Almond Flour Cupcakes
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Last updated on Jan 27, 2025
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These almond flour cupcakes are soft, fluffy and perfectly moist. They come together quickly and are a great gluten-free dessert option for any celebration!
In honor of my birthday (it’s today!!), I wanted to share a healthier cupcake recipe! It’s surprisingly the first cupcake recipe here on EBF, but certainly not the last.
If you know me, you’ll know that my favorite store-bought cake mix is Simple Mills Vanilla Cake & Cupcake Mix, so naturally I took it upon myself to make a homemade version.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- It’s almost as easy as making cupcakes from a box… almost!
- These cupcakes are gluten-free, grain-free, dairy-free and free of refined sugars, but still absolutely delicious!
- They can easily be made in advance for an upcoming celebration.
- It’s a great base recipe that can be customized with mix-ins and frostings based on your preference.
Benefits of Almond Flour for Baking
I love using almond flour for healthy baking because it’s a simple, one-ingredient flour made from ground almonds. The almonds are blanched to remove the skins before grinding and sifting. This creates a soft and fluffy flour that’s perfect for baking.
There are some awesome health benefits of using almond flour over white flour. For one, it’s gluten-free, grain-free and lower in carbs than traditional flour. In addition, it’s loaded with nutrients including vitamin E and magnesium.
Ingredients Needed
- almond flour – I recommend using blanched almond flour because the skins have been removed so you’re left with a fine texture, light-colored flour that works perfectly for baked goods.
- coconut flour – just a little to help soak up some of the liquid! The combo of almond + coconut flour results in super fluffy and light cupcakes!
- arrowroot powder – adds structure to the cupcakes and helps contribute to the light and airy texture. If needed you can use cornstarch in place of the arrowroot powder.
- baking powder – to help the cupcakes rise.
- eggs – make sure your eggs are at room temperature before baking these cupcakes, otherwise the coconut oil will harden up when combined. I haven’t tested this recipe with a vegan substitute like flax eggs, so I’m not sure how the cupcakes will turn out. If you decide to try a vegan version let me know in the comments below!
- coconut sugar – I prefer using coconut sugar instead of white sugar, but white sugar also works if that’s what you have on hand
- salt – brings all of the flavors together.
- unsweetened almond milk – I used unsweetened almond milk, but any type of milk will work, including cow’s milk. You can also use water in place of the milk.
- coconut oil – instead of butter, we’re using coconut oil. You want the oil to be in a liquid state so warm it a bit if necessary. Melted butter, ghee or another neutral oil like avocado oil will work as well.
- vanilla extract – no cake is complete without a little vanilla extract, in my opinion.
- sprinkles – optional, but they definitely make these cupcakes more festive! I love supernatural rainbow sprinkles. They’re free of artificial dyes and are gluten-free and vegan.
How to Make Almond Flour Cupcakes
Combine dry ingredients: In a large mixing bowl, mix the almond flour, coconut flour, arrowroot powder, baking powder and salt until well combined.
Combine wet ingredients: In a separate mixing bowl, whisk the coconut sugar, almond milk, eggs, vanilla and melted coconut oil.
Mix: Add the wet ingredients to the dry mixture and stir until just combined. Fold in your sprinkles.
Bake: Pour batter into your lined muffin pan. Bake at 325ºF for 18-23 minutes or until a toothpick entered into the center comes out clean. Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.
Serve: Once cupcakes have completely cooled, frost, top with sprinkles and serve!
Best Frosting to Use
These cupcakes would be delicious topped with my cream cheese frosting, chocolate buttercream frosting, peanut butter greek yogurt frosting, strawberry buttercream frosting, or healthy chocolate frosting.
That said, you can’t go wrong with a classic buttermilk vanilla frosting. If going the store-bought route, my favorite healthier store-bought frosting is Simple Mills vanilla frosting.
Frequently Asked Questions
Almond meal is more coarse and darker than almond flour because it hasn’t been blanched.
Oftentimes people call for almond flour or almond meal in a recipe, but I definitely prefer almond flour for baking because it leads to a light, airy texture. That said, almond meal works great in recipes where you don’t need a light and airy texture (like quick bread) and is awesome for replacing breadcrumbs.
