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These gluten free carrot muffins are packed with carrot cake flavor, and made in just one bowl with less sugar and a more satisfying bite.
Even though they taste like gluten free carrot cake, they're made with a lot less sugar and will keep you going all morning long!
“These were amazing, my kids loved them. They turned out SO good! Moist, flavorful, just so so good. I’ve never had a bad recipe from you though!
“Hands down the best GF muffin recipe I’ve tried. They could easily be mistaken for non GF!”
my take
Nicole's Recipe Notes
These moist and tender carrot muffins are perfectly browned all around, and have an extra sprinkling of brown sugar on top of a big dome. They look and taste like they came out of your favorite bakery.
They taste similar to carrot cake, but there is less sugar in these muffins, and their crumb is a bit denser. Muffins are usually made to be heartier and more satisfying than cupcakes. They're usually eaten for breakfast or a snack, so you want them to fill you up.
Even though I have a recipe for gluten free zucchini muffins and gluten free banana muffins, some readers in the comments swear by swapping out the carrots for zucchini or bananas here and making this their go-to muffin recipe!
Muffin fans also love my gluten free lemon poppy seed muffins and gluten free chocolate muffins.
Expert tips
- Make quick work of grating carrots in a food processor with the grater blade. Avoid pre-shredded carrots, which are thicker and tend to be dry.
- Baking is precise by nature. Measure everything that has a weight measurement provided on a simple digital kitchen scale.
- Temperature matters! If an ingredient is meant to be at room temperature, bring it to room temperature or the batter won't combine properly, and the muffins won't turn out.
- Use one of my recommended all purpose gluten free flour blends to make this recipe. Other flour blends are gritty, or poorly balanced and won't make muffins that have the taste, texture, or even shaped you expect.
Ingredient substitutions
Dairy free
There isn't any butter in these muffins, since they're made with virgin coconut oil that's softened to warm room temperature. The only dairy in these muffins is the buttermilk.
If you can't have dairy, you can replace the buttermilk with half unsweetened nondairy milk and half nondairy plain yogurt or nondairy sour cream, each by volume.
Egg free
If you can't have eggs, try replacing the eggs in these carrot muffins with one “chia egg” each. For each chia egg, place 1 tablespoon ground white chia seeds with 1 tablespoon lukewarm water in a small bowl, mix, and let it sit until it gels. You can also try Bob's Red Mill Egg Replacer for each egg.
There are 4 eggs in this recipe, which is a lot of eggs to try to replace. I would recommend reducing the size of the recipe by half, or even reducing it down to 1/4, to test whether the egg replacer will work here.
Coconut free
If you don't like the taste of virgin coconut oil, try using the triple filtered, which has absolutely no coconut aroma. If you can't have coconut, try using shortening in its place.
I don't recommend using butter in place of coconut oil. It causes the muffins to brown too much during baking, and changes the look and taste of the muffins pretty significantly. Avoid using an oil that is liquid at room temperature or the muffins will turn out feeling and tasting oily.
Buttermilk replacements
Even if you can have dairy, you may find that you don't have buttermilk on hand. Adding lemon juice to milk doesn't replace the thick, rich texture of buttermilk. It just adds some tang.
Instead, combine half whole milk and half plain yogurt, each by volume, or try using plain lowfat or whole milk kefir. Either is the perfect buttermilk replacement.
Gluten Free Carrot Muffins Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups (280 g) all purpose gluten free flour blend, (See Recipe Notes)
- 1 teaspoon xanthan gum, omit if your blend already contains it
- 2 tablespoons (18 g) cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
- 2 cups (200 g) peeled and grated fresh carrots
- 6 ounces raisins, and/or semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 9 tablespoons (108 g) virgin coconut oil, at warm room temperature (See Recipe Notes)
- 4 (200 g (weighed out of shell)) eggs, at room temperature, beaten
- ¾ cup (6 fluid ounces) buttermilk, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons (26 g) light brown sugar, for sprinkling (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F. Grease the wells of a standard 12-cup muffin tin and set it aside.
- In a large bowl, place the all purpose flour, xanthan gum, cornstarch, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and sugar, and whisk to combine well.
- Add the grated carrots and mix to combine, breaking up any clumps. Add the raisins or chocolate chips, and toss to coat. (See Recipe Notes)
- Create a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the coconut oil, beaten eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla, and mix to combine. The batter will be thick but soft.
- Fill the prepared wells of the muffin tins about completely full with batter. With wet fingers, smooth the tops of the batter in the wells.
