Sugar Free Carrot Cake Cupcakes are a delicious dessert or treat that is made with grated carrots, spices, and yogurt.
These no added sugar cupcakes are moist and tender and feature the perfect balance of sweet and spicy.
What you will read about in this recipe.
- Carrot cake cupcakes made with no added sugar.
- Why we love this recipe for cupcakes.
- Ingredients needed to make carrot cake cupcakes.
- How to make Sugar Free Carrot Cake Cupcakes.
- How to make the frosting for carrot cake cupcakes.
- How to store frosted cupcakes.
- Print the recipe for Carrot Cake Cupcakes made without added sugar.
Carrot cake cupcakes made with no added sugar.
This dessert is made with fresh ingredients including carrots and yogurt and then topped with a creamy swirl of buttercream frosting.
I like that these cupcakes are perfect for serving as a dessert for celebrations such as Mothers Day, Birthdays, and holidays.
Did you try my recipe for Sugar Free Carrot Cake Bars?
Those carrot cake bars are gluten free and have only two net carbohydrates per bar. Both this recipe for cupcakes and that recipe for cake bars are delicious recipes made with carrots and no added sugar.
Store your cupcakes in a cupcake holder (which also makes for easier transport!). You can find a selection of cupcake holders here.
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Why we love this recipe for cupcakes.
Something that I really like is that these cupcakes are made with fresh ingredients including real carrots. The carrots give these cupcakes color, flavor, moisture along with everything nutritionally good that comes with carrots.
Here is what else we like about this recipe.
- This recipe for cupcakes is relatively easy to make.
- The cupcakes are perfectly moist and soft, thanks in part to the carrots.
- The frosting really adds the perfect flavor balance to the cupcakes.
- Applesauce is also used for additional flavor and moisture.
- Cupcakes are a perfect individual sized dessert that are easy to serve.
- The flavor and texture of these cupcakes can be made even better by adding chopped walnuts, pecans, or even raisins.
Ingredients needed to make carrot cake cupcakes.
The ingredients used to make this recipe are basic ingredients that you may already have in your pantry. You can use a food processor, box grater, or mandoline to finely grate the carrots to a near shredded size.
- Carrots. Grate the carrots fresh until they are close to being shredded without being shredded. You can use a food processor, mandoline, or box grater. If they are watery, you can let them sit on a stack of paper towels or clean kitchen towel while you work.
- Flour. All purpose flour was used to make my cupcakes. You can try using an alternative flour as long as it measures and bakes like all purpose.
- Baking Soda and Baking Powder. Both are used for leavening.
- Spices: ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg, and ground ginger.
- Vegetable Oil. A neutral oil that is used for moisture.
- Sugar Alternative and Brown Sugar Alternative. Use sugar alternatives that are granular, measure like actual sugar, and that can be baked with.
- Eggs. The eggs should be at room temperature for optimal blending.
- Vanilla Extract. Added for flavor balance.
- Greek Yogurt. This helps to make the cupcakes fluffy and moist while giving the cupcakes a bit of 'tang' to balance out the sweetness.
- Applesauce. Use applesauce that has no added sugar. This adds both flavor and moisture.
Ingredients needed to make the buttercream frosting.
- Cream Cheese. Use a full fat cream cheese that has been softened to room temperature.
- Butter. Also softened to room temperature.
- Brown Sugar Alternative. Use a granular version.
- Sugar Free Powdered Sugar . Use a whisk to break up any lumps.
- Vanilla Extract. Added for flavor.
- Optional- molasses. A teaspoon or two can be added for flavor.
Tips for making the best carrot cake cupcakes.
Fresh ingredients are essential when making a great cupcake.
This is especially true with your dry ingredients and the carrots.
More helpful tips for you.
- If your carrots seem too chunky after grating, give them a quick chop to get the size of the pieces down. Carrot pieces should be small enough (finely grated) to distribute in the cupcake batter evenly for texture and to eat easily.
- You can give your liners a quick spray with nonstick to help prevent sticking if needed.
- When combining the ingredients, mix until just combined. Overmixing will make a more dense cupcake and can cause large air pockets.
- Sour cream can be used in place of the yogurt. Both ingredients should be full fat and have no added ingredients such as flavoring.
- Preheat your oven and place the cupcakes in the center of the oven to help them evenly bake. Rotating them midway through baking also helps.
- Lastly, allow the cupcakes to fully cool before frosting them.
Expert Tip 👉 Adding chopped walnuts adds both flavor and texture to these cupcakes.
How to make Sugar Free Carrot Cake Cupcakes.
Prep Time: 15 minutes .
Bake Time : 15-18 minutes .
Servings: 15 regular sized cupcakes. .
- Preheat your oven to 350 and prep your cupcake pan for nonstick. Liners work well in a recipe such as this one.
- Grate the carrots if they have not been grated. They should be grated to a 'fine' grate rather than shredded.
- In a medium to large sized bowl, use a whisk or a sifter to combine together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and spices (ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg, and ground ginger).
- Next, in a large mixing bowl, mix together the Oil, Brown Sugar Alternative, Sugar Alternative, Eggs and Vanilla Extract. Then blend in the Greek Yogurt and Applesauce.
