Grain-free morning glory muffins made with almond flour, coconut sugar, and your classic morning glory muffin add-ins: carrot, apple, raisins, shredded coconut and walnuts. These delicious healthy muffins are an amazing breakfast or snack.
You know how we all talk about how nice it would be to nestle up on the couch with a great book, a hand knitted blanket, and a steamy mug of coffee (or tea) with a freshly baked muffin (or some such treat), and just.take.a.chill.pill? Yet most of us never actually do it?
I double dog dare us to do it. Regularly.
We push hard, we go too fast, we over-tax ourselves with trivial things that never existed 100 years ago and will be obsolete 100 years from now. I forget how important it is to pause and just go back to the basics.
Basics like really listening when someone is speaking, remembering what is truly important – our relationships, the roof over our heads, our health (both mentally and physically), our perspective, enjoyment, fulfillment…the emotions we can’t touch or even adequately describe.
For me, muffins are my ultimate reminder. They’re my take-a-step-back-er. They’re so classic, so basic, so comforting, so familiar. Whenever I feel disoriented in this fast-moving world, I muffin. No Instagram or GPS required.
I made Paleo Morning Glory Muffins years ago and it’s been a hot topic on my blog ever since. It’s one of those recipes I’ve made time and again, and such is the case for many of you who have made them. This recipe is a chip off of that recipe.
I went back, tweaked it so that there are a couple less ingredients (and less advance prep), and out popped an equally lovely muffin that just takes less time and effort to make.
I thought about updating the old recipe with my new changes, but I figured the folks who have made it a tradition would want to keep the original – I certainly love the original! In this situation, I found it best to re-visit the classic in a brand new way.
So here we are – a similar muffin with a brand new title.
Which brings me to my next point –
Don’t let the title change fool you – these muffins are still paleo – they’re grain-free using almond flour, refined sugar-free using coconut sugar (the original recipe calls for pure maple syrup), and they’re dairy-free PLUS oil-free.
While I have an epic sweet tooth, it doesn’t take a huge concentration of sugar to satisfy it, so my muffins and breads tend to be on the less-sweet end of the spectrum. In my opinion, a true muffin shouldn’t taste like cake, so these are indeed a less sweet muffin.
If you like your muffins sweeter, you can add more coconut sugar (or some pure maple syrup), or you can make the recipe as-is but drizzle honey or pure maple syrup on top just before consuming. You can make these muffins lower in carbs by replacing the coconut sugar with your favorite zero-sugar sweetener.
Also – consuming suggestions from the baker? Warm it up, cut it in half, and sit a dollop of butter in the center. Just my two cents 😀
They’re just a great muffin to have around for a nice little breakfast or snack, and they’re pretty awesome for sharing!
That whole nestle on the couch with a mug of coffee and a muffin thing that we all dream about but rarely do? Now’s the time. Not five years from now when the market cools and we’re all a little more humble…let’s do it now.
Ingredients
- 4 large eggs
- 1/3 cup coconut sugar
- 1 cup grated apple (1 medium apple, peeled cored and grated)
- 1 cup grated carrot (1 large carrot, peeled and grated)
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups finely ground almond flour
- 1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut *
- 1/2 cup raisins
- 1/2 cup raw walnuts chopped
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 12-hole muffin pan with muffin papers or lightly spray with oil.
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Add the first five ingredients (eggs through vanilla extract) to a mixing bowl and whisk until well-combined. Add the remaining ingredients (almond flour through sea salt) to a separate mixing bowl and stir the dry ingredients until well combined.
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Pour the dry ingredients into the bowl of wet ingredients and stir well until everything is combined. The batter will be very thick.
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Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin pan, filling the holes 3/4 of the way up.
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Bake on the center rack of the preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes, or until muffins are golden brown.
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Allow muffins to cool completely (at least one hour) before peeling off the muffin papers to consume (If you try to peel off the muffin papers while the muffins are still hot, they will stick to the papers. Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
*You can also use flaked coconut instead of shredded
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What flour can I use instead of almond?
If you’re allergic to nuts, try tigernut flour – it’s not a nut, but a tuber. Has a nutty flavor and texture, like almond flour, and can be subbed nearly 1:1 – I find a little less tigernut flour is needed.
This is great advice, Susan! Thanks so much for your input. Dawn, I would agree – Tigernut flour or Cassava flour would be great. 😀
I honestly don’t know if I’ve ever tried making morning glory muffins before?! Love how this uses both carrots and apples 🙂
You are so right, I feel and voice these feelings every day now. I so appreciate you and the recipes you share and your stories. Thank you so much. I shall be making these in a gluten free way. Take care…
Thanks so much Laura! Much love back to you! 😀 xo
Leave out the baking powder and baking soda. Both are bad for the stomach.
These sound perfect! And I agree with your post, we need to pause and go back to the basics. I’m trying gratitude every morning as I get ready for my day. These muffins will help with that!
I’m so glad you like the idea of the muffins…and enjoying the simple things in life 😉 Thanks so much for your sweet note, Doreen!! xo
What are the nutritional values?
Hi Renee! I just added the nutrition facts to the recipe card in the post 😀 Let me know if you have any more questions! xo
I had been looking for a good muffin recipe for quite a while, when I came across your website. I made these muffins yesterday and I can’t begin to thank you enough for this wonderful recipe. I am looking forward to trying many of your other recipes too. Thanks again!
Hi Karen!
I’m so glad you like the muffins! Thanks so much for the sweet note! xo
These look absolutely fabulous and the ingredients are amazing, so yummy! I was wondering if there is anything that I could use as a substitute for the coconut sugar if I wanted to make these Whole 30 compliant? I know it might be a shot in the dark, but everything else in the ingredient list works!
Thanks so much!
Hi Karen,
You could try mashing up a banana or a small amount of sweet potato to replace the coconut sugar. Perhaps even a little applesauce? I haven’t tested this, so it would likely require some trial and error 🙂 Good luck!! xo
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DO you think flax eggs would work as a sub?
I’ve been making these muffins for years and they are very YUMMY!! I’ve found that basically you can take this recipe and make it a dumping ground for healthy ingredients you may have in your kitchen.
I’m so glad you like them, Brian! And yeeees, I love that you can add all sorts of ingredients to the batter and they always turn out so tasty. xo