It’s springtime in Alaska, which ultimately means blizzard like conditions. I keep painting my toenails and wearing my flip flops around the house hoping it will improve the weather outside. No such luck. oh well… I tried! 😉
Outside may definitely still look like winter, but inside… inside it’s springtime full speed ahead!
I’m really excited to share this recipe with you! These healthy and Delicious Paleo Carrot Cake Muffins are heavenly. They are moist and flavorful, yet not too sweet or too oily. Perfect for a quick breakfast or snack, and they are 100% kid approved by the Ancheta girls.
Oh! And you can thank me later for the instant potpourri. These muffins will fill your home with the wonderful aroma of cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger while they are baking (and who doesn’t love that?).
Grain Free Carrot Cake Muffins
Yields 15 muffins
1 ½ cups blanched almond flour, gently packed
¼ cup coconut flour
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
¾ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon sea salt
4 eggs, at room temperature
¾ cup apple sauce, at room temperature
⅓ cup runny honey
¼ cup coconut oil, just melted
1 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups grated carrots
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F).
- In a large mixing bowl combine the almond meal, coconut flour, cinnamon, baking soda, nutmeg, ginger, and sea salt.
- In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, apple sauce, honey, coconut oil, and vanilla.
- Carefully stir the wet ingredients into the dry, and mix until just combined. Fold in the grated carrots.
- Divide the dough into 15 paper lined muffin tins and then bake for 20 – 24 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.
- Remove the muffins from the tins and place on metal racks to cool.
So what’s the weather like where you are?
Enjoy!
xo,
Megan
AmityShay says
These look amazing I cannot wait to try!!!!!! Love love love. Will buy almond& coconut flour tomorrow! And share your lovely creation! Isn’t recipe writing, like giving birth through your soul, love it!
Beth says
These would be totally good with coconut butter drizzled over the top 🙂
Vicky says
Wow! These look good Megan! Yum, yum, yum! I love carrot cakes and this is another to add to my collection of recipes! I will share later on my Afternoon tea FB page xo
amber says
Oh wow, Meg. These look fantastic!!! Great recipe.
Laura @ Gluten Free Pantry says
These muffins look divine Megan! We just finished three weeks of nonstop guests at our house. I hope I can get back to the kitchen now and start playing around with almond and coconut flours again soon. In the meantime, I am going to follow this recipe and whip me up some amazing carrot cake muffins. Thanks pretty lady for another fantastic recipe!
Debbie says
Thanks Megan!
Can’t wait to try your recipe. I love coconut oil and flour and use them often!
You asked about the weather here? In Wisconsin…Well even though it is spring…it sure feels like weather yet as we just experienced storm Helen and she was ice and rain! Lots of people were with out electricity for a major part of the day. We were one of the lucky ones!
Miz Helen says
Hi Megan,
Your Carrot Cake Muffins look delicious! Thank you so much for sharing with Full Plate Thursday and hope to see you again soon!
Miz Helen
Jyoti says
Can these be made with egg replacer? Looks delish! Thanks for sharing.
Megan says
Hi Jyoti,
No, I’m afraid using egg replacer will not work in this recipe.
Megan
RoseAG says
Ok, that owl mug is absolutely adorable! I gotta get one for me and my owl-obsessed girlfriend. Where did you find it? Do you know the company/brand?
p.s. The carrot cake muffins would be totally yum with a cup of chia tea (in my very own owl mug!) 🙂
Megan says
Hi Rose! Yes, I love my owl mug! They make a tea set too that my hubby got me for my birthday. Are you here in Alaska? If so, you can buy them at Summit Tea and Spice Company. If you are not local, you can also buy them online via Amazon. 🙂 Megan
RoseAG says
Thanks Megan! I live in the DC area. Sorry I can’t visit the tea and spice shop – I could have done some major damage there! Thank goodness for Amazon!
Katie @ Produce on Parade says
Talk about a crazy spring we had, huh?? In the Palmer area it snowed like mad! Of course it all melted and now the green grass is starting to poke through! 🙂
Megan says
Hi Katie! I’m so glad you found me! I’m not far from you (Wasilla). I don’t think we got as much snow as Palmer, but we got enough. Lol. Bring on summer!! 🙂
Megan
Nikki says
OMGG–Oh My Good Golly!!! These are super tasty…just took them out of the oven. Thanks for the great recipe.
Megan says
You are welcome! I’m glad you enjoyed them, Nikki!
