These grain-free Paleo Chocolate Cupcakes are absolutely perfect for birthday celebrations. Because so many of you have nut allergies, I decided this had to be a nut-free cupcake recipe! Be sure to check out my Nut-Free Recipes page if you are on a nut-free diet, or if your children go to a school with a nut-free food policy.
Made with coconut oil, these cupcakes are also a fabulous dairy-free dessert. While I’ve been on a strict grain-free diet since 2001, my recipes continue to evolve within the grain-free genre, as I learn more about various healthy foods. Coconut oil has been a favorite ingredient of mine for some time, but for the past year or so my focus has been on eating as much coconut oil as I can. Sometimes that means eating it straight out of the jar, other times I add it to everything I cook. Most days I do both.
A good deal of anecdotal evidence points to coconut oil as a fabulous brain food. Here’s a video that discusses the health benefits of coconut oil.
Did you ever notice that the rise of various brain disorders (ADD, Autism, Alzheimer’s, Parkinsons, etc.) happened to take place in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s when the fat-free diet was all the rage? I think many people’s brains may have been malnourished by the pervasive lack of fat in the Standard American Diet during this period.
My Paleo Chocolate Cupcake recipe is full of good fat! I hope your family enjoys these gluten-free, nut-free, dairy-free chocolate cupcakes as much as we do!
Paleo Chocolate Cupcakes
Ingredients
- ¼ cup coconut flour
- ¼ cup cacao powder
- ¼ teaspoon celtic sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 4 large eggs
- ¼ cup coconut oil
- ⅓ cup honey
Instructions
- Pulse together dry ingredients in a food processor
- Pulse in wet ingredients
- Line a muffin pan with paper liners and scoop ¼ cup batter into each
- Bake at 350°F for 15-18 minutes
- Cool and serve
Frost these Paleo Chocolate Cupcakes with my amazing Paleo Chocolate Frosting. Here are some of my other easy paleo cupcake recipes!
Angela says
I have made these cupcakes several times and they always turn out fabulous. I also love that they use coconut flour which is way cheaper than the almond flour that a lot of grain free/paleo recipes use and coconut flour is also safe to send to school in my area (most schools are nut free around here.)
Elizabeth Monticue says
Thank you for saving the day, Elana! I baked cupcakes today for a Labor Day potluck tomorrow, used a boxed gluten free cake mix (I know, I know…. ) and bought a can of prepared frosting. Opened and tasted the frosting and realized how AWFUL it is! Truly, amazingly, awful. I used to like this stuff, silly me. I just frosted the cupcakes with your Paleo Chocolate Frosting. So easy, so pretty, and so delicious! Almost like a ganache. It’s silky, shiny, and luscious. And since I always have chocolate chips and coconut oil and vanilla in my kitchen, there was no need for a grocery store run. Thank you again!
J says
I made these cupcakes last night. This was my first experience in paleo baking. I can say they turned out better than expected. I followed the recipe exactly, except I separated the egg whites and beat them to soft peaks and folded them in. This gives the cupcakes a fluffier texture. Taste wise, they are not that sweet, but the texture is just like a regular cupcake. Also, It had a very rich chocolate flavor. It was good. I might suggest adding some sliced strawberries as a topping. I would defiantly make them again. Thanks so much for sharing this recipe, it was fun.
Natalie says
Good to know, I’m going to try your egg white trick! Thanks!
Whitney @ The Newlywed Chefs says
Made these tonight and they are deeeeelicious! Great way to get a chocolate fix without the sugar or grain! Thanks for sharing!
lauren says
Just made these into mini cupcakes and subbed kerrygold for the coconut oil and they turned out great! I melted some coconut butter with some kerrygold and added a small bit of honey and cocoa powder and frosted them with that then rolled them in coconut sugar… fantastic! :)
Alma & Ian says
Hello from faraway Vienna, Austria
We just wanted to let you know that these cupcakes are so yummy that Ian (9.5 yo) even licked the bowl and was sitting in front of the oven watching them rise ;)
We hope they’ll be as yummy tomorrow morning for school as he is so proud of healthy cupcakes we made.
Lauren says
Love these! Made a batch for my daughter for birthday parties. They freeze very well! Even frosted. I put them in a lock and lock, fully frosted and took one out a week later to test it and it was still amazing! Thanks for such an awesome recipe!
Tracee says
Holy cow! I made these today, followed recipe to a T and topped them with a Paleo “PB” frosting and THEY. ARE. DELICIOUS! Thank you thank you thank you Elana!!!!
It’s honestly the first muffin I’ve made with coconut flour that doesn’t have an “eggy” consistency. It’s right on with the consistency of regular cake. I’m hoping it remains that way for the next couple of days and doesn’t turn soggy. Fingers crossed!
PS, they ARE a tad bit coconuty, which I don’t mind at all but that was the chief complaint by the kiddos in my house.
Sara says
Elana! You saved me yesterday! It was my son’s birthday party (1st) and I tried a recipe from another blog that afternoon and he cupcakes were horrible! I was so stressed out and on the verge of tears. Instinctually, I searched your website and came across this recipe. I don’t know why I didn’t just start here because I have tried your recipes and they are always wonderful. So, my third attempt using this recipe was a success. THANK YOU! I really didn’t want to get a store bought cake (it was looking like we would have to after I threw out two batches of cupcakes), but in the end I made these wonderful cupcakes, and looked like super mom. You are awesome!
Ashley says
I LOVE these cupcakes! You really can’t tell that they are not made with regular flour if you make them correctly. There are just a couple things that I had to learn with trial and error.
1. If you don’t have a food processor, use room temperature eggs so the eggs don’t make the warm liquid coconut oil cold and chunky in the batter. Mix with a whisk in a bowl.
2. Really really really pay attention to these in the oven. Only a couple minutes over-done and they are dry and burned. so make sure you use the toothpick to test doneness. They will be burned if you try to judge by look or feel with your finger.
Thank you for such a wonderful recipe!!! Really is awesome for a chocoholic like me who cannot live without chocolate cake. Definitely curbs the sweet tooth!