These easy, super-moist Paleo chickpea apple carrot muffins are a wholesome, low-sugar treat. They're almost a meal, with good-quality protein from the chickpeas and eggs. Gluten-free, dairy-free, grain-free, with vegan option.
A holiday muffin
And, with this garnish of carrot roses and white haupia, these muffins were our Easter treat this year. See below for a note about making the roses. You can top with any frosting or pudding - or eat them without a garnish.
An elimination diet recipe
I first encountered a similar recipe when I was following an elimination diet some years ago. That low-allergen recipe called for garbanzo flour as a high-protein ingredient. Chickpea flour is less likely to trigger inflammation than, say, wheat or soy flour.
I found the garbanzo flour gave the muffins both a grittiness and slight bitterness. I had to battle with myself about whether I'd try to use of all that chickpea flour (miserly me) or find something else.
I decided to sub cooked garbanzos as an alternative to the flour. That took care of both of the grit and the bitterness - you just have to adjust the moisture a bit. And I'm sorry to confess I don't recall what happened to the rest of the flour.
Yet the garbanzos don't jump out at you like some "odd" additions to baked goods. Your taste-testers will notice the carrots and the apples well before thinking there is something else you've sneaked in.
I use my own home-cooked chickpeas for this recipe, saving out the half-cup needed when I prepare a larger batch for hummus or soup. Chickpeas freeze well, so if you are not making the muffins right away, just tuck them into your freezer until you are.
As with most of my recipes, I've reduced the sweetener to our taste. I've noted where you can make it sweeter if you prefer.
Are these muffins healthy?
We consider these to be healthy in the sense that they do not contain high glycemic-index flours and are relatively low in sugar. They do contain some semi-refined sugar in the molasses. They also have a slight sweetness from natural sugars in the dates, apples and carrots.
The muffins have no added oil, though there are naturally occurring fats in the almond flour and the egg yolks. If you are allergic to almonds and/or other nuts but don't want to use gluten-free baking mix, sunflower seed meal would be the most similar to almond.
Do you have to use a food processor for these muffins?
I use my food processor for the wet ingredients because it's the easiest way to chop the carrots, chickpeas, dates and apples. But you could do the chopping by hand as well, especially if you don't mind larger bits of the fruits. I'd suggest mashing the chickpeas to avoid larger chunks, though.
Can these muffins be made vegan?
With flax eggs, these muffins are vegan. A flax egg is made from 1 tablespoon ground flax meal + 3 tablespoons water, allowed to gel for 15 minutes. You can also make a vegan "egg" using ground chia seed the same way.
How are the carrot roses made?
Here is an explanation of how to prepare the strips to make the roses.
But that page doesn't really give enough detail on how to form the roses - at least I'd be pretty impressed if you can figure out how to make them from that!
Prepping the strips: Cut strips of a long (about 8 inch), peeled carrot using a cheese slicer or use a sharp peeler, pressing down firmly.
Simmer the strips in simple syrup (1 cup water + 1 cup sugar) for about 30 seconds and let the liquid cool. This will soften the strips so that you can wrap them into rose shapes. Note that we found the strips/roses very sweet and would try cutting the amount of sugar in half the next time.
I learned how to make similar roses during my "hula life" from Hawaii lei-makers using a variety of plant materials. If you would like to see how to make the roses, this video by Kuana Torres shows how to make ti leaf roses for lei-making. This is the clearest video I found, by far - but it takes practice! Start with paper before trying something as fragile as a carrot strip. The same technique works for ribbon. It's a good stay-at-home project - I used to teach high school students to make these roses so you can make them too!
If you have a chance to try this recipe, please let me know in the comments how it went!
Enjoy!
Beth
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Carrot-Chickpea Apple Muffins
Ingredients
- ½ cup tart apple like Granny Smith
- 1 cup carrot 1 medium-large carrot
- ½ cup cooked garbanzos
- 2-3 dates pitted (2 for less-sweet muffins)
- ¼ scant cup molasses
- 2-3 eggs room temperature, or flax eggs, see note
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 cups almond flour
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon gluten-free baking powder
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- ⅛ teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ cup chopped pecans for topping optional if you don't frost or make roses
- Haupia topping optional
- Carrot strip roses optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Dice the carrots, dates and apples. Place the carrots and dates into a food processor and pulse until evenly chopped, about 15 seconds. Add the apples and chickpeas and pulse until all are finely chopped, about 10 seconds more.
