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These gluten free carrot cake cupcakes are soft, warmly spiced, and packed with real carrot flavor. They have the classic taste you expect from carrot cake in a perfectly portioned cupcake.
They have less flour than cake needs since they're supported by the muffins wells, so the crumb is extra tender. They strike that ideal balance between sweetness and spice, without being overly rich.
Why this recipe works
The carrots are grated on the larger holes of a box grater, not finely shredded. That small detail changes everything.
The thicker shreds soften in the oven while still holding their shape, so they add sweetness and structure instead of disappearing into the batter. That means we can use almost as much carrot as flour, for a moist, flavorful crumb with visible flecks of carrot throughout.
The balance of oil, brown sugar, and spice keeps the flavor carrot-forward without feeling greasy or overly sweet. It also keeps the cupcakes tender even when chilled.
Recipe ingredients
These are the ingredients you'll need to make these carrot cake cupcakes, including some information about the role each plays in the perfect result.
- Carrots: Add gentle, slightly earthy sweetness to the cupcakes as they soften and their natural sugars and moisture are released in the oven. These cupcakes can hold almost as much grated carrot as gluten free flour without collapsing because we grate the carrots coarsely. That way, they maintain some structure rather than melting into the cake.
- Gluten free flour blend: Provides most of the structure for the cupcakes. Select well-balanced blend with a finely ground rice flour as its base like Better Batter's original gluten free flour blend or Nicole's Best with added xanthan gum. Bob's Red Mill 1-to-1 gluten free blend with an additional 1/4 teaspoon gum should also work. We use less flour here than in our gluten free carrot cake recipe since cupcakes bake more quickly and have the support of the muffin wells for baking structure.
- Baking soda & baking powder: Help the cupcakes rise. The baking soda reacts with acid in the brown sugar and buttermilk, and helps the cupcakes brown in the oven.
- Salt: Brightens all the other flavors.
- Ground cinnamon: Adds deep, warm flavor to the cake and enhances the natural flavor of the carrots.
- Granulated & light brown sugars: Lock in moisture, add sweetness, and help the cupcakes brown. The molasses in the brown sugar also adds depth of flavor and reacts with the baking soda to create rise.
- Oil: Creates a velvety crumb and mouthfeel and keeps the cake moist even when cold, unlike butter. Any neutral oil will work, like vegetable, canola, grapeseed, avocado, or peanut oil. Avoid anything with competing flavors like olive oil.
- Eggs: Help bind the cupcakes together. The yolks add richness and the whites help the cupcakes maintain their rise even as they cool.
- Buttermilk: Brings the mixture together with moisture, adds a lightly tangy taste that balances the richness of the oily so the cupcakes don't taste or feel oily. Reacts with baking soda to enhance the rise. If you don't have buttermilk, try plain lowfat kefir or half sour cream and half milk, by volume.
- Vanilla: Adds complex depth of flavor and a touch of sweetness when you use vanilla bean paste. If you don't have vanilla bean paste, you can use pure vanilla extract.
- White chocolate chips: A small amount adds pockets of simple, rich sweetness for an overall more decadent flavor.
How to make gluten free carrot cake cupcakes (step by step photos)
For visual learners like me, here are step by step photos that illustrate how to make these cupcakes in your own kitchen. For exact ingredient amounts, see the recipe card below.
1. Prepare the dry ingredients
Other than a grater for the carrots, you'll only need a single large mixing bowl to make the cupcake batter. In it, whisk together the gluten free flour blend including xanthan gum (plus a bit more if you're using Bob's Red Mill 1-to-1), baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, granulated sugar and brown sugar. You'll need to use the back of a mixing spoon to break up the inevitable lumps in your brown sugar.
2. Add the wet ingredients
Make a well in the center of the well-combined dry ingredients to make it easier to mix in the wet ingredients fully. Add neutral oil, beaten eggs, buttermilk and vanilla bean paste, and mix until combined. The mixture should be smooth and will be soft, especially because of the oil, which is fully liquid at room temperature.
3. Add the mix-ins
Add grated carrots and white chocolate chips (or another mix-in, like chopped pecans), and mix until uniformly mixed throughout the cupcake batter. We add the carrots at the end to make it easier to mix everything else fully first for a uniform batter that bakes evenly.
4. Bake the cupcakes
Fill the wells of standard, lined 12-well cupcake tin about 3/4 of the way with the batter. If your cupcake wells are smaller than mine, you may have some leftover batter. Don't fill the wells more, since you want cupcakes to bake flat, not domed like muffins, so you can frost them easily.
Expert tips
Don't overfill the cupcake tin
Cupcakes are meant to bake flat, not domed, like gluten free muffins, to maximize the surface area available for frosting. That's why we have a thinner raw batter, bake at a lower temperature for less structure and a more delicate crumb, and only fill the wells of the tin no more than 3/4 of the way. If you have extra batter because your muffin tin wells are smaller than mine, make more cupcakes!
Coarsely grate the carrots
Choose the largest regular hole on your box grater, with each hole about 1/4-inch wide, to grate the carrots. They're small enough to fully soften in the oven so the cupcakes are tender, but thick enough to hold their shape without releasing too much moisture. They even help give the cupcakes some of their structure this way.
Use only freshly-grated carrots
Avoid pre-shredded carrots, which are too thick and don't have enough moisture. They may not fully soften in the oven and they won't be sweet enough. In fact, for the sweetest cupcakes, only grate your carrots from the middle to the tapered end, where the carrots are sweetest and most flavorful.
