This Paleo Carrot Kugel recipe is made with 7 healthy ingredients. All you need for it is carrots, eggs, almond flour, honey, cinnamon, nutmeg, and orange zest. We love serving this healthy kugel for Jewish holidays, especially at Passover.
What is kugel? Kugel is a Yiddish word that describes a sweet or savaory baked pudding or casserole. This type of dish is typically made of egg noodles or potatoes. I made mine with carrots. Why? I was diagnosed with celiac disease in 1998. At that point I went on a strict gluten-free diet. That diet eliminated egg noodles. Then, in 2001, I went grain-free and gave up all forms of potatoes. So that eliminated potato kugel for me. Since we love kugel, I created this Paleo Carrot Kugel for my family, and made sure it was something I could eat too.
In case you’re wondering, potatoes are a paleo food, they’re just something I choose not to eat. I cannot digest them well, so this makes sense for me. So, Paleo Carrot Kugel is the answer!
Carrot Kugel
Ingredients
- 5-6 cups chopped carrots, approximately 2 pounds
- ¼ cup honey or agave nectar
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon orange rind
- 3 large eggs
- ¼ cup blanched almond flour (not almond meal)
Instructions
- Cook carrots in a steamer until soft, about 20 minutes
- In a vitamix, puree carrots, honey, nutmeg, cinnamon, orange rind, eggs, and almond flour
- Place mixture in a greased 8 x 8 inch baking dish
- Bake at 350°F for 1 hour, until browned around the edges and done in the center
- Serve warm out of the oven, or allow to cool, then refrigerate overnight and serve cold
This healthy kugel recipe was inspired by a carrot souffle recipe from one of my readers, Lisa Stafford.
I hope you like this Paleo Carrot Kugel recipe as much as we do. Here are some of my other Paleo Passover recipes!
Robin says
The first time I followed the recipe as is, and it was yummy, although the orange zest was a slightly sour taste for my 6 year old, she couldn’t place it. But serving it with butter and cinnamon and salt on it, she ate it and liked it. Also, I wrapped individual portions in plastic wrap and froze them and they were great after being frozen too in case anyone is curious. Just made this for the second time tonight and omitted the zest, used 2T. honey, 2T. butter, and added 1/2t. salt, and some fresh basil and thyme, OMG it was awesome! It weirdly enough tasted sweeter than the original recipe and tasted almost like pumpkin pie. Even my husband who absolutely hates carrots ate it and liked it. Both of my kids loved it too, and it didn’t need any additional butter or seasonings on it. This is a great way to use up lots of carrots, and is super yummy!
Elana says
Robin, so glad that your kids loved this :-)
Ailuy says
Hi, just came across this recipe and would love to make it but do not have any Passover almond flour. Do you think this wil work with coconut flour?
Elana says
Ailuy, thanks for your comment. For more info on why coconut flour and almond flour are very different see this post:
https://elanaspantry.com/paleo-baking-almond-flour-vs-coconut-flour/
Elana
Riva says
Could this be frozen ahead of time, or would it be watery ?
Thanks so much
Elana says
Riva, I haven’t tried that so not sure. If you try freezing this please let us know how it goes.
Andi Straus says
I made this a few days ago for the Seder and am only sorry I didn’t double the recipe because I would have LOVED to try it cold for breakfast the next day but it was all gone. I don’t have a Vita Mix so used a stick blender which worked fine. It doesn’t come out crumbly as it appears in the picture accompanying the recipe, or at least it didn’t when I made it. I reduced the nutmeg a bit, not crazy about it since it seems to overpower everything else.
Anyway, thanks Elana for another great recipe! Everyone agreed I need to bring it again next year and next time more of it.
Elana says
You’re welcome Andi!
Suzi Fisher says
I just made this in preparation for my Passover Seder. I took a tiny taste and it is delicious. I doubled the recipe because I am having a large crowd. Love having options for my Gluten Free guests. Most of these recipes can be easily adapted to Passover restrictions. I am so glad I will not have to eat any potato starch this year! Thanks!
Elana says
So glad you liked it Suzi!
Rica says
I decided to make this b/c I had carrots that needed to be used up. Instead of the sweetener you recommend, I used Lauren at Healthy Indulgences.net homemade Truvia recipe, which is 1/8 tsp. pure stevia and 1/4 C. Erythritol. It was a bit sweet for my tastes, but then 3 days later I brought in the rest to work, and everyone loved them! They said it tasted like pumpkin pie! Someone even told me it was the best thing they had ever eaten. ….well, I might just need to make these again sometime. Thanks for the recipe Elana and keep up the good work!
Elana says
You’re welcome Rica!
Christine says
I just made this today, and it tastes amazing. I can’t wait to try it again with sweet potatoes. I used 1/4 cup of gluten free flour because I didn’t have almond flour and it came out fine. I also don’t have a vitamix, and my puny little blender did nothing, so I beat the steamed carrots with a potato masher. It ended up slightly chunkier than I would prefer, but a little more beating would have helped with that. Just some added info for anyone who might want it. :)
Deborah says
Wow – this was heavenly! Thank you!!
Cristina Leivas says
My daughter currently can’t have almonds, dairy, and oils. Wonder if this recipe can be substituted with coconut, brown rice, or another flour instead of almond? Can you suggest another flour to use for now? Thank you….love your recipes!
Cristy Vanwart says
OH my hubby loves! loves! loves! carrot souffle- ( so do all the other members of our family- even my 1 year old!) and this is an awesome version- MUCH less “teeth curlingly sweet” than most recipes you find for it- I did add my own spin on it- just because that’s how I roll:-) I added 2T finely chopped crystalized ginger and 1 tsp ground corriander- I cut the nutmeg back by 1/2- it is very good as well- corriander, ginger and carrots marry very well together! We will be eating this tonight for passover- can’t wait! (I will probably eat it for breakfast tomorrow am too) YUM! Thanks so much for sharing this great new kugel recipe it’s a keeper for sure! Cristy