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    Home > Vegan Dessert Recipes > Vegan Cake Recipes

    Vegan Carrot Cupcakes (with vegan cream cheese frosting)

    Posted: Mar 1, 2021 ยท Updated: Nov 10, 2021

    Jump to Recipe Pin Recipe
    vegan carrot cupcakes

    These cute little Vegan Carrot Cupcakes with vegan Cream Cheese Frosting are light, moist and fluffy. They are studded with raisins and nuts and deliciously spiced with fresh ginger and cinnamon.

    Vegan carrot cupcakes with cream cheese frosting on a silver plate with walnuts scattered on top.

    Vegan Carrot Cupcakes

    Carrot cupcakes may not be the healthiest way to get your daily veggies, but they certainly are the most delicious, hands down.

    Especially these vegan carrot cupcakes with a smooth, decadent vegan cream cheese frosting.

    I've been making these carrot cupcakes for years--they were among the first desserts I veganized--and they've always been a big hit with family and friends. And as crowd-pleasing as they are, they are also really easy to make.

    It takes under 10 minutes to stir up the batter, in one bowl. Rinse out the bowl and use it to make the delicious cream cheese frosting, which also comes together easily and effortlessly.

    The cupcakes are a moderately healthy dessert, what with the hefty dose of veggies involved, but you can make them healthier by using wholegrain flour and cutting down on the sugar in the frosting. Read more about that in the tips and substitutions section below.

    Easter might seem an obvious time to make these cupcakes, although I make them year-round, for my little bunny, Jay, and my kid at heart, Desi.

    A single vegan carrot cupcake with cream cheese frosting and walnuts on top in a white plate with more cupcakes in the background.

    What you'll love about these vegan carrot cupcakes

    • They're delicious. Be warned, it'll be hard to stop at one.
    • They're easy to make. It's a perfect project to make with your children. Get older kids to help with grating the carrots and mixing the batter. Little ones can help frost -- and taste, of course.
    • The ingredient list is quite simple--you probably have most of these things in your pantry or refrigerator, and there are no crazy ingredients.
    • You need just one bowl to mix up the batter. Then rinse the bowl and use it for the frosting, making cleanup a breeze.
    • They are much lower in fat than a traditional carrot cupcake would be.
    Overhead shot of vegan carrot cupcakes with vegan cream cheese frosting on a silver plate)

    Ingredients

    For the carrot cupcakes:

    • Unbleached all purpose flour
    • Baking soda
    • Baking powder
    • Salt
    • Cinnamon
    • Carrots
    • Ginger
    • Raisins
    • Sugar
    • Vegetable oil
    • Nondairy milk
    • Apple cider vinegar
    • Walnuts

    For the vegan cream cheese frosting

    • Vegan cream cheese
    • Vegan butter
    • Powdered sugar
    • Pure vanilla extract
    • Walnuts for sprinkling (optional)
    Vegan carrot cupcakes, freshly baked, in a muffin pan.

    Tips and substitutions

    • Begin by grating the carrots using the large holes on a grater or in the food processor. You need 1 ยผths packed cups, which would be two medium-small carrots or one large carrot.
    • When making any cake, you will usually start out by whisking all the dry ingredients together. In this case the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. You can use whole wheat pastry flour if you want to make these whole-wheat--it works amazingly well.
    • Once your dry ingredients are whisked, add all of the wet ingredients in, including the carrots, ginger (I use fresh ginger, but use powdered ginger if that's all you have available), sugar, vegetable oil, nondairy milk and apple cider vinegar.
    • Stir in the raisins and the chopped walnuts. Toast the walnuts slightly before adding them to the batter. You don't have to use raisins and walnuts--one or the other is fine too.
    • You can substitute the walnuts with pecans.
    • The batter for these cupcakes is quite thick, but that's okay. The carrots will express more moisture. Use an ice cream scoop or a cup measure to portion them out into the cupcake pan.
    • Bake the cupcakes for 25 minutes, then make sure that a toothpick in the center comes out clean before removing them from the oven.
    • Let them cool thoroughly on a rack before frosting. Adding frosting to a warm or hot cupcake will result in a gooey mess.
    • The frosting is really easy to make--mix all the ingredients and whisk them until smooth. I use 2 cups of confectioners' sugar for a very sweet frosting, which Jay loves, but you can cut it down to 1 ยฝ cups for a still delicious but not-as-sweet frosting.
    • I use 3 tablespoon vegan butter in the frosting, but you can cut that down as well to just 1 tbsp.

