These Almond Flour Cupcakes have a rich, chocolate flavor and are surprisingly fluffy for being naturally-sweetened and gluten-free. They are kid-approved, so they are perfect for a healthier birthday party, too.
Almond Flour Cupcake Ingredients
Almond flour has a higher fat content than all-purpose flour, so it doesn’t require as much oil as a traditional cupcake recipe. This version is naturally sweetened with maple syrup, to help keep them moist and fluffy! (When I originally tried making this recipe with coconut sugar, I got a more brownie-like texture, and that’s how my Almond Flour Brownies were born.)
Here’s what you’ll need to make these delicious chocolate cupcakes:
- Almond flour (I like to use blanched)
- Cacao powder
- Maple Syrup
- Baking Powder
- Eggs
- Coconut oil
- Vanilla
- Salt
What I love about this recipe is that you don’t need a bunch of different flours or a gluten-free flour blend to make them. Just stir 8 ingredients together in a bowl, and they are ready to bake!
Is Almond Flour High In Protein?
According to the USDA nutrient database, almond flour contains 24 grams of protein per cup. That’s nearly double what you’ll find in a cup of all-purpose flour, according to the same database.
As written, these almond flour cupcakes have 5 grams of protein and 2 grams of fiber per cupcake. So they should leave you feeling much more satisfied than a traditional one made with white flour and sugar!
Are Almond Meal and Almond Flour Interchangeable?
The term almond flour usually refers to blanched almond flour, which is made from almonds that have had their skins removed and are finely ground. Almond meal is usually made from almonds that still have their skin on, so they are flecks of brown in the final product.
Almond flour and almond meal can be used interchangeably in some cases, like in my Almond Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies, but for the fluffiest results I recommend sticking with blanched almond flour. Almond meal typically creates baked goods that are a little more dense, and not quite as visually appealing.
Check out my tutorial on how to make almond flour if you want to try making your own at home!
More Ways to Use Almond Flour
If you need more ideas for using up your almond flour, try one of my other almond flour recipes below.
- Almond Flour Pancakes
- Almond Flour Waffles
- Almond Flour Blueberry Muffins
- Almond Flour Banana Bread (egg-free!)
- Iced Sugar Cookies
- Cut-Out Gingerbread Cookies
I hope you’ll enjoy these cupcakes as much as my family does. Be sure to try my Vegan Chocolate Frosting or Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting if you need an easy cake topper! (More frosting options are coming soon, too.)
Chocolate Almond Flour Cupcakes
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3/4 cups blanched almond flour
- 1/2 cup raw cacao powder
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt (I use Real Salt brand)
- 3/4 cup maple syrup , at room temperature
- 4 large eggs , at room temperature (see note)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons melted coconut oil
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF and line a muffin tin with 12 cupcake liners. (I use reusable silicone ones, which are great at avoiding sticking.)
- In a large bowl, combine the almond flour, cacao powder, baking powder, salt, maple syrup, eggs, and vanilla. Stir well, and be sure to break up any clumps that form until the batter is smooth. Stir in the coconut oil last, so that it will be less likely to clump from touching any cold ingredients.
- Once the batter is smooth, use a 1/4 cup measure to pour the batter into the prepared cupcake liners. They should all be relatively full from this amount of batter. Bake at 350ºF until the center of the cupcakes feel firm to a light touch, about 25 to 30 minutes.
- Let the cupcakes cool completely in the pan; it's okay if they have a slight dip in the center. When they are cool, you can frost them or decorate as you like.
- These cupcakes will keep well at room temperature for up to 24 hours, but because they are moist and contain eggs, I recommend storing them in the fridge. They should last for up to 5 days when stored in an airtight container in the fridge, or you can freeze them for up to 3 months.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition is for 1 cupcake without frosting. This information is automatically calculated using generic ingredients, and is just an estimate, not a guarantee.
If you try this recipe, please leave a comment below letting me know how you like it! And if you make any modifications, I’d love to hear about those, too. We can all benefit from your experience!
–
Reader Feedback: What’s your favorite type of cake? My Healthy Birthday Cake, which is entirely fruit-sweetened and grain-free, is also a hit, along with my Healthy Carrot Cake recipe!
Can’t wait to try this! Have you ever worked with granulated monkfruit sweetener? Can this be used in place of the maple syrup to reduce the sugar content? I have used it in other baked goods to replace sugar in 1:1 ratio, but not sure how it will work in place of a liquid sweetener like syrup. Thanks!
Can these be made without eggs?
Just made these, they are so simple and delicious! Thanks for the great recipe.
Can flax or chia eggs be substituted for the eggs? I can’t eat eggs.
If I could rate this 10 stars, I totally would! This recipe is truly ridiculously easy and tastes amazing! My teen boys couldn’t believe that it was gluten free and that I actually made this!
Thank you so much for all of your fabulous recipes, this one ill be making weekly!
Thank you!
Ah, that makes me so happy!! Thanks for letting me know!
Can you use agave syrup instead of maple syrup?
As with other comments .Replacement for eggs and maple syrup.Thank you
These are so easy and delicious! I paired them with your vegan chocolate frosting and they are so fluffy and melt-in-your-mouth good. Love that they’re not too sweet either. The centers sunk slightly on some of them, as you said they would, but that didn’t impact the overall texture. Thanks for another awesome recipe!
Can you recommend how to use this recipe in a cake pan?
Have you ever tried making this as a cake instead of cupcakes?
These are delicious and so easy to make!
Made these for Mother’s Day and they were super simple to make with my 3yo and so delicious! Thank you for amazing and healthy recipes.
My cupcakes collapse in the middle! Why is that?
