Super-moist grain-free carrot cake muffins that are gluten-free, paleo-friendly and 100% delicious!
If you’re looking for a recipe to bake for Mother’s day, then these grain-free carrot cake muffins will truly make your mamas smile! They’re made from almond flour so it’s perfect if you’re looking for something gluten-free but equally satisfying as your classic carrot cake.
These muffins are sweetened with pure maple but you can also use honey or coconut sugar. They’re dotted with lots of carrots, walnuts, and pumpkin seeds in every bite and you can add other add-ons like dried sultanas or cranberries. A dream come-true for any carrot cake lover!
WHAT HEALTHY INGREDIENT SWAPS ARE WE USING?
- ALMOND FLOUR – this is a great substitute to your regular wheat flour and is just made from ground almonds. It comes in either raw or blanched form. And the main difference is that raw almond flour uses the entire almonds with the skin on, while blanched contains no almond skin. I mostly get the blanched one since it’s finer in texture.
- COCONUT FLOUR – another alternative for baking if you’re gluten-sensitive. It’s low-glycemic and it also gives a nuttier taste to these muffins.
- PURE MAPLE SYRUP – is our natural sweetener. How do you know if it’s pure? The ingredients should only have 100% maple in it. You will also taste the difference as most artificial maple have thickeners in it. You can sub this with honey, or also coconut sugar.
- OLIVE OIL – instead of using butter, we’re using olive oil which is a good source of omega 3s. You may also use coconut oil as a substitute.
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cup blanched almond flour
- 2 tablespoons coconut flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon ginger powder
- 2 eggs at room temperature
- 1/3 cup olive oil or sub with coconut oil, melted
- 1/3 cup pure maple syrup or sub with honey /coconut sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup grated carrots packed
- 2 tablespoons pumpkin seeds
- 1/4 cup chopped walnuts
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 175 degrees C. Lightly grease a muffin tray with baking spray or line with muffin cup liners. If using liners, spray with baking spray to keep the muffins from sticking too much.
- In a bowl whisk the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ground ginger, nutmeg. And in another bowl combine the wet ingredients–eggs, olive oil, maple or honey, and vanilla extract. Combine the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix with a spoon.
- Fold in the grated carrots, pumpkin seeds and walnuts. Scoop batter into each muffin cup, filling about 2/3 full. Bake for 17-20 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
- To serve, you can top with cream cheese, greek yogurt or nut butter.
WANT MORE PALEO TREATS TO BAKE? Try these reader favorites!
PALEO SUPER MOIST CHOCOLATE CAKE
If you ever make any of these Mother’s Day, be sure to leave a comment below or snap a photo and tag me @FitFoodiemommy so I can give you a shoutout.
And to all amazing mamas out there, HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY!!! You all deserve a sweet treat!
xx,
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