The Best Vegan Carrot Cake made with simple ingredients like almond flour, gluten-free oat flour and sweetened with coconut sugar! A healthy and easy gluten-free recipe.
The BEST ever vegan carrot cake is here!
I teased this recipe over on Instagram a couple of weeks ago, and you guys went crazy. I didn’t realize there was so much love over vegan carrot cake! Jord and I are personally huge carrot cake lovers, which is shocking since I love chocolate so much. But carrot cake is truly one of my favorite desserts to enjoy when I want to switch things up.
I love making my Vegan Carrot Cake Loaf for a healthier breakfast recipe or brunch to enjoy, but this recipe takes things up a notch. And it is made with just a few simple ingredients.
This Vegan Carrot Cake, is gluten- free and is the best dessert to bake for any occasion, holidays, random family nights at home or when you are solo and just want to bake and eat something delicious.
Let’s run through what ingredients we need to make this carrot cake:
- Unsweetened applesauce – This helps make the cake extra moist. I recommend using unsweetened (check the label!) because it is a waste of sugar otherwise and some brands cane extra sneaky adding in unnecessary sugars. You can use banana too.
- Flax eggs – or use regular egg if you prefer
- Non-dairy milk – any works. I used almond milk here.
- Coconut oil – melted and cooled.
- Coconut sugar – this is the only added sugar to this recipe. It adds just the right amount of sweetness.
- Gluten-free oat flour – any oat flour works as well as spelt flour or gluten-free all purpose flour.
- Almond flour – I haven’t tested another sub here.
- Chopped pecans – optional but I love the crunch and you can use walnuts too.
- Grated carrots – the main star of the cake!
How to make gluten-free carrot cake bars:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease an 8×8 baking dish with oil and/or line with parchment paper
- Whisk together applesauce, eggs, oil, milk and vanilla
- Mix in coconut sugar, flours, baking powder and cinnamon until smooth and creamy
- Fold in carrots and pecans then add to baking dish
- Bake in oven for 25-30 minutes
- Allow take to cool completely then slice and enjoy
FAQs when making vegan carrot cake:
- Do you taste the carrots in carrot cake? Nope! At least I don’t and I am someone who doesn’t like carrot at all. So basically I feel healthier when I eat this for dessert ha!
- Can you make this carrot cake in advance? Absolutely. This is such a good recipe to make the day before easter or a month before and freeze. I recommend adding the frosting before enjoying. You can use a store bought or make this one.
- Can you make this into a round cake? Totally! You can bake it in an 8-inch round cake dish instead of the 8×8 if you want a round cake. Then double the recipe to make it a double layer cake.
A few other delicious carrot cake recipes to make:
Zucchini Carrot Cake Muffins from my cookbook
Gluten-free Pecan Carrot Cookie Cake (egg-free +grain-free)
Chocolate Chunk Oatmeal Cookie Carrot Cake Bars (gluten-free)
Vegan Carrot Cake Baked Oatmeal!
PrintThe Best Vegan Carrot Cake (Gluten-free)
The Best Vegan Carrot Cake (Gluten-free) is made with simple ingredients like almond flour, gluten-free oat flour and sweetened with coconut sugar! A healthy and easy recipe when the carrot cake craving hits.
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Cook Time: 25 mins
- Total Time: 30 mins
Yield: 9 pieces/bars 1x
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce or mashed banana
- 2 flax eggs (2 tablespoons ground flaxseeds + 5 tablespoons water)*
- 1/3 cup coconut oil, melted and cooled
- 3/4 cup non-dairy milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup coconut sugar
- 1 1/2 cup gluten-free oat flour or gluten-free all purpose flour
- 1/3 cup almond flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/3 cup chopped pecans
- 3/4 cup shredded organic carrots
- Cream cheese frosting
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease an 8×8 baking dish with oil and/or line with parchment paper
- Whisk together applesauce, eggs, oil, milk and vanilla
- Mix in coconut sugar, flours, baking powder and cinnamon until smooth and creamy
- Fold in carrots and pecans then add to baking dish
- Bake in oven for 25-30 minutes
- Allow take to cool completely then slice and enjoy
Notes
*Sub regular egg if preferred
**Store leftovers in airtight container for 5 days or freezer for longer
Share this recipe
Shannon
Can’t wait to make this! The text mentions almond flour, but I don’t see it on the ingredient list.
Marissa
How did you make the frosting?
Rachel
i link to the one i used in the blog post 🙂
Emily Gill
Can you please add a “search” option to your website. It is difficult to navigate the recipes.
Thanks. Be safe.
Rachel
there is one 🙂
Sára
Can the recipe made with regular eggs?
Rachel
i haven’t tried yet
Erin
I don’t see the frosting link either!
Rachel
its in the recipe above 🙂
Jenna
I just started trying your recipes, and I am so excited to continue through this lock down. Thank you for being a bright spot in my day! I have noticed that you use a few different substitute flours amongst your recipes. If I wanted to stock up my pantry so that I can consistently bake your recipes, which flours should I have? Almond, coconut, and oat?
‘Berg 2013 🙂
Rachel
yes! i also chat all about my pantry staples in my cookbook. almond flour, oat flour, coconut flour and tapioca are a few faves
Riddy
I’ve made these twice already – so yummy! I have a nut allergy so I subbed the almond flour for brown rice flour (same amount), eliminated the pecans, and used actual eggs instead of flax eggs. Held together well and was enjoyed by everyone, including my picky husband – so thank you!
Rachel
yay!!!!
Tori
How many regular eggs did you use to make up for flax eggs?
Rachel
1 flax egg = 1 egg
Vatsala
Can applesauce be replaced with maple syrup/honey?
Rachel
nope, that isn’t a 1:1 sub!
