This homemade vegan carrot cake recipe is soft, moist, and irresistibly delicious, with thick vegan cream cheese frosting in each bite!Â
The best vegan carrot cake
If you are looking for a show stopping vegan Easter dessert guaranteed to impress both vegans and omnivores, this is absolutely the recipe you should try.
Dairy free, egg free, and so easy to make, the sweet and flavorful cake comes out perfectly every single time.
Whether you are vegan or not, it may just become your go to carrot cake recipe for years to come!
Also try the popular Healthy Carrot Cake Cupcakes
Plant based carrot cake for special occasions
You will want to make the recipe not just for Easter, but for birthday parties, Mother’s Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas too.
Do not be surprised if this cake starts showing up in your dreams.
The classic taste will remind you of a traditional carrot cake you might find at an upscale restaurant or bakery.
And yet it is secretly healthy at the same time, with no dairy and no eggs required.
The vegan carrot cake recipe is also packed with a full cup of shredded carrot, making it ultra moist and soft, without all the extra fat.
If desired, you can add raisins, pineapple, or crushed walnuts to the batter.
Readers also love these Healthy Blueberry Muffins
How to make vegan carrot cake
Start by preheating the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease and line an eight inch round or square pan with parchment paper.
If you are doubling the recipe for a double layer carrot cake, prepare two pans instead of one. A doubled recipe will also fit into one 9Ă—13 pan.
To make the carrot cake from scratch, whisk together the first five ingredients, and let the mixture sit for at least 10 minutes, or cover and refrigerate overnight.
Stir all remaining ingredients into the liquid to form a cake batter. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, and smooth down with a spatula or spoon.
Bake on the oven center rack for thirty minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out mostly clean.
Baking tip: I recommend loosely covering the carrot cake once it is cool and letting it sit overnight on the counter. If you can wait, the recipe tastes sweeter and has a lighter texture the next day.
After a day, refrigerate any leftover cake for three to four days. Or slice and freeze in an airtight container for up to three months. Thaw frozen carrot cake before serving.
Looking for a handheld option? Make Carrot Cake Bars
Ingredients
This simple vegan cake recipe calls for just a few basic ingredients.
You will need shredded carrot, applesauce or pineapple, optional oil, white vinegar or apple cider vinegar, flour, pure vanilla extract, cinnamon, baking soda, sugar, and a pinch of salt.
Carrots – Start with fresh peeled carrots, and discard the stems. Feel free to use white, purple, yellow, or orange carrots, or a combination.
Flour – Spelt flour, oat flour, white all purpose flour, and some brands of gluten free flour yield the best results.
I have not experimented with substituting pastry or whole wheat flour, almond flour, or coconut flour. However, the box below includes a keto option if you prefer a low carb and flourless carrot cake.
Applesauce – This ingredient adds moisture and natural sweetness, allowing you cut back on the oil and sugar without sacrificing taste.
If you are out of applesauce or love the combination of pineapple and carrot cake, swap the applesauce for crushed pineapple. Mashed banana is another great substitution if you wish to try a fun flavor variation.
Sugar – Go with regular white sugar or unrefined coconut sugar. Or for an added sugar free vegan carrot cake, use an equal amount of granulated xylitol or erythritol.
Cinnamon – The vegan dessert is perfectly spiced with one and a half teaspoons of ground cinnamon.
Want to turn it into a carrot spice cake? Add a pinch of nutmeg, cloves, and powdered ginger for a carrot spice cake.
Carrot cake frosting options
Let’s be real. One of the best parts of carrot cake is the frosting!
My favorite way to serve the dairy free carrot cake is with the homemade vegan cream cheese frosting recipe directly under the photo below.
The plant based dessert is also great topped with homemade or store bought vegan vanilla frosting, Coconut Butter, or Coconut Whipped Cream.
To save time, you do have the option to take a shortcut and use packaged frosting instead of the frosting recipe below.
Surprisingly, both Duncan Hines Creamy Home Style Cream Cheese Frosting and Pillsbury Creamy Supreme Cream Cheese Flavored Frosting are accidentally vegan.
I am not saying these packaged icings are healthy frosting options, but if you are in a hurry, they work in a pinch.
Or go a different route entirely and top each slice with Vegan Lemon Curd.
Vegan cream cheese frosting
- 8 ounces plant based cream cheese (such as Tofutti brand or Trader Joe’s vegan) or homemade Vegan Cream Cheese
- 4 ounces plant based butter (such as Melt Organic or Earth Balance)
- 2 cups powdered sugar or sugar free alternative
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- optional nondairy milk if needed
Beat room temperature cream cheese with the butter in a stand mixer, food processor, with hand beaters, or by hand. Slowly add in the powdered sugar and vanilla extract, whipping until smooth.
Add the milk a teaspoon at a time if you desire a thinner icing.
