This vegan carrot cake is the best ever! It’s moist and rich and topped with a tangy lemon buttercream frosting and crushed walnuts.
Carrot cake is pretty awesome! It gives you the feeling that you’re eating something pretty darn healthy. I mean you’re getting your veggies in!
And when it’s vegan carrot cake, well….. then you can feel pretty saintly about it!
Okay okay, I’ve said I’m never going to mention guilt and food in the same sentence on this blog, and I’m going to stick to it, but you know, there’s indulgence and then there’s feeling saintly about indulgence, which is not like indulgence at all really.
So go on, have your vegan carrot cake and eat it too, while feeling saintly about your good choices 🙂
And you know one of these days I’ll even make a gluten-free version (update: it’s here!) and THEN, well then, you know, you can just about ascend to heaven on a cloud while you eat it.
Jokes aside, this carrot cake is super good, it has a wholesome hearty vibe, while being moist, rich, and delicious.
Topped with a tangy lemon buttercream frosting and crushed walnuts, this cake is ideal for any special occasion. Or just for Sunday afternoon tea.
How To Make Vegan Carrot Cake
You will find full instructions and measurements in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. This is a summary of the process to go along with the process photos.
- Sift all purpose flour into a mixing bowl and add baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Mix together.
- Add light brown sugar and grated carrot to the mixing bowl.
- Prepare your flax eggs by adding 2 tablespoons of ground flaxseed meal to a bowl with 6 tablespoons of hot water. Let it sit for a minute to become gloopy.
- Add the flax eggs, oil, vanilla extract, apple cider vinegar and chopped walnuts to the mixing bowl.
- Mix everything together. If it seems like it won’t come together and the mix is too dry then step away from the bowl for a couple of minutes and then come back to it. The carrot will have released more moisture into the batter allowing it to come together into a thick batter.
- Divide the batter evenly between two cake pans (sprayed with non-stick spray and lined with parchment paper along the bottoms).
- Bake at 350°F for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of one of the cakes comes out clean.
- Let the cakes cool in the pans for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire cooling rack to cool completely before frosting.
- When the cakes are cool, frost and decorate with crushed walnuts.
The Frosting
Two things: firstly, I frosted it with a lemon frosting and added apple cider vinegar. This was to try and get a slightly more ‘cheesy’ flavor to it.
Well, it didn’t really work, it was really good, but I would not say it was in any way ‘cheesy’. It was still really good though, with a perfect amount of tang, so I went with it!
Secondly, I have since made a fabulous vegan cream cheese frosting using a homemade vegan cream cheese. It is seriously delicious, so if you want to give that a try instead, then go for it. The lemon buttercream frosting recipe from our vegan lemon cake is also a winner if you want to use that instead.
Chef’s Tips
Measure your flour correctly. If you have a food scale then measure the flour out on a food scale for total accuracy. If you don’t have a food scale then use the ‘spoon and level’ method to measure your flour. Spoon the flour into your measuring cup and then level it off with a knife. Don’t scoop the flour and don’t pack it into your cup.
Carrots must be freshly grated. If you buy pre-grated carrots then they will have dried out a lot by the time you use them. You need freshly grated carrots so that they are packed with moisture.
The walnuts. Walnuts are entirely optional but they are really delicious both in the cake itself and sprinkled on top for decoration. Another great option is chopped pecan nuts.
Be patient mixing the batter. When you’re mixing this batter you may start to wonder if I’ve missed out some important ingredients in the form of liquids! You may start thinking it will never come together! Don’t worry, so long as you used freshly grated carrots, it will definitely come together. Just step away from the bowl for a couple of minutes, the carrots will release more moisture into the batter. When you come back and mix again, it will form into a thick batter.
Adapting For Different Cake Pans
- 7-inch. This cake makes two thick 7-inch cake layers.
- 8-inch. It also works perfectly for 8-inch cake pans. The layers are slightly thinner, but still perfect, and 8-inch cake pans work great with the recipe exactly as is, no other changes at all.
- 6-inch. If you want to make this cake in 6-inch cake pans then I would suggest making it as a 3 layer cake. Baking time will be around 25 minutes.
