With a delicious, moist crumb and a creamy, velvety vegan cream cheese frosting, this is truly the best vegan carrot cake recipe you will make and eat. Walnuts add wonderful crunch in every bite.
Who doesn't love carrot cake? Especially when it has a soft and silky crumb and melts in your mouth in a pool of cinnamon-scented sweetness? This vegan carrot cake is all that and so much more.
I've had this vegan carrot cake recipe on the blog for years now and it is the dessert I make most often for guests because everyone who eats it raves about it. Many have told me it's the best carrot cake they've ever eaten.
There's so much to love about this recipe, and I don't just mean the deliciousness of it. As the baker you will love the ease of making it, and the fact that you likely already have most of these ingredients on hand.
Go on, make it one of your recipes this Easter or just make it for a cozy anytime treat because why not? Be sure to come back for seconds!
Table of Contents
Why you will love this recipe
- Utterly delicious. If you remember grandma's carrot cake with oodles of nostalgia, you will love this cake because it has that classic carrot cake flavor, only minus the dairy and eggs. The cake has a super-moist texture and is perfectly sweet with just the right amount of carrot flavor to make you go yum! The soft, creamy cream cheese frosting is beyond delicious.
- Healthy-ish. This is a dessert so I am not going to make outrageous claims about how healthy it is, but there are carrots in this recipe and walnuts, both great-for-you ingredients, along with applesauce. If you want to you can make this recipe with whole wheat pastry flour. I often use it instead of all-purpose flour and it makes an equally magnificent cake.
- Easy recipe. This two-layer carrot cake recipe is quite straightforward and simple and if you follow instructions and use the right ingredients you just cannot go wrong. I've made this cake dozens of times and it turns out perfect each time!
- Dairy-free, soy-free and can be nut-free. The cake is friendly to most diets. If you are nut-free just skip the walnuts.
Ingredients
Scroll down to recipe card for exact quantities of each ingredient.
- Unbleached all-purpose flour. You can also use whole wheat pastry flour or substitute half the all-purpose flour with regular whole wheat flour.
- Leavening agents: Baking soda + Baking powder
- Ground cinnamon. Cinnamon alone adds incredible flavor but you can also add nutmeg and/or a dash of ginger for more yum.
- Sugar. I used turbinado sugar but any granulated sugar is great here. You can also use brown sugar.
- Coconut oil. Or any vegetable oil. If using coconut oil make sure it is melted and not solid before adding it to the batter. The coconutty flavor of virgin coconut oil is fabulous in this recipe and the oil also keeps the cake extremely moist.
- Applesauce. Applesauce contributes to making the cake very tender and moist and helps bind the cake without any eggs or flax eggs (which, albeit healthy, add a flavor I don't love in this cake). Applesauce will also provide the acidity needed to combine with the baking soda and make the cake airier, no need for apple cider vinegar! You can replace ½ a cup of the applesauce with vegan yogurt.
- Carrots. These are the stars of the recipe.
- Pure vanilla extract. Although not purely necessary, vanilla adds a nice depth to the sweetness of the cake. Skip if you'd rather.
- Walnuts. Pecans are a fine substitute.
- Vegan cream cheese. Use any brand of your choice. I used two 7.1 oz tubs of Violife. I've made this frosting with other brands like Tofutti in the past and they work equally well.
- Vegan butter
- Powdered sugar
How to make vegan carrot cake
Sift the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a large mixing bowl.
Whisk in the salt and cinnamon and any other spices, if using.
In a smaller bowl, place the wet ingredients: grated carrots, applesauce, sugar, pure vanilla extract and melted coconut oil.
Mix the wet ingredients.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.
Fold the wet ingredients into the dry with a spatula until the batter comes together and there is no dry flour in the bowl. Stir in toasted and chopped walnuts.
Divide the batter evenly between two greased and floured 9- or 8-inch cake pans. Preferably line the bottoms of the pans with parchment paper for easy unmolding.
Bake the cakes in a preheated 350-degrees Fahrenheit/175 degrees Celsius oven for 35 minutes or until a toothpick or skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the pans stand on a rack to cool for 15 minutes, then unmold and continue cooling on wire racks.
