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These are the best chocolate paleo cupcakes ever! Gluten free and dairy free, they’re moist and rich with a soft crumb, and the dark chocolate frosting is oh so good. This recipe is surprisingly easy and quick to pull together. In short? They’re just perfect.
Let’s be clear here: the title of this paleo cupcakes recipe is not “Best Chocolate Paleo Cupcakes Ever with Dark Chocolate Frosting (Gluten, Grain, Dairy Free).”
It’s this:
Best Damn Chocolate Paleo Cupcakes Ever of Your Entire Life with Dark Chocolate Frosting (Gluten, Grain, Dairy Free) That Could Fool Anyone Into Thinking They’re Made with White Flour and Sugar and All Sorts of Unhealthy Stuff Recipe
They’re the opposite of foolproof. Or, well, let me clarify. They’re both foolproof to make, and completely able to fool even the most difficult of your friends or family. You know the ones! That claim everything healthy tastes funny? Yeah, even them. Even they will be fooled by these chocolate paleo cupcakes.
Which is really amazing, because why? Because they’re…
- grain free,
- gluten-free,
- refined sugar-free, and
- dairy free.
With the moistest texture and perfect crumb, they’re quite possibly the best paleo thing I’ve ever eaten, and that’s a seriously bold claim!
Why this recipe is so good
- They taste just like a regular bakery chocolate cupcake. Well, from a really good bakery.
- The texture is moist with a soft crumb. They’re rich and chocolatey and so tender.
- These chocolate paleo cupcakes are surprisingly easy to make and super quick to bring together.
- This recipe is just sweet enough and is made with coconut sugar.
- The recipe for the dark chocolate frosting could not be easier!
- The low baking temperature keeps the cupcakes just dense enough and oh so moist.
How to make it
It’s weirdly easy and quick. Here’s how you do it:
Preheat the oven to 325º Fahrenheit.
Combine all the dry ingredients for the paleo cupcakes in a large mixing bowl; whisk well. In a medium bowl, combine all the wet ingredients for the paleo cupcakes; whisk well. Stir the wet ingredients mixture into the dry and stir until completely smooth and free of lumps.
Line 12 cupcake tins with cupcake liners, ideally parchment paper liners. Fill each liner 3/4 of the way full. Bake for 16-17 minutes, checking at 14-15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake just comes out clean. It will have crumbs but should not be coated and look like the center is still liquid.
Remove from the oven and let sit for 5 minutes; remove cupcakes and let cool fully on a wire rack.
Make frosting: microwave all frosting ingredients together in 60-second bursts, stirring very well in between. Once totally melted and completely smooth, set aside until room temperature or chill until very firm but scoopable.
Frost completely cooled cupcakes with frosting and top with chocolate jimmies, if desired. Try using a piping bag to frost for extra fanciness!
Why these are the easiest cupcakes EVER:
Because literally ALL of the ingredients can 1) already be found in your pantry or 2) they’re sold at Thrive Market, which as you know, is my favorite place to get my pantry staples, non-toxic cleaning supplies, clean wine (I mean, hello), and so much more at 25-50% below retail price. They’re all about making healthy living easy and affordable for everyone. By offering the highest quality, healthy and sustainable products available for every budget, lifestyle, and geography, you can now shop for thousands of the best-selling organic foods and natural products right at your fingertips. And best yet? It’s all delivered right to your door.
Who is Thrive Market for? Everyone can find what they need at Thrive Market — because they’re just like your neighborhood grocery store. Whether you follow a specific diet like Keto, Paleo, Vegan, or are trying to make healthier decisions by shopping sugar-free, cholesterol free, high fiber, etc — Thrive Market is the place for you.
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Can I substitute _______ flour for the almond flour/coconut flour/tapioca flour?
