Tasty "Healthy" Carrot Muffins
Tasty and healthy carrot muffins that are gluten free and sweetened with natural agave.
Equipment
- 2 Mixing Bowls (one large and one medium)
- 1 Muffin Pan
- 12 Cupcake Liners
Ingredients
- 1 cup Gluten Free Flour (I use Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free 1 to 1 Baking Flour linked above)
- 1 cup Almond Flour
- 1½ tsp Baking Powder
- 1 tbsp Ground Cinnamon
- ½ tsp Baking Soda
- ½ tsp Salt
- 1 tsp Ground Nutmeg
- 2 cups Shredded Roasted Carrots (about 6 large carrots)
- ⅔ cup Chopped Pecans
- ⅓ cup Avocado Oil or Melted Coconut Oil (plus an extra 2 tbsp for roasting carrots)
- ½ cup Agave Nectar (Maple Syrup or Honey are great alternatives)
- ½ cup Greek Yogurt (Kite Hill Vegan Greek Yogurt is a great alternative)
- ½ tbsp Vanilla Extract
- ⅓ cup Milk or Non-Dairy Milk
- 2 Flax Eggs - To make Flax Eggs you'll need: 2 tbsp Ground Flax and 5 tbsp water. Note, regular eggs work perfectly fine, but I substitute flax eggs where I can because I have an egg intolerance and they also provide added fiber.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 °F
- Prepare your muffin tin with the 12 cupcake liners. Optional: grease the liners by spraying non-stick cooking spray or brushing Avocado oil/Melted Coconut Oil.
- Peel the large carrots and place them on a baking sheet that is lined with parchment paper. Toss carrots with 2 tbsp of Melted Coconut Oil. Roast in preheated oven for approximately 25 minutes.
- Remove carrots from the oven and let cool for approximately 5-10 minutes. Pulse in food processor until shredded and there are no large chunks.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the Gluten Free Flour, Almond Flour, Baking Powder, Baking Soda, Cinnamon, Nutmeg, and Salt. Whisk it by hand until all the ingredients are fully incorporated.
- Add the Chopped Pecans and Shredded Carrots to the flour mixture and stir until incorporated.
- If necessary: prepare Flax Eggs. In a small bowl combine 2 tbsp of Ground Flax Seeds with 5 tbsp water. Mix until well incorporated. Let sit for about 2-5 minutes to allow the mixture to thicken.
- In a separate, medium mixing bowl, combine the Avocado Oil (or Melted Coconut Oil) and Agave Nectar (or Maple Syrup). Whisk together vigorously until well incorporated
- Add the Flax Eggs (or Regular Eggs), Vanilla Extract, Milk/Non-Dairy Milk and Greek Yogurt, to the oil/sugar mixture and whisk until fully incorporated.
- Pour half of the wet ingredients into the large bowl with the dry ingredients and fold them together with a rubber spatula until almost fully incorporated. Pour the remaining half of the wet ingredients into the large bowl and continue to fold until all of the ingredients are incorporated, being careful not to over mix.
- Divide the batter evenly into the 12 pre-lined, greased muffin cups. For this step, I like to use a ice cream scooper to ensure the muffins are equal sizes. The cups should be filled about ¾ of the way.
- Once the cups are filled, place the muffin tin in the preheated oven for about 14-18 minutes. The muffins should be golden on top and a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Note, sometimes with gluten free/almond flour the toothpick will not come clean, but will have some moist crumbs attached. As long as the center is not wet, it will generally firm up as it cools.
- When done, remove the muffin tin from the oven and let the muffins sit (in the tin) on top of a cooling rack for about 5 minutes. Remove the muffins from the tin and and place them directly on the cooling rack until fully cool.
- Once fully cooled to muffins can be stored, covered at room temperature for about 2-3 days, or in the refrigerator for about 5-6 days. You can also freeze the muffins to preserve them for longer. I typically store my muffins in a large Ziploc bag in the refrigerator and eat them for breakfast of a snack throughout the week. When I'm ready to eat I either enjoy the muffin cold or place it in the microwave for 20-30 seconds.