The best Vegan Carrot Cake! Perfectly spiced, incredibly moist, topped with creamy vegan cream cheese frosting and simple to make in just 1 bowl!
Once you realize how easy this vegan carrot cake is to make, you will find yourself making it over and over again! Not only is it 100% vegan, it is simply the best tasting carrot cake, vegan or not. No one will guess it’s free of eggs, milk and butter!
The cake layers are super moist, perfectly sweet and full of texture. It’s an incredible dessert for Easter or any day of the week when a craving strikes.
Just like my Vegan Chocolate Cake and Vegan Funfetti Cake, this carrot cake is made in just 1 bowl. I love easy dessert recipes!
Ingredients you need (with substitutions)
- All purpose flour – May substitute a gluten free flour mix, if needed. Many have tried this with success!
- Brown sugar
- Granulated sugar
- Baking powder and baking soda
- Cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, salt
- Oil – I used canola oil, but you can use grapeseed oil, melted coconut oil or vegan butter. You might be able to substitute more applesauce for oil, but I’m afraid it will come out a bit gummy.
- Applesauce – Try substituting crushed canned pineapple for a change!
- Almond milk – Any non-dairy milk works here, such as soy, oat or coconut milk.
- Vanilla
- Grated carrots
- Walnuts, optional – Simply omit for nut free. Or substitute pecans, raisins, etc.
- Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting or Vegan Vanilla Frosting.
How to make Vegan Carrot Cake
Find the complete printable recipe with measurements below. This is simply an overview with photos.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and 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.
Using a stand mixer or simply a whisk, whisk the ingredients to combine.
To the bowl with the mixed dry ingredients, pour in the canola oil, applesauce, non-dairy milk, and vanilla. Mix to combine, but be careful not to over mix. If you are using a stand mixer, use the lowest setting and do not over mix, the cake will come out dense and chewy if you do.
Add the shredded carrots and walnuts, if using, and fold them into the batter gently.
Again, do not over mix! I can’t stress this enough. Just mix until combined, and gently.
Pour the batter evenly into the prepared pans and bake for 35-45 minutes, until a toothpick comes out mostly clean.
Let the cakes cool in the pans for about 20 minutes before carefully removing them. Let them cool on a cooling rack completely before frosting.
Vegan carrot cake frosting
Traditionally, carrot cake is frosted with cream cheese frosting, so I prefer my Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting for this cake. Vanilla Frosting is also a great option. Or you could even make this tart cream cheese-like frosting from my Pumpkin Cake Bars recipe. Or lemon buttercream from my Vegan Lemon Cake recipe.
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!
If you plan on serving this cake outdoors or want to leave it out in a warm room for awhile, I’d go with one of the buttercream frostings so the cake doesn’t slip.
Vegan carrot cake cupcakes
This recipe works great for cupcakes! Fill liners 3/4 of the way full and bake cupcakes for about 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean in the middle. Let cool completely, then frost as desired.
Gluten free vegan carrot cake
Substitute a quality gluten free flour mix for the all purpose flour to make this cake gluten free. I prefer King Arthur Measure for Measure Flour.
The outcome will be slightly different, but still really good!
Variations
- For a 9×13 inch cake, bake for 45-60 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean and the top is set.
- Make a triple layer cake by using 3 6-inch pans, baking for a little less time (25-30 minutes.)
- For a carrot bundt cake, place the batter in a bundt pan and bake for about 60 minutes until done.
How to store leftover cake
If you frost it with cream cheese frosting, the cake will need to be kept in the refrigerator. If you use vanilla frosting instead, you could store it on the counter for a few days.
It will keep in the refrigerator for about 1 week, and can also be frozen. Cover any cut parts so it doesn’t dry out.
Want more amazing vegan cake recipes?
- One Bowl Vegan Coconut Cake
- Vegan German Chocolate Cake
- Vegan Lemon Blueberry Lavender Cake
- Vegan Vanilla Cake
- Vegan Red Velvet Cake
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 or crushed pineapple
- 3/4 cup almond milk
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 3 cups grated carrots (about 3 large carrots)
- 1 cup chopped walnuts, optional
- 1/2 cup raisins, optional
- 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. Be very careful not to over mix the batter, or your cake will come out dense and chewy!
- 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.
Video
Notes
- May substitute a gluten free all purpose flour for gluten free.
- For nut free, omit the walnuts.
- 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.
- 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.
- This cake freezes well for up to 3 months. Wrap well to avoid freezer burn.
Hi could you make this to a carrot cake loaf?
You probably could but I haven’t tried it. I think it would make 2 loaves though, not just 1. And it will need to bake much longer, probably 45-60 minutes.
