Enjoy all the flavor of your favorite cake in a healthy low carb muffin! These Keto Carrot Cake Muffins are moist, tender, and have a delicious sugar free cream cheese center.
Spring is almost springing! It’s doing that little tease where it peeks in, says hello, and then leaves again. You might get a little warm sunshine and see some crocuses coming up, but it could snow again at any moment.
But you don’t have to wait for a real spring day to enjoy these luscious low carb Carrot Cake Muffins. They taste just like Keto Carrot Cake, but easier to make and totally portable!
Whip them up for easy on-the-go breakfasts or snacks. Or add them to a Keto Easter Menu Plan for a holiday brunch. No matter where and when you make them, they are utterly delicious.
Why you will love these muffins
Just like my Keto Pumpkin Muffins, these have a creamy cheesecake center. They aren’t overly sweet, as I didn’t intend for them to be dessert. But you could certainly serve them as such.
I used coconut flour as the base of the recipe, and only added chopped nuts to the very top. If you skip the topping, you can make them completely nut-free.
I also kept the carrots to a single cup for the whole recipe, so it doesn’t add much in the way of carbs. Just like keto zucchini bread, carrot cake derives much of its unique flavor from the spices. Feel free to add more cinnamon and cloves, or even some nutmeg, as you like!
And like most good keto muffins recipes, these carrot cake muffins store well in both the fridge and the freezer. So you can make them well in advance and enjoy them whenever the mood strikes.
Ingredients you need
- Coconut flour: I used coconut flour in this recipe to create a nut-free option for readers.
- Cream cheese: Carrot cake and cream cheese are a magical combination. It’s like having the frosting right in the center of your carrot cake!
- Powdered Sweetener: Powdered sweetener works best for the filling as it dissolves and better and does not leave a gritty texture.
- Hemp or almond milk: This is just to help thin the cream cheese filling a little bit. I found that heavy cream made it even thicker. You could do half cream and half water if you prefer.
- Brown sugar replacement: I have created my own keto brown sugar substitute that I tested out in this recipe, and it was perfect! But you can also use store-bought if you prefer.
- Protein powder: Adding protein powder to keto baked goods helps them rise and hold their shape better. I use unflavored whey, but egg white protein powder also works.
- Carrots: I know, I know, carrots are not the most keto friendly vegetable. But you don’t have to add a lot to the recipe to give it the right taste and texture.
- Eggs: Coconut flour requires many more eggs than most ingredients. Don’t skip them or try to cut back as your muffins will be a disaster.
- Avocado oil: You can use any neutral flavored oil or melted butter.
- Walnuts: This is optional. You can also add pecans or shredded unsweetened coconut.
- Pantry staples: Vanilla extract, baking powder, ground cinnamon, ground cloves, salt
Step-by-step directions
1. Prepare the filling: Beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add the powdered sweetener and beat until well combined, then beat in the almond milk and vanilla extract until smooth. Set aside.
2. Whisk the dry ingredients: In a large bowl, whisk together the coconut flour, sweetener, protein powder, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, and cloves. Add the shredded carrot and stir well to combine.
3. Add the wet ingredients: Stir in the eggs, oil, and vanilla until well combined. Then stir in water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the batter is thick but pourable.
4. Fill the muffin cups: Line a standard muffin pan with parchment or silicone muffin liners. Spoon about 3 tablespoons of batter into the bottom of the prepared muffin cups and use a spoon to make a well in the center of each. Drop about 1 ½ tablespoons of cream cheese filling into the well, then top with more batter to cover.
5. Bake: Sprinkle with chopped walnuts, if using. Place the muffins in the oven and bake at 350F for 25 to 30 minutes, until puffed and golden brown. The muffin sides should feel firm to the touch (the center won’t, because of the filling).
6. Enjoy!
Expert tips
Grate or shred the carrots finely for best distribution throughout the muffins. I use the small holes on my box grater.
Coconut flour differs brand to brand in absorbency, so how much water you need depends on that. I find that adding it a tablespoon at a time helps me achieve the correct consistency. The batter will still be thicker than conventional muffin batters, but should be easily scoopable.