Cheyenne
I can’t find the icing. What did you use?
Rachel
it is linked on the recipe!
Eliza Goldberg
Has anyone tried this with normal eggs yet?
Rachel
I have!! I did everything it said but used 2 eggs. Turned out great!!
Megan
Just made these and they are divine! Thank you so much! Now I’m dreaming of doubling the recipe and it turning it into a layer cake…!
Megan
Just made these and they are divine! Thank you so much! Now I’m dreaming of doubling the recipe and turning it into a layer cake…!
B
Can you sub maple syrup for the coconut sugar?
Rachel
haven’t tried but worth a shot!
Samantha
I’ve made so many of Rachel’s recipes and this is by far one of my favorite! I made it yesterday and it’s already almost gone. I’ll definitely be making this one again
Rachel
yay!! thank you!!
Karen
Hi. Is it 350 Fahrenheit or Celsius degrees?
Rachel
F!
Samantha
I’ve made many of Rachel’s recipes and this by far is one of my favorites!!
Irene
Is there any sub for oat flour?
Rachel
anytime i have a sub listed it is in recipe 🙂
Maddie
Made this twice already! Both times with eggs and it worked! The second time I made two circular cakes and stacked them for easter!
Rachel
love that idea!!!
Celina
Can I use apple sauce instead of coconut oil? Any other substitutes you’d recommend for coconut oil?
Kayla
This was FABULOUS!!!!
Rachel
thank you!!!!
Abby C
This was delicious!! I substituted pecans with walnuts, and coconut oil with butter and it was great. Thanks for a great dessert that was satisfying and not too sweet!
Rachel
aw yay thanks for sharing!
Casey
I used this recipe to make 12 carrot cake donuts instead of bars and it turned out FANTASTIC. So much flavor without being too sweet and great texture.
I topped half with a peanut butter glaze and shredded coconut too 🙂
Rachel
LOVE IT! yay!!
Angela
What if I don’t have Applesauce? More coconut oil?
Rachel
i don’t recommend it! usually mashed banana can be subbed for applesauce but coconut oil but would make this too wet.
Celia
So damn good! And easy! We made for Easter and it was hard not to devour!
Rachel
aw YAY thank you!
Alejandra
Delicious! I subbed flax eggs with real eggs, pecans with walnuts, and applesauce with one banana. I also added raisins because carrot cakes need raisins 🙂 would love to see recipes for homemade frostings
Sophia
Made these last week for easter! Everyone (even the picky eaters) absolutely loved them!
Rachel
aw YAY
Nora
I subbed pumpkin puree for the applesauce, sprinkled the top with nuts instead of inside the cake (for the picky “no-nut” eaters), and used 1 1/4 cup oat flour, 1/4 cup brown rice flour, 1/3 cup almond flour, 2 regular eggs, added nutmeg and ginger and I used 1/2 tsp baking soda plus two teaspoons of apple cider vinegar. Lots of changes but it’s what I had on hand. It turned out lovely, thanks so much for a great starting base recipe!
Rachel
happy you enjoyed!! great job modifying 🙂
Megan
Delicious! Forgot to buy apple sauce and used canned pumpkin instead. It turned out great! A new favorite I’ll be making again and again.
Rachel
love that swap!!!
Melissa
Hi Rachel. This recipe looks amazing. Wondering if you could recommend any other healthier brands of icing. I am having trouble finding the one linked currently available in Canada. Thanks!
Rachel
hi melissa!! yay! i’m not sure of another one but i also love making my own chocolate ganache and using melted coconut butter as other options!
Bronwyn
Hi there! Super excited to try this recipe out this weekend! I do not have unsweetened apple sauce on hand. but i do have 2 jars of carrot baby food. Would that work to sub carrot baby food for the applesauce? Would i need to add more sugar to the recipe if I did due to apple sauce adding natural sugar?
Thanks! 🙂
Rachel
great question!! tbh i have never used baby food for anything! since im sure it is similar consistency that may work?! but i’d recommend mashed banana over that for flavor if that is possible.
Erica
Make this with regular eggs instead of flag eggs – was amazing!!!
Rachel
yayyy!! thank you!!
Lauren Spano
Hi, looking for some help. Im curious what I could’ve done wrong. I doubled this recipe so I used a larger pan and the texture of the cake was very heavy and extremely dense almost gluey. I cooked it longer since the pan was 8×13 instead of 8×8. Any idea where I went wrong?
Rachel
yes – the recipe was doubled (i don’t recommen that unless noted above) and the pan was different 😉
Caroline
It turned out amazing!
Rachel
YAAYYY
Leanne
This was very yummy! Good texture, sometimes gluten free is off on texture. Thanks for the great recipe!
Rachel
yay thank you!!
Joanna
Super moist, fluffy carrot cake! I baked it into muffins and it made 12 normal sized muffins. I also added a scoop of collagen powder into the batter and it turned out well!
Nicole
Hi there! How do you think this cake would bake in 12 inch round pans? I am making a cake for a friend’s baby shower and it needs to serve 50 people. I would love to use this recipe! I know that I would just need to multiply the recipe by 2 or 3x to make enough batter for 2 twelve inch pans. Any advice would be appreciated! Thank you!! 🙂
Rachel
hmmm i think it would bake well!!! i’m not sure timing but i love this idea
Felis
Hi, do you have macros for this cake ?
Rachel
i dont but you can add to online recipe calorie counter!
Danielle Trujillo
Made these this AM with my almost 3 year old! Easy, quick and SO yummy! My 5 year old kept saying, “I can see the carrots, but I don’t taste them!” We live at altitude and took about 10 mins longer to bake fully (40 mins). Thanks for another great recipe I feel good about feeding my family!
Rachel
love it!!!!!!!!