Hi I would like to bake a two layer cake with two 9×13 inch sheet cake pans, should I double the recipe?
Thanks!
Hi Marcella. Yes, you would need to double the recipe to bake two 9 x 13 cakes. Bake for 45-60 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean in the middle. Happy baking!
Oh- I did use gluten free all purpose flour from Trader Joe’s. Do you think that may have been the issue? (See my previous comment).
Oh, I didn’t see this until I approved the other comment! Yes, that is for sure your issue with the cake. Gluten free flour changes a baking recipe considerably, and results will vary depending on the brand. I have good luck with King Arthur’s Measure for Measure flour, but I’ve never tried the Trader Joe’s brand.
I’m not sure what I did wrong. I made it according to the instructions, added crushed pineapple and coconut oil (melted) instead of applesauce and canola. I cooked it in a 9×13 for 60 minutes- wasn’t ready. Cooked it for about 12 more minutes or so. Seemed better but when I tried to move it out of the pan, it fell apart. Also, way way too sweet and tasted a little bit grainy to me. I did not over mix it. What happened??
What kind of flour did you use? If it tasted grainy, I’m suspect of the flour as I’m not sure why else it would be grainy. Did you try to move the entire 9×13 cake out of the pan? It’s hard to do that without having it fall apart! If you mean you just removed a slice and it fell apart, I would suggest not cutting into it or frosting it until it’s completely cooled. The texture changes a lot when you give it time to cool; it settles and becomes easier to slice and serve.
I love this recipe, I do the sugar by half. Can I replace the applesauce for flaxegg?? How much? Thank you for your recipes, I love them!
I’m sure a few flax eggs would work fine. 2 tablespoons ground flaxseeds mixed with 5 tablespoons water. I’m so happy you love the cake, thank you!
Hi Nora
Could this be made in to a carrot loaf/bread
Hi Kaila. This would be great as a loaf bread cake! I believe you will get two loaf cakes from the recipe as written. You could probably just cut the recipe in half for one. I haven’t tried it myself. A loaf will take longer to bake, somewhere around an hour; do a toothpick check after 50 minutes and every 5-10 minutes until there is no wet batter on the toothpick. I think it will work well, and I hope you enjoy it!
Nora, this cake was wonderful!
My baking doesn’t turn out great if I’m honest but it looked so good I thought I’d try it.
I followed the recipe exactly and I am so impressed. It was perfect. What a wonderful flavor too , excited to have a proper vegan dessert for once when our friends come over tomorrow for lunch. Thank you so much!
You are welcome, Suzanne! I’m thrilled that the cake turned out wonderful for you! I love creating recipes that are easy and delicious! Thank you for trying my recipe, and for taking time to share your stellar review! Happy cooking!
Can I make this as one cake rather than two halfs? I’d like to make the cake then just do frosting on top.
Hi Carol. For a 9×13 inch cake, bake for 45-60 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean and the top is set. Happy cooking!
I tried this recipe in cupcake form this past week for Easter. My one year old has an egg allergy and in an effort to help her eczema I am cutting eggs out completely. This was literally the best carrot cake I’ve ever eaten. It was so moist and easy to make. I did use a regular cream cheese frosting because we can eat dairy.
Just baked and served this as part of Easter Sunday dessert. My go to carrot cake even though I make it for nonvegans. Everyone loves it. Perfection every time. Thank you!
This cake is absolutely delicious! Any chance I can adjust the recipe at all to use less sugar?
I’m sure you could reduce the sugar somewhat, but I haven’t tried it. You might even be able to cut it in half. A lot of the sugar is in the frosting, so if you really want to reduce sugar, I’d leave off the frosting or serve with vegan whipped cream instead.
Nora, my girlfriend made this delectable carrot cake yesterday for our Easter dinner. My husband and her husband were thoroughly impressed by it. I’m hoping we can adjust the sugar content. Do you have any suggestions? Thank you so much for making it so delicious!
Hi Elizabeth. I’m so glad that all of you enjoyed the carrot cake! I’m sure you could reduce the sugar somewhat, but I haven’t tried it. You might even be able to cut it in half. A lot of the sugar is in the frosting, so if you really want to reduce sugar, I’d leave off the frosting or serve with vegan whipped cream instead. I hope this helps! Happy cooking!
Can I make this using a 9inch round cake pan? Also, could I pour it into two batches to make it a layered cake? Thanks!
Hi Nina. You could make a layered cake, though the layers may be a little thinner baked in a 9″ pan. Enjoy!
Fantastic! I’ve been following and cooking your recipes for a couple years but haven’t commented until now. This was really tasty and came out super well in a 9×13 pyrex.
Nora thanks for another delicious recipe!