These warm, spiced carrot cake cupcakes have the perfect moist crumb, and a thick, fluffy cream cheese frosting layered on top. Made gluten free, dairy free, and paleo friendly. I went with a cleaned up classic cream cheese frosting, but have a dairy free option for that as well!
All other cakes are boring when compared to carrot cake. There, I said it. Who’s with me?! The warm spices, the crunch from pecans, extra moisture & flavor from carrots & raisins… they’re just SO good.
And then the cream cheese frosting: why do plain vanilla buttercream when you can have that little bit of tang from cream cheese? I could eat a whole bowl!
The cupcake recipe is perfectly paleo: gluten free, dairy free, no refined sugar. Squeaky clean and allergy friendly, and you’d never know!
I went classic on the frosting and did a thick, rich sweet cream cheese frosting with cream cheese, butter, vanilla, and powdered sugar. Because you just have to have the real deal sometimes! And it’s all organic & good quality… and the paleo cupcake underneath balances it all out, right?!
If you are strictly dairy free, see the recipe notes below for a great cashew cream cheese frosting recipe that will give you all the carrot cake feels without the dairy issues. (Seriously – it’s still SO good, just less sweet and might not hold up to piping so well)
Make these for Easter, for your mama (my mom loooves carrot cake), for a birthday, for your neighbors, or even for a “I love myself” snack throughout the week. You won’t regret it! Then come back to tell me how much you loved them!
See the “notes” section at the bottom of the recipe below for the frosting piping set I got from Amazon. It was pretty inexpensive and came with everything I needed! And let me tell ya – I’m not a frosting expert! So it was very user friendly.
Tag me in your carrot cake cupcake creations on Instagram @justjessieb – and leave a comment & review below! I would love to hear what you think. Hope you enjoy these as much as we did! They certainly did not last long!
Carrot Cake Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
Carrot Cake Cupcakes
- 3 eggs
- 1/3 cup avocado oil
- 1/3 cup nut butter cashew or almond works well
- 1/3 cup honey
- 1 cup shredded carrot
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 2 cups almond flour
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans
- 1/3 cup raisins
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 8 oz cream cheese
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick)
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 3 to 4 cups powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ยบF. Line a 12 cup muffin tin with parchment paper cups and set aside.
- In a mixing bowl, whisk the eggs with avocado oil until smooth. Stir in the nut butter, honey, shredded carrot, and vanilla. Add the remaining dry ingredients to the bowl, and stir until just combined.
- Scoop the batter into the lined muffin tin, filling each up about 3/4 of the way full. Transfer to the oven and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted to the center of a muffin comes out clean.
- Let cool in the muffin tin for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. Allow to fully cool before frosting.
- To make your frosting, begin by softening the cream cheese and butter to room temperature so they mix easily. Add them to a large mixing bowl with vanilla and salt, and mix with a hand mixer on "low" until smooth & creamy. Add the powdered sugar a little at a time, and continue to mix until smooth.
- Frost the cooled cupcakes and store at room temperature for up to 3-4 hours, otherwise transfer to the refrigerator to store. Remove from the fridge and give them a few minutes to come to room temperature before serving.
Notes
- I used cashew butter in this recipe for the creaminess and mild flavor.ย You can substitute almond, peanut, or any creamy nut or seed butter.
- The frosting recipe listed above will generously frost 12 cupcakes using a piping tip and piping on a thick layer.ย If you’re planning to frost by hand using a small knife, you could get away with just half of the frosting recipe.
- For piping the frosting, I used a set from Amazon that came with piping bags and 4 standard tips.ย You can find the exact set HERE.
- If you’re looking for a dairy free cream cheese frosting, try the one from my oldie-but-goodie “Sweet Potato Spice Cake” which uses cashews as the base and is made in the blender!
32 Comments
Whitney
March 28, 2020 at 8:52 pmSo good, and just what I needed!!
Jessie B
March 29, 2020 at 12:17 amI always need carrot cake cupcakes!!! Haha! Thank you so much, Whitney!
Kailee
April 10, 2020 at 8:27 pmMade these and brought them to work, my coworkers loved them! Having a treat thatโs makes you feel healthy but taste like the real deal but even better !!
Jessie B
April 10, 2020 at 9:03 pmYou are so nice to share, Kailee!! I’m so glad you all loved them, makes me so happy!!
Tracy
April 14, 2020 at 6:35 pmI made thesenfor Easter. It was so easy, and they werenso delicious! The kids, my hisband and I are all big fans!!!
Jessie B
April 15, 2020 at 8:14 pmI’m sooo glad you loved them, Tracy!! hope you had a happy Easter!
