These almond flour carrot muffins are super moist, lightly sweetened with honey and even a little fluffy! These grain-free and gluten-free healthier carrot cake muffins are the perfect Easter treat. The reviewers love them! With a dairy-free option.
First up, if you prefer a grain-containing healthier carrot cake recipe, I have you covered! This 100% whole grain carrot cake is the best carrot cake I’ve ever had. Hands down.
Or actually, it’s tied with this gluten-free carrot cake, which is the same exact recipe as the healthy carrot cake, but with gluten-free flour.
If grains aren’t your thing, these healthier carrot cake muffins are awesome. I feel like a broken record, just because I say this all the time, but I used a combination of almond flour and coconut flour to achieve the perfect texture. I want my grain-free baked goods to taste as close to grain-containing ones as possible and these are pretty darn close!
People often ask if there’s a substitute for coconut flour and there really isn’t. And the only substitute for the almond flour would be almond meal (which is a lot cheaper than almond flour!) or another nut flour.
So now that we’ve got the carrot cake muffins out of the way, we need some healthier cream cheese frosting! This is the same cream cheese frosting recipe that I used in my last post on carrot cake scones.
It uses just a little maple syrup as sweetener. I really thought cream cheese frosting without powdered sugar was impossible but this maple syrup version was just as good! It’s quite thick so if you want to thin it out, just add some milk.
I’m just guessing that if you’re interested in grain-free baking, you’re not into mounds of frosting on top of your muffins or cupcakes. The amount that this cream cheese frosting recipe yields is just enough for a thin slathering on each muffin. If you want to pipe it like I did, you can pipe about twice as much as you see in the pictures.
I recommend frosting the muffins right before serving because once you frost them, they need to be refrigerated. They can sit at room temperature for about 4 hours so if you want to frost them in preparation of a party – no problem!
They just taste better and fluffier if you keep them at room temperature and microwaving cream cheese frosting sounds like a bad idea.
Obviously cream cheese isn’t dairy-free but there are dairy-free cream cheeses out there. If you don’t like the thought of using that, just leave out the frosting or use my vegan cream cheese recipe.
It’s naturally sweetened, doesn’t have any unusual ingredients and is also paleo-friendly! Half the recipe should yield enough for a nice slathering on top of each muffin. You can also find my directions for making these carrot cake cupcakes into an 8″ cake on that post.
Want an Easter dessert that’s a little more unique than these paleo carrot cake muffins? Try these blueberry carrot cake bars with granola from Cotter Crunch! They’re gluten-free and dairy-free and look amazing.
And for something with more of a cake texture (like angel food cake!) be sure to give my paleo blueberry muffins a try!
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 oil, melted (if you use unrefined coconut oil there may be some coconut taste to the muffins)
- 1/3 cup (106 grams) honey
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup (50 grams) grated carrots
- 2 ounces (56 grams) cream cheese
- 4 teaspoons maple syrup
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
- a dash of salt
- additional milk for thinning, if desired
For the carrot muffins:
For the cream cheese frosting: (for paleo / dairy-free, use a half batch of this vegan "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, 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 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. If it's too thick for your liking, add a teaspoon of milk at a time until it's your desired consistency.
- Spread a thin layer on top of each cupcake or pipe it on. Do note that if you pipe it, you'll have some leftover if you pipe it as lightly as I did in the pictures.
- 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.
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629 comments on “Almond Flour Carrot Muffins” — Add one!
35 comments are awaiting moderation!
Dear Erin, I made these cupcakes earlier but made a few changes. I substituted the coconut oil with canola oil, I added a cup of chopped dates, 3 tablespoons of desiccated coconut and put a quarter cup of xylitol and 1 tablespoon of honey. I’m not going to bother with the icing as these are so delicious just as they are! Thank you for this recipe. Greetings from South Africa.
Hi Adriana! Thanks so much for sharing your version. The dates sound especially yummy! And great that they were good enough without the icing. :) Thanks for your feedback!
Hi! This looks amazing!
Can we replace the coconut oil with any nut butters?
Hi there! I’ve never tried that sub so I really don’t know. Sorry about that!
These were great, but I made them even better by adding 1/4 cup each raisins, crushed pineapple, walnuts, and coconut. I also used vegan butter.
Yum! That sounds delicious. Thanks for the tip!
I never comment on recipes but I just had to for this one. Honestly the best muffins I’ve ever tasted… So moist and delicious!! I made them without the icing and added shredded dried coconut. Perfect for a quick breakfast 😍🥕
Well thank you for taking the time to comment! It’s much appreciated. :) I’m so happy that you liked them! How much coconut did you add? Thanks for the tip and your comment!
I’m baking mine right now and noticing they do not rise at all? Is this a thing?
Sorry for just now seeing your question! I haven’t made these in a while but I don’t recall them rising much. Did they come out okay? :)
I followed the recipe but the batter was all crumbly. I dont know what I did wrong.
Did you make any subs or any kinds of changes at all to the recipe? None of the other reviewers seemed to have had this problem so I’m guessing something must have gone wrong. Did you use cups or grams? I recommend using grams. Perhaps you packed your flour too tightly?
This looks wonderful!!
Could you use regular gluten free flour in substitute of the 2 flours listed in the recipe?
Thanks! Unfortunately not. Regular GF flour (if you mean a 1:1 sub for all-purpose flour) is really just meant to sub for wheat flour and not other blends of grain-free flours. I have an amazing gluten-free carrot cake that uses a GF baking mix that you might like!
