Incredible Vegan Carrot Cake (Gluten-Free)

Name: Incredible Vegan Carrot Cake (Gluten-Free)
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 50 min
Ingredients: 1 ¼ cup oat flour; ¾ cup almond flour; 1 cup cane sugar (, see note ); 1 tablespoon baking powder; 4 teaspoons cinnamon (, see note); ½ teaspoon ground ginger (, optional (see note)); ½ teaspoon ground cloves (, optional (see note)); ½ teaspoon sea salt; 6 tablespoons unsweetened apple sauce; ¼ cup cashew milk (, or other dairy free milk of choice (see note)); 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar; 1 ½ cups grated carrots (, about 2 large carrots ); ½ cup chopped walnuts or pecans (, optional (see note)); Cream cheese frosting; Vanilla frosting; Shredded coconut

Last modified: March 30, 2023. Originally posted: March 30, 2023 By Sophia DeSantis

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This gluten-free vegan carrot cake recipe is hands down incredible! Takes 15 minutes to prep, uses simple ingredients and has the perfect texture.

It's easy to make a moist droolworthy cake when you follow the right recipe! You will not believe this carrot cake has no butter, oil, eggs, dairy or gluten!

A slice of carrot cake with white frosting on a black plate

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Silk. The opinions and text are all mine.

This recipe was originally published on 3/24/16

We are carrot cake obsessed and this easy recipe did not disappoint! The hardest part (read I'm lazy) is grating those carrots. So grate a lot, and save them because you will want this over and over again, especially if making my carrot cake smoothie or carrot cake overnight oats.

It seems that veggie filled desserts are something I excel in. My chocolate zucchini cake (which is also vegan and gluten-free) is a HUGE hit with my readers! And after the success of this carrot cake, I can't decide which I like best!

Ingredients

The flavor in this recipe for vegan carrot cake is insanely amazing. With a pillowy soft texture and perfectly moist middle, good luck having only one slice!

The basis of this cake is mostly whole foods. I tested and trialed different combinations of things to get the perfect flavor and texture that you'd find in a regular carrot cake, just a vegan and gluten free version! Here's what I ended up with:

Oat flour
Almond flour
Sugar
Baking powder
Spices
Apple sauce
Milk
Apple cider vinegar
Grated carrots
Optional chopped nuts

Different colored bowls filled with ingredients to make carrot cake energy balls

How To Make Vegan Carrot Cake

As I mentioned, the hardest part about making this vegan and gluten free carrot cake is grating those dang carrots. Once that's done, here's what you'll need to do:

Mix all of the ingredients together.
Pour into a cake pan.
Bake.
Decorate as desired (or don't!) and enjoy!

Carrot cake batter in a glass bowl with a spoon — step 1

Carrot cake batter inside a cake pan — step 1

Serving suggestions

This cake is scrumptious as is. It is, after all, the very best vegan carrot cake recipe ever. But even the best recipes can benefit from some extra flavor or a pretty presentation.

Try the following:

Frosting! The classic frosting for carrot cake is Cream Cheese Frosting or vanilla.
If you're frosting the cake, make sure to let it cool completely first. I like to make the frosting fresh while the cake is baking.
Add some shredded coconut on top of the frosting.
Spread some homemade Coconut Butter on a warm slice of unfrosted cake.

A spatula putting white frosting on a two layer cake

A two layer cake with white frosting on a black plate inside a grey plate

Also, I don't know about you, but when it comes to cake I need something to wash it down with. And my go to is Silk Cashew milk, creamy and thirst quenching and complements this dairy free and gluten free carrot cake perfectly!

Two glass milk jars with cashew milk inside of them

Preparation Tips

Cane sugar gives the best flavor to this easy vegan carrot cake. You can use coconut sugar instead but it will give you a deeper flavor that won’t be as sweet.
You can cut out the ginger and cloves and just use more cinnamon if you prefer.
Watch the fat content of the milk you use, you don't want it too high or the cake will be too sticky and moist.
If you use the nuts know your cake will be a little more sticky and moist due to the fat content of the nuts so you may want to add less milk.
To grate the carrots, you can use a handheld cheese grater. But better yet, if you have food processor with a grating attachment be sure to use that to save yourself the effort!
When you're grating the carrots, grate a few extra and make No Bake Carrot Energy Balls with the leftovers!

Baking Tips

When making carrot cake with oat flour and almond flour you need accuracy measuring for the right texture, which is why I include precise weights.
- If you don’t have a scale, then you can purchase this fairly inexpensive one.
If you prefer to measure, then measure the flours by scooping your measuring cup into the flour versus spooning it into it. This is how I measured when getting my weights.
This cake is finicky due to the moisture the carrots give. Make sure to look at the notes in the recipe before you bake!
This recipe makes 10 gluten free carrot cake cupcakes! Just pour the batter evenly into a prepared muffin tin and bake.
- You'll need to reduce the baking time though to around 25 minutes, but keep checking until a toothpick comes out clean.

Storage tips

Whether you want to make this gluten free carrot cake recipe ahead of time, or (less likely) end up with leftovers, here's how to store it:

Vegan Carrot Cake will stay fresh if sealed in an airtight container at room temperature for 2-3 days.
You can also keep it in an airtight container for up to a week in the refrigerator.
If you want to save this even longer, wrap the cake well in plastic wrap, then place in a freezer safe airtight container and freeze up to three months.

Common Questions

Is carrot cake healthier than regular cake?

What makes something healthy, cake, cookies or salad for that matter, is what you put inside of it. If the ingredients are mostly whole foods, and foods that you'd eat on a regular basis, then heck yes it's healthy!

A couple adjustments from traditional cake make this vegan gluten free cake recipe on the healthier side. Regular white flour was replaced by a gluten-free combo I made up of oat and almond. While gluten-free doesn't make something healthy, the oat and almond flour are nutrient rich. Also, the fat from the butter was replaced by the almond flour.

How do you grate carrots for carrot cake?

Either using a cheese grater (watch those fingers!) or with a grating attachment on a food processor.

What frosting goes on vegan carrot cake?

Traditionally, Cream Cheese Frosting is used, but you can use vanilla or any other flavor you like.

How do you store carrot cake?

Carrot cake should be stored in an airtight container either on the counter, in the refrigerator, or in the freezer.

How long does vegan carrot cake last?

Carrot cake will last at room temp for 2-3 days, in the fridge for up to a week, and in the freezer for 3 months.

Can you freeze carrot cake?

Yes, you can freeze carrot cake! Wrap the cake in plastic wrap then store in an airtight freezer safe container.

Why is my carrot cake crumbly?

Carrot cake can be too crumbly for a number of reasons. One of which is already solved in this recipe, carrots can sometimes affect the gluten in cake mix which can make it crumbly. But, since this carrot cake is gluten free naturally, you shouldn't have that problem.

Also, make sure to accurately measure your ingredients (see tips), and not over mix or over bake your cake.

More Vegan Cake Recipes

If cakes are your thing but you strive to eat mostly whole foods, I've got you covered! This carrot cake recipe isn't the only gluten free vegan cake up my sleeve! Check out these other plant based cakes: