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    Home ▸ Vegan Desserts

    Incredible Vegan Carrot Cake (Gluten-Free)

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

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    Overlay text on a collage of a piece of carrot cake, raw cake in a pan and a double layered cake being frosted.
    A thick slice of carrot cake frosted with white frosting a coated in coconut shreds on a black plate.

    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
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    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:

    1. Mix all of the ingredients together.
    2. Pour into a cake pan.
    3. Bake.
    4. 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 2
    A baked carrot cake in a round cake pan
    step 3
    Top view of a fork with a bite of carrot cake on it on a black plate
    step 4

    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:

    • Gluten-Free Chocolate Lava Cake
    • Vegan Gluten-Free Strawberry Shortcake
    • Chocolate Zucchini Cake
    • Ice Cream Cupcakes
    • Vanilla Cupcakes
    • Pumpkin Cupcakes
    • Vegan Chocolate Lava Cake
    • Gluten-Free Chocolate Cupcakes
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    A frosted piece of carrot cake on a black plate with shredded coconut on it.

    Incredible Vegan Carrot Cake (Gluten-Free)

    Sophia DeSantis
    This gluten-free vegan carrot cake is hands down incredible! Takes 15 minutes to prep, uses simple ingredients and has the perfect texture.
    5 from 10 votes
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 15 mins
    Cook Time 35 mins
    Total Time 50 mins
    Course Dessert
    Cuisine American
    Servings 16
    Calories 126 kcal

    Equipment

    • Food processor

    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)

    To top, optional:

    • Cream cheese frosting
    • Vanilla frosting
    • Shredded coconut

    Instructions
     

    • Preheat oven to 350 F/ 175 C.
    • Put flours, sugar, baking powder, seasonings and salt into a medium bowl. Whisk to mix and break up any clumps.
    • Make a little well in the middle and add in the apple sauce, milk and vinegar.
    • Mix again to combine and get a smooth batter.
    • Fold in the carrots and nuts.
    • Pour into a square or round cake pan (8 or 9 inches will work). Bake for about 35 minutes, start checking at 32, a toothpick should come out clean with a few crumbs on it. If you are making cupcakes start checking at 25 minutes. My cupcakes took around 28-30.
    • Frost or eat as is!

    Notes

    • I trialed these with many different sugars and cane sugar gave the best flavor. You can use coconut sugar but it will give you a deeper flavor that won’t be as sweet.
    • You can add another  ¼ cup of sugar if you want it sweeter especially if you don't use frosting.
    • You can cut out the ginger and cloves and use more cinnamon if you want to cut down ingredients and simplify.
    • You can use any milk you want but canned coconut milk has more fat than others so it will make this cake much more moist and sticky.
    • Nuts are optional, if you use them your cake will be more moist due to the fat so you may want to use 1 tablespoon less milk.
    • This makes ONE layer of cake. If you want a multi-layer cake make sure to multiply the recipe by however many layers you are making.
    • This can be made as 10 cupcakes. To make these as cupcakes bake between 25-30 minutes, start check at 25.
    • Nutrition info does not include the frosting and or nuts.
    • Servings are based on a square pan and cutting it into 16 square pieces.

    Recipe by Veggies Don’t Bite, visit our site for more great plant-based recipes.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 126kcalCarbohydrates: 22gProtein: 3gFat: 4gSaturated Fat: 1gSodium: 79mgPotassium: 158mgFiber: 2gSugar: 14gVitamin A: 2008IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 59mgIron: 1mg

    Nutrition and metric information should be considered an estimate.

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    « Healthy Carrot Cake Overnight Oats
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    4.8K shares

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    1. Lisa

      March 21, 2023 at 1:36 pm

      Wondering if you have a substitute recommendation for almond flour as I have a sensitivity to almonds. Thanks!

      Reply
      • Sophia DeSantis

        March 21, 2023 at 3:43 pm

        Hi Lisa! Unfortunately the almond flour is key to the texture of this recipe. Vegan and gluten free baking is a science so once you sub a major ingredient like that, it changes the whole recipe. Almond flour gives whole food fat to this, and a lot of moisture. So that's why I don't use or need butter or oil. You could try with another nut based flour? But it may not give the same result because the fat content is different between nuts. Wish I could have an easy sub for this one but a whole new recipe would need to be tested.

        Reply
    2. Steffanie

      March 20, 2023 at 2:54 pm

      Could pure maple syrup be used for sweetener? (I just don't do granulated sugar.) And if so, would there need to be a little less milk to adjust for the extra liquid? Thanks.

      Reply
      • Sophia DeSantis

        March 20, 2023 at 9:23 pm

        Hi Steffanie! I have not tested this with maple syrup, so I honestly couldn't tell you how it would work. It would definitely not be as sweet and the texture would change. With baking, especially baking that is gluten free and plant based, it's an exact science. So it would be a whole new round of testing to find the perfect ratios of liquid to dry to make maple syrup work. Because carrots have a lot of liquid you would need to reduce the milk, maybe apple sauce too. But then you are messing with the reaction between ingredients that those give to the end result. So it would take a lot of trial and error to figure it out. If you want to start with that and see what happens go for it! I just would hate for you to waste ingredients.

