved these. Thank you for taking the time and effort to produce these delicious recipes.
So sorry for just now seeing your comment! I don’t know how I missed it. I’m happy to hear that you and your husband enjoyed the cupcakes. :) Thanks a bunch for your comment!
Made these with a couple alterations to make them lower carb. I used that fake honey (which horribly has maltitol) as a first run just to see if it turned out before trying to change the sweetener. So I added about 1/2 tsp of lemon juice to activate the baking soda and doubled the baking soda. I didn’t have carrots so I used 1/2 cup of canned pumpkin instead (which is lower carb anyway). I also added about 2 TBSP olive oil because the batter seemed really dry. They came out so AMAZINGLY DELICIOUS. And I’ve tried a lot of low carb recipes that have been anywhere from ok, to barely edible, to just plain G-R-O-S-S. My kids ate regular carrot cake with sugar, flour, the whole thing, and I didn’t feel the least bit deprived. I already know how to make cream cheese frosting with erythritol/xylitol/stevia blend similar to Swerve.
My next batch I used my “Swerve” blend instead of honey, along with 1/2 tsp lemon juice & double baking soda. I wasn’t completely satisfied with the results. I’m going to try it again using olive oil or avocado oil that is not solid at room temp. I’m thinking that will give it a little bit lighter texture that the first go round accomplished. I don’t like using stuff with maltitol, so I will keep working until the texture is right. The flavor is AMAZING. I can’t believe I was eating something low carb that completely satisfied my desire for carrot cake.
I’ve been on low carb for 9 months and I didn’t even eat carrot cake on my own birthday (and every year this is what I request as a birthday present from my oldest daughter). Well next birthday I should be at my goal weight and I WILL eat a piece of regular carrot cake, no matter how many carbs. And in the mean time, this recipe is AMAZING.
I will update after I get it to work with a low carb non-blood-sugar-rising sweetener for anyone who may have landed here in search of “low carb carrot cake” as I did.
THANK YOU FOR THIS RECIPE!!!!!
Wow! Thanks for sharing your experiments with us. People keep asking me how to make my recipes low-carb and I never know so this was interesting. Also, I have no idea why this recipe is showing up when people search for low-carb carrot cake! I don’t know a thing about low-carb baking and don’t mention low-carb anywhere in my post. Sorry to the low-carb bakers! Thanks again for your super helpful comment. :) I’m so happy that you found a low-carb alternative that’s tasty.
So I now have a good working low carb version without that nasty fake honey.
use 1/3 c. liquid oil instead of coconut oil (I used EVO)
in place of honey:
add 1/4 c sugar equivalent powdered is best (mine’s a mix of erythritol/xylitol/stevia that measures cup for cup like sugar-powdered in coffee grinder) and 1/4 cup water with the sweetener to replace the liquid in the honey
double the baking soda & adjust salt to taste
add 1 TBSP lemon juice or vinegar to activate the baking soda
also, I didn’t have carrots & used 1/2 cup canned pumpkin instead. I also used 3/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice in place of the ginger & nutmeg as another reviewer suggested. I added walnuts too, because I LOVE them in carrot cake.
I’ve now given these to several people, non-low carb included and they all loved them. Now I know that’s several changes to your recipe, but I have tried so many low carb recipes that just weren’t good at all. I can now say that this is by far the ABSOLUTE BEST low carb dessert I have had in the 10 months I have been eating low carb. Doesn’t taste weird, texture is excellent.
One more thing, for low carb cream cheese frosting, that’s the easiest because I’ve been making that for a long time.
1/2 c. (1 stick) butter
1 pkg 8 oz cream cheese
1-2 tsp vanilla
1-2 c powdered sugar equivalent to taste (I usually end up w/ 1-1/2 cups)
Of course the butter & cream cheese need to be room temp and creamed as in normal frosting. And it may be a little less smooth if your sweetener isn’t powdered really well.
