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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88 Comments on “1 Bowl Vegan Carrot Cake”
Is vegan cream cheese icing thin and drippy?
It should not be, but it can be difficult to work with. I wrote a whole post on it (Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting) and how to make it thick. It usually has to stay refrigerated on the cake as it gets melty when warm.
What can I replace the applesauce with? It’s the only thing I don’t have on hand
You could use mashed banana (though it might taste a bit like banana) or perhaps 2 flax eggs (2 tbs ground flax + 5 tbs water).
Absolutely delicious! I used 1/2 WW and 1/2 AP, reduced the sugar by 1/2 and used olive oil (all I had) and it came out perfect. This is now my go to recipe for carrot cake. Thank you!
You’re welcome!
Can this recipe be doubled?
It could, yes, though I have never tested it. If you were going to make a 4 layer cake, I would probably use my Vegan Vanilla Frosting instead of the cream cheese frosting, because it is sturdier and less likely to slip.
Hi this cake is delicious. I would like to know how many cupcakes would I get out of this batch? Thank you ☺️
Probably about 20-24. 🙂
This carrot cake is absolutely delicious! Moist and tender. The cream cheese frosting is spot on. I made cupcakes with the recipe and my kids were thrilled. Definitely a keeper!
That’s so great to hear! Thanks so much!
Made this cake along with the cream cheese frosting for my son’s birthday. I copied your picture with the walnut garnish around the edge and it is beautiful ad delicious. Thank you for an easy, quick, and tasty recipe. (My son and daughter-in-love share a birthday and both their desserts came from your site.)
I’m glad it came out great!
I’m so glad, thank you!
The most Amazing Carrot cake I’ve ever made and tasted!!! I didn’t have apple sauce so I used 1 flax egg but needed to add a bit of extra almond milk as I think my flour was very thirsty. The cake was rich and moist and divine. 🙏
I’m so happy to hear it was good! Thanks for the comment!
Hey Nora!!! This cake was a hit! I’m quarantined with my grandparents and they were very skeptical of a dairy free cake but they were blown away!! So excited to try more recipes!!
Wow, that’s so great to hear! Thanks for the comment!
Hey Nora! Your blog has been a favorite of mine for a little over a year now and this carrot cake is AMAZING!!! I was wondering if I took the spices and carrots out it, would become a vanilla cake? Would it affect the moisture of the cake? Thanks so much for your recipes again! Couldn’t imagine all those fails!!! 🙂
I’m so happy to hear that! You know what, I don’t think that would work well, but I’ve already done the work for you! Try my Vegan Vanilla Cake. 🙂
Do you double the vegan cream cheese frosting recipe for this since it is a double layer cake?
No, the cream cheese frosting recipe makes enough for a double layer cake. Thanks!
We LOVE this cake recipe. I subbed organic crushed pineapple for the applesauce and it was brilliant! So moist and the one bowl makes for a very easy clean up. Fantastic recipe. Five stars:)
Hi Nora,
I tried making a vegan carrot cake using your recipe and it was a big hit! My family loved it so much that I’m going to be making it again within a week of originally trying it out. Thank you so much for sharing your recipes.
You’re welcome!
Great recipe ! I cut the sugar by 25%. If you’re in the UK and are struggling to find apple sauce, use jars/sachets of pure apple purée found in the baby food aisle ! I think it’s important to grate the carrots coarser as shown in the images, as I used a fine grater which imparted too much moisture and made the texture dense.
The texture was more like a pudding rather than a cake for me. Did you squeeze your carrot pulp to get rid of the extra liquid?
That is odd, I wonder if you made any other substitutions? I don’t squeeze the carrot shreds, no.
Wow! Okay this carrot cake is delicious!!! Seriously impressed. Super moist and the flavor was amazing! Nora, you’ve done it again! Thank you!!
You’re welcome! So glad you like it!
Simply delicious! Moist, luscious, and super flavorful. I made this cake with the cream cheese frosting recipe for my husband’s b-day. This is the only carrot cake recipe I will ever use from now on – vegan or not. I did add raisins and extra walnuts. Thanks, Nora!
You’re welcome!
Absolutely the best carrot cake that I have had in a long time! We just finished eating it, with your cream cheese frosting (which I did change a little) and my husband wants me to make another one!
Yay! Thank you so much.
Hi Nora, this is an amazing cake, everything is wonderful. Have a problem though, I used Daiya cream cheese cause I can’t find the other suggestions you mentioned. So my frosting is runny and when I place it in the freezer it helps. But the moment it comes out we are back to the same problem. I was wondering, can I freeze the cake with the frosting on it until its ready to serve? Obviously I would take it out half hour before serving.
Yes, unfortunately I have had bad luck with Daiya cream cheese as well, for frostings. Yes, you could freeze it until serving. Just having it in the refrigerator isn’t enough to keep it firm? Also try spreading it on thinner, which helps.
Hey Nora,
Im a big fan of your recipes! I’m thinking of making this however I live in the UK and this kind of apple sauce isn’t really available here, what would you recommend is the best substitute a blended apple or flax egg?
Thank you in advance 🙂
Thanks so much! Let’s see. You could probably sub a couple of flax eggs (2 tbs flax + 5 tbs water). Mashed banana or crushed pineapple could work as well. Hope that helps!
This was delicious. I do not own two 8 inch round pan, so I used one 9×13 inch pan and it was great. It took about 5 minutes longer to cook. I also followed the suggestion for slightly less sugar (3/4 cup of each white and brown). I ended up not frosting it because it would have been too sweet for us (also, I was serving it for breakfast!). Flavor is amazing and it was terrifically moist! Thank you for this recipe. It is the first I’ve tried from your site and I am excited about trying more.
That’s so great! Hope you find more that you like.
I Maße it without frosting and it still tastes great, BUT I only put 250g sugar in it. Otherwise it would be way too sweet.