😉 Megan
Nikki says
Making them again. Using fresh carrots out of my garden and doubled the recipe this time. These were soooooo good!!!!!
Megan says
Yeah – and double yeah for fresh carrots from the garden! 😉 Thanks so much for sharing – I’m so glad you like them! 🙂
Helen Brindell says
These look wonderful. Could this batter be baked in a 9in. round pan as a gluten free cake?
Megan says
Hi Helen! I’m not sure because I haven’t tried baking it in a cake round.
🙂 Megan
Theresa says
Hi Megan-
Thought you’d like to know- I just placed these muffins in my oven in Johannesburg , South Africa! Thanks so much for sharing the recipe- I have been searching for a suitable recipe that is not too dry and this one is perfect!! (I particularly like the fact that it has only a small quantity of the pineapple flour… My previous attempts with more of this flour have not been successfull) The weather in Johannesburg today is a bit chilly (it IS winter) but our chilly is nowhere near your chilly! note- I’m going to hunt down some sugar free apple sauce – unfortunately the one made with sugar was all I could find-
Julie says
I just made these and they turned out fantastic! Followed the directions and ingredients except I didn’t have apple sauce so I grated a 3/4 cup of fresh apple with skin. Thank you for the recipe! I have been missing breads and these muffins have satisfied me completely.
Megan says
That’s fantastic! You’re very welcome, Julie! Glad you enjoyed them. 🙂
Megan
Christine says
Hi Megan,
I had some organic carrots left over in the fridge and did not know what I was going to do with them, it was not an option to throw them into the trash, so I went to the web just to look for recipes and I came across yours. I grated those carrots and ended up with 8 cups so I took and used my foodsaver to vacuum seal 4 bags, 2 cups each and placed them in the freezer, I love the smell of spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger in the fall, it just makes the home smell so good and what makes it even better I already have all the ingredients in my cabinets so I can’t wait to make these, thanks for a great recipe!!!!
Megan says
You are so welcome, Christine! 😉 Enjoy them!
Megan
Aisha says
Hi Megan,
I baked these babies twice and they were DEEEEEELISH. Two questions,
1. The applesauce you call for – should it be sweetend or unsweetened? I’m following this recipe for making my own applesauce http://www.paleocupboard.com/applesauce.html
2. Are the muffins supposed to be oily on the outside? I love that they are super moist from the inside.
Thanks a lot again for sharing this recipe – these are my favorite for sure!
Megan says
Hi Aisha,
I’m so happy you enjoyed them! 🙂
1. Unsweetened applesauce! Thank you so much for catching that and sorry I wasn’t clear (I’ll go back and update my directions).
2. They will be a little oily on the outside, but shouldn’t be overwhelmingly so. Almond flour baked goods tend to be a little bit more on the oily side – this is because of the natural oils found in the almond itself.
Thank you so much, and you’re VERY welcome!
Hugs,
Megan
Jess says
Hi Megan! I stumbled on this recipe while searching for a healthy paleo muffin recipe, and I’m so glad I found it and your blog! I’m currently eating a mostly paleo diet as part of my journey to heal my gut and recover from chronic fatigue. I’m always very interested to hear other people’s stories of regaining their health through dietary changes and I’m so happy to read how diet has helped you.
Anyway, I made these muffins last night and they were fantastic! I look forward to trying more of your grain-free recipes!
mart says
Do you think I could substitute pumpkin or banana for the applesauce? Or do you have other suggestions for skipping the applesauce? My house can’t have apples, due to FructMal. Thanks – I would love to make these.
Megan says
I would think pumpkin, banana, or even pear puree would possibly work (but I haven’t tried it myself).
😉 Megan
Tara says
I have replaced applesauce in other muffin recipes with chia gel with happy results!
Amanda says
Yes! You can replace the applesauce with a banana. I didn’t have any so I had to sub a banana and it turned out amazing!
Megan says
That’s awesome! Thanks for sharing, Amanda!
Mercedes says
Hi Megan,
Do you think this recipe would work if the almond flour is replaced? We also deal with nut allergies 🙁
If so, which GF flour(s) would you recommend to substitute it with? We are ok with coconut
Thank you!
Megan says
Hi Mercedes,
I wouldn’t recommend replacing the almond flour in this recipe. Almond flour acts much differently than a typical gluten free flour. It’s very high in fat, so there would be other compensations you’d have to make to convert this recipe to almond flour-free. I think you’d be better off finding another recipe already written as gluten-free (not grain free). ;( Sorry!!
