Almond Flour Carrot Muffins
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 that already calls for that.
Can I add walnuts, raisins or pineapple?
I’ve tried it out with 1/3 cup of raisins and 1/4 cup of walnuts. That worked great.
One commenter mentioned using crushed pineapple, but didn’t follow up to specify the amount added or any other adjustments made.
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
Ingredients
For the carrot muffins:
- 1 1/4 cups (125 grams) finely ground 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 grams each, out of shell, room temperature
- 1/3 cup (75 grams) refined coconut oil melted
- 1/3 cup (106 grams) honey or maple syrup
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup (50 grams) grated carrots
- 3 tablespoons finely chopped walnuts optional
For the optional cream cheese frosting:
- 2 ounces (56 grams) cream cheese
- 4 teaspoons maple syrup
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- a dash of salt
Instructions
- 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.1 1/4 cups (125 grams) finely ground 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
- In a large bowl, mix together the eggs, oil, honey or maple syrup, and vanilla.2 large eggs, 1/3 cup (75 grams) refined coconut oil, 1/3 cup (106 grams) honey, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- Add the dry mix to the wet mix just until combined and then gently fold in the grated carrots.1/2 cup (50 grams) grated carrots
- Divide the batter evenly among the liners (about 62 grams per liner) and top with chopped walnuts, if using.3 tablespoons finely chopped walnuts
- 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.2 ounces (56 grams) cream cheese, 4 teaspoons maple syrup, 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract, a dash of salt
- 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
- If you use unrefined coconut oil there may be some coconut taste to the muffins.
- I recommend finely shredding the carrots unless you like noticeable shreds of carrots in your muffins.
- The nutrition information provided is calculated as a courtesy and is only an estimate. I am not a licensed nutritionist or dietitian. For the most accurate nutritional data, consult a professional or use your preferred calculator. Values don’t include any optional ingredients.
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! :)