These are the best carrot cake cupcakes and they're so easy! These Vegan Carrot Cake Cupcakes are the perfect healthier sweet treat to serve at any celebration! The vegan cream cheese frosting is decadent and delicious! The cake is tender and moist. These cupcakes are made in minutes and with a handful of ingredients that are found anywhere. You can make these carrot cake cupcakes gluten-free if needed. Everyone will love them, even the non-vegans!

Carrot Cake Cupcake Ingredients
- Carrots: To make these carrot cake cupcakes super moist and delicious, we use freshly and finely grated carrots in the batter.
- Milk: To keep these carrot cake cupcakes vegan, we use plant-based milk such as unsweetened almond milk or oat milk in our batter. If you are not vegan or dairy-free, regular milk will work.
- Maple Syrup & Sugar: We use a combination of maple syrup and sugar to sweeten our batter. Feel free to use either organic cane sugar, light brown sugar, or coconut sugar. Alternatively, for less sweet cupcakes, you can omit the sugar completely and only use the maple syrup.
- Butter: To keep make vegan carrot cake cupcakes, we use melted vegan butter in the batter. It makes the cupcakes super moist and tender. If you are not vegan or dairy-free, regular butter will work.
- Apple Cider Vinegar: Apple cider vinegar gives the carrot cake cupcakes a little zing. If you don't have apple cider vinegar, lemon juice will work as a substitute.
- Baking Essentials: We use baking powder, baking soda, vanilla, and salt in our vegan carrot cake batter to help the cupcakes and taste delicious.
- Spices: We use a combination of cinnamon, nutmeg, ground cloves, and ginger.
- Flour: We recommend using regular or gluten-free all purpose flour in these carrot cake cupcakes. Our favorite gluten-free flour is King Arthur Measure for Measure.
- Oats: We use old fashioned rolled oats or quick cooking oats to add texture to our cupcakes and make them a bit healthier and more filling.
- Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting: We use a combination of softened vegan butter, vegan cream cheese, and powdered sugar to make that classic cream cheese frosting that everyone loves!
How To Make Vegan Carrot Cake Cupcakes
Step 1: Begin by preheating the oven to 350. Line 12 cupcake molds with paper liners and lightly spray them with baking spray to keep the cupcakes from sticking to the papers.
Step 2: Prepare the batter by mixing the grated carrots, plant-based milk, melted vegan butter, maple syrup, sugar (if using), vanilla, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spices to together. Then, add the flour and oats and mix until a batter forms.
Step 3: Fill the 12 lined cupcake molds with the batter and bake in the oven for about 20-25 minutes or until the cupcakes are golden.
Step 4: Prepare the vegan cream cheese frosting by mixing the softened vegan butter, vegan cream cheese, and powdered sugar together. Allow the cupcakes to cool before frosting.
Carrot Cake Cupcake Add-Ins
- Raisins: Try folding ¼ cup of raisins into your prepared carrot cake cupcake batter.
- Nuts: Try adding ¼ cup of crushed or chopped walnuts or pecans to your carrot cake cupcake batter. These nuts are softer and more tender than other nuts, making them the perfect carrot cake cupcake addition.
- Seeds: Add two tablespoons of flax seeds or chia seeds to your cupcake batter to boost the fiber and make them even healthier!
- Shredded Coconut: Fold ⅓ cup of shredded coconut into your carrot cake cupcake batter before baking.
- White Chocolate Chips: To make these even more indulgent, try adding ⅓ cup of white chocolate chips to your carrot cake cupcake batter before baking.
Frequently Asked Questions
We recommend storing these at room temperature in a sealed container for 3-5 days. Refrigeration dries out most baked goods so we do not recommend storing them in the fridge.
Yes! Try my Moist Vegan Carrot Cake recipe here!
Vegan Carrot Cake Cupcakes
Ingredients
Vegan Carrot Cake Cupcakes
- 1 cup unsweetened almond milk or oat milk
- 1 cup finely grated carrots
- ½ cup maple syrup
- ¼ cup coconut sugar, brown sugar, or organic cane sugar optional, for added sweetness
- ¼ cup melted vegan butter
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice or a blend of cinnamon, nutmeg, ground ginger, and ground cloves
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ 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.
- ½ cup quick oats or old fashioned rolled oats
Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting
- 1 ½ cup powdered sugar
- 4 tablespoon softened vegan butter
- 4 oz vegan cream cheese
Instructions
Vegan Carrot Cake Cupcakes Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Line 12 cupcake molds with paper liners.
- In a large mixing bowl, mix the butter, carrots, almond or oat milk, maple syrup, sugar (if using), apple cider vinegar, vanilla, salt, cinnamon, baking soda, and baking powder together. Then, mix in flour and oats until just combined.
- Pour the batter into 12 lined cupcake molds (I suggest spraying the paper liners with non stick spray to keep the cupcakes from sticking) and bake for 25 minutes or until the cupcakes are golden.
- While the cupcakes are baking, use an electric hand mixer to mix together the powdered sugar, softened vegan butter, and vegan cream cheese. Ice the cupcakes once they've cooled and enjoy!
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.
Luna Ramdwar. says
Greetings, I've been since loving your recipes and want to try these delicious looking cupcakes. One problem though, in my country they don't sell vegan cream cheese. Is there a way you can show me a recipe for vegan cream cheese?? Thanks a lot!!
JillianGlenn says
I don't currently have a vegan cream cheese recipe but I will certainly add it to the list! You can make a simple buttercream frosting by leaving out the cream cheese and adding a tablespoon of almond milk until the frosting is your desired consistency.
Shanna says
Will the recipe work with just eggs without the flax.
Jillian says
Hi Shanna, I have not tried this with actual eggs but I'm thinking just one should do the trick!
Shanna says
I'll try it out. Thanks so much!!
Jillian says
Thank you Shanna!