I’ve been wanting to make gluten free Carrot Cupcakes for a while now. When I think of spring, I think of carrot cake and when I think of picnics and potlucks I think of carrot cake cupcake yumminess.
These little gluten free Carrot Cake Cupcakes are topped with my Creamy Cream Cheese Frosting, though if you’re looking for a vegan frosting option, you could go with my Coconut Cream Frosting.
My younger son loved these, though the whole family enjoyed them as well. In the spirit of my own personal cupcake month, I present you with, Carrot Cake Cupcakes!
- 1½ cups blanched almond flour (not almond meal)
- ½ teaspoon celtic sea salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 3 large eggs
- 2 tablespoons grapeseed oil or palm shortening
- ¼ cup agave nectar or honey
- 1½ cups carrots, grated
- ½ cup pecans, chopped
- In a large bowl, combine almond flour, salt, baking soda and cinnamon
- In a separate bowl, mix together eggs, oil and agave
- Stir carrots and pecans into wet ingredients
- Stir wet ingredients into dry
- Scoop a heaping ¼ cup batter into a paper lined muffin pan
- Bake at 325°F for 18 to 22 minutes
- Cool to room temperature and spread with Creamy Cream Cheese Frosting
- Serve
In banana news, the website Endless Simmer has a great post called 100 Things to Do with a Banana, which features my Roasted Banana Coconut Ice Cream. If you have some bananas sitting on the counter and are looking for inspiration, head on over to endlesssimmer.com.
I will be teaching a gluten free cooking class at the Whole Foods in Fort Collins, CO at 6:30pm, on Friday, June 25th. For more information please see their online store calendar. You can register by calling (970) 267-9200 or by visiting the guest service desk at Whole Foods.
Linda Kosha says
I am not too keen on frosting so I decided to make these muffins without the frosting and these were amazing! You can use these as breakfast muffins too. So glad i found Elana’s Pantry. So many great recipes!
Elana says
Linda, I’m so glad to meet you here! Thanks for letting me know these are amazing :-)
Coral Smith says
Have made these twice now! I didn’t use two basins but just added the eggs, oil( macadamia) and maple syrup to the dry ingredients in a large basin, mixed to combine and finally mixed in nuts and grated carrots.
A great recipe!! Thank you
Elana says
Coral, thanks for letting me know this is a great recipe! We love it too :-)
Megan says
These are delicious and so easy to make! I used maple syrup for sweetener because that’s what I had and they are a perfect way to use up the last winter carrots we had stored :). Thank you!
Elana says
Megan, thanks for letting me know these are delicious and easy to make!
Mindi says
What oils can be used rather than grapeseed oil.
Elana says
Mindi, here’s a link to one of my carrot cake recipes that does not use grapeseed oil:
https://elanaspantry.com/nut-free-paleo-carrot-cake/
Enjoy!
Elana
Bronwyn says
As usual, every recipe that appears on your site turns out perfectly. I used honey, almond flour (not too fine) and I added walnuts and sultanas. My icing is just cream cheese, maple syrup and a touch of vanilla. Absolutely brilliant. Again. You are a genius, thank you for all of your hard work!
Elana says
Bronwyn, thanks for your comment, I’m so glad we are on this healing path of healthy food together! And, I’m happy hear that every recipe you make from my website turns out perfectly!
Marthe says
Dear Elana,
I had to let you know how much my family enjoyed the carrot cake I made from your carrot cupcake recipe! I also made your cream cheese frosting. The cake was so moist and delicious that my son and his girlfriend, who don’t usually like cake, ate 2 pieces each! The cake was for my daughter’s birthday. She got to keep the leftover cake and even called me the next day to say how much she loved it. (She ate it for breakfast and lunch the next day!) ( I got her your Gluten-Free Almond Flour cookbook for her birthday! Thank you for sharing your wonderful recipes with us! xoxo
Elana says
Marthe, you’re welcome and happy birthday to your daughter! I’m so happy to be on this healing journey of eating healthy food with you and your family and I’m really glad everyone loved this recipe :-)
Joanne says
These are the best cupcakes – I love this recipe.
They are moist, lite, and not too sweet.
I used the creamy cream cheese frosting – fantastic.
I did freeze a couple of the cupcakes (without frosting) and
they thawed perfect were just as good as the day I made them!!
Thank you Elana!!
Elana says
Joanne, you’re welcome! I’m so glad to hear that you love this recipe and that these cupcakes are the best!
Kenda says
Hi Elana,
I have made these a few times, placed them in the freezer and, although they taste good, they become wet. I am guessing it is because they do not freeze well?
Kenda
Elana says
Hi Kenda, I haven’t tried freezing them, but I think with the carrot they may retain too much moisture to come out well after freezing. You might want to try leaving the muffins out overnight after they are baked, then wrapping in a paper towel, placing in a ziploc bag, and refrigerating. They should last for 2-3 days if stored this way.
Iris says
Thank you for this recipe! Perfect for my teen’s birthday who always asks for carrot cake. He loves these!
GaryB says
I’m on the candida diet and cannot have agave or honey due to the high sugar content. Is there anything you can recommend as a substitute?
