These Coconut Flour Cupcakes are light & fluffy, and my kids have declared them to be one of the best cupcakes I’ve ever made. They are perfect for those who need a gluten-free or Paleo cupcake recipe!
My Secret Ingredient
What makes these cupcakes extra special is that they have a sneaky healthy ingredient inside— zucchini! I’ve been adding zucchini to this recipe for years, because it replaces the oil without affecting the sweet vanilla flavor. You truly can’t taste it!
I’ve tried making this recipe with applesauce and banana instead of zucchini, and both options work, but they don’t fool my kids. The applesauce flavor is especially noticeable, so if you want a truly vanilla-flavored cupcake, stick with the zucchini.
The Best Way to Sweeten Coconut Flour Baked Goods
I originally posted this recipe in 2013, but recently decided to test it again to see if I could make the cupcakes even more fool-proof. I tested them with coconut oil, instead of using zucchini, and guess what? The zucchini version is WAY better! Coconut oil can make coconut flour baked goods become greasy fast.
I also tested this recipe with both maple syrup and coconut sugar. I’ve noticed that maple syrup tends to sink to the bottom of coconut flour baked goods, and it’s not too noticeable in recipes like my Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins, but I definitely notice it in these subtle vanilla cupcakes.
That’s why I now recommend making these coconut flour cupcakes with coconut sugar, instead. The coconut sugar makes the cupcakes turn out a little more tan in color, but the sweetness is much more evenly distributed. And the cupcakes turn out perfectly fluffy, without being too moist!
How to Work with Coconut Flour
If you’ve never worked with coconut flour before, there’s a couple things you should know before you get started.
- Always measure correctly. I like to scoop my measuring cup into the bag of coconut flour, getting a heaping cup, and then I use the back of a knife to level it off into a flat measurement. I’ve also included the weight of the measurements I use, in case you prefer to use a kitchen scale.
- Don’t make substitutions. Coconut flour isn’t as forgiving as other flours in baking, so making a small modification could drastically affect the final outcome. Experiment at your own risk. In my experience, egg substitutes don’t work very well with coconut flour baked goods, so if you need to be egg-free, try one of my vegan muffin recipes instead.
What I love about working with coconut flour is that it’s naturally gluten-free, and it requires quite a few eggs, so the resulting baked goods are higher in protein. There is definitely a hint of coconut flavor, too, but it’s not overwhelming in this recipe since it doesn’t call for coconut oil, too.
How to Make Them
For best results, I recommend making these cupcakes in a blender. That way you can pulverize the zucchini, and get a super-smooth batter.
If your blender isn’t high-powered, blend together the zucchini and eggs first, until the zucchini is totally pureed, then add in the rest of the ingredients and blend again.
Pour the batter into 10 cupcake liners, then bake! Coconut flour tends to stick to pans quite a bit, so I definitely recommend using a liner, so you can guarantee that they will release from the pan later.
Cool completely, then top them with your favorite frosting.
I have several healthy frosting recipes available, but my favorites are my Vegan Ganache (pictured here) and my Chocolate Vegan Frosting, which is fruit-sweetened.
For a non-chocolate frosting, try my Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting or my Purple Sweet Potato Frosting.
Coconut Flour Cupcakes (only 7 ingredients!)
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup coconut flour (58 grams)
- 1 cup zucchini , peeled and finely chopped (134 grams)
- 4 large eggs (206 grams)
- 2/3 cup coconut sugar (100 grams)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder (9 grams)
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt (2 grams)
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract (12 grams)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350ºF and line a standard muffin tin with 10 cupcake liners.
- In a blender, combine the coconut flour, zucchini, eggs, coconut sugar, baking powder, salt, and vanilla. Blend until very smooth. (If you don't have a powerful blender, blend together the zucchini and eggs first, until smooth. Then add in the rest of the ingredients and blend again.)
- Pour the batter into the 10 cupcake liners. Bake at 350ºF for 25 minutes, or until the center of the cupcakes feels firm to a light touch.
- Let the cupcakes cool completely before frosting and serving. If making them in advance, store these cupcakes in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is for 1 of 10 cupcakes. This is automatically calculated, so it’s just an estimate and not a guarantee.
Original Recipe (posted June 2013)
If you are in love with my original recipe, you can find the measurements for that below.
- 1/2 cup coconut flour
- 1/2 cup zucchini
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup maple syrup
- 4 eggs
Just like the directions above, you’ll blend this together and bake at 350ºF for 25 minutes. If you’ve tried both versions, let me know which one you prefer!
Please leave a comment below if you try the recipe. I’d love to hear what you think! And if you make any modifications, I’d love to hear how that goes, too. We can all benefit from your experience.
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Reader Feedback: What’s your favorite flavor of cake or cupcake? Mine is carrot cake, so that’s next on my list!
I just made your vanilla and chocolate cupcakes and marbled them for my son’s 8th Birthday party. I of course snuck one…and Wow! I am not a big fan of coconut flour, but these were soooo good! I mode both frostings in your cookbook as well and my husband and I were totally impressed! The chocolate one was my favorite, but the maple cream frosting was a close second! Thank you!
