These Gluten Free Carrot Cake Muffins with Chocolate Chips are going to be your new favorite healthy treat! Each of these fluffy muffins is packed with the wholesome goodness of shredded carrots, warming spices and a sprinkle of chocolate chips. They’re made with simple ingredients and are totally gluten free, dairy free and refined sugar free.
Carrot cake has to be one of the most iconic Spring flavor profiles, but I personally would be down to enjoy it all year long. It’s just that good! And who can complain about a baked good that sneaks in some veggies!?
Originally, I wanted to develop a carrot cake loaf recipe. But ultimately, there wasn’t enough volume of batter which meant the loaf wasn’t tall enough for my liking. Don’t get me wrong, it still tasted amazing but aesthetically I wasn’t obsessed.
So, I quickly pivoted to muffins instead and I’m glad I did! I just have such a soft spot for a handheld baked good that you don’t need to share hehe. My carrot cake muffins are gluten free, dairy free, refined sugar free and actually have chocolate chips inside. Sure, it’s not the most traditional mix-in but I’m a firm believer that chocolate makes everything better!
Why You’ll Love these Gluten Free Carrot Cake Muffins with Chocolate Chips
- You will love the warming spices and nostalgic carrot cake flavor in these muffins.
- You don’t need a stand mixer or any fancy equipment to make these.
- They are super allergen friendly – gluten free, dairy free and refined sugar free!
- These carrot cake muffins are moist and fluffy, despite being gluten free.
- Each muffin is studded with chocolate chips for added decadence.
- The perfect baked good for Easter and Spring!
What You Need to Make these Gluten Free Carrot Cake Muffins with Chocolate Chips
- Gluten Free 1-to-1 Flour: To keep these gluten free, we’re using my favorite GF flour blend from Bob’s Red Mill. It contains xanthan gum which is crucial! I have not tested these with any other GF flour.
- Baking Powder: One of two leavening agents for these carrot cake muffins.
- Baking Soda: Another leavening agent to help these muffins rise and get fluffy.
- Kosher Salt: You can’t skip the salt in baked goods!
- Ground Cinnamon, Ginger, Nutmeg & Cloves: A mix of warming spices to bring out that classic carrot cake flavor. If you don’t have ginger, nutmeg or cloves…don’t stress, they’ll still taste amazing! You can also try substituting with a spice blend like pumpkin pie or apple pie, as they contain many of the same spices.
- Coconut Oil: I always reach for refined coconut oil in my baking because it doesn’t have any coconut flavor. Feel free to substitute your preferred neutral flavored oil such as avocado oil.
- Coconut Sugar: To keep these muffins refined sugar free, we’re sweetening them with coconut sugar! If you’d rather use brown sugar, that should work too.
- Eggs: 2 large eggs, at room temperature. Sorry vegans, I have no substitute for this yet.
- Applesauce: Unsweetened applesauce adds more moisture and sweetness to this muffins and lends itself super well to the carrot cake flavors.
- Vanilla Extract: Or use vanilla bean paste if you have it on hand.
- Grated Carrots: First peel your carrots and then grate them to a medium-fine consistency.
- Chocolate Chips: An unconventional add-in for carrot cake but I love it! My favorite paleo chocolate chips are the Hu Kitchen No Added Sugar chocolate chips. My discount code MADDIE will save you 20% off all their products 🙂
How To Make these Gluten Free Carrot Cake Muffins with Chocolate Chips
Whisk together the Dry Ingredients:
First, preheat your oven to 350F and add paper liners to your muffin tin cavities. For this recipe, I prefer to make 10 larger/taller muffins so I leave the last 2 cavities empty! But it’s totally up to you 🙂
Then, in large bowl whisk together the dry ingredients (gluten free flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg & cloves). Set this bowl aside.
Whisk together the Wet Ingredients:
Next, in another large bowl, whisk together the coconut oil and coconut sugar. It should look like wet sand at this point. Add one egg at a time, whisking well after each addition. Then, add in the applesauce and vanilla and whisk until combined.
Combine the Wet & Dry Ingredients:
Pour wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and use a spatula to stir until a few clumps of flour remain.
Fold in the Shredded Carrots & Chocolate Chips:
Next, gently fold in the grated carrots and chocolate chips. Stir only until flour is no longer visible – you don’t want to over-mix or you’ll end up with dry, dense muffins.
Scoop into Muffin Tin & Bake:
Finally, fill 10-12 muffin cavities with the carrot cake batter. Transfer to the oven and bake for about 22 minutes or until a tester comes out clean.
Let them cool in the muffin tin for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling. Enjoy!
How Can I Bring my Ingredients to Room Temperature Quickly?
It’s best to have your eggs and applesauce at room temperature before using them in these Gluten Free Carrot Cake Muffins. That’s because room temperature ingredients will help form an even, smooth batter and ultimately a fluffier muffin.
If you’re using a brand new, unopened jar of applesauce then you’re in the clear because it’s at room temperature! If your jar is opened already, pull out the amount you need and let it sit at room temperature for a while as you prepare all your other ingredients.
Next, to bring your eggs to room temperature quickly, you can either run them under warm water for a few minutes OR place them in a bowl and fill it with warm water.
What Brand of Gluten Free 1-to-1 Flour Should I Use?
The ONLY brand of gluten free 1-to-1 flour that I use is Bob’s Red Mill. This blend of gluten free flours also includes xanthan gum which is crucial to replicate the texture of gluten-filled baked goods. Without it, you’ll be left with dry, crumbly muffins that don’t hold their shape.
