These cinnamon cassava muffins are paleo, gluten free and only sweetened with dates (no sugar added). They are made with Otto's cassava flour and a little coconut flour, making them completely grain free and nut free. Furthermore, this small batch muffin recipe has a delicious, lightly sweetened taste and moist, dense texture.
These cinnamon cassava muffins are one of the first cassava flour recipes I ever created.
They're moist, dense, only sweetened with dates and perfect as a breakfast side or snack.
Needless to say, they hold a special place on my list of favorite recipes.
What is Cassava Flour?
First thing's first. What is cassava flour?
Cassava flour comes from from the cassava (or yuca) root. The cassava root is peeled, dried and ground to make cassava flour. You can probably guess that cassava flour is grain free and paleo friendly since I use it in so many of my recipes. It also works well as a 1:1 substitution (by weight) for wheat flour and many gluten free baking mixes.
Now, it's important not to confuse cassava flour with tapioca starch. Yes, they both come from the cassava root, but they are very different. Tapioca is the extracted starch of the cassava root. Whereas, cassava flour comes from the whole cassava root. They serve very different purposes in baking and cooking and are not interchangeable.
Best Brand of Cassava Flour
My favorite brand of cassava flour is Otto's Cassava Flour. They have the highest quality cassava flour and it works better for paleo baking than any other brand I've tried.
Otto's Cassava Flour peels, dries and then grinds their cassava into a reliable flour. They also ensure that every batch is free of the top 8 allergens.
Baking with Cassava Flour
If you follow my blog, you know I use quite a bit of cassava flour in my baking. Nearly anything can be made with cassava flour. Here are some of my favorite paleo cassava flour recipes:
- cassava flour banana bread
- baked chocolate donuts
- chicken tenders
- chocolate chip tahini cookies
- Paleo Bagels
- cassava flour sugar cookies
- strawberry scones
- rosemary crackers
Ingredients
This grain free cassava muffin recipe uses 9 simple ingredients. In addition, my recipe is nut free and great for kids.
Here's what you need:
- cassava flour
- coconut flour
- dates
- cinnamon
- paleo baking powder
- salt
- eggs
- vanilla
- coconut milk (or almond milk or water)
How to Make Cassava Flour Muffins
These paleo cinnamon muffins are made in a food processor or high powered blender.
First, preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Line a muffin pan with 8 silicone muffin liners.
Next, combine all of the ingredients (except the coconut milk) in your food processor. I recommend chopping the dates into bite-sized pieces so that they blend up easier.
Before turning on the food processor, mix the ingredients with a spatula. This helps keep the flour from rising up in a cloud of dust.
Then, turn on the food processor and blend the ingredients, stopping every now and then to scrape the sides.
Add the coconut milk, stir the mixture with a spatula and then blend the dough again until it is a fairly smooth texture. Note: the dates will not be fully blended into the batter.
Scoop the batter into the lined muffin pan. Each cup should be filled ½ to ¾ full, making 8 muffins.
Next, place the muffins in the oven and bake at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes. The muffins will come out slightly under-baked.
Cool the muffins in the pan for a couple minutes, then transfer them to a wire cooling rack.
Storage
Since these muffins are moist, they are best stored in the fridge. However, these cinnamon cassava muffins will last in your pantry (in a sealed container) for 2-3 days.
No matter how you choose to store these muffins, they are great for a quick snack. I also enjoy these as a Paleo breakfast muffin when I'm in a pinch for time, as they are highly portable - not too crumbly.
How to Eat Cassava Muffins
These healthy cassava flour muffins really don't need any additional toppings or spreads - they taste great on their own. Of course, if you're feeling the need for something extra, I highly recommend adding a bit of dairy-free cream cheese, a drizzle of honey or nut butter.
More Cassava Flour Muffins
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Cinnamon Cassava Muffins (Paleo, No Sugar Added)
- Prep Time: 5 min
- Cook Time: 20 min
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 8 muffins 1x
Description
This small batch cinnamon cassava muffin recipe is moist, dense and lightly sweetened with dates (no sugar added). They are the perfect nut free muffin eaten as a breakfast side or afternoon snack.
Ingredients
- ½ cup cassava flour
, firmly packed (87g) - 3 Tbsp coconut flour (22g)
- 3-4 Medjool dates, pitted (about 60g)*
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp paleo baking powder
- ⅛ tsp salt
- 3 large eggs
- ½ cup coconut milk (or almond milk)
, firmly packed (Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a muffin pan with 8 silicone muffin liners.
- Combine all ingredients, except coconut milk, in a food processor. Mix with a spatula, then blend the ingredients, stopping every so often to scrape the sides.
- Add coconut milk. Mix with a spatula, then blend until smooth.
- Scoop the batter into the lined muffin pan, filling each slot ½ to ¾ full.
- Place the muffins in oven (middle rack) and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.
- Remove the muffins from the oven, cool a few minutes in the pan, then transfer them to a wire cooling rack.