Sarah
March 29, 2020 at 2:36 amDelicious!
Jessie B
March 30, 2020 at 12:05 amThank you so much Sarah!! xo
Tracy
April 14, 2020 at 6:37 pmGah! Typing on my phone. So many typos!
Michaela
March 29, 2020 at 5:30 pmSo delicious!!!!!
Jessie B
March 30, 2020 at 12:05 amThank you friend!! xo
Suzy
April 4, 2020 at 2:50 amThese are great! The frosting is so very creamy. Cannot believe these are gf.
Jessie B
April 5, 2020 at 8:56 pmI am SO happy you enjoyed them, Suzy! Thanks so much for telling me!! xo
Natalie
March 30, 2020 at 12:39 amJessie,
These were absolutely incredible. Thank you for sharing this amazing recipe. I tweaked it with Maple syrup because I had no honey. It came out incredible and super picky hubby approved!
Jessie B
March 30, 2020 at 3:40 amYour message totally made my night, Natalie! I’m sooo happy you guys enjoyed them – perfect substitution using maple! Thank you so much for sharing! xoxo
Julie
March 30, 2020 at 5:58 pmSuper yummy!
Jessie B
March 30, 2020 at 10:51 pmI’m glad you liked them, mom! xo
Brook
April 3, 2020 at 6:52 pmJessie, these were perfect! I used just a tad of frosting on each one & they are the perfect paleo treat!
Jessie B
April 5, 2020 at 8:56 pmI’m so happy you enjoyed them, Brook!! They’re great even without the frosting… but gotta have some frosting now & then haha! So glad you liked them
Lisa Mer
April 7, 2020 at 9:06 pmThese are SO good! It’s the first time I ever made cream cheese frosting and it’s so easy and yummy! I also had purchased the recommended frosting decorating kit and it makes them look so professional! My neighbor is getting these cupcakes for her birthday!
Jessie B
April 7, 2020 at 11:10 pmYou are the best to share with your neighbor, Lisa! And love that you picked up the piping kit – isn’t it great?! So easy to use!! So glad you enjoyed, friend! xo
Katie
April 9, 2020 at 6:46 pmUnfortunately I don’t have enough almond flour right now and unable to purchase in a timely manner. Ideas for substitutions? I have coconut flour, or could use regular flour too. Would I need to change the ratio? Thank you!
Jessie B
April 10, 2020 at 12:04 amHi Katie!! I’m so sorry, I’m not sure on this one. Grain free baking is super finnicky so I would have to test it out with other flours to know the ratios, and it would change the recipe completely. I did do a quick Google search and saw a great looking recipe from foodfaithfitness.com – maybe give hers a try! Uses coconut flour!
Elaine
April 9, 2020 at 7:49 pmOhh my daughter has been asking for carrot cakes and then I stumbled on your recipe! Iโve been a long time fan of yours and love ALL of your recipes so much! Thank you for all you do!!
Also, I donโt have avocado oil, can I substitute with coconut oil?
Jessie B
April 10, 2020 at 12:05 amHi Elaine!! I’m so glad you found my recipe for these, they are my new favorite!! Coconut oil would be great! ๐
Melissa
April 12, 2020 at 12:58 amMade these today and they were delicious! I will definitely be making them again! ๐
Jessie B
April 13, 2020 at 11:40 pmAren’t they so good!! So happy you loved them!
Paige Drennen
April 14, 2020 at 3:21 amMy husband loves carrot cake so Iโm so glad I could whip these together quickly. He approved they were delicious!
Didnโt have enough almond flour so I used a bit of coconut flour to finish it off, turned out great still, just a bit dry. Excited to try again now that I have restocked my pantry. Thanks for always supplying the BEST recipes and healthy too!!
Jessie B
April 14, 2020 at 3:39 pmYou’re so welcome, Paige! I’m so glad you loved them & that you were able to make it work with what you had on hand!
Megan
April 14, 2020 at 1:32 pmI decided to make these last minute for our Easter dessert.; they were super easy to make! The cupcakes came out so moist and the flavor was spot on. The cream cheese frosting is also super easy and equally delicious. My husband was thrilled to have them and leftovers during the week! I will be making them again and passing along the recipe to family and friends!
Jessie B
April 14, 2020 at 3:41 pmAww, yay! I’m so so happy you guys loved these, Megan! My husband is totally eating them all week too haha! Thanks so much for coming back to tell me. xo
Lauren
April 3, 2021 at 12:42 amNormal ingredients, one bowl and absolutely delicious! You knocked it out of the park with this one!