These vegan friendly rainbow carrot cake muffins are free of eggs, dairy, and refined sugar. Topped with a cashew cream frosting, they’re decadent enough to be dessert, yet wholesome enough to eat for breakfast! Gluten free option also included! Recipe updated March 2020.
Carrot cake is one of those sweet treats that just doesn’t get the attention it deserves. Like zucchini bread/muffins the addition of shredded veggies makes this bread so moist and delicious. You’d never know it was full of veggies!
The muffin is perfectly delicious on its own, but I like to top it with a cream cheese-ish frosting that I make with one of my favorite, dairy-free ingredients—cashews. These muffins are amazing whether you choose to frost them or not, but the frosting is a pretty delicious addition, if I do say so myself. 🙂 If I’m out of cashews or in a pinch for time, I make a simple cream cheese frosting, which is just as tasty and a little less involved. 😋
I used a combo of purple, orange, and white carrots for these muffins, but any color will do. I usually get the bag of “rainbow” carrots at the market because I just love the trio of colors. I especially love the vibrant color of purple carrots…such a gorgeous vegetable!
Because these rainbow carrot cake muffins are made with simple and wholesome ingredients, they make a great snack for the kids or the perfect treat to go with your coffee or tea! Please tag me on Instagram if you make these muffins. I just love seeing your kitchen creations!
Enjoy!
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Rainbow Carrot Cake Muffins
- Total Time: 25 mins
- Yield: 12 muffins 1x
Description
These vegan friendly carrot cake muffins are free of eggs, dairy, and refined sugar. Topped with a cashew cream frosting, they’re decadent enough to be dessert, yet wholesome enough to eat for breakfast! Gluten free option also included!
Ingredients
Carrot Cake Muffins: (gluten-free version below)
- 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 2/3 cup almond milk or other milk of choice
- 1/2 cup maple syrup
, honey, or coconut nectar
- 1/2 cup melted coconut oil
, avocado oil
, or other oil of choice
- 2 cups shredded carrots (I used a combo or orange, purple, and white carrots, but any color will work)
- ½ cup chopped walnuts, optional
, honey, or coconut nectar
, 
, or other oil of choiceGluten-Free Carrot Cake Muffins:
- 1 cup gf all-purpose flour (I used Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1 to 1 Baking Flour
, in the blue bag)
- 1 cup almond flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 cup maple syrup
- 1/2 cup almond milk or other milk of choice
- 1/4 cup melted coconut oil
- 2 cups shredded carrots (I used a combo or orange, purple, and white carrots, but any color will work)
- ½ cup chopped walnuts, optional
, in the blue bag)
Cashew Frosting: (Or use the cream cheese frosting from this recipe)
- 2 cups raw cashews
, pre-soaked and drained
- 1/3 – 1/2 cup maple syrup
- 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, optional
- pinch of salt
- 2–4 tablespoons almond milk (or other milk of choice), if needed to reach desired consistency
, pre-soaked and drained
Instructions
Carrot Cake Muffins:
- Preheat oven to 350F. Line a muffin tin with 12 paper or parchment liners and set aside.
- Into a large mixing bowl, combine the flour(s), baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Stir in oil and milk. When that’s combined, stir in shredded carrots and nuts, if including.
- Divide batter amongst the 12 paper liners. Place pan into the preheated oven and bake for 20–25 minutes, or just until center of the muffins are slightly domed, firm to the touch, and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Bake time may vary based upon your oven.
- Remove muffins from the oven and let cool completely before frosting.
Cashew Cream Frosting:
- Soak raw cashews in filtered water for 2-3 hours. Alternatively you can place them in boiling water for 30 minutes. Drain and rinse nuts and place into a high powered blender
along with maple syrup, vinegar, lemon juice, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt. Blend and add milk a tablespoon at a time, until it reaches a smooth, spreadable consistency. Stop and scrape down the sides of the blender, if necessary.
- Place the frosting into a piping bag (or plastic baggie with the tip of the corner cut off) and pipe frosting onto each muffin, in a circular motion. Top with cinnamon, shredded carrot, or chopped walnuts. Makes 12 muffins.
along with maple syrup, vinegar, lemon juice, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt. Blend and add milk a tablespoon at a time, until it reaches a smooth, spreadable consistency. Stop and scrape down the sides of the blender, if necessary.- Cook Time: 25 mins
- Category: gluten free, dessert
You may also enjoy these similar recipes:
Simple Carrot Cake with Cashew Frosting
Double Chocolate Zucchini Muffins
Naturally Sweetened Hummingbird Cupcakes
I came across the cutest pineapple cutter at a local baking supply store and it reminded me of these shortbread cookies I used to eat in Hawaii. I thought it would be fun to recreate these shortbread cookies to give out to family and friends so they could have a taste of the tropics this holiday season!
To the shortbread dough, I added chunks of roasted macadamia nuts, which give a deliciously nutty crunch to the cookie. Macadamia nuts, are actually native to Australia, but were introduced to Hawaii in the late 1800’s, where it thrived. Wherever you go in Hawaii, you’re bound to see boxes of the popular chocolate covered macadamia nuts or cans of dry roasted macadamia nuts for sale. Hawaii is now the single largest producer in the world of the nut (which is technically not a nut at all, it’s a seed!) 
Speaking of nuts, I dipped the baked cookies in white chocolate and sprinkled them with shredded coconut, another popular Hawaiian flavor! Coconuts, like macadamia nuts, were introduced to the islands hundreds of years ago by the Polynesians, and interestingly, can be classified as a nut, seed, or fruit!
I hope you get a chance to try these delicious cookies! They’re perfect for gift giving and can be made into any shape you wish, although I did find some similar pineapple cutters online, which I linked in the recipe below. Be sure to visit 
(double the size, perfect if you want them larger. My cutter is 2-3 inches tall) and 
I finally found a delicious frosting that isn’t choked full of powdered sugar! I’m normally not a big frosting fan because it’s usually too sickeningly sweet for me, but this buttercream is subtly sweet, yet still creamy and fluffy, like a good buttercream should be. It’s only sweetened with honey and maple syrup too! I use a combo of each so that the buttercream doesn’t have too strong a flavor of either honey or maple syrup….