What makes them oh so good is the combination of 3 different paleo flours:
It took multiple tries to get the flour combo just right, perfectly rich, perfectly moist. For this reason, I highly recommend you stick with the flours as listed in the recipe or try to find another recipe that suits your specific ingredient requirements. The most common request I see is a nut-allergy-friendly variation, so try searching for a cassava-flour-based chocolate paleo cupcakes recipe if that’s the case.
In fact, let me know on Instagram if you need a nut-free version, and I might just make a cassava-flour version myself!
Frosting these chocolate paleo cupcakes
Two options here: frost your paleo cupcakes with a small offset spatula or butter knife. Scroll down to the recipe to watch a video on how to do that with this frosting.
Second option: fill a piping bag with this dark chocolate frosting and swirl to your heart’s content! This dark chocolate frosting is so dang chocolatey and rich, and I love how it pairs with the milder cupcake. For that reason, I love piping lots of chocolate frosting on these paleo cupcakes! Not only that, but they’re super stunning. Don’t you think?
Other recipes you’ll love:
- Gluten Free Red Velvet Cake
- Molten Lava Cake Recipe (Paleo, Gluten Free)
- Paleo Chocolate Mousse Dip for Strawberries
Best Chocolate Paleo Cupcakes Ever with Dark Chocolate Frosting (Gluten Free, Dairy Free)
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 2 cups almond flour
- ½ cup tapioca flour
- 2 ½ tablespoons coconut flour
- ½ cup coconut sugar
- ½ cup cocoa powder or cacao powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
Wet Ingredients
- 2 eggs
- ½ cup full-fat coconut milk whisked well
- ⅓ cup cold or room temperature coffee see Note 1
- ¼ cup + 2 tablespoons refined coconut oil melted
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons chocolate extract see Note 2
Dark Chocolate Frosting
- 2 cups vegan chocolate chips like Enjoy Life or Lily's, see Note 3
- ¾ cup coconut cream just the solid white part of a can of coconut milk or cream
- ¼ cup refined coconut oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325º Fahrenheit.
- In a large bowl, whisk together dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, whisk together wet ingredients until smooth. Pour wet ingredients mixture to dry ingredients bowl and stir until well combined and with no lumps.
- Line muffin tin with 12 cupcake liners, preferably parchment paper. Pour or use a disher to fill muffin tin 3/4 full.
- Bake in the middle rack for 16-17 minutes. Do not overbake. Begin checking for doneness every minute starting at 15 minutes: insert a toothpick into the center of a cupcake. The toothpick should come out with crumbs but not completely coated like the center is liquid. As soon as the toothpick comes out this way (Crumbs but not coated), remove the pan from the oven. Let sit 5 minutes then remove cupcakes and cool completely on a wire rack.
- While cupcakes cool, make the frosting. In a medium bowl, combine all ingredients. Microwave in 60-second bursts, stirring very well in between each burst, until ingredients are completely melted and totally smooth. Set aside and let cool to room temperature or chill in the refrigerator until firm but scoopable.
- Frost cupcakes when cupcakes are completely cool and frosting is set. Sprinkle with chocolate jimmies, if desired and not on a strict paleo diet.
Video
Coffee brings out the natural cocoa flavor in chocolate dishes, so I highly recommend using a bit of your leftover morning brew in this paleo cupcakes recipe! However, if you don't have coffee on hand, water will do. Note 2
Chocolate extract is another amazing way to enrich the chocolatey flavor in a recipe like these paleo cupcakes, so I highly recommend using it. However, you can omit the chocolate extract if you cannot find it. Note 3
I use Enjoy Life chocolate chips, which do have cane sugar as an ingredient. If you are very strictly paleo and do not consume any refined sugar, you will want to use a different brand of chocolate chips. Lily's is keto-friendly and sweetened by stevia and erythritol. Lily's does contain soy lecithin. For an unsweetened option, try Pascha Organic 100% Cacao chips. You will absolutely need to sweeten the frosting if you go this route, though; try adding coconut sugar to taste when the mixture is warm and stirring to dissolve well.
