This delicious carrot bread recipe yields a cake-like confection studded with walnuts, smothered in a creamy glaze and infused with the heady aroma of cardamom. It makes a yummy dessert but you should totally eat it for breakfast!
Carrot bread that's like cake but better
Who doesn't love carrot cake? But when I don't need a whole cake I bake up this simple and easy vegan carrot bread in a loaf pan. It's just as yummy with a tender, moist crumb, so easy to make, and it's topped with a simple vegan cream cheese glaze that, albeit optional, does makes this bread even better.
There's a lot more to fall in love with here:
- the carrot bread is wholegrain, made with whole wheat flour.
- the batter is loaded with good-for-you ingredients like carrots, of course, crunchy walnuts and applesauce.
- using a minimally refined sugar, like turbinado sugar, makes the carrot bread even healthier.
I like flavoring this vegan carrot bread with cardamom rather than the more traditional cinnamon because the flavor combination reminds me of one of my favorite Indian sweets, vegan carrot halwa. Cardamom's what I also use in most carrot-flavored dishes that are sweet, including vegan carrot muffins and vegan carrot almond breakfast pudding. You can use cinnamon for this vegan carrot cake if you prefer it.
The bread is soy-free, can be nut-free and it's low in fat. It's so good for you, in fact, you can easily eat it for breakfast this Easter or anytime.
Recipe FAQs
Grate the carrots on the largest holes of your box grater. No need to peel the carrots, especially if they are organic.
Yes, absolutely. Use an equal measure of all-purpose flour or use a half and half mix of all-purpose flour and whole wheat flour.
Raisins are wonderful in carrot bread and you can stir ½ cup raisins into the batter. You can also substitute raisins for nuts if you are nut-free.
The carrot bread can be served as is but I like a simple cream cheese glaze made with vegan cream cheese and powdered sugar. The glaze add more calories but it also makes the carrot bread more dreamy. You can leave out the glaze and serve the bread with just a dusting of powdered sugar.
Freeze individual slices wrapped in cling wrap or foil, or the whole cake. in a freezer-safe container for up to three months. Thaw in the refrigerator for several hours before serving.
Recipe card
Vegan Carrot Bread
Ingredients
Dry ingredients
- 1 ¾ cups flour (I used whole wheat. You can use all-purpose flour)
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoon ground cardamom
Wet ingredients
- 1 cup sugar
- ¼ cup oil
- 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 2 cups carrots (grated. Measure after grating)
- 1 cup walnuts (lightly toasted, then roughly chopped)
For optional glaze
- 4 oz vegan cream cheese (softened, at room temperature)
- 2 tablespoons vegan butter (softened, at room temperature)
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon ground cardamom (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit/180 degrees Celsius. Prepare a loaf pan by oiling and then flouring it.
- In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cardamom.
- Add the oil, sugar, applesauce and grated carrots to the bowl.
- Mix with a spatula until there's no dry flour in the bowl. The batter will be a little thick.
- Add the chopped walnuts to the bowl and mix them in.
- Scrape all the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Smooth the top with the spatula, if needed.
- Bake 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the carrot bread comes out clean.
- Cool on a rack about 15 minutes, then slide a knife around the edges to unmold. Place right-side-up on a rack to cool
Make the glaze
- Use a whisk to beat together the cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar and vanilla until a smooth, thick glaze forms. Pour the glaze over the cooled bread and let it set 30 minutes at least before serving.
Notes
- Estimated nutrition information is for each slice with glaze. Without the glaze, each slice would have 247 calories, 12 grams of fat and 20 grams sugar.
Nutrition Information
To print recipe card without images, uncheck "instruction images" after clicking the "print recipe" button.
More vegan quick breads
First published March 20, 2012. Updated and republished on April 20, 2025.
Ramba says
today i tried this, so yummy. my children love it. Thank for the recipe
Vaishali says
So happy to hear your kids loved it! 😍
Marty says
Vaishali
Hi. I’m trying to print this recipe, but page 3-4 do not bring up the photos, only a sentence separated by long spaces. There seems to be some printing issue. Can it be fixed? I can of course copy and paste to notes and create my own recipe page.
Vaishali says
Thanks for letting me know. You can turn off the instruction images (checkbox) on top after you hit print. Does that help?
cori says
Can i substitute applesauce with yogurt?
Vaishali says
Yes!
Vinee Singh says
Hi Vaishali,
Is it possible to try your yummy recipes with non wheat flours, like quinoa, oat, barley or millet? Maybe a mix of both wheat & non wheat? I would appt any tips since I’m trying to cut down on wheat.
Your recipes are awesome!
Thank You
Vinee
Vaishali says
Hi Vinee, you can do a mix of flours -- try mixing the wheat flour with any wholegrain flour like millet flour or buckwheat flour or even almond flour.