It’s normal for there to be a small dip in the middle of a cupcake with grain-free baking. I tried this recipe over 13 times, and this was the very best flavor and texture, despite the dip in the middle, so I posted it because this is what I would want to eat and my kids gobbled them up. If you want them to rise up in the center like a cupcake made with white flour, you need to start adding other type of flour to the mix, like coconut flour or arrowroot starch, but then that will start to compromise the flavor.
I added 1/2 tsp. arrowroot starch to the recipe, and they rose in the middle. I also let the batter sit for 30 minutes before adding the coconut oil. Texture was cake-like but wouldn’t say it was extra moist. A very lightweight cupcake. Good flavor. My kids loved them! Will definitely make them again. I love that they are made from better ingredients than normal cupcakes.
Excited to make these for my son’s birthday. How would you modify cooking time to make it as a cake? (in a springform) Thanks
I still have to try that, so I’m not 100% positive, but I’m guess this recipe would fill a 9-inch pan and then I’d probably bake it for 30 to 45 minutes. (Until the center doesn’t jiggle and feels firm to a light touch.)
Megan, your advice here was spot on. I used a 9-inch square pan and the cake was perfectly done in 40 minutes. Delicious, too.
So easy!so good! Gone in less than a day. Thank you♥️
Moist, tasty and satisfies both the sweet and the chocolate craving. Omg, no gluten, no dairy and the maple syrup doesn’t have the same inflammation response as traditional sugar. My husband made these for me & I couldn’t love him more for it!
These came out great ! I used a dark chocolate cocoa powder because that is what I had in the pantry, and a mini-bundt pan (6 tiny bundt cakes instead of 12 muffins) – this recipe makes 4 of the mini-bundt cakes). They taste great and will be made again for my kid’s birthday gathering (one kid if GF), I’ll just use 1.5 times the recipe and make 6 mini-bundts 🙂
5 plus stars! I made the cupcakes today! I had almond meal, flour and they turned out phenomenal!I de for my sister-in-law who doesn’t eat gluten. She didn’t know a person could make cupcakes gluten free. I am not gluten intolerant, but I don’t eat sweets, really. I will eat these, though. Healthy ingredients. Not empty calories. LOVE you for all your recipes. I have been following you for years and years and years. Thank you, so much. Everything I make and share people fall off their chairs and love! Blessing to you!
5 stars. I tweaked this a bit. I used 1/2 as much maple syrup. 1 cup of shredded zucchini – towel dried, 1 T coconut oil, as I feel coconut oil should be part of the recipe – needs some fat for nutritional outcome… My mom is diabetic. I added a pinch of cloves and a pinch of cinnamon. More of an adult cupcake/muffin. I LOVE your recipes!! Thank you so much! You have changed my baking!I can bake. No empty calories. Power house food! Thank you!
Oopsie. I used 1/2 cup maple syrup, rather than 3/4 cup. Tasted just righ to my taste buds. 3/4 made my teeth hurt. 😉 Everyone still loved the 3/4 cup version, but this one was better for us. <3
Oops. And I added one or two T of coconut flour – for the moistness of the zucchini. 😉
Could you cook this at a lower temperature to use the almond flour more safely? I was shooting to use it in cake pans. Missing some ingredients for your other chocolate cake option! Thanks!
Our favorite go to recipe for birthdays! The kids and adults love it.
These are DELICIOUS! I used agave syrup instead of maple syrup. And about 2/4 cup.
I made mini muffins. No frosting needed.
AMAZING.
These were so delish and easy, they will be my go to almond flour cupcakes. Thank you!
Hi! I love all your recipes! How do you make the chocolate frosting though? I like almond flour with chocolate frosting, but not with the cacoa mixed in.
Thanks!
The frosting pictured on these cupcakes is my date-sweetened vegan frosting. I also like to use my Vegan Ganache for desserts, too.
These cupcakes are amazing! I don’t even miss the regular ones I used to make! I did substitute raw honey for the sweetener and they are still perfect!
Amazing
Fantastic, so healthy and delicious!
Take you so much I followed the recipe to the T also I did the vegan ganache and they both came out perfect thank you so much I feel like I can go in compete in a Baker’s competition I love sweet but when you do him from scratch the taste even better
Amazing!! I’m so glad you loved it!
I’ve given up gluten or Lent to see if it will help with my allergies. This recipe is yummy!
Done it with added coconut sugar and they are devine 👌🏼😋thank you so easy so healthy and so yummy 😉i think i add half cup Coco sugar 😉
What to use to replace eggs?
I would use this tested vegan recipe to make an egg-free version: https://detoxinista.com/vegan-gluten-free-chocolate-cake/
FYI for all those asking about replacing the egg – I tried with flax seed and it was unsuccessful.
Thank you for sharing! If you want to try a tested egg-free version, I have a vegan almond flour chocolate cake recipe here: https://detoxinista.com/vegan-gluten-free-chocolate-cake/
These cupcakes are so rich and spongy! So good they don’t even need frosting. They were also very easy to make! 💗
Love so much!! I just wish you included that yummy looking frosting ❤️
I believe the frosting pictured here is my date-sweetened chocolate frosting, but you can also use my 2-ingredient ganache!
Oh wow!! Thank you so much, LOVE no powdered sugar.
These were deeeeeelicious! I just used Hershey’s Special Dark coco powder and my goodness they were scrumptious. Just the right amount of sweetness and great texture. Everything I’ve ever made from you has always been amazing!
I loooove these chocolate cupcakes and love how decadent they taste with such clean ingredients! A party of 10 year olds also loved them so they are perfect in my book, definitely serving these up at every party!
I’m so glad the chocolate cupcakes were a hit at the party!!
DELICIOUS recipe!!! I paired it with your chocolate vegan frosting (my favorite and also DELICIOUS).