Approximate Information for One Serving
Nutrition Disclaimers
Number of total servings shown is approximate. Actual number of servings will depend on your preferred portion sizes.
Nutritional values shown are general guidelines and reflect information for 1 serving using the ingredients listed, not including any optional ingredients. Actual macros may vary slightly depending on specific brands and types of ingredients used.
To determine the weight of one serving, prepare the recipe as instructed. Weigh the finished recipe, then divide the weight of the finished recipe (not including the weight of the container the food is in) by the desired number of servings. Result will be the weight of one serving.
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Hi! I want to make these for my daughter to take to her school party since she is on a food elimination diet for eczema sensitivities. Can I sub Casava flour for the Almond four? We are eliminating almonds at the moment
That swap should work! We haven’t tested it ourselves, but those two Paleo flours tend to work well interchangeably. Let us know how it turns out! Hope y’all enoy. 🙂
I checked at 15 like directions said they were done came at clean, minimal crumbs so I wonder if it over baked because when I tried to lift them from the pan the tops started breaking off. Any ideas?
Hi, would these work okay if I replaced the tapioca flour with coconut flour?
Hi! We strongly recommend using tapioca flour with the coconut flour. 🙂
I am a choco-holic as I like to say, and these definitely do the trick for my choco-fix!! Soo moist and rich! Love them! Wondering if I can save extra frosting if leftovers? If so, any suggestions on how to store it/shelf life?! Thank you!!
Okay, these are actually AMAZING. She is NOT joking! They taste straight from a bakery. I actually like them better than “normal” cupcakes but HELLO? HUGE PERK! They’re clean! Will be making these again!
So glad you loved them!
Hi Cheryl .. do you have any breads or cakes.. desserts that are wheat, grain and sugar free ? Thanks Betty
btty_johnson@yahoo.com
We have some Whole30 options. 🙂
My sister-in-law is gluten-free and dairy-free, but she otherwise has a conventional diet. I need to make chocolate cupcakes in a few days for her birthday and your recipe gets the best reviews! She loves cane sugar, so can I substitute cane sugar for coconut sugar? If so, should I use an equal amount? I’d also like to enhance their chocolate flavor but I don’t have chocolate extract on hand (I live in a rural NH community with a limited availability of items in my local store). I have a Ghirardelli 100% cacao baking bar I’ve used to deepen the chocolate flavor when making her dairy-free chocolate pudding. Would adding a little melted chocolate be a good substitute for chocolate extract? Finally, I’m making them jumbo sized instead of standard sized. Might this negatively affect the cakes (I can adjust the time or temperature accordingly). Thanks so much in advance for your last-minute advice!
All of that sounds amazing! So glad you found us. Those substitutions should definitely work. There might be a slight adjustment as far as cooking goes if they are larger, but we suggest starting out at a baking time of 16 minutes! Of course, they are ready when a toothpick can be inserted and taken out without any mixture on it. 🙂
I cannot eat coconut sugar b/c I’m on a candida cleanse. I can do xylitol, stevia, erithritol, and monkfruit. Do you know how much of one of those I could use instead?
Monkfruit will work! Have you tried Swerve?
This looks amazing! There’s only one problem… We have tapioca allergies in our group… Is there something I can substitute for tapioca?
Coconut flour or arrowroot?
Hi, I’m researching a Paleo Chocolate B’day Cake and came across your recipe for cupcakes with fabulous reviews. Have you baked this as a cake? I’m thinking a 9X9 pan might work. I greatly appreciate your feedback.
We have not baked this as a cake, but that sounds so delicious. Let us know how it goes!
These turned out great. I lowered the coconut sugar amount to less than a half cup, but I think it needs the full half cup for the right amount of sweetness. Can’t say anything about the frosting since I made a chocolate buttercream, but the cake part tasted like a regular gluten cupcake does. My friend said it was fantastic. Thank you!