    Looking for more vegan cakes?

    • Vegan Carrot Cake
    • Gluten-Free Vegan Skillet Cornbread Cake
    • Vegan Blueberry Buttermilk Bundt Cake
    • Vegan Lemon Yogurt Bundt Cake
    Close front shot of vegan carrot cupcakes with cream cheese frosting and walnuts scattered on top in a silver plate.
    Close up of vegan carrot cupcakes with vegan cream cheese frosting

    Vegan Carrot Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

    These cute little Vegan Carrot Cupcakes with vegan Cream Cheese Frosting are light, moist and fluffy. They are studded with raisins and nuts and deliciously spiced with fresh ginger and cinnamon.
    5 from 7 votes
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe Review Recipe
    Course: Dessert
    Cuisine: American
    Diet: Vegan, Vegetarian
    Keyword: Vegan Carrot Cake Cupcakes, Vegan carrot cupcakes
    Prep Time: 20 mins
    Cook Time: 25 mins
    Total Time: 45 mins
    Servings: 12 cupcakes
    Calories: 385kcal
    Author: Vaishali ยท Holy Cow! Vegan Recipes

    Ingredients 

    For the carrot cupcakes:

    • 1 ยผ cup unbleached all-purpose flour (or whole wheat pastry flour, or a mix)
    • ยฝ teaspoon baking soda
    • 1 teaspoon baking powder
    • ยผ teaspoon salt
    • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
    • 2 teaspoon fresh ginger (finely grated. Or use ยฝ teaspoon dry ginger)
    • 1 cup sugar
    • โ…“ cup vegetable oil
    • 1 ยผ cup nondairy milk
    • ยฝ teaspoon apple cider vinegar
    • 1 ยผ cup carrots (finely grated)
    • ยฝ cup walnuts (lightly roasted then chopped)
    • ยฝ cup raisins

    For the vegan cream cheese frosting

    • 8 oz vegan cream cheese (I used Tofutti)
    • 3 tablespoon vegan butter
    • 2 cups powdered sugar
    • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
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    Instructions

    Make the carrot cupcakes

    • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
    • Mix the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon in a bowl.
    • Add the sugar, vegetable oil, nondairy milk, vinegar, carrots, ginger, walnuts and raisins and mix until everything is just incorporated.
    • Line a 12-cup cupcake tin with liners. Divide the batter equally among them.
    • Bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cupcake comes out clean.
    • Cool thoroughly on a rack before frosting.

    Make the vegan cream cheese frosting

    • Using a hand mixer or a whisk, beat together the cream cheese, butter, vanilla and confectioner's sugar until smooth and creamy.
    • Frost the cakes. You can sprinkle on some chopped walnuts over the frosting or serve just as.

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1frosted cupcake | Calories: 385kcal | Carbohydrates: 56g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Trans Fat: 1g | Sodium: 214mg | Potassium: 201mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 38g | Vitamin A: 2459IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 76mg | Iron: 1mg
    Tried this recipe?Please leave a comment and recipe rating below!
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    About Vaishali


    Hi! I am so happy you're here. I'm Vaishali, and I've been sharing recipes for delicious vegan food at Holy Cow Vegan since 2007. Every one of the more than 1,000 recipes on this blog has been tried and tested -- and loved -- by my family and I. I hope you will find something here to share with your loved ones. Thanks for stopping by!
    Read more about me here.

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Antoinette

      September 14, 2021 at 2:14 pm

      5 stars
      These came out great! I used coconut sugar and they are delicious!

      Reply
      • Vaishali

        September 14, 2021 at 4:59 pm

        So awesome to hear. Thanks for letting me know!

        Reply
    2. Craig

      September 27, 2017 at 10:30 am

      5 stars
      These are our favorite cupcakes. We make them all the time and can't have enough.

      Reply
      • Karma Apple

        March 30, 2021 at 10:05 pm

        What kind of sugar? White sugar is not vegan.

        Reply
        • Vaishali

          March 30, 2021 at 11:08 pm

          You can easily find vegan cane sugar now.

          Reply
      • Vaishali

        April 04, 2021 at 11:37 pm

        So great to hear!

        Reply
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    Hi, I'm Vaishali! I cook, eat and share easy, tasty and nutritious plant-based recipes from my Washington, D.C. kitchen, but I never fight a craving for samosas or French fries. 

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