To make the cream cheese frosting, place the vegan cream cheese and vegan butter in a bowl and use an electric mixer to beat until soft and fluffy, about a minute. Add 1 cup powdered sugar and vanilla and beat in.
Continue adding more sugar, ½ cup at a time, and beating, until the frosting is smooth and creamy. Refrigerate for ½ hour before frosting the cake.
Frost the cake by placing one cake on a plate or cake stand. Spread half the frosting over the cake, then place the other cake on top and frost with the rest of the cream cheese mixture. Sprinkle more toasted walnuts on top, if desired.
Helpful tips
- You don't have to sift the flour but I strongly recommend you do because it aerates the flour, producing softer, fluffier cakes. Sifting also helps the baking soda and baking flour mix evenly with the flour.
- For an even richer cake, substitute ½ cup of the applesauce with vegan yogurt.
- Toasting the walnuts or pecans lightly before adding them to the batter will deepen their nutty flavor, making them--and the cake--even more delicious.
- Make sure the vegan cream cheese and vegan butter are both at room temperature before you begin making the frosting. Otherwise you will end up with a lumpy frosting. It won't be beyond repair, but you will get better and quicker results when you begin with room-temperature ingredients.
- If you don't have time to make frosting, serve the cake as is. It is delicious on its own.
Storage instructions
- Refrigerate: You can store the carrot cake, covered, at room temperature for up to three days. You can also refrigerate it, again covered, for up to a week.
- Freeze: Freeze individual slices, double wrapped in freezer wrap, for up to four months.
- Thaw the cake before serving.
Recipe FAQs
Yes, use an all-purpose gluten-free baking blend.
No dessert with sugar and fat in it will be totally healthy, but this vegan carrot cake has no cholesterol, unlike regular carrot cake, because it is dairy-free. Using unrefined sugar and ingredients like applesauce, in addition to the carrots and nuts, keeps it healthier than many other desserts.
You absolutely can. You can use a 9 X 13 inch rectangle baking pan to make a single cake or a 10 to 12 cup bundt pan. Just be sure to grease and flour the pan thoroughly--grooves and all.
You certainly can. The batter will make 24 cupcakes, bake them for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick in the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Or just make these amazing vegan carrot cake cupcakes.
Raisins are amazing in this recipe. Add ½ to 1 cup of raisins to the batter along with or instead of the nuts.
You can, but the applesauce will result in an incredibly moist and flavorful cake and you would lose some of that by using milk alone. If you still want to use non-dairy milk, use oat milk or soy milk, preferably, or almond milk is fine too. Add two teaspoons of apple cider vinegar to it.
More yummy vegan carrot recipes
If you love this vegan carrot cake, be sure to check out more vegan cake recipes on Holy Cow Vegan!
Vegan Carrot Cake Recipe
Equipment
- Small bowl
Ingredients
For carrot cake
- 3 cups unbleached all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 cup coconut oil (melted. Or use any vegetable oil. Don't use olive oil because it will impart a bitter flavor).
- 2 cups applesauce (can substitute ½ cup of applesauce with vegan yogurt)
- 2 cups grated carrots (about 3 medium carrots. Grate using medium-sized holes on the grater and measure the carrots after grating).
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup walnuts (lightly toasted, then coarsely chopped)
For vegan cream cheese frosting
- 14-16 oz vegan cream cheese (at room temperature)
- 4 tablespoons vegan butter (at room temperature)
- 2 ½ cups powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Instructions
Make the vegan carrot cake
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit/175 degrees Celsius. Prepare the cake pans by greasing and flouring them. Line the bottoms of the pans with parchment paper to help with unmolding.
- Sift the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a large bowl. Whisk in the salt and cinnamon and any other spices, if using.
- In a smaller bowl, place the wet ingredients: grated carrots, applesauce, sugar, pure vanilla extract and oil. Mix thoroughly with a spoon or spatula.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the flour mixture. Mix with a spatula until the batter comes together and there is no dry flour in the bowl. Stir in toasted walnuts.
- Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans. Preferably line the bottoms of the pans with parchment paper for easy unmolding.
