If you like to avoid grains in your home cooking, this carrot cake muffin recipe is a good grain-free option which you can give a try.

These carrot cake muffins are grain-free, dairy-free, and free of refined sugar. The grated carrots keep them moist, but not dense, and the maple syrup and honey give them light sweetness from a natural source.

Feel free to top with a frosting, I personally, have never been a fan of any toppings on muffins. I am simply not used to it and therefore don’t miss it. Elena Amsterdam has a great collection of different dairy-free toppings on her blog called Elena’s Pantry which you can find here.

You wonder why this recipe is healthier than regular muffins made with wheat flour?

Almond flour is incredibly nutritious. It’s particularly rich in vitamin E and magnesium, two important nutrients for health. Refined flour is stripped of its fiber, nutrients, and fats. Therefore the carbohydrates in flour are too fast converted into simple sugar molecules and enter our bloodstream to quickly. The result, spikes in blood glucose levels, followed by rapid drops, which can leave you tired, hungry and craving foods high in sugar and calories.

Conversely, almond flour is low in carbs yet high in healthy fats and fiber.

These properties give it a low glycemic index, meaning it releases sugar slowly into your blood to provide a sustained source of energy.

Wheat flour contains a protein called gluten. People with celiac disease can’t tolerate gluten, but it turns out that there is also a problem with other proteins in wheat which does cause problems in people who aren’t diagnosed with celiac disease. Inflammation, leaky gut, allergies, gastrointestinal symptoms, autoimmune disease, impaired brain function, and imbalanced gut flora are some of the problems which can be caused by some proteins in wheat.

Coconut flour is high in fiber, protein, and healthy fats which supports digestion and balances blood glucose.

Carrot Cake Muffins

Serves: makes 6 muffins

Cooking Time: 15 min prep + 20 minutes baking

Ingredients

• 125g | 1 1/4 cup blanched almond meal
• 15g | 2 tbsp coconut flour
• 1/2 tbsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 - 1 tsp pumpkin spice (or spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and clove)
• 2 large eggs
• 20g olive oil
• 10g MCT oil
• 20g coconut oil, melted
• 50g maple syrup
• 50g honey
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 75g | 1-2 medium carrots, grated

Instructions

1

Preheat oven to 170C/340F.

2

Mix all dry ingredients, almond flour, coconut flour, salt, spices, and baking powder.

3

In a separate bowl mix wet ingredients. eggs, oils, sweetener and vanilla.

4

After blending wet and dry ingredients together add the grated carrots.

5

Fill into cupcake or muffin cups.

6

Bake until the top is getting a nice brown colour for around 20-25 minutes depending on baking cup size.

Notes

I like to use different oils and sweetener blended together. You might also use only one kind of oil and sweetener. The batter is more on the dry side when filling into baking cups. Double the ingredients to make a full tray of 12 muffins.

I hope your family like these carrot cake muffins! I have baked them multiple times and they turn out soft and fluffy every time. Feel free to share the recipe with family and friends!