- 9×9 sheet cake. You can also make it as a 9×9 square sheet cake. Baking time is 35 minutes.
- 9×13 sheet cake. It also works as a 9×13 sheet cake though it is a fairly thin cake so 9×9 is preferred. Baking time for 9×13 is 25 minutes.
Vegan Carrot Cake Q&A
You can make this cake gluten-free by simply switching the regular flour for a gluten-free all purpose flour blend. You can also check out our recipe for vegan gluten free carrot cake. It’s totally divine.
Sure! This recipe adapts to 12-18 cupcakes depending on how full you make the cupcake liners. You can also check out our vegan carrot cake cupcakes.
Storing and Freezing
Keep the cake covered at room temperature where it will stay good for 3-4 days, or keep it covered in the fridge where it will stay good for up to a week.
It is also freezer friendly for up to 3 months.
More Vegan Cakes
- Vegan Vanilla Cake
- Vegan Chocolate Cake
- Vegan Red Velvet Cake
- Vegan Banana Cake
- Vegan Lemon Cake
- Vegan Strawberry Cake
Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!
Vegan Carrot Cake
Ingredients
For the Carrot Cake:
- 2 cups All Purpose Flour (250g)
- 1 tsp Baking Powder
- 1 tsp Baking Soda
- ½ tsp Salt
- 2 tsp Cinnamon
- 1 tsp Nutmeg
- 1 ½ cups Light Brown Sugar (300g)
- 2 ⅓ cups Grated Carrot (255g)
- 2 Flax Eggs (2 Tbsp Ground Flaxseed Meal with 6 Tbsp Water)
- ½ cup Canola Oil (120ml) or Vegetable Oil
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1 cup Walnuts (100g) Chopped, Optional
For the Lemon Buttercream Frosting:
- 4 cups Powdered Sugar (480g)
- ½ cup Vegan Butter (112g)
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1 tsp Apple Cider Vinegar
- 2-3 Tbsp Fresh Lemon Juice
Decoration:
- Walnuts Chopped
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Spray two 7-inch cake pans or two 8-inch cake pans (see notes*) with non-stick spray and line the bottoms with circles of parchment paper.
- Sift the all purpose flour into a mixing bowl and add the baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Mix together.
- Add the light brown sugar and grated carrot to the mixing bowl.
- Prepare your flax eggs by adding 2 tablespoons of ground flaxseed meal to a bowl with 6 tablespoons of hot water. Let it sit for a minute to become gloopy.
- Add the flax eggs, oil, vanilla extract, apple cider vinegar and chopped walnuts to the mixing bowl.
- Mix everything together. If it seems like it won't come together and the mix is too dry then step away from the bowl for a couple of minutes and then come back to it. The carrots will have released more moisture into the batter allowing it to come together into a thick batter.
- Divide the batter evenly between the two prepared cake pans.
- Bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of one of the cakes comes out clean.
- Allow the cakes to cool in the pans for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
- While the cakes are cooling, prepare your frosting.
- Add the powdered sugar, vegan butter, vanilla extract, apple cider vinegar and 2 tablespoons of lemon juice to the bowl of your stand mixer.
- Start mixing on low speed gradually increasing speed until your frosting is thick and smooth.
- If your frosting is too thick then add in the extra tablespoon of lemon juice, a drop at a time and only as much as needed to get to a spreadable consistency.
- Frost the cake and decorate the top with chopped walnuts.
Video
Notes
- Measure your flour correctly. If you have a food scale then measure the flour out on a food scale for total accuracy. If you don’t have a food scale then use the ‘spoon and level’ method to measure your flour. Spoon the flour into your measuring cup and then level it off with a knife. Don’t scoop the flour and don’t pack it into your cup.
- Carrots must be freshly grated. If you buy pre-grated carrots then they will have dried out a lot by the time you use them. You need freshly grated carrots so that they are packed with moisture.
- The walnuts. Walnuts are entirely optional but they are really delicious both in the cake itself and sprinkled on top for decoration. Another great option is chopped pecan nuts.
