Paleo Carrot Cake Muffins bursting with spice, carrots and crunchy walnuts. Made with a blend of cashew flour (or almond!) and tapioca flour for a super soft grain-free/gluten-free muffin. Lower in sugar too!
Getting into Monday with some MUFFINS.
But before we get into these carrot cake muffins did you guys have a good weekend? I spent the weekend in Detroit with my sisters + friends for bridesmaids dress shopping. And if you feel like we’ve already talked about bridesmaids dress shopping that’s because we probably have – I have three weddings I am in at the end of the year. Holy cannoli, I know. This trip was for my younger sister who will get married in December. 2018 is going to be an amazing but crazy year!
Anyways it was so nice to get away for the weekend – especially after being with a puppy all week. I always have the best time with my sisters (and friends!) and forget how much we laugh together. Granted there is some bickering in there too. But mostly laughing.
On weekends I stay home or if Drew and I don’t have any big plans, more often than not I find an excuse to do work of some kind. Which isn’t ever all that bad (I love what I do and love that I can call this blog my full-time) but having weekends away reminds me how important it is to surround myself with my favorite people more often. People that make you laugh for no good reason. You know what I mean?
Of course sometimes it’s hard to really force yourself to get out and make plans during the winter months. All I want to do is stay curled up on the couch in the cold weather. Thankfully we are ALMOST in the clear and warmer weather means we will be ready to start gathering again.
And more gathering means more food and reasons to bake! So let’s chat about these muffins, yeah!?
Paleo Carrot Cake Muffins
I’m back on the grain-free muffins and quick bread recipes. Baking with grain-free flours can have it’s challenges but I am always so delighted when a recipe turns out.
These carrot cake muffins were tested with both almond flour and cashew flour. Both turned out almost exactly the same. So if you can’t have almonds, cashew flour is the way to go here.
what you need
- cashew flour or blanched almond flour
- tapioca flour
- baking soda
- cinnamon
- nutmeg
- all spice
- salt
- eggs
- oil
- mashed banana or applesauce
- maple syrup
- coconut sugar (optional)
- vanilla
- apple cider vinegar
- carrots
- walnuts
And I love how simple this recipe is! Not fancy equipment needed – just mixing bowls and such. Well, and grater (or food processor) to shred carrots. The carrots aren’t optional here, obviously.
The muffins take about 15 minutes in the oven.
Then it’s time for the cooling rack.
You see that texture though!? I could barely wait to dive in.
The spices, bits of carrot and walnut pieces… YUHUM.
I hope you guys make these!
Leave a comment and review on the blog here if you do! I love hearing from you and it helps others find the recipe too!
Xx Ashley
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Paleo Carrot Cake Muffins
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 12 muffins 1x
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Pin RecipeDescription
Paleo Carrot Cake Muffins bursting with spice, carrots and crunchy walnuts. Made with a blend of cashew flour (or almond!) and tapioca flour for a super soft grain-free/gluten-free muffin. Lower in sugar too!
Ingredients
- 2 cups cashew flour or blanched almond flour*
- 1/3 cup tapioca flour
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp all spice
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce (or 1 small banana, pureed**)
- 2 TBS coconut sugar*** (can omit; see notes)
- 3 TBS maple syrup
- 2 TBS oil (avocado, sunflower, macadamia, etc.)
- 2 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup shredded carrots
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400º F; spray muffin pan with oil and set aside.
- In large bowl sift cashew or almond flour (if possible) with tapioca flour. Whisk in baking soda, spices and salt. Set aside.
- In medium bowl whisk together eggs, applesauce (or banana puree) and coconut sugar (if using). Add in maple syrup, oil, apple cider vinegar and vanilla. Whisk until combined.
- Add wet ingredients into large bowl of dry ingredients. Stir until almost combined then add in shredded carrots and chopped walnuts. Batter will be somewhat thick and very wet.
- Evenly disperse batter (I use my medium cookie scoop) into greased muffin pan, filling about 2/3 full.
- Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until inserted toothpick comes out clean. Muffins should rise slightly and have golden edges.
- Allow muffins to cool in pan for 10-15 minutes before using butter knife to gently remove. Transfer muffins to cooling rack to cool completely.
