Flourless Carrot Cake Oatmeal Muffins
Flourless Carrot Cake Oatmeal Muffins are healthy, gluten-free carrot muffins that are tender and fluffy, made with oat flour and no refined sugar!
I’ve been eating so many carrots lately, I may grow big ears and start hopping around. Yes, it really is getting that out of hand.
Normally I buy the big bags of organic carrots, but after encountering too many flavorless carrots in those bags, I started buying the bunches with the gorgeous carrot tops.
Those carrots are life changing, and so are the carrot tops!
I’ve been buying bunch after bunch and making recipes like carrot soup, carrot top pesto, and these healthy carrot oatmeal muffins.
No wonder I show no signs of slowing down on the carrot eating front.
I love carrot cake, and since I can’t eat it all the time, I enjoy creating healthier recipes to satisfy my carrot cake cake cravings. See my carrot oatmeal cookies and these coconut carrot cake protein donuts from Crumb Top Baking if you feel the same!
These muffins have a light texture and a tender crumb, contain no refined sugar, minimal oil, and have a whopping two cups of grated carrot in the batter.
They’re lightly spiced with the warm flavors of cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg. The best part? These carrot oatmeal muffins don’t contain any wheat flour.
I rarely eat wheat flour anymore because it doesn’t agree with me, so I’ve been experimenting a lot with gluten-free flours.
Oat flour is one of my favorite gluten-free flours, and I’m super happy that this recipe was such a success with just oat flour. Just look at the domes on these muffins!
Oh, and did I mention that you only need one bowl for this recipe? It just keeps getting better. 🙂
Is oat flour gluten-free?
Oats and oat flour are naturally gluten-free, but trace amounts of gluten may be found in oats and oat flour that aren’t labeled certified gluten-free because of the manufacturing process.
If you’re gluten intolerant, be sure to purchase certified gluten-free oat flour such as Bob’s Red Mill.
Can I substitute rolled oats for the oat flour?
Absolutely! Simply use 2 cups of rolled oats in place of the oat flour, and blend all ingredients except for the carrots, coconut and walnuts in a blender until smooth. Fold in the carrots and coconut and proceed as directed.
How to make this recipe
It’s super easy to prepare these gluten-free carrot cake muffins. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees, and line a standard muffin pan with paper liners.
Grate your carrots by hand right into a measuring cup, or process in a food processor. This can be done in advance!
Place the coconut oil in a large bowl, and if it’s solid, melt in the microwave for 30-40 seconds. Whisk in the coconut sugar, then add the eggs and whisk vigorously until frothy. Add the milk and vanilla, and whisk until incorporated.
Pour the oat flour over the top of the wet ingredients, and sprinkle over the baking powder, spices, baking soda and salt. Stir gently until almost combined, being careful not to over mix, then fold in the carrot and coconut.
Divide the batter between the (12) muffin cavities and top with walnut pieces.
Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown and the top of the muffin springs back when pressed gently. Remove from heat and cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then remove from the pan and cool completely.
Recipe tips and substitutions
As I mentioned, rolled oats may be used in place of oat flour. Simply process everything but the carrot, coconut and walnuts in a blender until smooth. Fold in the carrots and coconut, and proceed as directed.
The coconut oil may be replaced with your favorite oil.
If you’re not a fan of coconut, omit it altogether, and the walnuts may be substituted with your favorite nuts or omitted as well.
More muffin recipes you’ll love:
- Flourless blueberry banana muffins by Making Thyme for Health
- Healthy banana muffins
- Healthy morning glory muffins
- Healthy pumpkin muffins
- Healthy zucchini muffins
- Peanut butter banana muffins
Flourless Carrot Cake Oatmeal Muffins
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup coconut oil
- 3/4 cup coconut sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups oat flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 2 cups grated carrot 3 medium carrots
- 1/3 cup unsweetened finely shredded coconut
- 1/2 cup walnut pieces
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees, and line a standard muffin pan with paper liners.
- Grate your carrots by hand right into a measuring cup, or process in a food processor. This can be done in advance!
- Place the coconut oil in a large bowl and if it’s solid, melt in the microwave for 30-40 seconds. Whisk in the coconut sugar, then add the eggs and whisk vigorously until frothy. Add the milk and vanilla, and whisk until incorporated.
- Pour the oat flour over the top of the wet ingredients, and sprinkle over the baking powder, spices, baking soda and salt. Stir gently until almost combined, being careful not to over mix, then fold in the carrot and coconut.