Erin says
These are so simple to make. I used sunflower oil instead of grape seed and honey instead of agave. I find these have more of a muffin texture. Delicious!
merenda says
Love these cupcakes I have made them several different times over a period of years and no one realizes that they are made with almond flour and agave or honey. I have used both. I even added shredded unsweetened coconut and everyone loved it. I have also added a little ginger and cloves too. I use Bob Red Mill’s blanched finely ground almond meal – I do shift it but it as worked great. Thank you Elana!
Sara Flores says
I made these morning, I did not add the pecans because my husband does not like nuts in baked goods and I substituted agave nectar with maple syrup because I did not quite like the taste of the nectar. I also did not make the frosting because I wanted muffins. They are delicious!!! I don’t know if there would be a big difference in taste with the pecans. I think the recipe is delicious and very moist even with the changes.
Amy says
Made these this morning and frosted with coconut cream frosting. They looked and smelled delicious. I noticed after 2 or 3 bites that I had forgotten to add the carrots! Still tasty.
Lana says
haha..I did the same before! these are very tasty indeed. I make another variation of these where I skip on the flour and add almond butter and coconut milk instead. They end up very moist. But I agree these are great with or without carrots ;)
Jessica says
I just made these cupcakes and had to write a comment. I also made the coconut frosting and followed all the trial and errors your other readers faced. Both turned out amazing! I absolutely love them! Thank you!
Tina T.Englmayr says
Hi, this carrot cup cake recipe looks good. I am thinking of making it for my sons 4th b.day party but we don’t use agave because of it’s high fructose content, do you think organic whole sugar would work? :)
Heidi says
I made and ate 4 of these today! Ohmalord!
V. says
I don’t know you personally…only from your books, etc. But I just love your generous spirit. You have hit on a way of having Delisious!! Foods in a nutricious way and you share so wonderfully. Thank You:-)
Angel says
Hi Elena! Thanks for your recipe. I adapted it into a birthday cake and my friend loved it! He also appreciated that I made it gluten free for his girl friend. The cake is so moist and no one could tell that I used almond meal instead of regular flour. Thanks again for the great recipe!
Anna says
Elana – I simply LOVE your recipes and have enjoyed lots of your gluten free goodies since discovering your blog recently! However…here in the UK I find it very hard to find some ingredients…such as grapeseed oil. Any suggestions for a substitution or does it simply not work? Thanks so much!
Debbie Smith says
I just made these, and they’re wonderful! I followed the recipe exactly. They’re so moist and delicious! You’d never know they were gluten-free. Thanks!
Anita Gaer says
The batter is so dry. Am I missing some liquid of some kind?
Thanks!
Anita
Amy says
I made these and they are absolutely wonderful. The kids LOVE them as well. I have packed one for my son’s lunch everyday. He says “don’t forget my carrot cupcake!” We recently are transitioning over to a wheat/gluten free diet and recipes like this make it so easy!!! Thanks so much. I also added raisins and chopped pecans to contrast the textures and it turned out wonderful.
Anita Gaer says
Amy,
Was the batter dry similar to a crumble crust? I’m not sure what I am missing.
Thanks – Anita
Patti says
My 8 year old (picky) son and I LOVE these! I should probably double the recipe next time, as they never last long., will be a lunchbox staple this year for sure! We don’t ice them, just eat as muffins.
Samantha says
As soon as I get some more xylitol, I am so making this!
Traci says
I made these for a cookout and they were delicious! I substituted expeller pressed organic coconut oil for the grapeseed oil and added 1/3 cup crushed pineapple with juice. It made 12 cupcakes. We are casein free also so I iced them with a frosting made up of powdered sugar, Spectrum organic palm shortening, vanilla and a coconut milk.
Lauren B says
Your mini muffins look lovely, Elana! I linked to them from my own version. Glad to be back checking your site regularly again! Beautiful treats, as always. :)
Heidi says
I am new to paleo and this was the first recipe I tried from your site. Honestly, I was shocked. These are soooo good! I even like them with no icing at all. Gave some to my pregnant friend because she needs to cut sugar and she and her husband loved them. Thanks for a great recipe.
holga says
these look great, my son really likes carrot cake, I’ll have to give these a try!
Brandon Nolte says
These are unbelievably good. I made these with my mom last night and we used olive oil instead of grapeseed and honey instead of agave. They were amazing. The batch of 10 didn’t last more than two days. I love your recipes Elana. Keep them coming!
Brandon
Pat Thames says
Elana, I tried to make a gluten free pound cake. It is delicious, but made a total mess of my oven. I probably lost half of the cake in what looked like a volcanic eruption. I substituted Almond flour for plain flour. I am thinking maybe one should drastically reduce any oil when using Almond or Coconut flour.
In short, I am even more thankful for all of your recipes. You have removed the guess work. Pat
Mariana says
Thank you Elana for this easy, tasty recipe. It was perfect for using up the pulp from my juicer (easily work with beet and apple mixed in with the carrot). I like that there is so little sugar and only needs 1 1/2 cups of almost flour.