- Add the dry ingredients from the first bowl to the mixing bowl and mix the ingredients until just combined.
- Use a rubber spatula to fold in the carrots and any optional ingredients such as chopped walnuts.
- Fill the cupcake liners three fourths of the way full. Then bake the cupcakes for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Allow your cupcakes to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack to cool completely before frosting.
How to make the frosting for carrot cake cupcakes.
- Beat together the Cream Cheese, Butter, Brown Sugar Alternative and Molasses in a mixing bowl for two minutes on medium speed.
- Scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl and beat the ingredients for another minute.
- Let the ingredients sit for five minutes and then add the vanilla extract and the powdered sugar alternative to the mixing bowl.
- Beat the ingredients until smooth and creamy, scraping the sides of the bowl periodically.
- To thicken the frosting, add additional sugar free powdered sugar and mix on high speed for another minutes. To thin out the frosting add a teaspoon or less of milk at a time. Note that this frosting will be on the soft side for easier piping. It will thicken when refrigerated.
- Spread or pipe the frosting on top of each cupcake. You can then sprinkle the cupcakes with finely chopped Walnuts
if desired. - Place the cupcakes in your refrigerator to firm up the frosting if needed
Expert Tip 👉 The frosting needs to sit for five minutes during the mixing process to allow the ingredients to absorb into the sugar alternative which is done to prevent a 'gritty' texture. Also, the molasses is added for flavor and to deepen the color. You can omit the molasses if desired.
How to store frosted cupcakes.
Once full cooled, these frosted cupcakes should be stored in an airtight container in a single layer. When properly stored, these cupcakes should keep for up to two days at room temperature or up to five days when refrigerated. You can freeze unfrosted cupcakes for up to a few months.
You may also be interested in these cake recipes.
- Sugar Free Cake Mix Brownies - 4 Ingredients
- Sugar Free Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake
- Sugar Free Chocolate Loaf Cake
- Sugar Free Chocolate Depression Cake
- Sugar Free Applesauce Cake
- Sugar Free Ombre Layered Cake
- Sugar Free Strawberry Icebox Cake
- Sugar Free Vanilla Sheet Cake
Print the recipe for Carrot Cake Cupcakes made without added sugar.
Sugar Free Carrot Cake Cupcakes
Ingredients
- 1½ cups Carrots - Fine Grated
- 1¼ Flour
- 1 tsp Baking Soda
- ½ tsp Baking Powder
- 1½ tsp Ground Cinnamon
- ¼ tsp Nutmeg
- ¼ tsp Ground Ginger
- ½ cup Vegetable Oil
- ⅓ cup Sugar Alternative
- ⅓ cup Brown Sugar Alternative
- 2 Eggs
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- ½ cup Greek Yogurt
- ½ cup Applesauce
Frosting
- 8 oz Cream Cheese
- 4 tbsp Butter
- ¾ cup Brown Sugar Alternative
- 3 cups Sugar Free Powdered Sugar
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1 tsp Molasses - optional
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 and prep your cupcake pan for nonstick.
- In a medium to large sized bowl, use a whisk or a sifter to combine together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and spices (ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg, and ground ginger).
- Next, in a large mixing bowl, mix together the Oil, Brown Sugar Alternative, Sugar Alternative, Eggs and Vanilla Extract. Then blend in the Greek Yogurt and Applesauce.
- Add the dry ingredients from the first bowl to the mixing bowl and mix the ingredients until just combined.
- Use a rubber spatula to fold in the carrots and any optional ingredients such as chopped walnuts.
- Fill the cupcake liners three fourths of the way full. Then bake the cupcakes for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.Allow your cupcakes to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack to cool completely before frosting.
Frosting
- Beat together the Cream Cheese, Butter, Brown Sugar Alternative and Molasses in a mixing bowl for two minutes on medium speed.
- Scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl and beat the ingredients for another minute. Let the ingredients sit for five minutes and then add the vanilla extract and the powdered sugar alternative to the mixing bowl. Beat the ingredients until smooth and creamy, scraping the sides of the bowl periodically.
- To thicken the frosting, add additional sugar free powdered sugar and mix on high speed for another minute. To thin out the frosting add small amount (half teaspoon at a time) milk.Note that this frosting will be on the soft side for easier piping. It will thicken when refrigerated.
Recipe Notes
Also, please see the actual recipe post for further details on this recipe. Nutritional Information is only an estimate and can vary especially with ingredients that are used. See thesugarfreediva.com for details on this recipe.
most recently updated:
February 20, 2024*About Sugar Alternatives
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Nutrition
Please note: Nutritional data has been calculated using a tool that comes with this recipe card and not by me. This means that Nutritional Information is only an estimate and can vary especially with ingredients that you use. The accuracy of this tool may differ from other tools as expected. Also note that there is no instructional value to the video that may be attached to this recipe. It is only there for visual pleasure. For more information about the images in this recipe, please refer the the recipe instructions. Thank you!
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Sugar Free Carrot Cake Cupcakes, a delicious dessert or snack recipe made with grated carrots, spices, yogurt, and no added sugar.
Please see recipe post for further details on this recipe.