        Reply
    3. Aly

      April 09, 2022 at 10:00 am

      Hi there! This looks awesome!

      Any recommendations for replacing almond flour? I was thinking all oat might make it too dry and rice flies may make it crumbly? (Unfortunately can’t do nut flours, coconut flour or anything with xantham gum).

      Thank you so much to anyone for any thoughts,
      Aly

      Reply
      • Aly

        April 09, 2022 at 10:02 am

        *That should say rice flour, not flies. Not sure what rice flies might do to the recipe. 😂😂

        Reply
        • Sophia DeSantis

          April 10, 2022 at 10:41 am

          Haha!!! Definitely don't use rice flies, those would not be a good sub. LOL! Bummer about the nut flours, unfortunately the almond flour is what gives this recipe it's moisture without any added oils or butter (I use it a lot for this reason as my main goal is a good gluten free baked good with whole food ingredients), so replacing it will be tricky and honestly would probably change a lot of the recipe. Vegan and gluten-free baking is a science and when you change one thing you most likely need to change others. You can try using sunflower seed flour (or finely grind the seeds) but the flavor will probably be affected. Or you could try another flour and try adding some butter or oil. I wish I could be more helpful but I tested this more times than I can count with different ingredients and this was the best end result. It's extra tricky because of the moisture the carrots give as well. If you try something that works let me know!

    4. Laura

      May 02, 2021 at 7:43 pm

      Best gluten free carrot cake for sure! I did cut down on the sugar by 1/4 cup and it was still tasty. I did my own cream cheese frosting recipe with coconut also. Thank you so much!

      Reply
      • veggiesdontbite

        May 02, 2021 at 7:45 pm

        Thank you so much Laura! I am so happy you liked it!

        Reply
    5. Ben Balester

      April 14, 2021 at 10:45 am

      My family loved this recipe. We agree it’s our favorite to date. Wonderful consistency. I may need to use finer side of grater next time though.
      We pretty much raced to the last piece. I chilled the frosting in refrigerator and freezer so we could eat it sooner. Delicious frosting too (may put it on my toothbrush). Plan ahead, and be patient, to soak those cashews.
      Intention was to make some for friends an neighbors....next time.
      Thank you Sophia!

      Reply
      • veggiesdontbite

        April 14, 2021 at 2:24 pm

        Awesome Ben! So happy you guys liked it!!

        Reply
    6. Lena

      April 05, 2021 at 3:47 pm

      Family loved it - even without the frosting!
      Also super nice author!

      Reply
      • veggiesdontbite

        April 09, 2021 at 8:44 pm

        Thanks Lena!

        Reply
    7. Tanya

      April 03, 2021 at 8:14 pm

      Excellent!! I made it with coconut sugar instead of cane sugar since that’s what I had on hand and still enjoyed it! I put the Vegan cream cheese frosting (recipe also on this website) on top. Even my non-plant-based eating friends/family really liked it!

      Reply
      • veggiesdontbite

        April 09, 2021 at 8:44 pm

        I am thrilled you liked it! Especially all your non plant based guests!

        Reply
    8. Isabel

      March 24, 2021 at 9:40 pm

      The carrot cake delicious!!! Thank You for the recipe!!!💖🌼💖

      Reply
      • veggiesdontbite

        April 01, 2021 at 5:29 pm

        Yay! I am thrilled you liked it Isabel!

        Reply
    9. tia

      March 22, 2021 at 3:55 am

      Hello,
      I halved the recipe and mine came out really dry and sticky
      what did i do wrong?

      Reply
      • veggiesdontbite

        March 22, 2021 at 10:59 pm

        Hi Tia! Sorry to hear it didn't come out right. I'm a little confused how it could be dry yet sticky. Carrot cake, if anything, is usually too moist. There are many reasons why this didn't work. If you halved it, did you still bake it in the same size pan or did you use a smaller one? Also did you weigh the flours or use measuring cups? The moisture in the carrots can be finicky so you want to make sure that they aren't super wet. Same with the apple sauce. Was it a really wet one? Also did you use the walnuts/pecans? I'd love to try and help figure out what happened!

        Reply
    10. Barbara Bonar

      March 20, 2021 at 10:06 pm

      Hi,
      This recipe looks amazing! What size cake pan did you use for the two-layer cake photos?
      And, you stated this recipe can work as muffins as well, which sounds super for my family. Would I double the recipe to make 12 muffins?
      Thanks so much!

      Reply
      • veggiesdontbite

        March 21, 2021 at 9:41 pm

        Thanks Barbara! I just added it to the instructions. It should have been in there! 8 or 9 inches should work. As for muffins, you shouldn't need to double it. You can probably get about 10 muffins here, maybe more, depending on how much you fill them. They may take less time to cook however so start watching early. Let me know how it goes!

        Reply
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