As usual, you are a genius. Followed this recipe with one sub, 200g of mejool dates that I crushed with mortar and pestles subbed for the honey. Made them not quite as sweet and with some date bits running through. Please note I weighed before removing the pits.
Superb recipe!
Aww, thanks. :) I’m so happy that you liked them and that the date sub worked well! I wonder if they’d work with date paste. I might try! Thanks for your feedback (and especially for the note about 200 grams of pitted dates!)
Can you substitute the blanched almond flour with just almond flour? I really don’t know what blanched almond flour is? And omit coconut flour and just use all almond flour? I really want to try these, they look amazing! Thank you!
Almond flour is usually blanched, meaning that the skins from the almonds have been removed. If it’s got the skins on there, it’s usually called almond meal. You can use either one. Unfortunately, you can’t just omit the coconut flour. It’s not interchangeable with any other type of flour as it absorbs so much more liquid. Sorry about that!
I tried this recipe and it was an epic fail for me. I did not have a batter I had a crumbly dough. So it just didn’t “pour” at all. I pressed the dough into a cake pan and hoped for the best. It tasted good but the texture was not good. Do you know what I did wrong?
I’m sorry to hear it failed for you! I’ve gotten so many reviews on this recipe and haven’t had any epic fails yet so I’m guessing something must have gone wrong with the ingredients or the process. Did you make any subs or changes at all to the recipe? It should definitely pour and not have to be pressed and the texture should have been fluffy. Did you use cups or go by grams? It could have been that you packed the almond flour really tightly, which would have created a dry batter.
Are there any changes to make if I sub maple syrup for honey in the muffin mix? I am making for my sons first bday and we haven’t introduced honey yet. Thanks!
No changes! Hope he has a nice birthday and likes the muffins. :)
It was delicious! I logged the info via myfitnesspal. Here it is:
Nutrition Facts
Servings 8.0
Amount Per Serving
calories 256
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 19 g 30 %
Saturated Fat 10 g 49 %
Monounsaturated Fat 0 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 0 g
Trans Fat 0 g
Cholesterol 49 mg 16 %
Sodium 127 mg 5 %
Potassium 40 mg 1 %
Total Carbohydrate 17 g 6 %
Dietary Fiber 3 g 14 %
Sugars 13 g
Protein 5 g 10 %
Vitamin A 23 %
Vitamin C 1 %
Calcium 4 %
Iron 7 %
So happy you liked them! Thanks for sharing the analysis. :)
Hi… Was this with the frosting or without? Thank you!
Oops… just seeing this now! The analysis excludes the icing.
Hi,
When you say vanilla, is that Vanilla essence, vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste please? I am in AAustralia, so might be different here…I usually use vanilla extract in my cake baking. Also is there a change to quantities of different?
Thank you
Hi there! Sorry for just now seeing your question. I used vanilla extract. All American recipes use extract unless something else is specifically called for (not that you can actually tell I’m from the US by this recipe!). Hope you’ll enjoy them. :)
do you guys cook these strait in the muffin tin or do you poor into the paper cups and bake them in the paper… i have had problems making similar muffins in the paper, it just sticks to the paper and I waste half the muffins
:(
You line the muffin pan with the muffin liners and bake them that way. You shouldn’t waste half the muffin with this recipe. :)
I have tried so many grain free recipes that just fail. Delightfully surprised this was amazing!
Kids and hubby love them, and I didn’t even get to frost them!
Looking forward to more recipes!!!
I used 1/4 cup MCT oil and a Tbsp of vanilla Ghee. I also added just under the amount of almond flour and added a Tbsp of Milled Seeds and a Tblsp of arrowroot powder. I also used fresh grated ginger instead of powder.
I only substituted because it’s what I had in the house!
Grain-free recipes are tricky and I’ve tried quite a few bad ones, too! I have lots of other grain-free recipes you might like. :) I’m so happy that you and your family enjoyed them and that they came out well with your subs! Thanks a bunch for your comment.
Oh wow! I made this as my birthday cake, this year, with a large batch of paleo cream cheese frosting https://www.primalpalate.com/paleo-recipe/cream-cheese-frosting/ (basically the same thing as the included frosting, but on a larger scale, because math is hard. ;) I omitted the ginger; a birthday cake is not worth risking trying something new) and a chopped pecan “crust.” This might be the best birthday cake I’ve ever made. I doubled the recipe and used my two 9″ cake pans (since I didn’t have 8″ pans, as recommended). I baked them for 21 minutes, and the tops were still almost-not-fully-done, but I didn’t want to risk overcooking them. This is definitely going to be a go-to for cake days, around here.
My non-paleo husband said the cake is “solid,” and he would definitely eat it again. I guess I’ll have to share my entire birthday cake with him. ;)
Thanks for the amazing recipe! I can’t wait to try more of your delicious desserts!
Happy birthday! I’m so very happy that the cake was a hit. It’s always nice when non-paleo people like the recipes, too. :) Thank you for sharing the baking time for 9″ pans! I hope you’ll enjoy the other recipes just as much. Thanks a bunch for your comment!
I’ve made these several times now. They are always delicious,and I never ice them! I triple the recipe to get 24 muffins and they freeze beautifully.The biggest issue I have is that my 4 and 5 year old boys sneak them out and love eating them frozen! I added organic,unsweetened,shredded coconut once and it was great.Thanks for a healthy recipe that tastes just like the unhealthy version!
You’re welcome! That’s interesting and good to know that they can be eaten straight from the freezer. :) Thanks a bunch for your comment!
These look so good! Can I substitute canola oil for coconut oil in this recipe?
Thanks!
Thanks! And definitely. :) Hope you’ll enjoy them!
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! :)