- Sprinkle the tops of the batter in the muffin wells evenly with the optional brown sugar.
- Place the tin in the center of the preheated oven and bake until the tops of the muffins spring back when pressed gently (18 to 20 minutes).
- Remove the muffin tin from the oven and place on a wire rack. Allow to sit for at least 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Make ahead/leftovers
Storage instructions
These muffins will stay fresh at room temperature in a sealed container for up to 2 days. For longer storage, they freeze very well for up to 3 months.
Just place the baked and cooled muffins in a single layer on a small, rimmed baking sheet or tray and freeze until solid. Pile the frozen muffins into a freezer-safe bag, and remove as much air as possible.
Defrost at room temperature or in the microwave for 20 seconds to help it thaw. Refreshing the muffins in the toaster oven by sprinkling them lightly with water and toasting or warming them in a 300°F oven for about 5 minutes.
Should I melt the coconut oil before mixing in? Seems like there are clumps of I don’t.
There’s no mistake in the recipe, Marie Claire. The coconut oil is directed to be at “warm room temperature,” which is quite soft, not melted. Even at cool room temperature, virgin coconut oil is soft-solid.
I just took them out of the oven . Not only do they look good, but are delicious
I have not made these yet, but just wondered if they could be made as muffin tops? Thank you for all the great recipes!
You really need a separate recipe for something that will hold its shape and have the texture of just the top. You can see that in my recipe for blueberry muffin tops.
Do you believe this recipe will work in a mini-muffin pan?
Hi, Joann, I don’t see why not, but you’ll have to watch the baking time carefully. Mini muffins pans especially are really variable in terms of the size and shape of the wells, so I really can’t guess ahead of time how long baking will take.
Do you have a sub for coconut oil?
Please see the Ingredient substitutions section of the text of the post, Kate!
Thank you for all you do!
For the Carrot Muffins 20g of sugar is more than I want to per muffin. 8-10g at most. Do you have a suggestion for a low sugar muffin? Or low sugar loafs?
Hi, Bill, I’m afraid these aren’t designed to be low-sugar muffins, and you can’t reduce sugar and get the same results since it locks in moisture, and doesn’t just add sweetness. That really isn’t my specialty. Maybe a keto blog would suit your needs?
Amazing. I had to make my own Buttermilk (1 cup of milk/1tblsp lemon juice) and had to use Sunflower oil.
These are divine. Surprisingly fluffy and light for what I thought might be a denser muffin.
I used Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 GF flour as this is what I have in my house.
I also did not have coconut oil or buttermilk so I subbed avocado oil and regular milk + 1tsp vinegar.
I just want to commend this recipe’s versatility. To have so many substitutions and still turn out SO fabulous, it’s astounding.
I proceeded to go on a baking spree after this as Gluten Free on a Shoestring’s recipes are so dependable and always work with similar substitutions for me so I never have to run to the store last minute. 10/10 love these.
That’s so great to hear, Sarah. Thank you so much for sharing your experience with this recipe, which is always appreciated, and for your overall confidence in my recipes. I do try to write recipes that are as flexible as possible, but it also helps that you understand that, with each substitution, you might get further from the result you expect. Not everyone takes that into account like you do.
I made these with a lot of substitutions and they turned out amazing and perfect in every way!
I subbed 1 cup of pulsed oatmeal for 1 c of the GF flour
for the white sugar I used 1/2 C maple syrup, 1/4 C coconut sugar and 1/4 C turbinado sugar.
I used 2 Tbs potato starch instead of cornstarch b/c I didn’t have cornstarch.
I also added 1 tsp cinamon, 1/4 tsp nutmeg and a small knob of microplaned fresh ginger
In addition to 2/3 cup of raisins I also added about 2/3 C chopped walnuts
I did need to bake them longer, but I have a vintage oven that has variable temps.
Next time I will up the spices, esp the fresh ginger.
I’m curious what does adding the cornstarch do for the recipe?
Thanks!
Cornstarch helps lighten the blend and tenderize the muffins.
Hands down the best GF muffin recipe I’ve tried. They could easily be mistaken for non GF. Works very well with banana walnut and I’ve yet to try it but suspect either zucchini or squash would be great alternatives to the carrot.
Hi, Wendy, so glad you enjoyed the muffins so much! In my experience zucchini/squash and shredded carrots aren’t great alternatives to one another in baking as zucchini has significantly more moisture. I do have a recipe for gluten free zucchini muffins that I think you’d love, too, though!
Thank you! I look forward to trying that one. :)