Has anyone tried replacing the zucchini with another fruit or vegetable of similar texture? I’ve made this once already with the zucchini and they were great, but I was wondering if I could maybe use some sort of berry or maybe a banana in place of the zucchini for other flavors? What do you think, Megan? Thanks a bunch for this lovely recipe!
Update: I just subbed the zucchini with blueberries and used medium eggs instead of large. Of course the color turned out a little funky but it tasted almost the same, with the exception of a slight blueberry flavor. Overall, still super yummy with a great texture! Can’t wait to try with other berries now!
I must take a moment to tell you what a blessing your dessert recipes have been to me! This vanilla cake recipe is so versatile. I recently prepared the basic recipe and used it to make a pineapple upside down cake. I melted 1 stick of butter in a 9 inch pie dish, sprinkled coconut sugar over the butter and layered fresh pineapple then poured the batter on top and baked. It was super yummy and decadent!
Thank you for providing such user friendly recipes!!
Blessings,
Sharon Majetich
Dalton GA
This are the best and easiest little cupcakes ever!! So versatile too! They are great plain or you can mix up a filling or frosting and make them fancy! Thanks! So much. I made these and your peanut butter cup pie (I used almond butter) both yesterday for my husband’s birthday. Everyone loved them both. I have made your PBCpie so many times I can’t count!
COULD I make this into a cake? My daughter is turning two and I’d love to make this for her. How long would I bake? Thank you!
Can i add blueberries inside? Will it affect the texture?
I just made these using your date paste substitute for the maple syrup. They were so good. The whole family loved them! Used your whipped coconut topping too. 🙂 Thanks!
I’m glad to hear that the date paste worked well! Thanks for sharing!!
These sound great, I’m hoping these come out well enough to use for my daughter’s fourth birthday party. Questions: Is the result quite savoury, like a muffin? Or more sweet and cup cakey? Would a regular buttercream frosting be ok or too sweet? I’m in the UK…hoping I can find a suitable coconut flour to use so that they are nice and fluffy. Thanks!
I don’t think they are savory, but they are slightly less sweet than a cupcake you’d buy from a bakery. I think a buttercream frosting might be a nice addition if you want them sweeter, or you could make a naturally sweetened buttercream using sweet potato as the base, like this one (you can change the flavoring as needed): https://detoxinista.com/vegan-cream-cheese-frosting-nut-soy-free/
I am thinking about making your Vanilla Cupcakes for my grand daughter’s 1st birthday party. Would l this also work as a one layer cake? What about adding some fruit? Would that alter the consistency too much?Thanks.
Do you think it would be crazy to make this vegan??
I don’t think 4 flax or chia “eggs” would produce good results. Maybe try a starch, like arrowroot or tapioca? You’ll have to experiment because egg-free AND grain-free baking is really tricky. I have one egg-free coconut flour muffin recipe in my first cookbook, Everyday Detox, that works well, but it’s still more dense than these.
Did you mean baking soda or baking powder? Usually recipes with coconut flour call for baking powder so I wanted to double check
I used baking soda.
These were crazy delicious! very moist, my guests (kids and adults enjoyed the cupcake and the whipping cream…… SO GOOD!!!!!!!! thank you.
I know you said not to use flax or chia in place of the eggs but would it would if I used applesauce. We have a very high egg sensitivity.
Hey there!
Do you know why the egg seemed to settle with a gelatin like texture at the bottom of each of mine? I subbed 1/2cup honey but otherwise everything else was the same 🙂
Can you make these as a cake instead of cupcakes?
Absolutely delicious! Super moist! I used 1/4 cup sugar and your chocolate frosting recipe. Super tasty and sweet still.
Wow, amazing cupcake receipe, i personally like coconut alot and this coconut cupcake is going to be my favourite forever. I will try this recipe today.
Would you be able to substitute flax eggs in this recipe? (in order to be vegan)? Thanks!
These cupcakes are perfectly moist, vanilla-y, and fluffy. My daughter declared them”better than my birthday cupcakes”…and that’s saying a lot! This will be a go-to recipe from now on! thanks
Make whole neighbourhood loved these cupcakes so easy, so good
I made these tonight for my family, and they were a huge hit! Everyone loved them. The only change I made was I substituted monkfruit sweetener for the coconut sugar. Thank you for an awesome recipe! Do you have any plans for a chocolate version?
I’ve made these twice now. Both times the consistency came out more like a muffin than a cupcake, which I was a little disappointed about, because I was really jonesing for a cupcake texture and flavor, but…. They were still delicious and my toddler ate them like there was no tomorrow, so that’s a huge mom win! Lol also, don’t use cheap cupcake liners; the batter sticks to them so bad that half the cupcake is left on the paper instead of your belly – and THAT is a tragedy!!
Well this recipe looks interesting. I went and bought my zucchini today. I’m using dessicated coconut…had no flour using what I have. It’s in the oven now…we bout to see the proof in the pudding:-) in another 10 or so minutes. I’ll send an update.
These were a big hit at my sons bday party! The cupcake is very moist and has the subtle flavor of coconut. Mine ended up looking a bit lumpy but nothing a big scoop of frosting couldn’t fix up!