- Bake the cakes for 35 minutes or until a toothpick in the center comes out clean. Let the pans stand on a rack to cool for 15 minutes, then unmold and continue cooling on wire racks. Cool the cakes thoroughly before frosting.
Make vegan cream cheese frosting
- Place the vegan cream cheese and vegan butter in a bowl and use an electric mixer to beat until soft and fluffy, about a minute. Add 1 cup powdered sugar and vanilla and beat in.
- Continue adding more sugar, ½ cup at a time, and beating, until the frosting is smooth and creamy. Refrigerate for ½ hour before frosting the cake.
- Frost the cake by placing one cake on a plate or cake stand. Spread half the frosting over the cake, then place the other cake on top and frost with the rest of the cream cheese mixture. Sprinkle more toasted walnuts on top, if desired.
Jakki Gillett
Hi - there is no mention of vegan butter in the list of ingredients, but it is mentioned in the frosting method. How much butter should I use?
Vaishali
It's 4 tablespoons! Thanks.
marijan
How much butter do you need for the frosting, please
Vaishali
4 tablespoons.
Monique
Hi Vaishali,
I found your website a couple of weeks ago. This carrot cake was so awesome!! I didn't use as much oil though. I juiced my carrots n used the juice in place of the oil. I also only used 1 1/2 cups of sugar.
Thanks so much. Your recipes r great for my vegan family. Thank you!!
Vaishali
Monique, so glad you tried and liked the cake! Nice idea to use juiced carrots instead of the oil. Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Hema
This cake looks delicious. Why am I not seeing the recipe for the frosting?
Vaishali
Hi Hema, thanks for pointing out-- some recipes here and there seem to have suffered from formatting issues recently. I've added the frosting recipe back in. Enjoy!
Hema
Thank you, Vaishali! This is an excellent carrot cake and frosting recipe.
Jenny
Any ideas on how to substitute whole wheat flour for whole wheat pastry flour? I've heard of replacing two tbsp of flour with cornstarch for every cup of WW. Any thoughts or other ideas? Thanks all. I have a large bag of WW and no WW pastry flour.
Vaishali
Hi Jenny, you can use half whole wheat and half all purpose. For carrot cake, you can also just try all whole wheat. Your cake will be denser, but it will still be moist.
Jenny
Perfect. I'm just whipping it all up now. My housemate's pretty excitrf
Anonymous
Vaishali a Question for you: For the icing beat together the cream cheese ...do you reccomend using a fork or electric mixer ? And at what temperature.
Thanks
Vaishali
Room temperature, and I use an electric mixer. You could use a fork, but you'd need to put in a lot of muscle power.
Ramjee
Hi,
Can you / someone who has made it into muffins tell me how long to cook it ?
Thanks,
Anusha
Anonymous
This makes great muffins, don't even need frosting. I didn't have apple sauce so I used a whole cored apple, skin and all. Processed it with the oil and sugar.
Rodnee
Hi Vaishali!Just wanted to say thank you so much for this delicious carrot cake recipe. I made this cake for my mom's birthday yesterday. She and everyone else loved it. I added fresh pineapples, shredded coconut (unsweetened), and golden raisin. Delish!
Vaishali
Rodnee, glad you liked it. Thanks for the feedback, and a happy birthday to your mom!
Gauri Radha गौरी राधा
Oh my gosh that looks so fantastic!!!!!!
(I am a huge fan of vegan desserts, hehe.)
Nanditasr
Thanks; this carrot cake recipe is excellent!
1. For more goodness, instead of applesauce, I pureed some cooked carrot with fruit juice.
2. I find that cooking the carrot prior to grating/baking keeps the carrot moist and plump. In this case, you might want to cut back on the liquid by a tablespoon or two.
3. I personally prefer my cakes less sweet, so I think I'll cut back the sugar to 2/3 cup the next time.
Vaishali
Nandita, thanks for the feedback and suggestions.
Anonymous
I love your site, and just discovered.
Regarding the Carrot Cake, check out Jane Brody's Good Food Book recipe for Applesauce Carrot Cake. I've made this for years, the family loves, and it contains no oil at all. See what you think.
