There is no better advertisement for veggies than turning them into a delicious dessert. This Vegan Carrot Cake is not only delicious, but it is so easy to make. It only requires one bowl, and it is ready in under an hour. It will make the perfect birthday cake for the carrot lover in your life, or the perfect vegan cake option for your next springtime potluck.
For more delicious vegan desserts try this Vegan Banana Walnut Cake, Easy Vegan Lemon Cookies, or Vegan Pumpkin Spice Oatmeal Creme Pies.
More recipes for carrot lovers:
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Quick & easy – This recipe only requires one bowl and is ready in under an hour!
- Perfect texture – This moist vegan carrot cake comes out perfectly every time.
- Make it your own – Mix up the spices or add raisins, nuts, or diced apple to put your own spin on this recipe.
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- All-Purpose Flour – Sub 1:1 gluten-free flour if you want to make this a gluten-free carrot cake.
- White sugar* – You can swap for brown sugar or coconut sugar if preferred. Just make sure to select a vegan variety (see notes).
- Baking essentials – Baking powder, baking soda, salt, and vanilla extract
- Spices – Essential to any good carrot cake. This recipe uses lots of warm spices including cinnamon, ginger, clove, nutmeg.
Wet Ingredients
- Carrots – 2 large carrots is all that is needed for this recipe.
- Oil – Any neutral-flavored oil like avocado oil, canola oil, or vegetable oil will work for this recipe. Unlike olive oil which will impart a strong flavor on the cake. If you want to make this an oil-free carrot cake, sub the oil for equal parts applesauce. You can also swap for melted dairy-free butter if you prefer.
- Applesauce – Even if you are subbing the oil for applesauce, don’t reduce the overall applesauce quantity – it is essential in giving this cake its perfect texture.
- Vegan frosting (optional)- Make your own or find one of the many accidentally vegan store-bought frostings. Check out this frosting guide by PETA to find one you like!
Helpful Equipment
- Large bowl
- Baking dish or cake pan (approx 8′ x 10″)
- Parchment paper (optional)
How to Make
This is a detailed step-by-step guide on how to make this recipe including photographs. For the quick version, skip ahead to the recipe card below!
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and oil a medium baking dish (mine is 8″ x 10″).
Start by washing and peeling the carrots, then grating them into a large mixing bowl. This should yield about 3 cups of shredded carrots.
Add the oil, applesauce, vanilla extract, and sugar into the bowl with the grated carrots, and mix until the sugar is mostly dissolved.
Add in the dry ingredients and mix only until no streaks of flour remain. Do not overmix the batter in this step, it will result in a dense and chewy texture to your cake.
Transfer the carrot cake batter to a medium baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.
Remove from the oven and let the cake cool for a few minutes before frosting.
Frosting is optional! Traditionally carrot cake will have a vegan buttercream or vegan cream cheese frosting. This cake is delicious without any frosting at all. You can dust the top of the cake with powdered sugar, drizzle it with maple syrup, or leave it totally plain!
This recipe makes one 9 x 13 inch sheet cake layer. Double the recipe for a second layer and connect with vegan frosting.
Slice, serve, and enjoy!
How to Store
- Room Temperature (unfrosted): If you have elected not to frost the cake, it will store at room temperature for 3-5 days. Cover with plastic wrap or other airtight seal.
- Fridge: This carrot cake will keep 3-5 days in the fridge when stored in an air-tight container.
More Tips
- Not Vegan? Frost with a dairy-based frosting. I would not recommend substituting any of the oil or applesauce for eggs or dairy in this recipe as it will change the overall texture of the cake.
- Gluten-free? Sub the all-purpose flour for a 1:1 gluten-free replacement baking flour.
- Oil-free? Replace the oil with applesauce in this recipe, but do not reduce the overall amount of applesauce.
FAQ
Yes! You can swap the applesauce for 2 flax eggs (3 Tbsp ground flaxseed + 6 Tbsp warm water, let set for 5 minutes).
Yes, you can sub up to half of the amount of flour with whole wheat. Subbing all of the flour will make the batter too dry.
Vegan Carrot Cake
Ingredients
- 2 large carrots
- 2 ½ cup all-purpose flour
- ⅔ cup neutral-flavored oil (like canola)
- ¾ cup sugar*
- ⅔ cup applesauce
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 2 tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp salt
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp ginger
- ¼ tsp clove
- ¼ tsp nutmeg
- ½ cup vegan frosting
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350℉.
- Start by washing and peeling the carrots, then grating them into a large mixing bowl.
- Add the oil, applesauce, vanilla extract, and sugar into the bowl and mix until the sugar is mostly dissolved.
- Add in the dry ingredients and mix only until no streaks of flour remain. Do not overmix.
- Transfer the batter to a medium baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 35-40 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
- Remove from the oven and let cool a few minutes before frosting.
- Slice, serve, and enjoy!
Notes
- Not Vegan? Frost with a dairy-based frosting. I would not recommend substituting any of the oil or applesauce for eggs or dairy in this recipe as it will change the overall texture of the cake.
- Gluten-free? Sub the all-purpose flour for a 1:1 gluten-free replacement baking flour.
- Oil-free? Replace the oil with applesauce in this recipe, but do not reduce the overall amount of applesauce.
Nutrition
Please note, while all ingredients used in this recipe have been verified to be vegan and free of applicable allergens at the time of recipe creation, different brands may differ in their ingredients or processing procedures and may change their ingredients at any time. For some recipes, I do include ingredients that are processed in a facility that processes other allergens. Please make sure to check the ingredients and processing procedures for your specific purchases to ensure they meet your dietary needs.
Last Updated on April 21, 2025
This carrot cake is perfectly moist and perfectly spiced! The whole family loves it!