These carrot pineapple muffins are delicious, moist, and very easy to make! They're also gluten-free, but you would never know it! Sweetened with maple syrup and pineapple, these muffins have hints of cinnamon and nutmeg and are a perfect for breakfast, a packed lunch, or an afternoon snack!
There are a lot of baked treats that remind us of fall and carrot muffins have to be one of them!
But these aren't just carrot muffins, they're carrot pineapple muffins...that little bit of pineapple working with some maple syrup to add sweetness.
They're moist, tender, delicious...and you would never think they're gluten-free after you take a bite!
Ingredients
Let's start with the dry ingredients:
- Gluten-free oat flour
- Tapioca starch
- Baking powder
- Baking soda
- Cinnamon
- Nutmeg
- Salt
Whisk that all together in a medium sized mixing bowl.
For the wet ingredients, you'll need:
- An egg
- Maple syrup
- Oil
- Vanilla extract.
Whisk those ingredients together well.
Then, of course, you will need coarsely grated carrot (use the big holed grated and not the fine/small holed grater) and crushed or finely chopped pineapple. For the pineapple, be sure to drain any excess juice.
How To Make the Muffin Batter
Coat the grated carrots in the flour mixture
The first step is to coat the grated carrots in the flour mixture. Why? The dry ingredients helps to keep the carrot bits separated so they aren't all clumped together before the wet ingredients get added. The dusting of flour on the carrots also helps prevent them from sinking to the bottom of the muffins.
Once the carrots are all coated in the dry ingredients, add the wet ingredient mixture and pineapple to the bowl and mixed until just combined.
Scoop the muffin batter into a muffin tin prepared with liners. You can bake them straight from this point, or you can add a cinnamon sugar oat topping to the muffins, if you'd like!
Bake them in a preheated 350F/180C oven for 25 minutes and you've got a delicious tray of gluten-free carrot pineapple muffins to devour!
Enjoy A Muffin Any Time of Day
One of these carrot pineapple muffins makes a great quick breakfast.
Include one in a packed school or work lunch.
Take a couple on a hiking trip!
Enjoy one as an afternoon snack.
And with a dollop of whipped cream or a scoop of ice cream, it can be a great dessert option!
They're perfect for enjoying with your favorite hot beverage, but I think ginger is an especially great complementary flavor to these carrot muffins.
Check out my ginger tea recipes and give them a try!
Just look at these muffins! They certainly don't give any indication that they're gluten-free, and they don't taste like it either!
Commonly Asked Questions
Yes, you can substitute the total weight amount of the oat flour and tapioca starch with a gluten-free flour blend. However, not all flour blends are the same and I can't guarantee that the end result will be the same.
I have never tried using egg substitutes. I have read about flax eggs being used in baking, but I do not have any experience with them to be able to advise confidently.
These carrot pineapple muffins are best eaten within a couple of days of baking, but they will last a few days more if kept in a resealable container in the fridge.
Yes, they freeze well! Simple defrost and warm them up for a 10 seconds in the microwave or a few minutes in a toaster oven and they'll be as good as new!
More Gluten-Free Baking Recipes
If you're looking for more gluten-free baking ideas, I have a wide selection of recipes that you could browse on A Day in the Kitchen!
Here are just a few of them that you might want to consider trying:
- Flourless Double Chocolate Chip Zucchini Muffins
- Flourless Chocolate Chocolate Chip Muffins
- Crazy Good Gluten-Free Banana Bread
- Gluten-Free Buttery Tea Scones
The next time you're in the mood for muffins, I hope you'll give these carrot pineapple muffins a try, whether you're gluten-free or not! Happy baking!
~ Lisa.
Watch How To Make It!
Gluten-Free Carrot Pineapple Muffins
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients:
- 100 grams oat flour
- 60 grams tapioca starch
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
Wet Ingredients:
- 1 medium carrot, coarsely grated
- ¼ cup finely chopped pineapple, excess juice squeezed out
- 2 tablespoons neutral flavored oil
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- 1 egg
- ¾ teaspoon vanilla extract
Cinnamon Sugar Oat Topping (optional):
- 1 ½ teaspoons sugar
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon rolled oats (or crushed oats)
Other Optional Muffin Fillings:
- Chopped walnuts
- Raisins
- Rolled oats
Equipment
Instructions
- Preheat oven 350F/180C.
- Combine oat flour, tapioca starch, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a mixing bowl and whisk until well combined.
- Add grated carrots to dry ingredients and toss to coat.
- In a separate bowl, combine oil, maple syrup, egg, and vanilla extract and beat or whisk until well mixed.
- Add the wet mixture and pineapple to the dry ingredients and mix with a spoon or spatula until just combined.
- Divide batter among muffin tin prepared with liners, filling each cup just about full.
- If desired, sprinkle muffins with cinnamon sugar oat topping.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.
Notes
- 1 medium carrot, grated = approximately 115 grams.
- Oat flour can be substituted with brown rice flour or sorghum flour.
- Tapioca starch can be substituted with potato starch or cornstarch.
- A gluten-free flour mix can be substituted for the total weight of the oat flour and tapioca starch, but every gluten-free flour mix is different so I cannot say what the final result will be like.
- Do not grate the carrots using a fine grater; carrots will be too wet.
- Squeeze excess juice from pineapple before adding to the other ingredients.
- Regular wheat flour can be substituted for the oat flour and tapioca starch by using the equivalent total weight.
- Muffins are best eaten with 2 days; will last longer if kept in the fridge.
- Muffins freeze well. Simply defrost at room temperature and then warm in the microwave or a toaster oven.
Nicole says
I followed the instructions (even by weight), and could fill 10 muffin cups maybe half full. I added water to the last 2 cups. I checked the recipe 4 extra times to make sure I hadn't missed any ingredients. From my experience I'd need to double the recipe to fill 12 cups.
I did make an error in mixing the carrots into the wet, rather than into the dry mixture.
Threw some chia seeds on top.
Baked for 24 minutes.
I did not enjoy these very much - perhaps the texture? Or the amount of nutmeg? With little tweaks I'm certain they would be fabulous!
Hi Nicole! I'm sorry you did not enjoy the muffins very much, but I do appreciate you giving them a try. If you do give the recipe another attempt and make some tweaks, I'd appreciate knowing what adjustments you make! Thanks for leaving a comment.