Nirupama
Hi Vaishali,
I just happened to come across ur blog while looking for a cake recipe. I am a recent vegan and am constantly on the lookout for recipes. I am a vegan too bcoz i love animals and realized a long time ago tat food didnt mix well with loving animals. I had been a vegetarian until about 3 months ago and then watched peta's video about dairy farms. gave up on milk then. I am a big fan of PETA and PCRM. I never miss up on an opportunity to tell people about the benefits of a vegan diet. I am super glad I found an Indian who is vegan. Although most of our Indian dishes are vegan some do need alterations to make them vegan. And i am a novice in cooking and am glad I now have a blog to look up from. Your babies r cute. Hope lucy is doing better.
tc and happy making people cruelty free
😉
Lenka
ooooohhhhh, that sounds marvelous! I am baking it today!! can't wait, yummy... ;-))), thatnk you for that recipe, I'm sure it's wonderful!
BangaloreBaker
Vaishali, I made these into cupcakes and they are so good. I just added a tsp of nutmeg and the rest kept the same. Thanks for a very healthy and yummy recipe.
Laavanya
My husband is a big fan of carrot cake too.. yours looks so moist and delicious.
Anonymous
What temperature for baking?
Sharmila
This is one cake version that I would love to try making Vaishali. The flour will be a prob though.:-)
Simran
I can't believe cake can be this healthy.
And I totally agree with you on the added inches - food blogging's been not good for my weight watching self so far!
Uma
mmm. looks so mouth-watering and healthy! Have a great weekend!:)
Madhavi
Simple and delicious cake!!!
Happy cook
Wow they looks really moist and delicious. Till now i have never made a cake with carrots.
Priya
Lovely n frosting is really very prefect...carrot cake r always my fav!!
Gita's Kitchen
If there is whole wheat in a dessert, I am there for it, like you said I cant believe its a healthy carrot cake 🙂 the pongal photos looks too delicious Vaishali...
bindiya
vaishali this really looks awesome!
Aparna
Perfect, Vaishali.
Its sweet carrot season and I'm going crazy making carroty stuff.:)
Carrot cake with applesauce is what I'm making this weekend, though my recipe is a bit different.
Sunshinemom
Looks delicious! Isn't it strange coincidence - I posted gaajar halwa today:)
You're right about the cake quality those days but now it is different. There are several bakeries offering world quality cakes. Bangalore and Hyd. always had good bakeries but I sorely missed them in Bombay. Now we have good bakeries in Thane itself! But I really prefer the ones I make at home now. I made carrot cakes sometime back too but not with Whole wheat pastry flour. We still don't get that here:(!
LG
That piece of cake made me crave for cake 🙂 Gotta try it soon
Dershana
Wow! sounds really healthy and yummy. Surely worth a try.
arundati
this has to get made... i cant believe the moistness in the second pic....awesome!!
Raaga
this looks delish 🙂
Curry Leaf
I hate cakes with icing even now.It started thanks to those cakes.Recently only I have started liking 'normal' ones withut icing.To tell you the truth,the icing removes my appetite.
This looks perfect and yes,whole wheat is healthy and the walnut-apple sauce carrots is heavenly
sowmya
cake looks absolutely fantastic..very tempting click...with the frosting...awesome..
Cham
The slice is so moist and juicy! I remember the India icing (I always thought it is made with sugar and water and harden for days 🙂
Maya
That looks super delicious Vaishali..I know what you mean by the extra inches on the waistline with baking cakes. Been there ;)..I have a weakness for cakes and eat the most myself when I do bake.
Vij
Moist n perfect! yummmy!
Bex
aww yeah. I love carrot cake and the husband really loves carrot cake. Annnnddd I just bought a big ol' bag of carrots!
DJ Karma
Ah, for the love of cake! I tried to make a rolled carrot cake the other day, and it broke (boo!). I do love a good rich flavorful cake like this one... maybe I should make mine into cupcakes(haha!)
Mahimaa's kitchen
this sounds very simple to make. i love the second pic.. cake looks so moist. lovely entry.