This super moist vegan carrot cake loaf is the best! Tender, fluffy and deliciously spiced! It’s so easy to make from scratch with wholesome, healthier ingredients. The perfect healthy treat for Easter, Mother’s Day or any day of the week!
This Vegan Carrot Cake is a must make this spring, especially for any Easter brunch celebrations you may be hosting! It’s supremely moist, wonderfully spiced and tastes indulgent. The best part is — it’s made with simple ingredients, is completely eggless and it can also easily be made gluten free.
Ingredients needed
Not only is this vegan carrot cake recipe delicious and easy to make, but you probably have most of the ingredients needed to make it in your kitchen. Here's what you'll need:
- Grated carrots: This recipe uses 1 cup of grated carrots. We prefer the texture of finely grating the carrots by hand, but you can use a food processor.
- Milk: Any milk works for extra moisture. We like to use almond milk or oat milk in this recipe.
- Vegan butter: To keep this recipe vegan, be sure to use melted plant-based butter.
- Sugar: Use cane or coconut sugar to perfectly sweeten the cake.
- Maple syrup: Adds a little extra sweetness and delicious maple flavor.
- Apple cider vinegar: Makes the bread light and fluffy.
- Flavor makers: Vanilla extract, cinnamon, nutmeg, ground ginger, cloves and salt give this a wonderful warm, cozy flavor.
- Flour: We're using a blend of all-purpose flour and oat flour for a lovely soft texture. If gluten-free, we recommend King Arthur Measure for Measure gluten-free flour. Please don't substitute any other flour such as almond flour, baking flour, etc.
- Cream cheese frosting: The vegan cream cheese frosting is a simple mix of vegan cream cheese, vegan butter and powdered sugar. It's optional, but really adds something special to the loaf.
How to make this recipe
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. and finely grate 1 cup of carrots.
- In a large mixing bowl, mix the carrots, oat or almond milk, melted butter, coconut sugar, maple syrup, and apple cider vinegar. Add in the baking soda, baking powder, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.
- Finally, mix in the oat flour and the all purpose flour.
- Pour the batter into a 9x5 loaf pan and bake for 40-50 minutes or until golden.
- While the loaf is baking, use an electric hand mixer to mix the vegan cream cheese, butter, and powdered sugar. Set aside.
- Allow the loaf to cool and spread it with vegan cream cheese icing! Enjoy!
Expert tips
- Carrots: We do not recommend using pre-shredded carrots from the store. They are much too dry and do not provide the amount of moisture we want in this cake.
- Measure the flour correctly: Too much flour can cause baked goods to be overly crumbly and dry. When measuring out the flour, start by whisking the flour, then spoon it into the measuring cup and level off the top with a straight edge.
- Avoid over-mixing batter: When adding the flour to the wet batter, gently stir it with a large spoon or spatula and mix just until moistened. It's best not to use a whisk. Over-mixing the batter can produce a tough loaf of bread that sinks in the center.
- Watch bake time: Many oven vary on temperature, so be sure to check this after about 40 to 45 minutes. It is done baking when a skewer, butter knife or toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs.
Frequently asked questions
Whether or not something is healthy is different for everyone, but the ingredients in this loaf are mostly wholesome and simple. In addition, according to Healthline, carrots are filled with vitamins and minerals including: beta carotene, fiber, vitamin K1, potassium, and antioxidants.
This carrot loaf is plenty moist because of the 1 cup freshly grated carrots, milk and butter. To keep leftovers moist, be sure to wrap it up tightly in plastic wrap or store it in an airtight container.
If you like your carrot cake recipe with raisins, chopped walnuts, or pecans, gently fold ½ cup into the cake batter.
Storage recommendations
Wrap any leftover vegan carrot cake in plastic wrap and store on the counter for about 2 days or in the fridge for about 1 week. Any longer than that and you can freeze it in a freezer-safe, airtight container for up to about 3 months.
More vegan cake recipes
- Giant Cinnamon Roll Cake
- Carrot Cake Donut Holes
- Carrot Cake Muffins
- Strawberry Cake
- Carrot Cake Cupcakes
Vegan Carrot Cake Recipe
Ingredients
Super Moist Vegan Carrot Cake
- 1 cup finely grated carrots
- 1 cup oat or almond milk
- ½ cup melted vegan butter
- ¾ cup cane or coconut sugar
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon cloves
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup regular or gluten free all purpose flour If gluten-free, I recommend King Arthur Measure for Measure gluten-free flour. Please don't substitute any other flour such as almond flour, baking flour, etc.
- 1 ¼ cup oat flour
Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting
- 2 oz vegan cream cheese
- 2 tablespoon softened vegan butter
- ¾ cup powdered sugar
Instructions
Super Moist Vegan Carrot Cake
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
- In a large mixing bowl, mix the carrots, oat or almond milk, melted butter, coconut sugar, maple syrup, and apple cider vinegar. Add in the baking soda, baking powder, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Finally, mix in the oat flour and the all purpose flour. Pour the batter into a 9x5 loaf pan and bake for 40-50 minutes or until golden.
- While the loaf is baking, use an electric hand mixer to mix the vegan cream cheese, butter, and powdered sugar. Set aside.
- Allow the loaf to cool and spread it with vegan cream cheese icing! Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
The recipes on Peanut Butter and Jilly can easily be adapted to fit a vegan lifestyle, a gluten-free lifestyle, or both depending on the ingredients you use. Please review the ingredients lists carefully and refer to our recommendations in the Notes of the recipe card to make this recipe compatible with your needs. Nutrition information provided is an estimate, and will vary based on specific brands of ingredients used and cooking methods.
Malak says
Hello, I’ve been wanting to make this but where I live we don’t have coconut sugar or vegan butter... do you have suitable alternatives?
Jillian Glenn says
Hi Malak, any sugar will work as a swap for the coconut sugar and you can substitute oil for the vegan butter.
Angela Hansen says
Hello Jillian!
We are moving out of the country in a few months, so I going throught ingredients and we finished our maple syrup.
Can I use extra sugar or dilute some sugar to have the same amount as for Maple syrup?
Thanks for your recipes,
Angela Hansen.
Jillian says
Hi there, I'm thinking this recipe should turn out great with some extra sugar rather than maple! If you notice that the batter is overly thick, you can always add a splash more non dairy milk.
Mindy says
What brand cream cheese do you use? I haven’t had much luck finding one that tastes good that is dairy free yet
Jillian says
I love wither Miyokos or Kite Hill!