Gluten Free Carrot Cake Cupcakes that are easy to make and incredibly moist. They’re loaded with puréed carrots, shredded coconut, walnuts, and pineapple. These fly off the platter at parties! These are naturally dairy free and can be made with dairy free or regular cream cheese frosting.
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Gluten Free Carrot Cake Cupcakes
Carrot cake is such an under-rated cake when it comes to the cake world. It often gets outshined by chocolate cake, Funfetti cake, or even everyone’s favorite – yellow cake with chocolate frosting. But there’s something to be said for carrot cake, especially this gluten free carrot cake cupcake recipe.
This year, my husband wanted his favorite gluten free carrot cake for his birthday cake. Except a big carrot cake is just way too much for us to eat – it’s much better for a crowd (perfect for Easter).
Instead, I halved that recipe (and tweaked the amount of walnuts) and then turned it into these gluten free carrot cake cupcakes. You guys, I’m incredibly pleased with the results! We also served them at my daughter’s birthday party and they were a hit.
As I mentioned, I tweaked the amount of walnuts called for in this recipe. A straight-half of the original recipe would have called for 3/4 cups of chopped walnuts. That’s the amount I used the first time I turned the carrot cake into cupcakes and I thought it was just a bit too much for cupcakes.
Half a cup of walnuts was a much better ratio, especially since there’s also carrot pureé, shredded coconut and crushed pineapple. That’s a lot in one little cupcake! And don’t worry, if you need nut-free, you can omit the walnuts altogether.
I frosted my gluten free carrot cake cupcakes with cream cheese frosting. The cream cheese frosting can also be made dairy free which would make these cupcakes completely dairy free! The only thing with the dairy free cream cheese is that it’s a bit softer so it doesn’t pipe as well. It’s perfectly fine for spreading.
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I decorated my cupcakes with some extra chopped walnuts. You can do the same, you can leave them unadorned and go strictly with frosting, or you could even try your hand at making some cute little carrots. The walnuts are nice and easy though 😉
And please don’t think that these gluten free carrot cupcakes are just for Easter. As I mentioned earlier, we had them for birthday parties but they’d be great at bridal showers, weddings, or even baby showers too! Enjoy!
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Gluten Free Carrot Cake Cupcakes
Ingredients
For the Cupcakes
- 1 1/2 cups Bob's Red Mill 1:1 Gluten Free Baking Flour
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts
- 3/4 cup carrot pureé*
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 3/4 cup avocado oil or canola oil
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup shredded coconut
- 1/2 cup crushed pineapple
For the Cream Cheese Frosting
- 8 oz. cream cheese softened
- 1/2 cup butter softened (8 Tablespoons)
- 4 1/2 C powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tsp fresh lemon juice
Instructions
To Make the Cupcakes:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line 20 muffin cups with paper liners or spray with non-stick spray.
- If making your own carrot purée, see notes and make that first and let them cool.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the gluten free flour, granulated sugar, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon. Stir in the chopped walnuts.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the puréed carrots, eggs, oil, and vanilla. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Fold in the shredded coconut and crushed pineapple.
- Let the batter sit/rest for 5 minutes.
- Scoop the batter into the 20 prepared cupcake tins. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-22 minutes.
- Cool completely on a wire rack before frosting with cream cheese frosting.
To make the Frosting:
- Add the cream cheese and butter to a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat together until smooth, about 1 minute.
- Add the powdered sugar and mix on the lowest speed until the sugar is incorporated. Add the vanilla and lemon juice and mix an additional 30 seconds to 1 minute until the frosting is smooth and creamy.
- Frost the cupcakes when they are completely cooled.
Notes
- To make my own carrot purée, I cooked sliced carrots in the microwave in about 1/4 cup of water. Once soft, I used my immersion blender to purée them. Cool before adding to the egg mixture.
- I frosted these cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting and decorated them with finely chopped walnuts.
- To make the cream cheese frosting dairy free, use 8 oz. dairy free cream cheese, 1/4 cup shortening, and 1/4 cup vegan butter.
- Decorating Tip used to frost these cupcakes: Ateco 856
Disclaimers
As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Nutrition Facts are estimated and aren't always accurate. Please consult a doctor or nutritionist if you have special dietary needs.
I took a shortcut and bought puréed carrots in the baby food aisle LOL. The recipe is super delicious and was a big hit!
Great shortcut!
Could almond flour be used for these? I can’t wait to try this!
No, sorry. I did not test this recipe with almond flour.