My mixture of sweetener that has same sweetness as sugar:
4 oz xylitol by weight
3 oz erythritol by weight
1/2 tsp pure stevia powder (mine is now brand)
(powder in coffee grinder)
Oh, wow. I think you should start a low-carb baking blog. You sound like quite the expert. :) That you made all those changes and that they came out well is amazing! I think I fixed your comment the way you asked. But did you really use 1 1/4 cups of your sweetener in place of 1/3 cup of honey? May I ask how you would make this coconut flour cookie recipe low-carb? I thought I’d just use 3/4 cup of a low-carb sweetener but after your comment, I’m not sure. Thank you so much for sharing your low-carb version of these muffins as well as your cream cheese frosting recipe! I (and I’m sure lots of others) really appreciate it. :)
Couldn’t figure out how to reply to your last comment. GOOD CATCh. NO I did NOT use that much sweetener. If you can edit it, I used 1/4 cup of the sweetener blend. I have since discovered that the sweetener blend I use is slightly sweeter than sugar, but 1/3 c honey would be like about 1/2 c sugar in sweetness approximately since 2/3 cup honey is generally as sweet as 1 c sugar. The recipe for my sweetener mix is from https://joyfilledeats.com/sweetener/ with the basic info being 4oz xylitol 3oz erythritol & 1/2 tsp now brand stevia (which is equal to 1/4 c. sugar)-she uses larger amounts but I converted it to a lowest practical ratio.
Sorry for my slow reply! I edited your comment to say 1/4 cup. :) Thanks for clarifying that! And thanks for sharing the recipe for your sweetener. I’ll have to try it!
AS for the coconut flour cookies, yes 3/4 cup of the sweetener would work, but you might want a “brown sugar” version of it to get the flavor right. I have a “brown sugar” version which I created by taking 1 cup of that same sweetener and adding a 1/2-1tsp of molasses or black strap molasses and a few drops of flavoring to taste (maple, rum, caramel) I don’t have the exact amounts. Yes, the molasses adds carbs, but it’s like 4 carbs to a whole cup, so across a recipe that’s not much. Also, if using erythritol only without the powdered stevia or xylitol, use enough liquid stevia glycerite to bring the erythritol to the same sweetness as sugar (it’s only 70% as sweet as sugar alone). The stevia glycerite really gives it a nice moist consistency like real brown sugar, but it’s much more affordable than buying ready made “brown” sugar alcohol mixes. I can’t remember where I read that tip about the stevia glycerite to give credit to the author. Chocolate chips for me are still an issue. I haven’t learned to make chocolate chips in a low carb version yet. I have used the prepackaged sugar free crappy ones from the store that have maltitol and for this reason have only made recipes using chocolate chips maybe 3 times in 2 years.
Once I made a low carb recipe that was coconut flour and no almond flour. Don’t remember what recipe it was (it did NOT turn out) but I remember thinking, this would make a great cookie dough & I’ve had in the back of my mind to find a coconut flour cookie recipe since. Think I’ll give yours a try and use the crappy sugar free chocolate chips. That might be sufficient motivation to make some low carb chocolate chips (sorry just can’t choke down the idea of paying $7 for a bag of Lily’s choc chips).
I do wonder about how the coconut sugar makes those cookies taste. Just found out after extensive blood testing that white sugar & the chemicals used to produce it is literally toxic to my daughter. Coconut sugar was one of the options given as an alternative and we made some brownies with it. They tasted like mocha brownies…which I liked, but she absolutely did NOT. Brownies are her favorite so I am on a quest to be able to make her an acceptable version without white sugar. She objects to sugar alcohols of ALL kinds even though erythritol has no blood sugar impact and is supposed to be easy to digest, so that’s not an option for her. Otherwise it would be easy. That sweetener mix works amazingly well in place of sugar. I made those same carrot cake cupcakes for a family gathering with the cream cheese frosting and despite being low carb, they were devoured (out of about 28 cupcakes we had like 4 left and several people commented the cream cheese frosting tasted like normal cream cheese frosting).
You leave such helpful comments! Thanks so much. I’ll have to check out stevia glycerite! Have you tried the low-carb chocolate chip recipe from All Day I Dream About Food? Maybe you could make a big batch, freeze them and have them on hand for your baking! I hope you find a good solution for your daughter. :) My coconut flour cookies don’t taste at all mocha-like with the coconut sugar! Thanks again for your great feedback.
These were so good! Without frosting, they were delicious “muffins”. With, they would be even better. Thank You!
You’re welcome! I’m happy that you liked them as muffins. :) Thanks for your comment!
do you have a good alternative to coconut oil?
Some commenters have used butter in this recipe with success and I know that olive oil would work.