This is the Best Vegan Carrot Cake you’ll try! The spices are spot on, it’s incredibly moist, fluffy texture and super simple and easy to make!
VEGAN CARROT CAKE
I couldn’t believe how delicious this vegan carrot cake turned out! I imagine you will all love it as much as my vegan lemon cake! It is so perfectly moist, yet still fluffy and soft and made without any added oil. I promise you this cake tastes incredibly high fat, but is oil-free (minus the frosting, of course).
The secrets to this wonderfully moist and rich tasting and easy carrot cake is the combo of applesauce and molasses. The molasses is key here. Not only does it provide great depth of flavor, it also add incredible richness and moisture.
With the exception of the frosting, this oil-free vegan carrot cake itself is also refined sugar-free. So it is a much more healthy carrot cake than you’d typically see, but tastes ever bit indulgent, I assure you!
If you do not absolutely need gluten-free, please make this cake asap. But for those needing gluten-free, that version is coming!
INGREDIENTS NEEDED
For this healthy vegan carrot cake, you’ll need to gather all the plant-based ingredients. All of them are easy and simple to find.
- Regular white all-purpose flour
- Cornstarch
- Baking soda
- Spices: Cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger
- Salt
- Pure maple syrup
- Unsweetened applesauce
- Molasses
- Vanilla extract
- Carrots
- Walnuts: optional
HOW TO MAKE VEGAN CARROT CAKE
Step 1: To a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients.
Step 2: To a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients.
Step 3. To another large bowl, combine the wet ingredients and whisk well.
Step 4: Add the liquid to the dry ingredients and stir gently until just mixed. Do not overmix. Add the batter to a square 8×8 baking dish that has been lightly sprayed with nonstick spray.
Step 5: Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out completely clean from the center. Mine was perfect at 34 minutes. It should be a gorgeous golden color, as pictured, risen well and smelling fabulous!
Cool the cake 1-2 hours minimum until completely cool before frosting.
CARROT CAKE FROSTING
I chose to use my delicious vegan vanilla buttercream frosting. I know a lot of people like the classic cream cheese frosting, so if you like, I’d suggest replacing the milk called for in my buttercream frosting with lemon juice instead to give it a tang.
MORE VEGAN CAKE RECIPES
- Vegan Gingerbread Cake
- Easy 7 Ingredient Vanilla Cake
- Vegan Gluten-free Vanilla Cake
- Vegan Funfetti Birthday Cake
- Vegan Almond Butter Cake
- Vegan Chocolate Chip Cake
- Vegan Pumpkin Cake
Best Vegan Carrot Cake (Oil-free)
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 cups (224g) regular all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons (16g) cornstarch
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
- 3/4 cup (240g) pure maple syrup
- 3/4 cup (180g) unsweetened applesauce
- 2 tablespoons (40g) regular (not blackstrap) Grandma's brand molasses. You can find this brand at most grocery stores and places like Walmart, Target, etc.
- 4 teaspoons (20g) apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon (5g) vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups (180g) shredded carrots
- optional: crushed walnuts for topping on the frosting
- FROSTING: See directions below
NOTE
- I always recommend to use a scale for accuracy when baking, following MY gram weights listed, This is exactly how this recipe was tested, so follow my grams. Since we all measure differently, weighing ingredients is so important. This greatly improves your chance for success and lessons room for error. You never need cups or to compare them to the weights, just use the scale and bowl and make sure to zero out in between each ingredient.
- I use this scale.
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and lightly spray an 8x8 baking dish with nonstick spray.
- To a large bowl, combine the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg. Whisk very well.
- To another large bowl, combine the syrup, applesauce, molasses, apple cider vinegar, vanilla and whisk until smooth.
- Pour the liquids over the dry ingredients, add the carrots and then use a large spoon (not a whisk!) to gently fold the ingredients from the bottom together until just mixed. Do not overmix. The batter will be fairly thick, but smooth. Do not be tempted to add more liquid, as the cake is very moist.
- Add the batter into the prepared dish and gently smooth out the top with the back of the spoon.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out completely clean from the center. Mine was perfect at 34 minutes. This cake is very moist, so you do not want to remove it until the toothpick is totally clean! It should be a gorgeous golden color, as pictured, risen well and smelling fabulous!
- Cool the cake 1-2 hours minimum until completely cool before frosting.
- I chose to use my delicious vegan vanilla buttercream frosting. I know a lot of people like the classic cream cheese frosting, so if you like, I'd suggest replacing the milk called for (1 tablespoono) in my buttercream frosting with lemon juice instead to give it a tang.
This was amazing! I used a scale and so I especially appreciate you providing the weights.