- Add the remaining wet ingredients: eggs, vanilla, molasses and pulse until mixed, about 20 seconds more. Using a spatula, remove the wet ingredients to a large mixing bowl.
- Mix the dry ingredients (almond flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and salt) together in a separate bowl.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until fully combined (don't overmix).
- Scoop batter into lined muffin tins. The batter will be thick. (I like to use an ice cream scoop.)
- Bake for 26-28 minutes; if you have used just 2 eggs, set for 22-24 minutes. Please watch your oven because all ovens are different.
- Remove and check centers with a toothpick, which should come out clean when they are done.
- Allow to cool before serving - though they are marvelous warm with butter.
- For a special occasion, top with your favorite low-sweetener frosting (I used Haupia), carrot roses and mint leaves.
- Store refrigerated in an airtight container.
Notes
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chefkreso
These carrot chickpea apple muffins are such a delicious idea, they look scrumptious!
Beth
They are delicious, and everyone is surprised to hear they have chickpeas in them. Enjoy!
Alpa
Wow! These look so pretty and delicious! Will try it soon.
Beth
Alpa, I'm really pleased with this recipe, and hope you will be too. Thank you so much for the rating!
Genevieve
These look so unique and delicious! Looks like a great protein snack too!
Beth
Genevieve, it's really fun to tell people what's in them and why they are so satisfying!
Rochelle
I have never thought of putting chickpeas in muffins before. That is an awesome idea! Thanks for the tip 🙂
Beth
Rochelle, the idea came from an allergy cookbook I worked with for a while, and this has stayed in our recipe files. I look forward to hearing if you give it a try!
Jere Cassidy
It is amazing how baking has moved on from AP flour. Your muffins look so flavorful and moist.
Beth
Hi, Jere, I know - it sometimes amazes me when I look back at old recipes that I could bake with AP flour and take the food to any potluck. But I continue to be pleasantly surprised by recipes like these!
Kay
This chickpea carrot muffins look fantastic, my daughter will love these:)
I will have to try this recipe out soon
Thanks for sharing Beth
Beth
Kay, you can tell her that my son, who doesn't need to eat gluten-free, gives these the thumbs-up! I hope your daughter enjoys them too.
Christy Boston's Kitchen
Chickpeas are amazing because they can be used so many different ways in recipes. I love that you used them in these muffins because it makes them so much healthier. Thanks for sharing!
Beth
Christy, I'm amazed right along with you at the versatility of the chickpea, from sweet to curried. And they have such a great texture in baked goods - who knew?
Sherelle
This sound lovely. Thanks for sharing.
Beth
Relle, you are so welcome!
Nart | Cooking with Nart
Look delicious! And that color pop - they look just like cupcakes!!
Beth
Hey Nart, the little carrot roses were fun but the muffins themselves are a little cake-like but not actually too sweet - it was a fun project.
Patrice
I've never tried carrot muffins like these before. They look so healthy and delicious! And I happen to have a bag of almond flour on hand.
Beth
Patrice, we really enjoy the flavor and texture of these, and hope you will too if you try them out.
Jacqueline Debono
I cook dried chickpeas pretty often to use in pasta recipes, salads or even just as a snack. Next time I'm going to save some to try out these muffins. They look and sound super!
Beth
Jacqui, my son, who is a critic of anything that he says is too sweet, gives these a thumbs up, so I'd love other opinions if you have a chance to make some!
Fatima Torres
I love baking with Granny Smith apples. I feel like it adds the right texture to the treat.
Beth
Tima, I so agree especially because you can find Granny Smiths at almost any time of year. In the fall, when I can get them, I bake with Jonathans.
Lathiya
Who can ever think to bake with cooked chickpeas? A genius idea and interesting flavor.
Beth
Thanks, Lathiya! I wish I could say it was my idea, but I agree it's genius!
Jennyfer
We tried this recipe today. Felt like something was missing, as they are really dry and crumbled everywhere? We followed the recipe but feels like we did something wrong?