- Divide the batter between the (12) muffin cavities and top with walnut pieces.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown and the top of the muffin springs back when pressed gently. Remove from heat and cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then remove from the pan and cool completely.
Notes
- *The same amount of rolled oats may be used in place of the oat flour. Simply blend all ingredients except for the carrots, coconut and walnuts in a blender until smooth. Fold in the carrots and coconut, and proceed as directed.
- Substitute the coconut oil with your favorite oil, the coconut sugar with maple syrup or granulated sugar, and omit the coconut and walnuts if you prefer.
- Store leftover muffins in the fridge for 3-5 days in an air tight container. Heat for 10 seconds and enjoy! Muffins are also freezer friendly.
- Be sure to use certified gluten-free oat flour or oats if gluten intolerant.
Nutrition
Nutrition is estimated using a food database and is only intended to be used as a guideline for informational purposes.
21 Comments on “Flourless Carrot Cake Oatmeal Muffins”
I LOVE that these are flourless! I’m such a big carrot cake fan, too! You’re right though, you can’t always have carrot cake, so at least you have some good healthy options! I also dig that you can make them in one bowl. Have a great week, Marcie!
I have a neighbor whose husband loves sweets but is trying to avoid gluten…he will love these.
That’s pretty much me right now, so these muffins are perfect for me!
I’m pretty sure I’m going to grow ears and start hopping around soon too Marcie! I’m loving all the carrot cake recipes these days. And these flourless muffins look like a must try for the Easter weekend! And thanks for sharing a link to my donut recipe 🙂 Much appreciated!
‘Tis the season for all things carrot right? 🙂 And you’re welcome, I’m drying to try your donuts!
Could I substitute the egg with a flaxseed egg?
Hi Veronica! I’ve never tried that so I’m not certain that a flax egg would work.
I made these this morning and substituted ground quinoa flakes for the oatmeal…..they turned out amazing! Light and fluffy and so tasty!
I have some quinoa flakes and will have to try that next time! Thank you for your feedback Tracy!
My husband and I love this flourless carrot cake oatmeal muffins recipe!!!! This is our new go to carrot cake recipe!!!
The oat flour is an ingenious choice!
It makes it a more exciting way to get my oatmeal in the morning!!!
It also made the muffins so moist and flavorful, that I’ve made 3 batches in two weeks.
I made a few changes as I’m trying to cut back on sugar as well. I used 1/4 c of sugar and substituted honey for the rest of the sugar. I also used slightly less carrots, (because I didn’t have enough) and added shredded zucchini and a little bit of crushed pineapples!
Thank you for an amazing and desert healthy option!!!!
Correction
Sorry this recipe has me too excited!!!
The end of the last comment should say:
Thank you for an amazing and healthy dessert option!!!!
😘
I’m so glad you love this so much Karen and thank you for the feedback — it means a lot!
You can really sink your teeth into these! These are nice and dense–just like I like’em! I made them last night and had to substitute a couple things (low fat milk for almond and monk fruit sweetener for the sugar). And I always add chia seeds for extra goodness. The recipe is a keeper and one that is now in the rotation…thank you!!
I’m so glad that you enjoyed these Elese and thank you for sharing your substitutions! I truly appreciate your feedback. 🙂
These muffins are absolutely amazing. I admit, I did add pineapple and raisins and accidentally forgot the baking soda. But they still turned out fantastic. The texture was incredible. I made three mini cakes too as a layered carrot cake to surprise hubby for our anniversary. The praise just didn’t stop…and he usually isn’t a fan of gluten free options….although he’s never been able to tell the difference with any of the homemade things so far. This is by far, my new favourite carrot cake recipe. And my gluten cake is incredible. Even if I could still eat gluten, this would be my new carrot cake recipe. Tastes exactly like my regular carrot cake. So glad I found your site.
I’m glad you love the recipe and I truly appreciate your feedback! The oat flour has a soft, cake-like texture, so I love the idea to bake it like a cake with pineapple and raisins. Thank you for the great idea!
Is there something I can substitute for the coconut? Im not a fan.
I’m excited to try these!!
Thx!
You can simply omit it and they’ll turn out great.
I added 1/3 cup raisins, replaced the coconut oil with butter and mixed in the walnuts to the batter. It was great! The walnuts and the raisins give it a good texture. I would have added coconut flakes but I didn’t have any. I also used cow’s milk instead of almond because again if didn’t have any on hand. Thanks for the great recipe! I’m sure I will try a few variations. The flavour is awesome. This was a life savour for an impromptu trip with the kids tomorrow, nothing puts a smile on their faces like muffins!
Thanks so much for your feedback Rachelle! 🙂