. Mix with a spatula, then blend the ingredients, stopping every so often to scrape the sides.Notes
For best results, measure ingredients by weight (when given)
*Make sure your dates are soft. If they aren't then warm them in the microwave for 5-10 seconds. Also, to make blending easier, chop the dates before adding them to the food processor.
kk
Excited to try these:) I'm strictly no sugar at the moment. Do you know how I might substitute the dates with Swerve or something similar? Thanks!
realfoodrabbit
Hi! So glad you like this recipe 🙂 I don't bake with sugar-free sweeteners, so I'm not sure how you could substitute. You'll have to experiment and let me know how it goes.
Sonya
The best thing to use is monkfruit if you need a no-carb substitute.
Claire
I just made these with Swerve (1/2 cup or so to taste before eggs were added to dough). Worked well. I also only used 2 eggs (large instead of 3) and added a bit of vanilla extract. The first muffins with Cassava flour that were not gooyee.
realfoodrabbit
That is so good to hear - makes my day knowing they turned out for you! Thank you for sharing Claire 🙂
Kristen
THese muffins were wonderful! Thank you so much for this recipe. It is now a new staple in our house. I sweeten different recipes, as suggested in this one, with dates covered with water in a jar in the fridge. It is a natural alternative to sugar and you can use very little or a lot.
realfoodrabbit
Kristen, this comment means the world to me! Thank you so much for sharing! I'm glad your family loves them 🙂
Kaitlin
I’m excited to try these! Is there something you would recommend subbing for the almond milk? I’m allergic but these sound amazing!
realfoodrabbit
Hi! Any type of milk should work: coconut, rice, cashew, cow's 🙂
Jackie
Can you sun for the eggs with a flax
Egg?
Katie
The muffins will probably turn out gummy without using real eggs.
Tiffany
Can you sub anything for the dates? My daughters allergic to dates & I’m still trying to figure out baking w/ cassava flour.????♀️
Katie
I think the best substitution would be dried figs or raisins. Some people have tried using sugar free sweeteners and have had success as well (see comments).
Thalia G
Followed instructions and they just didnt come out. The bater was extremely crummy. I was hoping to add more milk, but didnt want to ruin the receipt.
Katie
Sorry they didn't turn out for you. Did you make any substitutions?
MARJ
I made these today and they are very dry. I used everything in your recipe and did it the way you said. Any ideas what may have happened?
Katie
Did you measure the ingredients by weight? That makes a huge difference, especially when baking with cassava and coconut flour. Also, your oven may cook differently than mine. Perhaps the muffins need to be baked for less time.
Sarah
I just made these and they are delicious! Not very sweet so I made a honey butter icing. I love your blog, I always end up back here anytime I want to make any desserts. Your tahini chocolate chip cookies are a staple!
Katie
Yay! I'm so glad you like them! Yes, most of my recipes aren't very sweet...definitely not for everyone and that's okay 🙂 But I'm so happy to hear you enjoy my recipes. Those tahini cookies are amazing!
Lisa
Great recipe. I substituted dates for monkfruit stevia and used 2 duck eggs, 1 chicken and almond milk. The muffins came out fluffy and moist. Can't wait to try it again with dates. Thank you!
Joanna
How much monk fruit stevia did you use? I also have to sub out the dates
Nina
I sub the dates with 60 g of mashed banana and make these for my 15 mo old. She loves them! Just cook them a bit longer as the tops are still a little wet.
Katie
So glad the substitution worked and that your little one loves them 🙂 Thank you for sharing!!
Evelyn
Thank you so much for this recipe! I’m on a very restrictive diet right now, so I used 25 drops of organic liquid stevia for the dates and therefore omitted the food processor. I also used a good , clean almond milk for the liquid. I LOVE smearing these with coconut butter. Such a great treat; thank you! I look forward to trying more of your recipes.
Katie
Yay! This makes me so happy to read. I hope you find more recipes on here that fit your current diet 🙂 Thank you for the review!
Lisa
Can I substitute the eggs for flax eggs?
Katie
I have not tried any egg substitutes for this recipe.
Dara H.
I just made these muffins but added raspberries and strawberries and used monk fruit sweetener. Thank you for the good recipe!
Katie
Those sound like great additions! 🙂
Pam Gabriele
Katie,
Thank you so much for a light, delicious muffin recipe I can eat.
I've made the recipe a couple of times, changing it a little on the second try.
For the commenting that wanted a sweeter version...
I doubled the recipe, using 3/4 cups of coconut milk & 1/4 cup of 100% maple syrup.
I used standard size muffin liners but mine only equaled 12 muffins (6 for the regular version)
Also, the comment that they turned out dry...I wonder if she only made 6 muffins, instead of 8, if the extra filling in each liner would make a difference. Mine were soft, light &...ohhh I think I'm gonna go eat one right now!!
Thank you so sooo much!!!
Katie
Thank you Pam! I'm so glad you enjoyed these muffins 🙂 Thank you for leaving a review and sharing your alterations.
Kelly
Can I skip the coconut flour and just do more cassava or just not replace?
Katie
Coconut flour is necessary for getting the proper texture.
Dana
Maybe I did something wrong but these had no flavor and were very dense.
Katie
They are very dense, it even says so in the description. I'm sorry you didn't care for their flavor. Since they're only sweetened with dates these muffins don't have a ton of flavor.