- Store muffins in airtight container at room temperature, 3-5 days. Enjoy!
Notes
*Tested with both cashew flour and blanched almond flour; either will work.
**If using banana, blending into a puree is best.
***Feel free to omit coconut sugar f you don’t have much of a sweet tooth. But the maple syrup factors into the liquid ratio so don’t omit that. You can sub agave or honey if needed
nutrition approximate; calculated with blanched almond flour and with added coconut sugar.
- Category: breakfast
- Method: oven
- Cuisine: american
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 muffin
- Calories: 200
- Sugar: 7g
- Fat: 14g
- Saturated Fat: 2g
- Unsaturated Fat: 5g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 13g
- Fiber: 3g
- Protein: 6g
Keywords: paleo carrot cake muffins, healthy muffin recipe
SOME OF THE PRODUCTS I USED IN TODAY’S RECIPE
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megan says
Hi! I’m really excited about trying this recipe but have a nut allergy… do you think coconut flour would substitute well enough?
Thanks! 🙂
Ashley says
Hi Megan! So coconut flour isn’t a 1:1 sub here but if you’re familiar with baking with coconut flour you could give it a try. I would maybe try 1/3 cup to see how the batter is – coconut flour is super absorbent so you definitely don’t need the full amount compared to the cashew flour. Let me know if you give it a try!
megan says
Hi! I gave it a go and I think it kind of worked! I went with a little more than a third of a cup of flour and I got nine muffins out of the batter, they smell great! Thanks 🙂
Kaitlyn says
Is there something else I could use instead of tapioca flour? I’m just gluten free, not paleo, so would my go-to gluten free flour blend work? Super excited to try this recipe!
Ashley says
Hi Kaitlyn, the gluten-free flour blend may work! I haven’t tried it myself but as long as you’re replacing just the tapioca it should turn out alright. Something like a flaxseed “egg” (1 TBS milled flaxseed + 3 TBS water – let sit for a few minutes) may also work as an additional binder. Let me know what you try!
Kaitlyn says
So I tried it with subbing the 1/3 cup tapioca flour for 1/3 cup of the gluten free flour I use (Namaste gluten free perfect flour blend) and they turned out great! Thanks for the amazing recipe, I’ll definitely be making these again in the future!
Nicole says
Any idea on calories? Thanks
Ashley says
Hi Nicole, I’m currently working on integrating more nutrition information to my recipes. And while I understand it is nice to know the information, I do strive to help people get to where they don’t look too much into the nutrition label and focus more on real food ingredients. The nutrition label is just a tiny part of the big picture and is approximate 🙂
Andrea says
Thanks – these came out great! Even the non-paleos enjoyed. I used a little nut milk and reduced the apple sauce as well as added a splash of almond extract (I can’t get enough almond). Do you have the nutrition info? Or did I miss it?
★★★★★
Ashley says
Hi Andrea! Thanks so much for your review and feedback – I really appreciate it 🙂 I will add nutrition info in for you when I get a second. I just use myfitnesspal.com to calculate the approx info if you want it sooner.
Sarah says
Can I substitute the tapioca ?
Ashley says
You can! I think arrowroot is a 1:1 sub. You’d probably be good with 3 TBSP coconut flour, or even 1/4 cup all-purpose gluten-free flour. Hope that helps!
K Bonanno says
These muffins are absolutely delicious, I omitted the sugar but kept the maple syrup as noted and they were perfect! I freeze them so I have a healthy grab and go option…thank you for this awesome recipe! I make them once a month now…:)
Ashley says
Awesome! Thanks so much for sharing and I am so happy you like them!
Jaclyn says
Just made these, and my house smells divine! However, when I pulled them out of the oven I realized I forgot to put the eggs in 😭😭 I tried one and the flavor profile is amazing… but they definitely need the eggs to make them fluffy. Can’t wait to try them again!
Debbie says
I’m so excited to make these. I have cut out sugar and see that the maple syrup is important. Can I leave out the maple syrup and compensate by adding more of something else? I may use Stevia if I need a sweetener. Thanks.
Ashley says
Hi Debbie, I think you’d be able to add milk in place of the maple syrup with similar results, since it’s such a small amount. Hope that helps!