Satisfy those carrot cake cake cravings with these delicious and healthy carrot pineapple muffins and a simple cream cheese frosting! They’re easy, moist, delicious and packed with nutrients! {Gluten-free & no refined sugar}
Table of Contents
Healthy Carrot Cake Muffins with Pineapple
These healthy carrot pineapple muffins are packed with moisture and flavor and are basically the best snack ever!
The level of sweetness is just right, and the cream cheese frosting? The icing on the cake!
The addition of the crushed pineapple not only makes them super moist, it also helps to naturally sweeten the muffins. Packed with fruits and veggies, these delicious muffins are the perfect healthy snack or breakfast for the whole family to enjoy!
If you love carrot cake, these muffins are definitely for you! And if you’re looking for other carrot cake recipes, be sure to check out these Carrot Cake Energy Balls, this Low Sugar Carrot Cake and Healthy Carrot Cake Baked Oatmeal.
Why These Muffins Are Dietitian-Approved
- They contain both carrots and pineapple, which totally ups the nutrient factor. Think vitamin C, vitamin A, potassium and dietary fiber. How many muffins are loaded with fruits AND veggies?
- These muffins are nice and moist and slightly more dense than your typical muffin. I actually love this texture because it reminds me of an apple or coffee cake. SO good!
- They’re lower in sugar than your typical muffin. Because the crushed pineapple is added to the muffins, it adds a nice natural sweetness and flavor which means that you can use less added sugar. Once again, those fruits and veggies are here to save the day!
- These muffins are free of the typical refined white flour and are instead primarily made up of almond and coconut flour, which means that they’re lower in carbohydrates and a better source of fiber and healthy fats. One of my favorite reasons to use these flours in baking, along with the fact that I love the taste and texture they provide!
- They’re incredibly versatile. You can either eat these gluten-free pineapple muffins plain if you want a dairy-free option or top them with the delicious cream cheese frosting and a sprinkle of chopped walnuts. With the frosting, they’re almost like carrot cake cupcakes!
Ingredient Notes
- Flour: We use a mixture of almond and coconut flour which makes these muffins a good source of healthy fats and fiber. They also happen to be naturally gluten-free. Use blanched almond flour for best results.
- Baking soda: To make these healthy muffins light and fluffy.
- Eggs: To bind the dry ingredients together. Use large eggs and beat them together before adding to the other ingredients. I haven’t tried making these muffins with an egg substitute so I’m not sure how they would turn out.
- Coconut oil: Melted coconut oil adds moisture and additional flavor to each bite. Use unrefined coconut oil if you want a stronger coconut flavor, or refined if you prefer a milder flavor.
- Pineapple: Helps create extra moist muffins. Use crushed and drained canned pineapple packed in water or pineapple juice or finely chopped fresh pineapple. If you don’t have pineapple, you can also sub in some unsweetened applesauce.
- Carrots: Use freshly grated carrot rather than pre-shredded carrots for the best flavor and texture.
- Frosting: The frosting is optional, but a very welcome addition. It’s made with cream cheese, maple syrup and vanilla extract. Skip if you wish to keep these muffins dairy-free.
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease muffin tin with cooking spray or line with 10 silicone baking cups.
- In a large bowl, add the almond flour, coconut flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Mix together, making sure to break up any clumps.
- Next, add the eggs, coconut oil, maple syrup, crushed pineapple, and grated carrots.
- Mix the wet ingredients and dry ingredients until evenly incorporated. The batter will be pretty thick.
- Evenly distribute the mixture among 10 muffin cups or silicone cups in the prepared muffin pan using a spoon or ice cream scoop. Use a spatula to smooth the surface.
- Bake for 17-20 minutes or until golden brown and an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool.
- Meanwhile, add the cream cheese, maple syrup and vanilla to a small bowl and mix together until smooth and creamy.
- Using a knife, gently smooth frosting over the top of each muffin. Top with a sprinkle of chopped walnuts, if desired.
Tips for the Best Healthy Carrot Muffins
- There are a couple of different options for the pineapple used in these muffins. First, you can simply buy the canned crushed pineapple, which is what I did for ease and convenience. You’ll just want to make sure that you strain all of the liquid REALLY well. I simply packed the desired amount of crushed pineapple into a measuring cup and pressed down on it as hard as I could over the sink to release the moisture. By squeezing out as much as possible, it will reduce the likelihood of the muffins being too moist.
- The second option is to chop up fresh pineapple REALLY finely, squeezing out any extra moisture. Either method will work just fine!
- Place the cream cheese at room temperature for about 20 minutes or so before mixing it with the remaining frosting ingredients. This will get it soft enough so that it’s easy to combine and spread onto each muffin.
- I highly recommend baking these carrot cake muffins in silicone muffin liners to reduce the likelihood of them sticking. These muffins tend to stick to paper liners, so your best bet is to grease the tin really well or better yet, use the silicone liners for easy removal.
How to Store
You can keep these carrot pineapple muffins in the fridge in an airtight container for up to three days. If at that point, you still have extra muffins left over (which I highly doubt you will!), then you can pop them in the freezer.