For reference, this recipe yields about two cups of frosting, and I used half a cup of frosting on each of the layers of the egg free carrot cake in the pictures.
Leftover frosting? Make these Vegan Cinnamon Rolls
Vegan carrot cake recipe video
Above, watch the step by step video showing how to make the recipe.
Vegan Carrot Cake
Ingredients
- 1 cup shredded carrot (200g)
- 1/2 cup applesauce or crushed pineapple
- 1/4 cup oil or additional applesauce for fat free
- 2 tsp vinegar
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups flour (Here's a Keto Carrot Cake)
- 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 cup sugar or packed coconut sugar
- 1/4 cup raisins (optional)
- 1 handful shredded coconut, crushed walnuts or pecans (optional)
InstructionsÂ
- *The recipe works with all purpose, spelt, oat, or some brands of gluten free flour.Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease and line an 8-inch square or round pan with parchment. (If doubling the recipe, use two 8-inch pans or one 9Ă—13.) In a mixing bowl, whisk together the first 5 ingredients and let sit at least 10 minutes or refrigerate overnight. Stir in all remaining ingredients. Pour into the pan, and smooth down. Bake 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. If you can wait, I like to loosely cover once cool and let it sit overnight, because the cake tastes sweeter and has a lighter texture the next day! Leftovers can then be refrigerated 3-4 days or sliced and frozen.The vegan cream cheese frosting recipe I used for this cake is written out above. And if you are a visual person, be sure to check out the video above that shows how to make the vegan carrot cake.View Nutrition Facts
Video
Notes
Vegan Easter Recipes
Vegan Cheesecake or Keto Cheesecake
(Or this almond flour Keto Cake)
Hello! I have a question. For the cream cheese frosting, does the cream cheese have to be Tofutti or Miyokos? Or can it be another brand, for example Violife?
Also, the butter spread, does it have to be Melt or Earth Balance? Or can it be another brand, for example I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter! ?
Hi, we have not tried every brand but those should work 🙂
this was delicious! i live in the UK and bought tinned pineapple and cut it into small pieces, squeezed a bit of the juice out of the carrots to make it less wet. It was a great success and everyone loved it!
Hi I only have a 9” round pan do I need to modify the recipe?
Hi, you would need to decrease the baking time and the cake will be very thin. But it might make for nice bars!
The best carrot cake I ever had in my life so simple and delicious!!! Thank you for the easiest recipe and healthy!
Love this recipe!
Do you leave it out of the fridge overnight for the best texture or in the refrigerator?
Thanks for the amazing recipes!
Hi! The first night does not matter – your choice. Cover loosely either way so excess moisture doesn’t get trapped. After a day, we recommend refrigerating for freshness 🙂
Amazing! Moist, tasty and just delicious. I used pineapple instead of applesauce.
Thank you so much for making it!
10/10 would recommend! Super easy. Loved by all. I used two 9 inch round pans, so I doubled the recipe. Each layer was just a little less thick than normal. I used one batch of the frosting recipe listed. One important note: I first measured out the carrots by volume and then weighed them and the weight was much lower than it was supposed to be. I ended up adding more carrots until I reached the listed weight, so I would recommend you measure the carrots by weight and not volume. Enjoy!!
Hello, thank you for your recipe. It is clear and the photos look great.
I don’t know what I do wrong but every single time I try to make carrot cake, it turns out raw. I have given up on it – I cannot veganise it. I am sure your attempts turn out fine, but the vegan carrot cake gods don’t like me. Maybe I am supposed to leave a carrot sacrifice to honour them…?
Hi! Do you mean this cake, or cakes in general? Is your oven calibrated? Many ovens are not calibrated correctly, and it makes a huge difference! Also are you at a high elevation or in a humid climate?
I just realized that my carrot cake failure may be because I live at 9,300′. What can I do to correct the recipe for my high elevation?
Hi! Unfortunately we do not have any experience with high altitude baking, so we’d recommend googling and talking with friends in your area who are experienced bakers, because often baked goods do need adjustments for altitude.
Made this vegan carrot cake recipe for Thanksgiving and it is AMAZING!
I put a handful of crushed almonds and it was delicious, really a good recipe!
hi!!! you’re my go-to for a yummy recipe. my son loves carrot cake. do you think i can double the recipe and put it in a bundt pan?
thanks for sharing. The recipe contains natural sweeteners. Should not really make a lot of difference
This is the best vegan carrot cake recipe (or any carrot cake for that matter) that I have ever tried. Ten stars if I could!
Do you leave the cakes in the tin to cool and over night or take them out of the tin and cool them on a rack and then leave them overnight to get the extra lightness?
This cake is soooo good! I used oat flour, added 1/2 cup of chopped walnuts and covered it with the vegan cream cheese frosting. My husband said it was one of the best desserts that I have ever made (and there have been many over the years).