Easy Gluten-Free Carrot Muffins (Dairy-Free)

Soft, fluffy, and tender with an amazingly moist crumb, these easy gluten-free carrot muffins are studded with chopped pecans and flavored with cinnamon and nutmeg. Made with finely grated carrots, these healthy carrot cake muffins are your favorite carrot cake in muffin form, and make a great quick breakfast or anytime snack on the go. Totally dairy-free, but no one would even know!

Jump to:

• Muffins are the Perfect Breakfast or Anytime Snack
• Carrot Cake in Muffin Form
• Why This Recipe Works
• Ingredients You’ll Need:
• Ingredient Notes/Substitutions:
• How to Make Gluten-Free Carrot Muffins (Step by Step)
• Dish by Dish Tips/Tricks:
• Recipe FAQs:
• Other Gluten-Free Muffins You’ll Love:
• Snack Recipes to Enjoy:
• Easy Gluten-Free Carrot Muffins (Dairy-Free)

Muffins are the Perfect Breakfast or Anytime Snack

Muffins are such an amazing invention – they’re the perfect size for individual eating, great for a quick breakfast, as well as a snack for taking on the go!

I’ve been on a muffin roll recently, and have been baking quite a few different types of muffins. From citrusy lemon muffins, to cornbread muffins, flaxseed muffins and banana nut muffins, I can’t quite get enough of them!

Carrot Cake in Muffin Form

One of my favorite desserts is definitely carrot cake, but having the frosting or icing on the top seems a little too decadent for everyday eating.

That’s probably why I enjoy this carrot cake bread so much. All the deliciousness of carrot cake without copious amounts of icing!

And given how successful this carrot bread has been, I wanted to create carrot muffins, and these delicious gluten-free carrot cake muffins were born!

Why This Recipe Works

• Simple Ingredients: The ingredients required for this carrot muffin recipe are easily accessible at the grocery store, and you might already have them in your kitchen.

• Super Easy to Make: It’s just a matter of mixing the wet ingredients together, then adding in the dry ingredients to get a batter. Once the batter is ready, the carrots and pecans are folded in and then transferred to the muffin pan and baked.

• Soft, tender and fluffy: In my opinion, muffins have to be soft and moist, and these carrot cake muffins have exactly that great texture. Freshly grated carrots make these carrot muffins extra moist, and they have a light and fluffy crumb that makes them just out-of-this-world delicious!

• Bursting with Flavor: Just slightly sweetened, these carrot muffins also have a hint of cinnamon and nutmeg for amazing flavor.

• Totally Gluten-free and dairy-Free: This recipe is also completely gluten-free and dairy-free, but honestly no one would know (or care)! This means that even those with Celiac disease or gluten and lactose intolerances or allergies can enjoy them without any worries!

Ingredients You’ll Need:

Here’s a visual overview of the ingredients you’ll need to make this gluten-free carrot muffins recipe.

(For exact measurements and quantities, please scroll down to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.)

Ingredient Notes/Substitutions:

• Sunflower Oil: I like using sunflower oil because I always have a bottle of it on hand. You can also use melted vegan butter or another vegetable oil such as avocado oil, olive oil or melted coconut oil. Alternatively, if you are not lactose intolerant, feel free to use melted better instead.

• Sugar: I used granulated white sugar, but you can also use light brown sugar, dark brown sugar or coconut sugar instead. If you are diabetic or insulin-resistant, I highly recommend that you use Lakanto monkfruit sweetener (a 1:1 sugar substitute with zero glycemic-index).

• Eggs: In this carrot cake muffins recipe, eggs are necessary as a binder and also help the muffins to rise. If you prefer to leave out the yolks, simply use 6 egg whites instead of 3 whole eggs. I have not tried this recipe without eggs (or with an egg replacer such as aquafaba or flax eggs), so I don’t know how that would turn out. If you do try it without eggs, please let me know how it went in the comments below!

• Almond Milk: I like using my 5-minute homemade almond milk, but you can also use another non-dairy milk such as cashew milk, soy milk, rice milk, sunflower seed milk, coconut milk or pecan milk. Alternatively, if you are not lactose-intolerant, feel free to use normal dairy milk.

• Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour: I highly recommend that you use a good quality gluten-free all-purpose flour blend that includes a mix of lighter flours and starches (such as rice flour, corn starch, tapioca starch, or potato starch) to ensure a fluffy final mixture. I do NOT recommend gluten-free flour blends that use heavier flours such as garbanzo bean flour which will result in a denser final texture. Make sure your gluten-free flour blend includes xanthan gum (a replacement for gluten in gluten-free flours. If it doesn’t, make sure to add in 3/4 teaspoon of xanthan gum to the mix for best results).

• Flaxseed Meal: I like to add flaxseed meal for extra fiber and binding power. I recommend grinding your own flaxseed meal from whole flax seeds for guaranteed freshness (all you need is 5 minutes!)

• Baking Powder: Baking powder is the leavening agent that will help the carrot cake muffins rise, so make sure you don’t leave it out! If you are Celiac or gluten-intolerant, make sure you use certified gluten-free baking powder.

• Cinnamon/Nutmeg: I like adding ground cinnamon and ground nutmeg to enhance the flavor and taste of these gluten-free carrot muffins, and therefore I highly recommend adding them in.

• Grated Carrots: I always grate carrots myself to ensure I get super-finely grated carrots (unlike the pre-grated carrots sold in supermarkets which tend to be on the larger end). It does required a bit of arm muscle, but trust me, the results are so much better! You want the grated carrots to blend into the crumb, not stick out in huge pieces!

• Pecans: In my opinion, pecans make the perfect complement to these carrot muffins. However, if you don’t have pecans on hand, or would prefer to use another nut, chopped walnuts or almonds will work too.

How to Make Gluten-Free Carrot Muffins (Step by Step)

1. Preheat and Grease

Preheat the oven to 350F and grease a 12-cup standard muffin tin or a silicon muffin mold.

2. Chop Pecans

Roughly chop the pecans (neither too small nor too large).

3. Grate the Carrots

Use a small-hole grater to grate the carrots (or use the smallest hole on your box grater to do so).

4. Beat Oil and Sugar

Beat the sunflower oil and sugar in a large mixing bowl to combine.

5. Add Eggs and Milk

Add the beaten eggs and milk to the large bowl and beat well to get a yellow mixture.

6. Whisk Dry Ingredients

In a medium bowl, whisk the gluten-free all-purpose flour, flaxseed meal, ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg and baking powder together.

7. Add Dry Ingredients to Wet Ingredients

Sift the dry ingredients into the bowl with the wet ingredients and whisk well until you get a homogeneous batter.

8. Fold in Carrots and Pecans

Use a spatula to fold in all of the carrots and 1/2 cup of the chopped pecans until they are evenly distributed.

9. Transfer Batter to Muffin Mold

Divide the batter evenly between the muffin cups in the muffin mold (approximately 1/2 cup of batter per cavity).

10. Top Batter with Remaining Pecans

Sprinkle the remaining chopped pecans evenly on top of the batter.

11. Bake Until Ready

Bake 50 to 55 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the carrot muffins comes out clean.

12. Cool Completely

Let the gluten-free carrot muffins cool in the mold for at least 5 minutes before removing and letting them fully cool on a wire rack at room temperature.

Dish by Dish Tips/Tricks:

• Use a Silicon Muffin Mold: I highly recommend using a silicon muffin mold so that the muffins won’t stick to the pan. This way, you don’t need to use paper liners and you get perfectly shaped muffins!

• Make Mini Muffins: To make mini carrot muffins, divide the batter between a 24-cup mini muffin mold, and bake for 25 to 30 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. You’ll get 24 mini muffins.

• Make Jumbo Muffins: To make jumbo carrot cake muffins, simply divide the batter between a 6-cup jumbo muffin mold and bake for 1 hour or until a toothpick in the middle comes out clean. You’ll get 6 jumbo muffins.

Recipe FAQs:

Other Gluten-Free Muffins You’ll Love:

• Flaxseed Muffins (Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free)
• Banana Nut Muffins (Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free)
• Lemon Muffins (Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free)
• Cornbread Muffins (Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free)
• Pumpkin Muffins (Gluten-Free, Vegan)
• Blueberry Muffins (Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free)

Snack Recipes to Enjoy:

P.S. If you try this recipe, I’d love for you to leave a star rating below, and/or a review in the comment section further down the page. I always appreciate your feedback. Be sure to check out my entire Recipe Index for all the recipes on the blog. You can also follow me on Pinterest, Facebook or Instagram! Sign up for my Email List to get fresh recipes in your inbox each week!

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