Carrot Cake Muffins

These healthy carrot muffins are your excuse to have carrot cake for breakfast! Made in just one bowl, they are made with almond flour and perfect for a paleo and gluten free diet! 

When it comes to healthy baked goods, I love a good blueberry cake, healthy chocolate cake, and these easy carrot muffins.

It’s no secret that I love starting my mornings on a sweet note. Whether it’s a bowl of piping hot oatmeal, some toast with strawberry jelly, or a filling smoothie, I don’t play favorites. As long as it’s sweet, I’m game. Recently, I’ve been leaning towards something of the baked variety, in particular, muffins. 

Table of Contents

1. The best healthy carrot muffins
2. How do you make healthy carrot muffins?
3. Can I omit the eggs?
4. Tips to make the best almond flour carrot muffins
5. How to store healthy carrot muffins
6. More healthy recipes to try
7. Carrot Cake Muffins Recipe

The best healthy carrot muffins

I’ve been meaning to share a carrot muffin recipe for quite some time. One of my friends is OBSESSED with carrot cake and wanted me to find a way for her to enjoy it for breakfast. With a slew of busy mornings coming up, I thought it was the perfect time to try out carrot cake muffins healthy enough for breakfast!

Now, these carrot cake muffins may look fancy, but I promise you, they are incredibly foolproof. No fancy ingredients or kitchen mixers needed.

No grains, no flour, and no refined sugar needed, but you’d never tell. The texture is moist, fluffy, and full of shredded carrots. The flavor is subtly sweet, without being overpowering. 

I gave a batch of these muffins to my carrot cake loving friend, and she could NOT believe me that they were healthy and low carb- My friend is not paleo or grain free, and was obsessed with them. 

Perfect for a healthy dessert or even a wholesome breakfast, you have no excuses not to make them.

How do you make healthy carrot muffins?

The Ingredients

• Almond flour– You must use blanched almond flour or superfine almond flour, NOT almond meal. While all of them are essentially almonds, the almond meal still contains the skins of them. This yields a dense muffin, instead of a fluffy one. 
• Baking soda– Gives the muffins some rise and fluffiness. 
• Cinnamon and allspice– Essential spices for any good carrot muffin recipe. The extra cinnamon gives it that added oomph!
• Coconut oil OR butter– Softened coconut oil or butter. I prefer using coconut oil, but either can be used.
• Eggs– Room temperature eggs. 
• Maple syrup– gives the muffins a subtle sweetness and adds moisture. You can also use honey or agave nectar. 
• Shredded carrots– What is carrot cake without shredded carrots? You’ll use a full cup for these muffins.
• Walnuts– Optional, but gives the muffins some added crunch and texture. 
• Frosting– Optional, but I can never no to some healthy cream cheese frosting. 

The Instructions

In a large mixing bowl, add your dry ingredients and mix well. Next, add the rest of your ingredients, except for the carrots and walnuts. Once the batter is made, fold through your carrots and walnuts, if using them. Distribute the batter amongst a 12-count muffin tin, lined with muffin tins. Bake the muffins for 20 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean. Remove from the oven and allow them to cool in the tins completely, before frosting. 

Can I omit the eggs?

I tried this recipe using egg substitutes, like flax eggs and a formulated egg replacement. I was not pleased with the result, and I found the muffins to be unstable and with a gritty texture. 

If you’d like to make vegan carrot cake muffins, make a vegan carrot cake and bake that in a muffin tin instead of a loaf pan. 

Tips to make the best almond flour carrot muffins

• Do not overbake the muffins, as they continue to cook while they are cooling down. 
• If you’d like to make mini muffins, distribute the batter amongst 20 mini muffin liners in a muffin tin. Reduce the bake time to 14-16 minutes.
• If you don’t follow a low carb diet, fold through raisins and other dried fruit to it. 
• Pair some muffins with some protein for a well balanced breakfast.

How to store healthy carrot muffins

• To store: Carrot muffins should always be stored in the refrigerator, to ensure they don’t spoil. Keep them covered and they will keep well for up to 1 week.
• To freeze: Place muffins in a ziplock bag and store in the freezer for up to 6 months. 

More healthy recipes to try

• No yeast cinnamon rolls
• Strawberry Ice Cream
• Blueberry Oatmeal Cookies
• Flourless Cookies
• Oatmeal Cookie Bars