Megan
Mercedes says
Thanks Megan
Cassidy @ Cassidy's Craveable Creations says
These look absolutely delicious Megan!!! I can’t wait for spring too – we live in Oklahoma and we have a nice day once or twice a week just to tease us! I’m so tired of the cold, dreary weather, carrot cake muffins might be just the fix 🙂
-Cassidy
Donna says
The weather here is insane just sitting out tropical cyclone “ita” in Cairns, Queensland Australia.
Thanks for the recipe.
Donna
Helen says
I made these yesterday and they were delicious! Came out just like the picture, and even my 8 1/2 year old daughter loved them! My husband ate 2 for dessert. Its a great recipe that actually works and looks like your picture! Many Thanks!!!
Jennifer says
Hi Megan,
I’m still very new to Gluten Free and this recipe looks amazing! I can’t wait to try it.
Right now I’m staying off of all sugars, including Honey. If I substituted the honey with Stevia, how much would I need to use?
Thanks,
Jennifer
Megan says
Hi Jennifer,
I don’t recommend making these without the honey. Honey not only helps bind the ingredients together, but it provides moisture. Removing it from the recipe would result in very dry, nearly non-edible muffins. 🙁 If you need sugar free, I recommend you look specifically for recipes written using stevia. You might try my friend, Ricki Heller’s, website. She has several recipes using stevia.
Good luck!
Megan
Marykay says
I know this is an older recipe but I just found it via Pinterest. I made these last week for Easter and they were a hit even with the relatives who usually eat regular carrot cake. The kids enjoyed them so much we are making a double batch tonight and plan to freeze some to have on hand later. Thanks so much for sharing!!!
Diane says
Hi,
My husband and I are from New Zealand, and have not long started on our paleo journey, I made these muffins for a treat and both hubby and myself loved them… thank you
Stephanie says
These were so good! I substituted out the carrots for a mixture of sweet potato, orange and carrot pulp that I had left over from a juice I made. They took care of my sweet tooth and allowed me to use food that normally gets thrown away!
Anne Walton says
Can i make this batter into a cake?
Megan says
Hi Anne,
I’ve never tried it before, so I’m not sure if it will work or not.
Megan
Danielle @ Poor and Gluten Free says
These look sooo good, Megan! I’d love for you to share them on the Waste Not Want Not Wednesday party over at http://poorandglutenfree.blogspot.ca/ 🙂
Bryan says
after purchasing all of the ingredients i discovered that the place where i was baking did not have a muffin tin…so i did what any good baker worth their weight in almond flour would do…i improvised…and converted the recipe to a loaf! it was incredibly good! i only modified the baking time for an additional half hour. i baked it in a standard loaf pan. this was amazing! it was certainly moist, however. had i known the moisture content would have been so high i would have used only 1/2 c of applesauce, but, nonetheless, it was great. the moisture content was balanced out perfectly with a superior crust!
Maryanne Jacobsen says
These were wonderful- moist and tasty! I replaced the almond flour with raw almonds that I ground in the the food processor. Gave the muffins a really nice crunch. We juice regularly and I save the remains of the carrots in the fridge in a zip-lock bag. That’s what I used instead of grated carrots. Thanks for the recipe. Will definitely be making these again!
Molly says
Hi, do you think I could use maple syrup instead of honey? Thanks!
Megan says
Absolutely, Molly!
Brook says
It’s a snowy day here in the blue ridge mountains and I stumbled upon this amazing recipe! The flavors are perfect for a special treat or alongside my morning smoothie. Thanks for posting!
April says
Can these be frozen? How should they be stored? Thanks so much.
Megan says
I’ve never frozen these before, but I wouldn’t hesitate to try it. I’d wrap each individually, and then freeze in a large sealable bag. 😉
Jan says
I was wanting to bake some of the carrot cake muffins ahead of having company and freeze them. I scrolled through several comments and don’t see where anyone said they were good frozen and warmed in the microwave. Maybe it is because they don’t last long because they are so yummy. I added pecans and raisins to mine. Would someone let me know if they have tried freezing them.
Mēgan says
Hi Jan,
Hahaha. I think you hit the nail on the head! I’ve never tried freezing these because they never last long. 😉 That said, I’ve frozen other almond flour muffins and they freeze and thaw beautifully. So I’d imagine these would also do well.