The cream cheese filling does need a little added liquid to thin it out. I used hemp milk, but any milk will do. You could also use 1 tablespoon heavy cream mixed with 1 tablespoon water.
Make sure you don’t over-bake these muffins, as they can dry out too much. The edges should seem firm to the touch, but the center will still be quite soft because of the cheesecake filling.
Sweetener Options
As I mentioned above, you want a sweetener that won’t end up gritty for the cheesecake filling. I recommend Swerve Confectioners, but allulose will work too. You can also use things like stevia or monk fruit extract.
Brown sweetener gives the muffins a more authentic carrot cake flavor. And allulose sweeteners may make the muffins brown too quickly and get very dark. I recommend my homemade brown sweetener but you can use others if you prefer.
Frequently Asked Questions
Carrots do contain more sugar compared to other low carb vegetables, and most people don’t consider them keto friendly. But you can enjoy them in recipes like these muffins because a small amount is spread over a large number of servings. The carrots add less than 1g of carbs to each muffin and are unlikely to affect your state of ketosis.
This keto carrot cake muffin recipe has 6.7g of carbs and 3.2g of fiber per serving. That comes to 3.5g net carbs per muffin.
Because of the cream cheese filling, I recommend storing these muffins in a covered container in the fridge. I prefer them at room temp, so I leave one out for 20 minutes before eating. You can also freeze them for up to 3 months.
More delicious recipes to try
Keto Carrot Cake Muffins
Ingredients
Filling
- 6 ounces cream cheese softened
- ⅓ cup Swerve Confectioners
- 2 tablespoon almond or hemp milk (see Expert Tips for alternatives)
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Muffins
- ¾ cup coconut flour
- ⅔ cup Brown sugar replacement
- ⅓ cup unflavored whey protein powder
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp salt
- ⅛ teaspoon cloves
- 1 cup finely shredded carrot lightly packed
- 6 large eggs
- ⅓ cup avocado oil or melted butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Water as needed (about ¼ cup)
- ⅓ cup chopped walnuts (optional)
Instructions
Filling
- Beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add the sweetener and beat until well combined, then beat in the almond milk and vanilla extract until smooth. Set aside.
Muffins
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF and line a standard muffin pan with parchment or silicone muffin liners.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the coconut flour, sweetener, protein powder, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, and cloves. Add the shredded carrot and stir well to combine.
- Stir in the eggs, oil, and vanilla until well combined. Then stir in water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the batter is thick but pourable.
- Spoon about 3 tablespoons of batter into the bottom of the prepared muffin cups and use a spoon to make a well in the center of each. Drop about 1 ½ tablespoons of cream cheese filling into the well, then top with more batter to cover.
- Sprinkle with chopped walnuts, if using. Place the muffins in the oven and bake 25 to 30 minutes, until puffed and golden brown. The muffin sides should feel firm to the touch (the center won't, because of the filling).
- Remove and let cool completely in the pan.
Lisa Gray says
These are absolutely fantastic!
Andrea says
I make our yogurt in an instant pot for my husband. I have whey left over. Can I use that instead of whey protien powder and what’s the ratio?
Thank you
Shawna Quigley says
These are delicious! I did make a few substitutions (which I know changed the recipe a bit but it worked!)- instead of oil/ butter I used tinned pumpkin purée (I had leftovers and wanted to use them) and subbed the protein powder for the same weight in almond flour. I didn’t end up needing the water. I did add the walnuts and I also added in a few drops of orange extract (I think it goes really well in carrot cake) and 30g of raisins (I know not keto but I follow low carb not keto and my family loves them). They came out amazing! Will definitely make again.
Nancy says
Can you substitute collagen for the protein powder?
Barb says
Made these today and they are delicious!! I have a tendency to over bake my coconut flour desserts, so I paid close attention to the time and took them out at the minimum time. They are nice and moist, not dry at all. Great recipe!!
Carolyn says
Fantastic!
Wendy Shelledy says
I’ve made a lot of low carb muffins over the years. But these may be the BEST ever!
Barb says
These look delicious! I’m so happy to see this recipe—you are my go-to website for all my keto baking. Can’t wait to try it ❤️🌺
Amy says
These look wonderful! Thank you for all your creations