I wouldn’t recommend experimenting with other gluten free 1-to-1 flours unless they have xanthan gum in them. And I DEFINITELY would not recommend using other flours such as almond flour, coconut flour, etc. These perform very different and would require me to write a whole new recipe with different measurements.
If you’re not gluten free but still want to enjoy these Carrot Cake Muffins, you should be able to substitute an equal amount of normal all-purpose flour! I haven’t tested this yet, but let me know if you do.
Where’s the Cream Cheese Frosting!?
I don’t want to upset anyone but I truly like these Gluten Free Carrot Cake Muffins more without the cream cheese frosting. They’re perfectly spiced and just sweet enough on their own. And I love that they’re healthy enough to enjoy as a snack or with breakfast.
However, I did experiment with a dairy free, refined sugar free cream cheese frosting recipe. I’ll leave that recipe below but beware it’s not super sweet! And the texture is thinner so you’ll have to spread it on the muffins with a knife vs piping it on.
Dairy Free Cream Cheese Frosting:
- 8 oz vegan cream cheese, softened : Violife and Miyoko’s are two that I’ve tried
- 4 tbsp vegan butter, softened: I love Country Crock plant butter!
- 2 tbsp maple syrup, at room temp: Feel free to add more as you prefer but it’ll create an even thinner consistency.
- Splash of vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
Using a hand or stand mixer, beat together the cream cheese and butter for a minute or two until combined. Then add in the maple syrup, vanilla and salt and beat again. Spread over the fully cooled muffins (this should take about 30 minutes). Be sure to store them in the fridge if you added cream cheese frosting!
Substitutions:
- Refined Coconut Oil: Unrefined will work too but your carrot cake muffins might have a more coconut-y flavor. Other great options would be avocado oil or vegetable oil (these obviously don’t have to melted since they’re already in liquid form).
- Coconut Sugar: If you’re not worried about keeping these refined sugar free, you’re welcome to substitute brown sugar.
- Applesauce: If you’re not dairy free, you can use sour cream or full-fat plain greek yogurt instead. Make sure it’s at room temperature!
- Chocolate Chips: Are you more of a raisin or walnut gal? Feel free to add them in addition or in replacement of the chocolate chips.
How Do these Gluten Free Carrot Cake Muffins Keep?
Make sure to enjoy one (or two) of these Gluten Free Carrot Cake Muffins while they’re still warm! Then, let the leftovers cool down completely and transfer them to an airtight container. Store them at room temperature for about 2-3 days.
You can also store them in the refrigerator to prolong their shelf life, but they’ll likely dry out a bit so I’d recommend microwaving them before eating.
Find the full recipe below. As always, please let me know if you tried it by leaving a rating and review below and tagging me on Instagram, @munchinwithmaddie_.
Looking for more Sweet Treats?
- Gluten Free Lemon Poppyseed Muffins
- Paleo Almond Orange Loaf
- Lemon Protein Balls
- Gluten Free Monster Cookies
- Red Velvet Muffins (No Food Dye)
Gluten Free Carrot Cake Muffins with Chocolate Chips
Equipment
- 2 large bowls
- spatula
- whisk
- muffin tin with liners
- peeler
- grater
- kitchen scale (optional but encouraged)
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients:
- 1 ½ cups gluten free 1-to-1 flour (200g)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ¾ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground ginger *
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg *
- ⅛ tsp ground cloves *
Wet Ingredients:
- ½ cup refined coconut oil melted & cooled (110ml)**
- ¾ cup coconut sugar (120g)
- 2 large eggs at room temperature
- ⅓ cup unsweetened applesauce at room temperature (86g)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Mix-Ins:
- 1 ½ cups finely grated carrots (120g)
- ½ cup paleo chocolate chips (measure with your heart though!)***
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F and add paper liners to your muffin tin cavities.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients.1 ½ cups gluten free 1-to-1 flour, 1 tsp baking powder, ¾ tsp baking soda, ½ tsp kosher salt, 2 tsp ground cinnamon, ½ tsp ground ginger, ¼ tsp ground nutmeg, ⅛ tsp ground cloves
- Then, in another large bowl, whisk together the coconut oil and coconut sugar. It should look like wet sand at this point. Add one egg at a time, whisking well after each addition. Then, add in the applesauce and vanilla and whisk until combined.½ cup refined coconut oil, ¾ cup coconut sugar, 2 large eggs, ⅓ cup unsweetened applesauce, 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Pour wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and use a spatula to stir until a few clumps of flour remain.
- Fold in the grated carrots and chocolate chips. Stir only until flour is no longer visible – you don't want to over-mix!1 ½ cups finely grated carrots, ½ cup paleo chocolate chips
- Fill the prepared muffin tin with carrot cake batter. I prefer to make 10 larger/taller muffins, but you can divide the batter amongst 12 muffins if you prefer.
- Transfer to the oven and bake for about 22 minutes or until a tester comes out clean. Let them cool in the muffin tin for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Did you make this recipe?
Please let me know how it turned out for you! Leave a star rating and review below and tag @munchinwithmaddie_ on Instagram and/or hashtag it #munchinwithmaddie.
Fabulous recipe, so moist. I didn’t have applesauce so I substituted yogurt.
Thanks Janice! Glad it worked with the yogurt sub 🙂