1 Bowl Vegan Carrot Cake
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Vegan Carrot Cake, perfectly spiced and incredibly moist. Topped with creamy vegan cream cheese frosting, and simple to make in just 1 bowl!
Once you realize how easy this carrot cake is to make, you will find yourself making it over and over again! Not only is it made in 1 bowl with simple ingredients, it is the best tasting carrot cake, vegan or not. The cake layers are super moist, so flavorful and full of texture. It’s such an incredible dessert, for Easter or any day!
Helpful tools
- Grater (for the carrots)
- 2 8-inch cake pans
- Parchment paper
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How to make it
It’s easy! First, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 8-inch cake pans with a little circle of parchment paper, and then spray the pans generously with oil. This will help your cakes come out of the pans with no problems!
Add all dry ingredients to a large bowl and whisk. Now, pour in the canola oil, applesauce, non-dairy milk, and vanilla. Mix to combine, then fold in the shredded carrots and walnuts.
Divide evenly between the prepared pans and bake for 35-45 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean and the tops of the cake are set.
You can also test with a knife to see if it comes out mostly clean in the middle. They will be golden brown on top when done. Let the cakes cool in the pans for about 20 minutes before carefully removing them, then let them cool completely before frosting.
What kind of frosting should I use?
Traditionally, carrot cake uses cream cheese frosting, so I prefer Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting for this cake. Vanilla Frosting is also a great option.
The only thing with vegan cream cheese frosting is it can be a bit unstable if it gets warm, so make absolutely sure your cakes are cooled completely before frosting, and keep the frosted cake in the refrigerator, just to make sure the top layer of your cake doesn’t slip off!
Possible substitutions
- Sub whole wheat pastry flour, or even spelt flour for the white flour if desired.
- Sub coconut oil or melted vegan butter for the canola oil. You might be able to omit the oil and replace it with more applesauce, but I haven’t tried it.
- Sub pecans for the walnuts, or leave the nuts out entirely.
- Replace the applesauce for 1 cup of crushed pineapple for pineapple carrot cake!
Want more vegan cake recipes?
1 Bowl Vegan Carrot Cake
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 cup white sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup canola oil
- 1 cup applesauce
- 3/4 cup almond milk
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 3 cups grated carrots (about 3 large carrots)
- 1 cup chopped walnuts
- 1 Recipe Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and prepare 2 round 8-inch cake pans by lining the bottom with parchment paper and spraying well with oil.
- In a large bowl, add all the dry ingredients and whisk well.
- Pour in the canola oil, applesauce, almond milk and vanilla and mix until combined with a large spoon. Now fold in the grated carrots and walnuts.
- Pour the cake batter evenly between the prepared pans, then bake for 35-45 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean and the tops of the cakes are set. Remove from the oven, and allow to cool for about 20 minutes before carefully removing from the pans. Allow the cakes to cool completely before frosting.
- Once cooled completely, frost with Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting, or Vegan Vanilla Frosting if preferred. Enjoy! Store leftover cake in the refrigerator for up to 1 week, covered.
Notes
- May substitute whole wheat pastry flour, or white whole wheat flour for a whole grain option. I haven't tested with gluten free flour.
- May substitute soy, coconut or any other non-dairy milk for almond milk.
- May use melted coconut oil or another oil in place of the canola.
- I prefer Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting for this carrot cake, but you could use my Vegan Vanilla Frosting instead.
- To make cupcakes instead, fill cupcake liners 3/4 of the way full and bake for 20-25 minutes until set on top. Pipe frosting on each cupcake.
- Calorie calculation does not include Frosting.
Nutrition
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175 Comments on “1 Bowl Vegan Carrot Cake”
Do you think you could add pineapple to this?
Hi Chelsea. I would actually replace the applesauce with canned pineapple, about a cup or a little more, for best results. Sounds wonderful!
So incredibly fluffy and moist! I subbed half the applesauce with avocado oil, and also made sure to sift the dry ingredients for that extra fluff factor! It was delicious with the vegan cream cheese frosting!
I’m glad the cake turned out moist and delicious for you, Sara! Thank you for sharing!
My family loves this recipe.
I’m so glad, Lili! Thank you for sharing!
Hi Nora,
Do you think this would work in a 9x 13 “ pan?
Hi Camille. Sure, that should work fine! You will need to bake the cake a bit longer, perhaps for 40-50 minutes. Check with a toothpick to make sure it comes out mostly clean in the middle. Enjoy!
Have you ever tried to alter the recipe to make muffins?
I haven’t but I’m sure it would work well. I would bake muffins/cupcakes for 30 minutes, until done. Hope that helps!
This was so yummy. Was a 1/4.cup short on nuts and turned out great anyway. Made the vegan butter frosting which is delicious and especially appreciated the generous amount of frosting it made.
Thank you for sharing your comments, Desi. I’m glad you loved the cake!
I made this for our son’s college graduation party since the whole family recently went vegan. Nobody could tell the difference between this and “normal’ carrot cake and cream cheese frosting (I made your vegan cream cheese frosting). A couple people said it was so much tastier than any other carrot cake they had ever tasted. Delicious!
Hi Pam. I love hearing that the cake was loved by all! Congrats to your son! Thank you for taking time to share your wonderful review!
good!
This was easy and delicious. I halved the sugars (both) still came out great. I used a lemon icing. Making it again today!!!!
Oh fun! I’m glad you like the cake! Thanks Karen!
This was outstanding! We love carrot cake in my family and I made this form my mom’s birthday! This is the best carrot cake I have ever made (including before I was vegan). I made this with your cream cheese frosting recipe and it was a perfect complement!
I used 1/2 cup of crushed pineapple and 1/2 cup of applesauce. I also added some raisins.
I will definitely make this again and again. Thank you!
Hi Carolien. Happy birthday to your mom! I’m glad you love it! Thank you for sharing!
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Hi! If I want to split this cake into three 8” pans to make three thinner layers, how should I modify the baking time? Thank you!
They would likely only need 20-25 minutes in the oven. Thanks!
This worked great, and everyone loved it! So delicious.
Thank you, Jodie! I’m glad everyone loved the cake!
It speaks volumes to the quality of this recipe that plenty of folks make substitutions and it turns out beautifully nonetheless. My changes: 4 tablespoons flaxseed + 12 tablespoons water instead of the applesauce, then baked in a Bundt pan for 60-70 minutes. I like being able to whip the flax eggs to add a little more volume and lift to a potentially dense Bundt cake – it turned out magnificently!! It rose quite high in the oven and after cooling turned out to be the perfect texture – denser than a vanilla or chocolate cake, but not too heavy. Thank you so much Nora (and all of the other adventuresome readers!)
Hi Camille. It’s always interesting and fun to learn how others make little substitutions and changes to my recipes! I’m so glad this cake turned out magnificent for you! Thank you very much for taking the time to share!