Natalie Calabretta says
I was wondering what the purpose of the grapeseed oil is? I am on a low-sugar, high fat, low carb. diet. I have to stay away from grapes. Is there anything I can substitute it with?
Thanks:)
Stacy says
Thank you for this wonderful recipe Elana. Tested the recipe tonight. Plan to make them for my niece’s 1 year b-day party this weekend. She has a gluten/dairy allergy. Tinted the coconut cream frosting orange and made them look like jollay pumpkins by cutting organic fruit leather for pumpkin’s faces. Too cute! Thanks!
Jose says
Just made these and they’re great. I kicked up the cinnamon a bit but no other changes. If you’re a carrot cake fanatic like my wife and I are, you should definitely make these!
Amber Baley says
Just found your website, and have already ordered your cookbook! I made these muffins tonight as my first attempt at gluten free baking and they are AMAZING! :)
Paige says
OMG, these look amazing and made with healthy things I can eat! Just found you this a.m. and I’m looking forward to perusing your recipes.
voleide says
I JUST LOVE YOUR GREAT WEB SITE !!!!!CONGRATULATION !!!!!!!!!!!!!
sherri says
Oh my goodness, these were fabulous. I made them last night and they were a big hit. I did add a few raisins to the mix and exchanged the pecans for walnuts, because that is what I had. Yum! Thanks for a great recipe.
carrie says
CRAVING cupcakes!!! I’ve been wanting cupcakes all weekend long. I think it’s all your fault Elana! :-) And now, I think I’m going to head to my kitchen and make these RIGHT now!
Amy @ Simply Sugar & Gluten Free says
Carrot Cupcakes were my first gluten-free baking success – and one of my first posts. :) Near and dear to my heart. I love, love, love them and they’re always a hit with everyone. Everyone who’s baked my recipe loves them, too. I use less flour but the same amount of carrots and pecans and, of course, cream cheese frosting. What else would one use? Great minds, huh??
Saw that your book is still going strong. Congrats, Elana. You’ve worked so hard and deserve the success!
Cynthia Corby says
I love your site, Elana.!
I’ve only been eating gluten free for a year, now. I feel so much better.
However, I never gave up my carrot cake and adapted Grandma’s recipe with
much success. I do want to try substituting agave or stevia instead of sugar for a friend of mine.We’ll see how that goes…Thanks!
Karina says
all of these cupcakes look delicious, but how about, orange cream cupcakes or maybe even pineapple upside down cupcakes or apple cinnamon cupcakes…there are so many endless flavors!
Mia says
Our favorite, favorite, favorite! My 6 year old son told my 8 year old son when they came out of the oven: “man, you gotta smell these!”
I subbed honey for agave and olive oil (for baking) for grapeseed. I also piped the cream cheese frosting (made with cream cheese, sour cream, and honey) out of the clipped edge of a ziploc baggy. They looked so professional I am planning to make them for my oldest son’s graduation party next month.
Yipee!
Jenn AKA The Leftover Queen says
Awesome recipe – definitely going to try it!
rebecca at riceretoad says
your recipes seem great for my new cooking and baking habbits but when i print them they come out really small what should i do.?????:(
Margaret says
Up at the top of your page is FORMAT
Go there and change the size of your letters and your font if desired
You can also put your recipes on WORDPAD for easier printing
Lisamarie says
That sounds yummy. My creative 7 year old daughter and I are going to try this with some pineapple and candied ginger in the batter and some orange zest in the frosting. Can’t wait!!!
Kari says
I make carrot cake muffins with your carrot cake recipe from your book all the time. One batch makes 12 muffins and I use two mashed bananas instead of using the agave. They are spectacular!
Cindy says
I’m trying similar swaps in a lot of my cookie and muffin recipes. Bananas and applesauce are such a wonderful substitute :)
Felicia says
ahh…good idea! we used honey, but i would love to try this next…..did you do half applesauce half banana??
Alta says
My favorite! With your coconut cream frosting these would be awesome!
Primal Toad says
Thoose look fabulous! Keep the muffin recipes coming :)
Felicia says
We made them this weekend!! and they were so yummy and moist!
but we used honey!!
Brandon May says
I was just thinking about you posting a Carrot Cupcake recipe, and lo and behold, you did! This is awesome; thank you.
Leigh says
thank you for the yummy looking cupcakes. any suggestions for a substitution for the blueberries?
aimee says
YAY! thank you Elana! i will make these this weekend. i might try using zucchini too- i still have shredded in my freezer from last season’s blitz!
and OH! i wish i still lived in Ft. Collins! are you coming to upstate New York any time soon???? :)
Cindy says
Thanks Elana –
Thanks for all of these yummy cupcake recipes. I love carrot cake. And I regularly use ripe bananas for dessert, whether it be my Quinnana Cookies or a fruit sorbet in my vitamix (banana and blueberries is a favorite). I also use coconut milk quite a bit when making my sorbet/ice creams.
Wendy says
Any ideas for a dairy free topping for these cupcakes?
Thanks!
Lisa Stafford says
Coconut cream frosting is a great alternative to the cream cheese frosting.
kelly says
That is so funny! I almost made carrot cake cupcakes this morning myself! :-) Yours sound wonderful!
?, Kelly