Changes I made:
1) I used half proper whole wheat (made fresh from wheat berries) half all purpose
2) Didn’t have applesauce on hand so I risked it by shredded granny smith apples finely to match the weight.
3) Decided to make it into 12 cupcakes. Baked for 18 min and then added intervals of 3 mins until toothpick came out clean.
This recipe is a winner! Will be making again.
So glad it was a hit!!
It’s delicious!
Thank you so much Mary!!
Huh? I thought these recipes were supposed to be 8 ingredients or less. Another one kicked off my “try” list.
That was my original theme of my blog for over 8 years, but I stopped doing that almost 2 year ago (it was also removed off my bio to say “the majority of my recipes” since I have hundreds 8 ingredients or less. But I wanted to be able to fully release my creativity and not limit myself to certain types of recipes, so I now do both. Some with more or less than 8. But my recipes are always easy and simple!
Dear Brandi, I didn’t realize you had changed your format either because the logo still says vegan8, the bio is accessed only if you are new to the site. In addition, the blog was dormant for well over a year with no new recipes. I still love you, and hope your life is going well.
Hi! I sent out an email quite a long time ago announcing the change from not keeping everything only 8 ingredients. If you aren’t on my email list, you may have missed it. I’ve sent out multiple recipes over the past couple of years. Not weekly, but definitely still sent them out, and also post them on social media. I post on social media almost daily. The logo did change, it has a new design around the wording and the “8 ingredient” tag line was removed a long time ago. “The Vegan 8” name will not change because that is the name of my blog and changing it completely would really hurt my high ranking on google, as well as people who have known my blog for years. not finding me if I changed the name. That would hurt my business. I still share recipes with few ingredients, just some will be more than 8, some less, so the name of my blog will still go with me! Thanks for the support! Life has changed a lot for me and is wonderful!
Get over it and just try something wonderful.
It’s not that difficult. Most of these ingredients are kitchen staple items and it’s easy enough to throw in all the different items using measuring spoons.
You’ve done it again! Excellent cake! I never play around with your recipes but this time I substituted the maple syrup with 1 cup of date puree instead and it still turned out perfectly. You’re a star.
Aww you are the sweetest, thank you Kimberly!!
Yum! I’d like to be placed on email list.
Hi Brandi! My husband loves pineapple and coconut in his carrot cake…and I’m not confident enough in my baking abilities to ‘wing it’…. 🙂 Do you think these could be added without messing up the recipe? Any guidance on amounts? Thank you in advance!
Hi Stacey! I really wouldn’t recommend adding pineapple to the cake because my recipe is written with the perfect amount of moisture in it. If you add pineapple, it’ll make it too wet! It might be better to find a vegan carrot cake that already has pineapple in it!
Aah, understood thanks Brandi! We’ll try this as written because it looks too good not to. 🙂 Thanks again!
Very tasty and easy to make. Thx BD.
Phenomenal! Now in regular rotation. So happy to find a moist, flavorful vegan oilfree cake I can make with ingredients I usually have on hand. Although, as noted below, I hit a few gaps in my pantry at times.
I’ll make the GF version of this my regular contribution to potlucks (with no nuts added), knowing I’ll make a lot of people happy.
Adjustments made with great results:
– I’ve made it using 100% whole wheat pastry flour and using a 50-50 combo with all-purpose flour/whole wheat pastry flour. Both work out great.
– Substituted potato starch one time, tapioca starch another time, because I was out of cornstarch.
– Out of applesauce (I run out of a lot of things, apparently) so I used a spiced apple/pear butter I made last fall and this ROCKED. I kept the spices in the recipe, cut the vinegar by about half the first time because fruit butter has vinegar already. Second time I went ahead and used the full vinegar amount. Either way, fantastic and I’m going to make it this way every time.
– Used date molasses in place of blackstrap because I want to use up a jar I bought for some long-forgotten recipe.
So happy to hear how much you love them and thank you so much for sharing Barb!
Really the best from all vegan carrot cakes I have ever made. Thank you
Woohoo, so glad to hear that Anna!
i rarely have applesauce in my pantry. Is there a substitute for the applesauce by any chance?
Hi Sara! Unfortunately not, 3/4 cup is a large amount and it is what gives lots of moisture to the cake, as well as flavor and reacts with the leavening some, so you need it!
I’ve been following Brandi for a short while, and every recipe of hers I’ve made has been delicious. I just finished making this carrot cake and it is simply divine. Whilst it was baking in the oven my apartment smelled like fall. The cake has a complex texture, it’s aromatic from all the spices that went into it, and extremely moist (I know, I hate that word, too), but it’s warranted, here. Ingredients were easy to procure, and instructions very intuitive. Make this cake. You won’t regret it.