To freeze: Freeze in a large ziploc bag or freezer safe container. If stacking them, I recommend separating them with parchment paper to prevent them from sticking together.
To thaw: Simply place in the fridge or at room temperature for several hours to thaw out or warm in the microwave if you want to have one right away.
A quick and easy snack or treat, just waiting for you to devour!
Recipe FAQs
Not all carrot cake muffins are made the same, but these ones contain a lot less sugar than most recipes. Each muffin is less than 250 calories and contains 4 grams of fiber for a satisfying option.
They also contain healthy fats, vitamin C, vitamin A, manganese and potassium for a nutrient-loaded snack or treat.
This recipe has been specifically tested with almond flour and coconut flour, so I don’t recommend subbing in all-purpose flour since alterations would probably have to be made to the recipe in order to make it work.
The best way to grate carrots when baking is to use a box grater. Use the largest holes or medium sized holes on your grater and then incorporate the shredded carrots into the batter.
Serving Suggestions
These healthy carrot pineapple muffins are delicious as is, or you can pair them with any of the following for a more balanced breakfast, brunch or snack!
- Mini crustless quiches
- Mini egg bites
- Green smoothie without banana
- Pina colada protein shake
- Fruit with fruit yogurt dip
Recipe Variations
- Add nuts: For a bit of extra crunch, add some chopped walnuts or pecans to the muffin batter.
- Add dried fruit: Raisins or chopped dates would also taste amazing in these muffins!
- Try coconut: Add some unsweetened coconut flakes to the batter for more texture and coconut flavor!
- Lighten the frosting: You can replace some of the cream cheese with Greek yogurt lighten up the frosting.
- Make mini muffins: Use a mini muffin pan instead of a regular sized one to make mini carrot muffins! You’ll need to reduce the baking time if making smaller muffins.
More Healthy Muffin Recipes
- Honey Bran Muffins
- Banana Protein Muffins
- Sweet Potato Muffins Recipe
- Spinach Banana Muffins
- Banana Muffins with Applesauce
- Healthy Carrot Zucchini Muffins
- Mini Sweet Potato Muffins
- Gluten Free Apple Muffins
Did you make this recipe? Scroll down to leave a star rating and review!
Healthy Carrot Pineapple Muffins {Gluten-free}
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups blanched almond flour
- 1/4 cup coconut flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 2 large eggs beaten
- 3 tablespoons melted coconut oil
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup crushed and drained pineapple can use canned or fresh very finely chopped
- 1/2 cup grated carrot
For the cream cheese frosting:
- 1/3 cup cream cheese at room temperature
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease muffin tin or line with 10 silicone baking cups.
- In a large bowl, add the almond flour, coconut flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Mix together, making sure to break up any clumps.
- Next, add the eggs, coconut oil, maple syrup, crushed pineapple, and carrot. Mix until evenly incorporated. The batter will be pretty thick.
- Evenly distribute the mixture among 10 muffin cups or silicone cups. Use a spatula to smooth the surface.
- Bake for 17-20 minutes or until inserted toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool.
- Meanwhile, add the cream cheese, maple syrup and vanilla to a small bowl and mix together until smooth and creamy.
- Using a knife, gently smooth frosting over the top of each muffin. Top with a sprinkle of chopped walnuts, if desired.
Notes
- There are a couple of different options for the pineapple used in these muffins. First, you can simply buy the canned crushed pineapple, which is what I did for ease and convenience. You’ll just want to make sure that you strain all of the liquid REALLY well. I simply packed the desired amount of crushed pineapple into a measuring cup and pressed down on it as hard as I could over the sink to release the moisture. By squeezing out as much as possible, it will reduce the likelihood of the muffins being too moist.
- The second option is to chop up fresh pineapple REALLY finely, squeezing out any additional moisture. Either method will work out just fine!
- Place the cream cheese at room temperature for about 20 minutes or so before mixing it with the remaining frosting ingredients. This will get it soft enough so that it’s easy to combine and spread onto each muffin.
- I highly recommend baking these muffins in silicone muffin liners to reduce the likelihood of them sticking. These muffins tend to stick to paper liners, so your best bet is to grease the tin really well or better yet, use the silicone liners for easy removal.
Nutrition
This recipe was originally posted April 2019 and was updated March 2024 to include more helpful tips and photos.
Rocchetta Pierri says
can I replace all the flour with just coconut flour or do I need to use the almond flour?
Elysia Cartlidge says
No, I wouldn’t recommend it. If you use all coconut flour, it will be too absorbent, which may result in dry muffins. You’d have to adapt the proportions of the dry/wet ingredients to make it work properly. Hope that helps!
Linda T says
These were excellent and I’m about to make them again! The only difference I did was used oat flour instead of coconut flour and added about a half cup each of raisins and chopped walnuts…YUM!
Elysia Cartlidge says
Love the modifications you made to the recipe! I’m glad to know that it works out well with oat flour too! I bet they were super tasty with the raisins and walnuts. Thanks so much for the feedback :)