Suitable for GAPS, Paleo, gluten-free, grain-free, dairy-free, sugar-free, vegetarian diets
A few days ago, I was all keen to make some savoury carrot coconut flour muffins. So I reached for my book of coconut flour recipes by Bruce Fife, only to… not find it! No worries, it will be easy-as to find a recipe online. Not so. All carrot bread or muffin recipes online are filled with sweetener.
Yes, carrot cake and sweet carrot muffins are nice, but I want a savoury recipe. A bready kind of muffin that will include the goodness of some vegetables, but be savoury enough to top with avocado, hummus, cheese or tinned fish. Much like the carrot pulp bread I posted about, but with a different flour. So I made up my own recipe, using the same base I used to use to make coconut muffins filled with ham, cheese, salmon or beef.
This mix made 12 muffins but would also make a loaf the same size as my carrot pulp almond bread.
Cooking with coconut flour
Before we get started on the recipe, we need to talk about one or two of the peculiarities of cooking with coconut flour. Firstly, to make it a nice texture, it really needs to be made with eggs – lots of them. Although I have developed a couple of egg free recipes for children with multiple allergies, they’re not as nice.
It is also very high fibre, so sometimes I offset it with a little almond flour, or a starch such as arrowroot or tapioca. But if you’re going to be eating them fairly quickly, or freezing them, that’s not always necessary. In this case some of the bulk will be provided by the grated carrot (or whatever veges you choose) so it won’t be as fibrous.
Also be aware that coconut flour absorbs a lot of moisture, so if you want to convert one of your other recipes, you will only need about half the amount of flour – plus plenty of eggs!
The last thing it’s important to know, is that it sticks to your baking trays, or even to paper cases, like nobody’s business. Bruce Fife recommends greasing your pans with a combination of coconut oil and liquid lecithin. But that’s not always easy to find.
So if I’m baking using a loaf tin or a flat tray, I will line it with baking paper. Unlike the paper cases, this will prevent sticking. But today I want to make muffins, so I use a rough and ready method of making my own muffin tin liner with a scrap of baking paper.
I grease my muffins trays REALLY well with coconut oil, then cut small squares of baking paper. They don’t line the entire pan, but cover the bottom and a little bit up the sides. You still might need to slide a knife around the sides of each pan, but they will lift away from the bottom easily.
Ingredients
• 6 eggs, preferably free range and organic
• 1/2 teaspoon celtic sea salt
• 60gm (2oz) melted butter, ghee, coconut oil or a combination
• 250gm grated carrot or other veges (see notes)
• 6 Tablespoons (65gm) coconut flour
Method
Turn the oven on to 200C (400F). Line your loaf tin or muffin trays, as above.
Beat together the eggs, salt and melted butter/oil. I use a large food processor, but you could use a large bowl and a whisk. Beat in the coconut flour, then mix in the carrots.
Spoon into the muffin pans or loaf tin. Bake muffins for about 15-18 minutes until a skewer comes out clean. Run a knife around the edges of the pans, then slide muffins onto a tray to cool.
For a loaf, start checking after 40 minutes. Use the edges of the baking paper to lift it out of the tin and onto a cooling rack. Cool completely before slicing.
Keep in the fridge for up to three days, or slice and freeze individual slices.
Notes about the vegetables
I used grated carrot for this version. The carrot was still a tiny bit crunchy. Like the previous bread recipe, you could use carrot pulp from juicing instead, which would get around that, but might make the muffins a little drier.
Or grated zucchini makes another nice variation, but make sure you pat it dry before adding it.
Or try a combination of carrot and zucchini.
Another variation might be cooked and mashed pumpkin, butternut squash or sweet potato. This will give a different texture. When I’ve tried it, I’ll report further!
I can’t see any reason not to use other veges of your choice, such as mushroom or broccoli, but I’d use some of the root veges or squashes first for texture, then add your extras later. Though having said that, either of those with some cheese instead of the carrot or squash would also be yum.
I'm also toying with the idea of a version with grated carrot and grated apple, with some walnut pieces thrown in, but still no sweetener. So although it would be a bit sweeter, it would be still be nice with a slice of cheese on top, or some nut butter.
Serving ideas
These are very plain muffins (unless you added cheese), and the main focus will be on your topping. Try:
• Nut butter and slice of tomato
• Hummus and tinned tuna or salmon
• Cream cheese or cottage cheese with smoked salmon
• Avocado or guacamole, and a slice of salami
• Spread on a little tomato paste or pizza sauce, then a slice of salami, then a slice of cheddar cheese
• Your favourite sandwich filling
Thanks for reading and enjoy!
The photo of Cooking with Coconut Flour is from http://piccadillybooks.com/ All other photos are by myself or @sift666
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Some of my previous posts:
RECIPES AND KITCHEN TIPS: Choc Blackcurrant Smoothie ~ Paleo Cottage Pie ~ Feijoa Pear Smoothie ~ Grain free, dairy free Pumpkin & Cashew Bread ~ Tip for storing ginger & tumeric ~ Grain Free Banana Cashew muffins ~ Warming winter soup ~ Healthy Chocolate & Fudge ~ Jerky with vegetables ~ BREAKFAST ideas ~ Choco-mallow protein bars ~ Equipment for the real food kitchen ~ Carrot Almond bread ~ Grain free Fruit & Nut bar ~ For MORE RECIPES and my 15 step Whole Food cooking course, see my recipe website.
HEALTH AND NUTRITION: The wide variety of healthy diets out and what they have in common ~ The travels of Weston A Price and his discoveries about healthy diets ~ Good fats vs bad fats ~ DNA testing for better Health & Fitness ~ DNA testing part 2: How Well Do I Digest Carbs? ~ DNA testing Part 3: I can’t eat Carbs & How to Manage that ~ About the Gut & Psychology syndrome (GAPS) diet Part 1 ~ GAPS diet Part 2: Foods we can’t have ~ GAPS diet Part 3: Foods we CAN have ~ GAPS diet Part 4: What if I can’t eat some animal foods ~ Salicylate intolerances ~ Thoughts about Breast Health ~ I’ve got a cold & how to handle it ~ Sleep like a kitten Part 1 – 3 tips ~ Sleep Well Part 2 – What’s your sleeping style? ~ Sleep Well Part 3 – Resetting your body clock