Wow, thankyou Todd so much for this amazing review and your kind words, thank you!!
This carrot cake recipe is the best I’ve ever baked! Who am I kidding? Best cake ever!!!
So happy to hear this!
This is the best carrot cake I have ever eaten. It’s hard to believe it’s oil free and vegan. Just the right amount of spice too. A new favorite in our house.
This just thrills me to hear Tina, thank you!!
I made this cake today as i am always looking for ways to use more carrots. I made it with white whole wheat flour and it came out tender. I think i will try it with date paste next time possibly. I add more apple sauce to give it more liquid. I just can’t help myself with wanting to tweak an already good recipe . Thanks
Glad you enjoyed it Scott!
Made this last night – loved that I had all the ingredients in my pantry. Couldn’t wait for it to completely cool and did not make the frosting – it’s great on its own and yes, it smells amazing, has a great rise, is moist and so flavorful. I baked it in a silicone 8×8 and the cook time was spot on. It has moved to the top of my carrot cake recipes and I have several. Thank you so much Brandi!
So very happy you loved this cake Laura, thank you!!
Love, love this cake, made it yesterday, I added raisins and pecans to it, did not add any frosting. Thanks for sharing your recipe.
So thrilled to hear this Louise, thank you for the awesome review!
3 questions…
1. I am making this for a dinner we are hosting this weekend. Can i make it ahead or is it best the day of?
2. Also how best to store it?
3. Can i add vegan chocolate chips? Thanks!
Yes you can totally make it the day before! It’s wonderfully moist. Store it on the counter covered with foil.
Yes you can add white chocolate chips if you want!
Question: Can I double the recipe and make 2 layers, or would that make 3? Thank you. Can’t make until I have a GF version, but want to prepare.
Hi Angela! That will depend on size of pans you are using? If you double the recipe, you would need probably 10 inch round pans because that will make a lot of batter. I’d more suggest to just do another half of the recipe added to the original, which I think would work perfectly for a 2 layer 8 inch cake or maybe even 9 inch. Just be VERY careful about overmixing, as the batter is thick and overmixing gluten will make them tough/dense.
THIS WAS DELICIOUS!! So moist and I agree that the flavour is spot on!! I really enjoy the healthy ingredients too 🙂
I will definitely make this again and again!
So happy to hear this Erin!!
How is syrup as a substitute for Molasses?
Hi Chris! You really need the molasses. I talk about the importance of it in the post. I wouldn’t replace it with more syrup .
Brandi, do you think white whole wheat would work? Or just the regular flour… Just wondering. Thanks for this lovely recipe.
I think so! I haven’t tried it and it might be slightly less soft, but let me know if you try it.
I just made this recipe with white whole wheat flour…no other changes. I made them as muffins. (Made 14 muffins) They came out great! Soft and moist. They don’t even need icing…they taste great plain.
In addition to substituting all White Whole Wheat flour for the AP, I baked the muffins at 375 for 26 minutes for regular sized muffins. Used a countertop Breville oven so maybe the temp wasn’t quite as high as 375. I used an instant thermometer to check internal temp and took them out at about 205 degrees. I got 12 regular sized and 1 jumbo (double) sized muffins from this recipe. Really yummy!!
SO happy you loved these Fran! Thank you for sharing!
Did you make it with hard white wheat or soft white wheat flour?
I made your carrot cake just a few hours ago! I weighed all the ingredients and did exactly as you directed! ITS FANTASTIC!! Wish I knew how to post a pic. Thank for a great recipe. Definitely a keeper!
Yay!!! This makes me so happy to hear!!
Send me a pic on Instagram or Facebook!!
Oh I saw this recipe pop up in my email and was super excited…bummer though…I’ll have to wait for your GF version as I can’t tolerate gluten. The regular version looks delicious and I have no doubt it is! I’m glad to hear that you have a GF version coming out soon. Carrot cake is my absolute favorite and I’m looking forward to trying the GF recipe when you share it! Thank you for your hard work on this! 🙂
For GF I would use oat flour I make in my Nutribullet. I have not made this recipe yet but have used it for recipes such as banana bread, and it came out delicious. I will try. I love carrot cake!
Hi Lea! I would not use all oat flour here, it will turn out very gummy. This cake is very moist and using all oat flour will make it quite gummy and dense. I will post the gluten-free version soon!
Thank you so much Terri for the kind words!
We love your recipes!
Any gluten-free options?
Thanks!
Thank you Patty! See the Notes, I mention it there. Refresh your browser if you don’t see it 🙂
This looks delicious! I wish you could create an oil free frosting so this entire cake is oil free!