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!
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Kathy says
Once we figured out UK conversions, that recipe was perfect. Thank you so much!
For UK users, we did 30g coconut flour, 30g cacao powder, 52g coconut oil, 112g honey along with the other ingredients listed.
Delicious
Elana says
Kathy, thanks for letting me know this recipe is perfect and for providing UK conversions for our readers outside the US :-)
Lb says
Hello! I made these awhile ago and remember they were so good. I subbed butter for the coconut oil and want to make them again (this time for my husband’s quarantine 40th birthday) but help! I can’t remember if it’s melted or not. Need to make a note in Pinterest. Thank you and stay safe.
Elana says
Lb, thanks for your comment! There isn’t any butter in this recipe. Happy birthday to your husband and stay safe :-)
Tomas says
Can I make double the recipe?
Elana says
Tomas, I haven’t tried that so not sure :-)
Kim says
Absolutely love these cupcakes ♡
But…
Can you substitute the coconut flour for almond meal? & would be an exact swap?
Most of my family don’t really like coconut flour
Elana says
Kim, thanks for your comment! For more on that please go here:
https://elanaspantry.com/paleo-baking/
Have a wonderful day!
Elana
Sherry says
How many carbs are in a cupcake? Thanks
Elana says
Sherry, thanks for your comment. For more on that please go here:
https://elanaspantry.com/nutrition-information/
Enjoy!
Elana
Katie says
Can i make these ahead of time? Son’s party is Saturday, but baking day-of isnt feasible. If yes, how far ahead?
Thanks!
Elana says
Katie, happy birthday to your son! I usually make these a day ahead of time for my boys’ birthdays :-)
Abigail says
Hi! I am hoping to make 12 cupcakes and wondering if I should just multiple these amounts by 1.5? It makes a lot of the amounts kind of funny (3/8 cup…) Any advice is appreciated!!
Elana says
Abigail, I haven’t tried that so not sure :-)
Dani Malnekoff says
These were absolutely wonderful! Great chocolate flavor and light texture.
Elana says
Dani, thanks so much! It’s great to hear that these cupcakes were absolutely wonderful :-)
Tracy says
Hi :)
I am new to your site. I’ve been struggling to find recipes for my newly discovered gluten sensitivity so I’m really excited to try these. My question is this: I don’t own regular size cupcake tins – only the jumbo or “texas” size tins that have only 6 per tin. Do you know how full I should fill these and how long they should bake?
Thanks so much for your help!
Elana says
Tracy, thanks for your question! If you click the green text in the instructions portion of the recipe that says “muffin tin” you will be taken to a place where you can buy the cupcake tin that I use for this recipe :-)
Tracy says
Well, thanks for responding but that really doesn’t help at all. I don’t want to spend an extra $24 on a pan I won’t use, I want to make the jumbo size in the tins I already have. Do you have any idea how long to cook these or should I look elsewhere for help? Thanks.
Elana says
Tracy, thanks for your reply! I haven’t tried that so not sure :-)
Kirsten Evans says
I typically fill muffin tins 1/2-2/3 full with great luck no matter the size. As far as testing for done, I set my timer for lowest time suggested and then test the cakes, typically adding more time if needed by 2 minute increments. You may need 5 minutes more or so for larger cupcakes.
Elana says
Thanks Kirsten!
Randi says
I made these for my cousin’s 90th birthday. They were delicious. Everyone loved them. I added a small amount of coffee liqueur in place of the same amount of honey. Not sure if that is paleo but it was good. Made your buttercream frosting. Thanks for another great and easy recipe.
Elana says
Randi, happy birthday to your cousin! I’m so happy I was part of the celebration via these cupcakes. I’m glad to hear these were easy and delicious!