I made these but added cloves, ginger, and nutmeg in addition to the cinnamon
These came out so good. I subbed the egg for applesauce because my little one has allergy for eggs and cupcakes came out perfect. Very fragile but still delicious. Thank you for this recipe. Definetly going to make it again
These were absolutely fabulous! I made them for my boyfriend’s birthday because he loves carrot cake and he said it was the best carrot cake he ever had. The cake was moist and delicious, and the frosting was perfect. I can’t believe they are gluten free! I made a few mini cupcakes and the rest normal size cupcakes. It was hard to get the icing on the mini’s but the icing went on fine with the larger ones. I put walnuts in half of the batter and none in the other. Personally, I liked the cake without walnuts better, but still sprinkled walnuts on top of the icing on all of them. I was really blown away by this recipe. Thank you!! I will definitely be making them again.
Thanks for the feedback Amanda, I’m so glad you and your boyfriend loved them! And happy belated birthday to him!
I tried another recipe somewhere for gluten free carrot cupcakes and this one is the best so far! The cupcakes were not too heavy, and the coconut and pineapple creates a little more structure or air tiny air pockets to the gluten free flour, which makes this mimic the texture of cupcakes made out of regular wheat flour. I think the pineapple and coconut makes a big difference!
I pureed half of the carrots and grated the other half, very good. Also only used half of the sugar and the cupcakes were still nice and sweet. I used fresh pineapple chunks pureed with the carrots. For frosting, a vegan coconut cream buttercream is lovely. Thanks for a great recipe.
Thanks for sharing Daren!
Your carrot cupcake recipe is to die for. Never made it before. It took 3 carrots for the purée for me. I used your best cream cheese frosting for my Italian cream cake which was better than the frosting that came with it. Your chocolate cake is my go to cake. Can’t say enough good things about your recipes. Thanks Shay.
Karen
Thank you, Karen! It makes me so happy to hear how much you’re enjoying my recipes!
Eggs are not listed on the ingredient list. I guessed and added two. Forgot about it and had to add them after I mixed the wet and dry ingredients, so I whisked them in a separate bowl and dumped them in.
Hi Katherine, the eggs are listed between the carrot puree and avocado oil.
I have done this twice and they have baked with a sunk in middle and spread out over the top of the pan. I used coconut oil instead on canola/avocado and omitted the shredded coconut. What am I doing wrong.
New to gluten free baking.
(They still taste good 🙂)
Did you use melted coconut oil? Also, you’ll want to make sure your oven is at the correct temperature with an oven thermometer and make sure your baking soda isn’t expired. Hope that helps!
sooooo good!. Thank you for this recipe, my husband loved it.
Thanks Gabriela, so happy to hear that!
Add some apples sauce instead.
Instead of?
Would this recipe work for a cake version instead of a cupcake? I made the cupcakes and they were delicious.
You can get my cake version here:
Has anyone used another 1:1 blend with success? I have Cup4Cup and Pamela’s on hand…hoping to get some feedback. Thanks!
Hi Melissa, I haven’t used either of those flours with this recipe but of the two, I’d probably recommend Pamela’s. My experience with Cup4Cup tells me that it might make these cupcakes a little too gummy.
Hello,
just wondering if this recipe would work with any flour blend or must I definitely use the Bob’s?
The cupcakes look delicious btw☺️
You could try it with another 1:1 flour if you prefer.
Could you replace the nuts in the cake with raisins, or just omit the nuts altogether? I have to be out free. Thanks
Hi Nancy, feel free to omit the nuts!
Can these be made without the coconut and pineapple? I’m allergic. If I omit them, do I need to tweak the recipe in any way? Thanks!
Hi Mischa, you can definitely omit the coconut but I haven’t tried this without the pineapple. The pineapple adds moisture to the cupcakes so if you omit it, they might not be as moist. You could try adding a little shredded carrot to make up for it.
Carrot cake cupcakes are such a great idea! They look absolutely delicious and I love that they’re dairy free too! I have a baby shower I’m hosting soon that these will be perfect for!
I’m probably one of the only people on the planet who really doesn’t like cake, but carrot is my one exception. I love moist, rich carrot cake and these cupcakes look perfect!
So perfect for Easter dessert! They look absolutely delicious!
I love that you placed these cupcakes on a pedestal. That is exactly where these beauties should be! They look delicious.
YES perfect for Easter, but YESSSSS I have a big baby shower coming up, and these tasty bites just may be on the menu!
I’m sure there must be some kind of a happy dance for carrot cake cupcakes. These look yummy!
I have already decided. First, I’d lick off the icing and then eat the carrot cake. And not feel a bit self-conscious!!
If i use the can crushed pineapple do i drain the liquid out?
You can, I sometimes drain some of the liquid out but not always.
I only recently started to appreciate carrot cake! Your cupcakes look perfect and delish 🙂
Thank you Jenna!
How much carrots are cooked in the 1/4 cup water before pureeing them? That seems to make a difference how watery the purée would be. Or do you drain them before pureeing? Thanks!
Hi Judy, it’s about 2-4 carrots depending on size. And I keep it simple and don’t drain them before puréeing.