Vary your mix-ins
If you don't like white chocolate chips, don't have them, or have to avoid dairy, try using any other dry mix-ins you like. You can use raisins or other small dried fruit, chopped pecans or walnuts, or another flavor gluten free chocolate chip (cinnamon chips are delicious). Measure by weight, not volume, for precision in this and every other ingredient.
Try canned frosting
For the easiest carrot cupcakes, consider using canned, store-bought frosting rather than making your own. Without butter to soften, these cupcakes are really quick and easy, so you don't necessarily need to complicate them by making your own frosting. Try Duncan Hines or Betty Crocker cream cheese frosting.
Ingredient substitutions
If you have to cater to additional allergens other than gluten, here are my suggestions for how to do that. Keep in mind that chopped pecans are optional, so if you have to be nut-free, just leave those out.
Dairy free
In place of buttermilk in the cupcakes, use 1 1/2 fluid ounces (3 tablespoons) dairy free sour cream or Greek-style yogurt and 1 1/2 fluid ounces unflavored dairy free milk (I like coconut milk in the carton or soy milk). Use dairy free white chocolate chips or replace them with another flavor of dairy free chips, small dried fruit pieces and/or chopped walnuts or pecans.
For the frosting, I recommend using canned cream cheese frosting like Duncan Hines or Betty Crocker, which are usually free of dairy and gluten.
Egg free
In place of the 2 eggs, you can try chia eggs, Bob's Red Mill Egg Replacer, or JustEgg liquid egg replacer in the refrigerated section.
Gluten Free Carrot Cake Cupcakes Recipe
Equipment
- Stand mixer or handheld mixer for making the frosting
Ingredients
For the cupcakes
- 1 cup (140 g) all purpose gluten free flour blend, See Recipe Notes
- ½ teaspoon xanthan gum, omit if your blend already contains it
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ⅜ cup (75 g) granulated sugar
- ¼ cup (55 g) packed light brown sugar
- ¼ cup (56 g) neutral oil, (like sunflower, grapeseed, canola or vegetable oil)
- 2 (200 g out of shell) eggs, at room temperature, beaten
- ⅜ cup (3 fluid ounces) buttermilk, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste, or pure vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups (135 g) peeled and coarsely-grated carrots, (See Recipe Notes) (from about 2 medium carrots)
- ½ cup (3 ounces) gluten free white chocolate chips, (can replace with any other dry mix-ins)
For cream cheese frosting
- 4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
- 4 tablespoons (56 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 cups (230 g) confectioners’ sugar, plus more as necessary
- Chopped pecans, for decorating (optional)
Instructions
Make the cupcakes
- Preheat your oven to 325°F. Line a standard 12-cup muffin tin, and set it aside.
- In a large bowl, place the flour blend, xanthan gum, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, granulated sugar, and brown sugar. Whisk to combine well. Break up any lumps of brown sugar with the back of a mixing spoon.
- Create a well in the center of the dry ingredients, and add the oil, beaten eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla, and mix to combine. The mixture will be very soft and quite thin.
- Add the grated carrots to the mixture, plus the white chocolate chips, and mix until evenly distributed throughout. The batter will thicken a bit as you mix.
- Fill the wells of the prepared muffin tins about 3/4 of the way full with batter. Shake the pan back and forth to distribute it evenly in each well.
- Place the muffin tin in the center of the preheated oven and bake until they’re uniformly lightly golden brown on top, spring back when pressed gently in the center, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out not wet, but may have a few moist crumbs attached (18 to 20 minutes).
- Allow the cupcakes to cool in the pan for no more than 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. A small offset spatula slipped underneath each cupcake can help remove them while still hot without burning your fingers.
Make the frosting
- While the cupcakes are cooling, in the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or a large bowl with a handheld mixer), place the cream cheese and butter. Beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
- Add the salt, and 2 cups of confectioners’ sugar. Mix on low speed until the sugar is absorbed. Turn the mixer to high speed and beat until the frosting is thickened and fluffy, about 2 minutes more.
- Beat in more confectioners’ sugar as necessary to thicken the frosting enough to hold its shape when scooped with a spoon.
Decorate the cupcakes
- To frost the cupcakes, pipe a generous swirl of frosting using a large open piping tip, or snip the corner off a zip-top bag for a homemade version. You can also use an ice cream scoop to place a large dollop of frosting on top of each. Swirl with a spatula or spoon.
- Top with chopped pecans, if desired.
Notes
For expected results, use one of my recommended all purpose gluten free flour blends (like Better Batter original blend or Nicole’s Best multipurpose with added xanthan gum as directed in the recipe). If you use Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1, add an extra heaping 1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum to avoid crumbly cupcakes. To make your own blend using one of my “mock” recipes, please see the all purpose gluten free flour blends page. Grating the carrots
On a standard box grater, use the large holes which are about 1/4-inch in diameter. It's the side you'd use for mozzarella cheese. Do not use the finer grate. You should be able to see each individual shred.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Storage instructions
Since these cupcakes are made with oil, not butter, you can store them in a tightly sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Let them come closer to room temperature before serving.
For longer storage, freeze unfrosted cupcakes wrapped tightly for up to 3 months, and defrost at room temperature or in the microwave for about 20 seconds each. Frosted cupcakes can also be frozen, but will have to defrost at room temperature.
