Paleo Carrot Cake Muffins (Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free, No Refined Sugar)
Published
Grain-free never tasted better! These easy and super moist Paleo carrot cake muffins will satisfy your carrot cake cravings. Made with simple and healthy ingredients. Gluten-free, dairy-free, grain-free and no refined sugar.
Paleo Recipes
My husband and I are trying to follow a Paleo diet to see if it will help improve some of our health issues. Paleo simply means gluten-free, grain-free, dairy-free and no refined sugar. So, I have been experimenting with more Paleo recipes.
My husband ADORES carrot cake; so much so, that it was the flavor of our wedding cake. So, I knew I wanted to create a Paleo version of his favorite Gluten-Free Carrot Cake.
Paleo grain-free baking is different than gluten-free baking, especially the texture. The texture of almond flour is much denser than baking with rice flour. Even though it’s different from your traditional gluten-free baking, it’s a tasty different.
Paleo Carrot Cake Muffins
I love how moist these Paleo carrot cake muffins turned out. They are deliciously spiced with a perfect balance of sweet carrots and raisins, pecans, and the light, delicate flavor of coconut.
I promise if you close your eyes while eating these muffins you would swear that you were eating carrot cake!
These muffins are not just for breakfast but are just sweet enough to be served as a gluten-free dessert. I hope you enjoy them as much as my family does
More Paleo Muffin Recipes!
- Paleo Banana Blueberry Muffins
- Paleo Chocolate Muffins
- Paleo Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins
- Paleo Chocolate Chip Pecan Pie Muffins
Looking for more Paleo recipes?
- Paleo Chocolate Fudge Cupcakes
- Crispy Chicken Thighs One-Pan Meal {Gluten-Free, Paleo, Whole30, AIP}
- Paleo Pesto Turkey Meatballs
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Paleo Carrot Cake Muffins (Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free, No Refined Sugar)
Ingredients
- 2 cups almond flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon gluten-free baking powder
- 1/4 cup honey
- 3 eggs, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon lemon peel
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1 cup shredded carrot, 1 large carrot
- 1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
- 1/4 cup raisins
- 1/4 cup chopped pecans
- Additional chopped pecans and coconut for topping, optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a large bowl add the wet ingredients first (eggs, applesauce, pure vanilla extract, and honey) then add the dry ingredients (almond flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon peel). Mix until fully combined.
- Add shredded carrots, coconut, pecans, and raisins to almond flour mixture and stir until fully combined.
- Scoop batter into a lined muffin pan. The batter will be thick. (I like to use an ice cream scoop.)
- Top muffins with chopped pecans and coconut. (optional)
- Bake for 23-26 minutes. Please watch your oven because all ovens are different.
- Remove and check centers with a toothpick to see if they are done.
- Allow to cool before serving.
- Store in an airtight container.
- Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
What measurement for the nutmeg?
teaspoon 🙂
These are so good! I’ve made them and added cream cheese frosting for a healthier dessert and I’ve cut the honey in half for breakfast muffins. Mine cook in 20 minutes but they are always wonderful!
These muffins are amazing! I just made them and they turned out so well. I subbed almost 1/4cup coconut sugar instead of honey and used about 6 medjool dates chopped up instead of the coconut and the raisins and I used chopped walnuts instead of pecans. Turned out perfect. Would bake them for less than 25 mins… more like 22mins. Thanks for your amazing recipes. I love baking with Almond (or nut) flours it works great for me being celiac.
Thank you so much for the recipe for these muffins. They are so delicious. I am very limited in what I can eat and this ticks all the boxes and yet still tastes so yummy. Unfortunately I have to share them as my husband loves them too. They freeze very well too so I can make a couple of batches at one time and have them available whenever I want them. Awesome. Thank you.
Hi I triedy it I added maple syrup instead of honey, added 1 tbsp flax seed, ¹/2 cup oats, 2 tbs brewers yeast, 1 tsp pumpkin spice and 1/4 cup brown sugar..turned out delish! Ohh also added 3oz of breast milk since they are for my little toddler.. Loved them! Thank you so much super MOIST and soft and healthy!
Made these the other day and they turned out so good! I used maple syrup instead of honey and omitted the nuts and raisins so my toddler can eat them too. Only thing I noticed is that the next day some of the carrot bits turned green?! So weird. I picked them out of the muffins and they still taste fine but wondering what could have caused that?
Hi Lou and thanks for the awesome recipe review! I am so happy that you all enjoyed the muffins. I have never had carrots turn green, so I don’t know what could have caused that. THanks again!
I read online that: “Carrots turn green when the batter contains too much baking soda, or when the soda isn’t evenly mixed in the batter. Carrots contain pigments that are sensitive to changes in pH balance.” Who knew?!
These were absolutely delicious! Very moist without being wet/uncooked. My son and I made a cream cheese frosting for the top (mainly so my hubby would eat them). I’m saving this recipe to make later. Thank you! (they’re better than my Mom’s, which aren’t paleo).
Thank you so much Brenda for the awesome 5-star recipe review! I am so happy that you and your family enjoyed the muffins and that you will be making them again. It made my day to hear that they were better than your Mom’s. You are so welcome, I love sharing the recipe that I make for my family. Thanks again!
This is better than any “glutened” carrot cake! I followed the recipe exactly and they turned out amazing. I added some coconut cream frosting and whoa nelly, amazing!
Thank you so much Shayna for the awesome 5-star recipe review! I am so happy that you enjoyed the carrot cake and it was amazing. I’ll have to try adding cocnut cream to the frosting, that sound so yummy. Thanks again!
These were a huge hit at my son’s preschool (where snacks must be no-refined-sugar). My toddler loves them too and they make the perfect on-the-go snack for her.
Thank you so much Martha for the wonderful 5-star recipe review! It makes my heart so happy to hear that these muffins were a hit your son’s preschool and your daughter loves them too. Thank you again!
Wow what delicious muffins! I’ve tried so many “healthy/ gluten sugar free” muffin recipes before yet they always came out too dry, not sweet enough, no flavour etc… this recipe is perfect! My husband and I aren’t big raisin/ nut fans so we left those out, and I added apple chunks and used mashed banana instead of apple sauce because we didn’t have any. They were so awesome! Thanks for the recipe.. found it on Pinterest!
Thank you so much Chels for the awesome 5-star recipe review! I am so happy that you enjoyed the muffins. Thank you for sharing what modifications you used in the recipe, as I know it will help others. You are so welcome, I love sharing what I make for my family. Thanks again!