Nela says
Hello, just a heads up: when we scale down the recipe, say, to only make one loaf instead of two, the instructions in parentheses do not change with the quantities of ingredients. For example, the halved recipe still tells me to use 9 tablespoons of water to make 2 flax eggs. This has definitely messed me up on other recipes before! If it's a simple fix I thought you might be interested in attending to it. Take care. 🙂
Vaishali says
Yes, that's a good point--I've added a note.
Diana McKillip says
Can I add crushed pineapple for added flavor and or moisture.
Vaishali says
Absolutely but reduce applesauce in proportion.
Vidya says
Can I bake this in a muffin pan? I don't have a bread loaf pan.
Vaishali Honawar says
Yes! Cut down baking time to 20-25 minutes-- follow the toothpick test. If you're looking for a carrot muffin recipe, you might want to check this one out:
Cheers.
Lakshmi says
Can I use brown sugar as I don't have turbinado sugar? The picture looks so nice and inviting that I am looking forward to baking the bread.
Vaishali says
Hi Lakshmi, you definitely can. It won't make any difference.
Vaishali Honawar says
Steph, I don't quite understand your question. If you have an electric stove, your directions are no different-- you just preheat to the required temperature and bake.
Steph says
What should I do if I have an electric stove with no pilot?
Anonymous says
Hi!! I've tried a lot of your recipes and they always turnout great! ! Could you tell me what I can substitute flaxmeal with? Don't get it here.
evolvingtastes says
Finally made it, and it has turned out amazing. Excellent in both texture and taste. One for me, and the other as a 'hostess gift'. Thanks Vaishali, as always, your recipes are amazing.
Spice 'N' Tadka says
WOW a great looking bread. A great snack idea and healthy too! I am going to try it soon as I was looking for a bread/cake recipe using flax sead !
kimbate says
I'm always searching for great ideas for healthier snacks to feed my two grandchildren. I made this bread yesterday, the only thing I changed was to skip the nuts and use dried cranberries instead of raisins. It was a HUGE hit. My very picky 6 year old grandson raved over it. Thanks for another great recipe.
Uma@Trendy Relish says
mmm. bread looks so tempting. I have lot of carrots in the refrigerator. This recipe is the best way to use them. Thanks Vaishali for such a delicious dish. Yum!!
Btw, is there a difference between whole wheat flour and whole wheat pastry flour?
Vaishali says
Hi Uma, yes, they are definitely different. Whole wheat pastry flour is made from a lighter winter wheat and it is a low-gluten flour that works great with pastries and cakes. You can always substitute a recipe that contains whole-wheat pastry flour with half wheat and half all-purpose.
Mel says
This sounds fantastic! I recipe tested a carrot semolina halva recently and thoroughly enjoyed the cardamon flavour throughout.
Vaishali says
Mel, a carrot semolina halwa sounds amazing. I ought to try that.
Resha says
Hi, there, love your blog and recipes! I had a carrot and cauliflower bread once--it was savory and delicious--but I have no idea how to recreate it. Any thoughts on how to adapt this recipe to be more of a savory bread? I'll definitely try the sweet one in the mean time. Thanks so much!
Vaishali says
Resha, You could substitute half the carrot with grated cauliflower, and replace the applesauce and the sugar with a flaxmeal-water mixture that would add moisture without adding sweetness. I would suggest using 3/4 cup of flaxmeal mixed in with 2 cups of water. The flax is full of heart-healthy omega-3s, so you'd have a very nutritious bread as well. Add any spice-- a few red pepper flakes and maybe some ground black pepper would be amazing with the cauliflower-- and salt, of course. I'd add a savory herb like cilantro as well-- about a cup of fresh cilantro, chopped finely.
ANU says
wow am impressed ...i too like flax meal in cakes ....otherwise i don't prefer it much...very nice...
Manasi says
My first thought - Gajar ka halwa in bread form! Delicious x 10!
Looks gorgeous.
Spring came early in dallas too, it's green everywhere, which is glorious, just worried about how darn hot it will be in summer! Ufff!
AMISHI SHAH MERCHANT says
It looks delicious, just like your other recipes. Thanks for sharing this recipe. What if I don't have flax meal? If you are a semi-regular baker (who has egg allergies), do you suggest buying it? Or is it possible to skip the flax meal for this recipe? I totally agree on the no-spring part. But then I love the cherry blossoms on the mall, so can't complain 🙂
Vaishali says
Amishi, flax is a great ingredient to have on hand because it has tons of heart-healthy omega 3 fatty acids. It also helps add moisture to this low-fat recipe, so I would definitely recommend using it. Skipping it could also result in a too-crumbly bread, because the flax mixed in water helps bind the bread.
hannah says
I guess you probably won't have it either - but chia seeds behave in basically the same way as flax and with similar health benefits 🙂
Richa says
Its been crazy here too lately.. last week we were supposed to warm up, but instead got hit by snow, hail, wind storms. i am waiting for some spring to show up.
Love the texture on the bread. I made a similar quick bread a while back, with carrot halwa cooked halfway..which feels like eating a fudgy halwa-y cake:)
Ellen says
I can't wait to try this! Thanks for posting!