I highly recommend using silicone muffin liners or parchment baking cups for the best results and to avoid the cupcakes from sticking too much. I also recommend spraying your liners with a little cooking spray. Make sure to let your cupcakes cool completely before trying to remove the liners otherwise they could stick. If you want, you can pop the cupcakes in the fridge to cool for an hour or so before removing the liners.
I haven’t tested an egg-free version of these cupcakes, but let me know if you decide to experiment in the comments below!
I haven’t tried this recipe as a cake yet, but it would probably work in a square 8×8 cake pan. If you’re looking for a gluten-free birthday cake that uses almond flour try my healthy birthday cake.
I don’t recommend changing the flours for this recipe. Try my healthy vanilla cupcakes that use whole wheat pastry flour or all-purpose flour.
Can You Make These Cupcakes Ahead of Time?
Yes! These cupcakes can be made 1-3 days in advance. To make ahead of time, let the cupcakes cool completely and store them in the fridge, covered until you’re ready to frost and serve. Alternatively, you can frost and decorate the cupcakes and store them covered in the fridge until ready to serve!
How to Store
Store any leftover cupcakes in an airtight container on the counter for 1-2 days or in the fridge for up to 5 days. For longer storage, you can store these cupcakes in the freezer for up to 3 months. If you’re storing these in the freezer I would recommend storing them unfrosted. The day before you’re ready to serve, let them thaw in the fridge then frost and decorate as desired!
More Healthy Desserts to Try
- Healthy Birthday Cake
- Healthy Chocolate Cupcakes
- Vanilla Cupcakes
- Birthday Cake Cookies
- Easy Strawberry Cake
More Almond Flour Recipes to Try
Be sure to check out all of the popular almond flour recipes as well as the dessert recipes here on EBF!
If you enjoyed this recipe, please consider leaving a ⭐ star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below.
Almond Flour Cupcakes
Ingredients
- 2 cups almond flour
- 1 Tablespoon coconut flour
- 1 Tablespoon arrowroot powder
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 3 large eggs, at room temperature
- ⅓ cup coconut oil, melted
- ⅓ cup unsweetened almond milk, or water, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- ⅓ cup coconut sugar
- ¼ cup sprinkles, optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325°F. Line a 12 cup muffin pan with paper or silicone liners.
- Combine almond flour, arrowroot powder, coconut flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, coconut oil, water or almond milk, vanilla and coconut sugar.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix until just combined.
- Fold in sprinkles.
- Pour batter evenly between 12 muffin tins. Bake for 18-23 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cupcake comes out clean.
- Let cupcakes cool in the tin for about 5 minutes or so, then remove and let cool completely on a wire rack.
- Once cupcakes are completely cool, frost, top with sprinkles and serve.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
i really did like this recipe. Even more so the people I baked it for fell in love with it.
I baked 36 mini cupcakes. Someone used my coconut milk so I ended up using 10 % cream. I also add a tablespoon of apple sauce, and instead of sprinkles I add some strawberry jello powder.
I did not frost them. I dipped them lightly in strawberry puree syrup and then sprinkled with coconut.
I like to add more almond flour so I can make this into 2 x 8 inch cakes so I can make a two layer cake.
I am not a fan of oat flour for cake is why I feel this recipe would work better.
if I add 1 1/2 cup Almond flour would that work?
Any tips I appreciate. Thank you Brittany
So glad you enjoyed the recipe—and I love the creative twists you added! That strawberry puree with coconut topping sounds so dreamy.
For turning this into two 8-inch cake layers, you’ll probably want to double the recipe so you have enough batter to fill both pans. As-is, it’s perfect for 12 cupcakes, but it might not quite be enough for two full layers unless you’re going for a thinner cake.
If you do double it, just keep an eye on the bake time—it’ll likely need more time to bake, depending on your oven. Let me know how it turns out if you try it that way! I’d love to hear.
Can I use full fat can of coconut milk instead?
Great question, Elle! I think full-fat coconut milk would work fine — it’ll just add a little extra richness. I haven’t tried it myself, so I’d love to hear how they turn out if you do!
Can I use regular milk instead of almond?
Totally! If you’re good with regular milk, it can definitely be used as a substitute for the almond milk. Let me know if you end up making these cupcakes and how they turn out. 🙂