Almond Flour Carrot Muffins – Texanerin Baking

These almond flour carrot muffins are super moist, lightly sweetened with honey, and even a little fluffy! They’re the perfect Easter treat, and the reviewers have been loving them for the past 11 years. They’re paleo but have a cream cheese frosting option.

Originally posted in 2014, I’ve updated this recipe with more information and new photos.

Here’s an old one for reference. They were originally called healthier carrot cake cupcakes, which was a dumb name because they just had a tiny bit of frosting on them. But the texture is very cupcake-like!

I changed the name because people kept asking how to make these with only coconut flour – which doesn’t work. More on that below.

So, these are now almond flour muffins with a tiny bit of coconut flour to help improve the texture.

Ingredient notes

Here are some notes on select ingredients. Please scroll to the bottom of the post to find the full recipe card!

• Finely ground blanched almond flour – do not substitute with coconut flour or another flour, as it will drastically change the recipe. Almond meal would work, but then you’ll have little brown specks of skin in your muffins. They won’t taste differently, though.
• Coconut Flour – before I posted this recipe, I had made these muffins with just almond flour several times. But no matter how I changed the recipe, they kept coming out greasy. So I added a little coconut flour, which helps absorb moisture and adds structure. Problem solved and they came out perfectly! Unfortunately, there isn’t a substitute for coconut flour.
• Eggs – I’ve tried egg subs in this recipe, and they just don’t work. Grain-free muffins are definitely way more finicky than regular muffins and omitting 2 eggs from a recipe that only yields 8 muffins just doesn’t work.
• Refined coconut oil – you can use unrefined if you don’t mind coconut flavor. You can use melted butter or another neutral oil instead.
• Grated carrots – pre-shredded carrots are thicker and drier, which would affect the texture of the muffins. So I really recommend shredding them yourself. I usually use this Microplane Medium Ribbon Grater when grating carrots for carrot cake and other treats, and it works great here. The photographer grated them more coarsely than I did in the original photos, and that’s why the muffins in the new photos look a bit different.

Can I just use all coconut flour?

I had one commenter say her muffins came out dry, despite following the recipe – except for using coconut flour in place of almond flour.

That doesn’t work. Coconut flour isn’t interchangeable with any other type of flour.

It’s SO much more absorbent than other flours. Please follow the recipe if you want it to work.

If you want to only use coconut flour, you have to find a recipe already calling for that.

Can I add walnuts, raisins or pineapple?

I’ve tried it out with 1/3 cup of raisins and 1/4 cup walnuts. That worked great.

One commenter said that they had used crushed pineapple, but they didn’t come back to say how much they added or if they made other adjustments.

I don’t see how that’d work. Even if you pat it dry, I just think it’d make the muffins soggy.

Another commented said they added 1/3 cup of fresh chopped pineapple and had good results. I think that’s more likely to work out better than crushed pineapple.

How to make them

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients.
2. In another bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients until smooth.
3. Slowly mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.
4. Stir until just combined.

4. Gently fold in the grated carrots.
5. Divide the batter evenly between the muffin cups.
6. Bake until the tops are golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
7. Let the muffins cool in the pan before transferring them to a wire rack.

Tips for success

Here are a few key tips to ensure your muffins turn out perfectly every time.

• Use room temperature eggs – this helps them incorporate more evenly into the batter.
• Finely grate the carrots – larger pieces won’t blend as well and can create a dense texture.
• Measure the flours correctly – coconut flour is highly absorbent, so too much or too little can change the texture. Please use a scale!
• Let them cool completely – they will be delicate when warm but firm up as they cool.

Can I make it as a layer cake?

I’ve made this recipe several times as a layer cake, and the result is a bit too dense for my liking. I’ve often had this issue when trying to use a grain-free muffin recipe for a cake.

Grain-free flours, like almond or coconut flour, tend to make muffins denser and more compact. Muffins can handle this because they’re baked in small portions, but a layer cake needs a lighter, more structured crumb to support stacking and layering.

Another reason is that many grain-free recipes rely on ingredients like eggs, nut flours, or coconut products, which hold a lot of moisture. While this works for muffins, a cake made with the same formula could turn out too wet, heavy, or unstable when layered.

Muffins also don’t need as much rise as a cake, so a muffin recipe may not have enough leavening agents (like baking soda or baking powder) to create a tall, fluffy cake. Cakes require more aeration to achieve a tender crumb that can support frosting.

If you want to try, anyway, you can double the recipe and baked it in two 8″ (22 cm) pans for 17 minutes.

How to make ahead, store and freeze

Once baked, the muffins can be kept at room temperature in an airtight container for up to two days. If you need to store them for longer, place them in the refrigerator, where they’ll stay fresh for up to four days.

To extend their shelf life, wrap individual muffins in plastic wrap and store them in a freezer-safe bag. They can be kept frozen for up to three months. When ready to eat, simply thaw at room temperature or warm them slightly in the microwave.

Troubleshooting

• Muffins are too dry or dense – check your coconut flour measurement and make sure you didn’t overbake.
• Muffins are too wet – did you use finely ground blanched almond flour? If your almond flour isn’t finely ground, it won’t be as absorbent, resulting in wetter, greasier muffins.
• Muffins didn’t rise – ensure your baking soda is fresh and that you used large eggs.

Other gluten-free Easter desserts

These Birds Nest Cookies are also paleo (and vegan!) and super cute for Easter.

This Gluten-free Carrot Cake is super moist and the best carrot cake I’ve ever had.

This Italian Lemon Almond Flour Cake isn’t exactly healthy, but people love it.

❀

• Prep Time: 15 min
• Cook Time: 18 min
• Ready in: 33 min
• Yield: 8 muffins

Ingredients

For the carrot muffins:

• 1 1/4 cups (125 grams) blanched almond flour
• 2 tablespoons (16 grams) coconut flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 2 large eggs (50 gram each, out of shell), room temperature
• 1/3 cup (75 grams) refined coconut oil, melted
• 1/3 cup (106 grams) honey or maple syrup
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup (50 grams) grated carrots
• optional – 3 tablespoons finely chopped walnuts for the muffin tops

For the optional cream cheese frosting:

• 2 ounces (56 grams) cream cheese
• 4 teaspoons maple syrup
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• a dash of salt

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 °F (175 °C). Line a muffin tin with 8 muffin liners.
2. In a medium bowl, mix together the dry ingredients (almond flour through nutmeg). Set this aside.
3. In a large bowl, mix together the eggs, oil, honey or maple syrup, and vanilla.
4. Add the dry mix to the wet mix just until combined and then gently fold in the grated carrots.
5. Divide the batter evenly among the liners (about 62 grams per liner) and top with chopped walnuts, if using.
6. Bake for 17-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
7. Let the muffins cool for 5 minutes in the pan and then remove to a wire rack to cool completely. Do not frost until completely cool!
8. For the cream cheese frosting, mix everything together until thoroughly combined. Spread a thin layer on top of each cupcake.
9. Unfrosted muffins can be stored in an airtight container at room temp for up to 2 days or refrigerated for 5 days. Frosted muffins should be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 4 days.

Notes

1. If you use unrefined coconut oil there may be some coconut taste to the muffins
2. I recommend finely shredding the carrots unless you like noticeable shreds of carrots in your muffins.

Recipe by Texanerin Baking | www.texanerin.com