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This gluten free carrot cake is moist, delicious, and easy to make! An egg-free recipe that yields layers of the most tender cake and tangy cream cheese frosting that gives the cake a rich and hearty flavor.
What Makes This Recipe Great
I’ve always loved carrot cake, and it’s always requested by my family during Springtime and Easter. This cake is simple but looks so gorgeous on the table. It’s always a hit! For carrot cake lovers like me, this easy recipe can really be made for any special occasion or even as a birthday cake!
This Gluten-Free Carrot Cake recipe is also super easy to make vegan, as the cake itself is made without eggs or dairy. Simply swap the butter and cream cheese in the delicious cream cheese frosting for dairy-free alternatives and you have a completely vegan version. A dessert that everyone can enjoy!
You can make it with or without nuts and raisins to customize it to your liking. For me, with small kids, I liked to stay away from the nuts and raisins inside of the cake, but I decorate with chopped walnuts on the outside. Happy baking!
If you can’t get enough carrot cake, try these No-Bake Vegan Carrot Cake Cake Pops or this Paleo Carrot Mug Cake.
Watch a Short Video of This Recipe
Ingredient Notes
Carrot Cake
- Gluten-free all-purpose flour: The best gluten-free flour blend is 1:1 all-purpose flour. Brands like King Arthur and Bob’s Red Mill have great options. If you aren’t gluten-free, just use regular all-purpose flour.
- Brown sugar: Light or dark brown sugar will work.
- Baking powder
- Baking soda
- Cinnamon
- Ginger powder
- Nutmeg
- Grated carrot: Fresh carrots work best in my opinion.
- Applesauce
- Avocado oil: Or any neutral oil– I prefer avocado oil or coconut oil, but you can use vegetable oil or canola oil if that’s what you have on hand.
- Apple cider vinegar
- Pure vanilla extract
- Nuts: Walnuts, brazil nuts, pecans, and/or red or golden raisins.
Cream Cheese Frosting
- Cream cheese: Use regular or dairy-free cream cheese.
- Butter: Use regular or dairy-free butter. If using the dairy-free version, make sure to use butter sticks, not spread.
- Lemon juice
- Powdered sugar
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray two 8-inch round cake pans with cooking spray and use parchment paper to line the bottom of the pans (cut the paper into circles).
- In a large mixing bowl. combine flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg. Stir together to combine.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together shredded carrots, applesauce, avocado oil, apple cider vinegar, and vanilla extract.
- Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and mix until just combined and a thick batter is formed. Add in chopped nuts or raisins, if using. The mixture may seem a bit dry. Let it sit for 10 minutes so the carrots can release more moisture. Stir together one more time.
- Divide the cake batter between the prepared pans, and bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cool for 5 minutes then remove from the pans and transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
- Once the cake is cooled, combine cream cheese and butter in a large bowl and use an electric mixer to beat until creamy, and fluffy.
- Add lemon juice and beat on low until mixed in.
- With the mixer still on low, gradually add powdered sugar until fully combined. You can add more powdered sugar if you want a firmer texture.
- Frost the top of one of the cake layers, then add the other cake layer on top. Frost the top and sides of the cake. Decorate the top with chopped nuts if desired.
Expert Tips
- Vegan Version: The cake itself is fully vegan. The frosting can easily be made vegan too if you use vegan cream cheese and vegan butter sticks (Earth Balance makes sticks that are easy to bake with).
- Mix-Ins: I don’t like to add nuts and raisins inside of the carrot cake but feel free to add them in if desired (1 cup total). I used crushed-up walnuts to decorate the cake after frosting.
Storage Tips
Store in the fridge covered for up to a week. Alternatively, store slices in an airtight container so the cake doesn’t dry out.
To freeze, I recommend wrapping each slice in plastic wrap and then storing it in a freezer-safe container or bag in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature before eating.
Recipe FAQs
Both butter and oil work well in carrot cake, but they do yield different results. Butter adds rich flavor, while oil adds moisture and has a neutral flavor. I used oil because I wanted to keep this cake vegan, plus I didn’t want the butter to overpower the other flavors of the cake and a neutral oil works better for that.
I don’t recommend this, as almond flour is not exactly a 1:1 swap for regular flour, especially in gluten-free cake recipes. When replacing regular flour in baked goods, gluten-free blends often contain xanthan gum which helps recreate the texture and binding that gluten does in regular flour. For this reason, it is best if you use a blend that has all of those ingredients in it already.
More Delicious Gluten-Free Cakes
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The BEST Gluten-Free Carrot Cake (Vegan Option)
Video
Ingredients
- 2½ cups gluten free all-purpose flour
- 1 cup brown sugar, light or dark
- 1½ tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tbsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp ginger powder
- 1 tsp nutmeg
- 2½ cups grated carrot, freshly grated works best
- 1 cup applesauce, unsweetened
- 1/2 cup avocado oil, or any neutral oil
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- Optional add-ins: 1 cup walnuts, brazil nuts, pecans, and/or raisins, plus more for decorating
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 8 oz cream cheese, or vegan cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1/3 cup butter, or vegan butter, at room temperature
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1½ cups powdered sugar, plus more, if needed
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray two 8-inch cake pans with cooking spray and line the bottoms with parchment paper cut into circles.
- In a large mixing bowl. combine flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg. Stir together to combine.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together shredded carrots, applesauce, avocado oil, apple cider vinegar, and vanilla extract.
- Pour wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix until just combined and a thick batter is formed. Add in chopped nuts or raisins, if using. The mixture may seem a bit dry. Let it sit for 10 minutes so the carrots can release more moisture. Stir together one more time.
- Divide the batter between the prepared pans, and bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cool for 5 minutes then remove from the pans and transfer to a cooling to rack to cool completely.
- Once the cake is cooled, combine cream cheese and butter in large bowl and use an electric mixer to beat until creamy, and fluffy.
- Add lemon juice and beat on low until mixed in.
- With the mixer still on low, gradually add powdered sugar until fully combined. You can add more powdered sugar if you want a firmer texture.
- Frost the cake and decorate the top with chopped nuts if desired.
Notes
Expert Tips
- Vegan Version: The cake itself is fully vegan. The frosting can easily be made vegan too if you use vegan cream cheese and vegan butter sticks (Earth Balance makes sticks that are easy to bake with).
- Mix-Ins: I don’t like to add nuts and raisins inside of the carrot cake but feel free to add them in if desired (1 cup total). I used crushed-up walnuts to decorate the cake after frosting.
Storage Tips
Store in the fridge covered for up to a week. Alternatively, store slices in an airtight container so the cake doesn’t dry out. To freeze, I recommend wrapping each slice in plastic wrap and then storing it in a freezer-safe container or bag in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature before eating.Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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