Gluten-Free Carrot Cake Muffins are filled with sweet carrots, raisins and applesauce…they’re most and flavorful with no refined sugar. These almond flour carrot muffins are easy to make in one-bowl, perfect for meal prep, and grain-free so you can make them for Passover too!
This post has been updated from the original, posted March 19, 2018.
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A grain-free carrot cake muffin that’s delicious and healthy…..so you can feel good about serving it for breakfast, any day of the week. They’re naturally sweetened with applesauce, bananas and just a touch of maple syrup so they’re perfectly sweet and savory at the same time.
You’re going to love how easy these carrot and walnut muffins are to make…just one bowl and 5 minutes is all it takes to pop these into the oven.
If you’re looking for carrot muffins with pineapple or zucchini, check out this Vegan Morning Glory Muffin Recipe.
Hubby likes baked goods….a LOT. I keep my freezer stocked with healthy treats so he can have a little tea and an almond flour biscotti a piece of vegan banana bread, or a vegan chocolate chip cookie in the afternoon or evening. Passover presents a challenge, even for me, to keep his sweet tooth satisfied without giving in to packaged and processed food, or resorting to making recipes that are laden with sugar.
I developed this recipe for raisin carrot muffins one year for a Passover treat for him…and let’s just say the rest is history. These delicious almond flour carrot muffins are on the menu year round over here because they’re moist and delicious, easy to make and Hubby adores them!
Ingredients for Dairy-free Carrot Muffins
- Banana: Helps to build texture and add some natural sweetness, plus fiber.
- Eggs: During Passover, it’s hard to find a good substitute to make this recipe vegan. Other times of the year you can definitely make flax eggs and use them in this recipe.
- Olive oil: You can substitute drippy tahini if you prefer oil-free baking with whole foods.
- Maple syrup: Just a touch is all that’s needed to perfectly sweeten these muffins without any refined sugar.
- Carrots: The star of the show…they’re naturally sweet and I love the texture when you use a box grater, but I sometimes throw them in the food processor to save time.
- Fresh Ginger: Just a bit gives these a warm, cozy vibe with a bit of pizzazz.
- Raisins: I’m all about the texture and chewy raisins are the bomb in this recipe.
- Walnuts: More texture with the crunch factor…plus omega 3s and plant based protein.
- Cinnamon: More cozy spices…sometimes I sprinkle in a it of nutmeg too!
- Almond flour: I buy super fine to keep the muffins from becoming too dense.
How to make gluten-free carrot muffins
- Preheat the oven to 350 and line muffin tin with baking cups.
- Grab a large bowl and mash the banana with a fork inside the bowl.
- Use that fork to whisk in the egg, oil and maple syrup. Keep mixing until it’s uniform in texture.
- Mix in raisins, walnuts, cinnamon and salt.
- Shred carrots on a box grater using the largest holes. Then use the small holes to zest the ginger. Add those directly to the mixture.
- Last, you’ll add the almond meal and mix until just incorporated.
- Scoop into lined muffin tin. Recipe will make 9 larger muffins or 12 medium sized. They won’t rise much, so fill them as much as you can.
- Bake for 30 minutes. Enjoy straight out of the oven, or at room temperature.
Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before storing in an airtight container.
Grain-free Carrot Muffins are perfect for you IF:
- You struggle to come up with healthy alternatives for breakfast every day.
- You’ve gone paleo, but don’t always want to eat eggs for breakfast.
- You run short on time in the morning and go to the drive through for breakfast.
- You’re looking for more protein in your breakfast.
- You crave baked goods, but you want to eat nutrient dense food.
- You struggle to come up with healthy alternatives for breakfast during Passover
- You’ve gone gluten-free, but love baked goods.
- You like sweets but have given up refined sugar.
If you’ve been trying to eliminate refined sugar in your diet, these muffins are a great choice. Using a banana, carrots and raisins makes these gluten-free carrot muffins naturally sweet. A small amount of maple syrup is all that’s needed to produce a sweet and delicious muffin.
MEAL PREP AND STORAGE
- SERVE: Perfect for a healthy breakfast or snack.
- PREP AHEAD: Yes! These healthy carrot muffins are totally meal prep friendly.
- STORE: Store in a tightly sealed container. They’ll stay good at room temp for 3 days, in the fridge for 5 days or freezer for 3 months.
- FREEZE: Make sure muffins are completely cool. Use freezer safe container or freezer zip top bags to avoid freezer burn.
More Delicious Healthy Muffin Recipes you will love:
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📖 Recipe
Gluten free Carrot Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 banana
- ½ cup olive oil
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- 3 carrots about 1 cup grated
- 1 tablespoon grated ginger
- ¼ cup raisins
- ⅓ cup chopped walnuts
- 1 ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 2 cups almond flour
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350. Line muffin tins with parchment liners.
- In a large bowl, mash banana with a fork. Mix in egg, oil and maple syrup. Stir until everything is well mixed.
- Use the side of a box grater to shred carrots into the bowl. Use the smallest holes to grate the ginger. Mix carrot and ginger into the banana mixture. Then add raisins, walnuts, cinnamon and salt. Mix well. Stir in almond flour until just incorporated.
- Scoop muffin mixture into lined muffin tin. Muffins will not rise much, so fill all the way to the top.
- OPTIONAL: Finely chop 2 tablespoon walnuts and mix with ½ teaspoon cinnamon and a pinch of sea salt. Sprinkle over the tops of the muffins.
- Bake muffins for 30 minutes. Transfer to wire rack and let cool completely before storing in an airtight container.
Simi
These look amazing! I have a child who can’t eat banana. If I omit the banana, should I compensate for that in some way? Please advise – I really want to make these.
Debra Klein
You can use 1/2 cup applesauce in place of the mashed banana. They may be a bit less sweet, but the consistency should be fine.
Virginia
These carrot muffins are the most delicious muffins that I have made.
I made them vegan, tho’, by substituting applesauce for the oil and making flax eggs.
Debra Klein
So glad you enjoyed them. Those are great substitutions.