- Be patient mixing the batter. When you’re mixing this batter you may start to wonder if I’ve missed out some important ingredients in the form of liquids! You may start thinking it will never come together! Don’t worry, so long as you used freshly grated carrots, it will definitely come together. Just step away from the bowl for a couple of minutes, the carrots will release more moisture into the batter. When you come back and mix again, it will form into a thick batter.
- Adapting for different size cake pans:
- 7-inch. This cake makes two thick 7-inch cake layers.
- 8-inch. It also works perfectly for 8-inch cake pans. The layers are slightly thinner, but still perfect, and 8-inch cake pans work great with the recipe exactly as is, no other changes at all.
- 6-inch. If you want to make this cake in 6-inch cake pans then I would suggest making it as a 3 layer cake. Baking time will be around 25 minutes.
- 9×9 sheet cake. You can also make it as a 9×9 square sheet cake. Baking time is 35 minutes.
- 9×13 sheet cake. It also works as a 9×13 sheet cake though it is a fairly thin cake so 9×9 is preferred. Baking time for 9×13 is 25 minutes.
- Gluten-free: You can make this cake gluten-free by simply switching the regular flour for a gluten-free all purpose flour blend.
- Cupcakes: This recipe adapts to 12-18 cupcakes depending on how full you make the cupcake liners.
- Storing: Keep the cake covered at room temperature where it will stay good for 3-4 days, or keep it covered in the fridge where it will stay good for up to a week.
- Freezing: It is also freezer friendly for up to 3 months.
- This recipe has been updated with new photos but the recipe itself is unchanged.
Barbara says
Good God, this cake with the vegan cream cheese frosting is absolutely exquisite!!!
I had to add 3 tablespoons of oat milk to reach a less dry consistency but otherwise, followed both recipes to the letter.
I will be making this many times over… Best carrot cake I’ve ever eaten, thank you!
Alison Andrews says
Wonderful! Thanks so much Barbara!
Sharon says
Hi. Could I use regular eggs for this recipe?
Alison Andrews says
You can, but I actually think it won’t be as good as eggs can be quite drying in baked goods and this recipe was not designed with that in mind. It will work though.
Sidney says
This looks amazing! Do you think it would work in a loaf pan?
Alison Andrews says
Hi Sidney, others have made it as a loaf cake, but I haven’t tried that myself. I think the baking time would be longer, but I’m not sure how much longer. I would guess maybe 45-55 minutes, just keep a close eye on it.
Laura says
I’ve made this cake multiple times already! The cake is moist and amazingly delicious
However i use sunflower instead of olive oil and bigger walnut pieces (so that my siblings can pick them out, they don’t like walnuts)
Can’t wait to try more of your recipes! <3
Alison Andrews says
Wonderful! So glad you enjoy it. Thanks for the great review!
Dan says
I made a modified version of your recipe and it was really delicious and moist. I used an equal amount of bourbon barrel aged maple syrup instead of the brown sugar. I might cut that back to 1 cup next time. For flax egg, I used 1/4 cup of water plus a tbsp of flax meal to substitute each egg. I substituted melted coconut oil for the olive oil. I have my own frosting recipe. I didn’t have any crushed walnuts, but I will add them next time.
Alison Andrews says
So glad it worked out well Dan! Thanks for sharing!
Chelsea says
This carrot cake recipe is AMAZING! I used it to make a dozen regular size carrot cup cakes and baked at 350 for 20 minutes and they turned out perfectly. I used coconut sugar and only 1 cup (vs 1.5) and it was the right amount of sweetness for my preference. I also made the vegan cream cheese frosting which is listed at the bottom of this recipe (instead of lemon buttercream) and that is also FANTASTIC – I did however use only half the amount of powdered sugar just because I don’t like things to be too sweet. So much happiness came from making my first ever carrot cake.
Alison Andrews says
Awesome Chelsea! So happy to hear that. Thanks for the great review!
Mel says
I made this carrot cake tonight and it came out perfectly. I had to use the tip on adding a bit of almond milk if batter came out too thick -I only needed to add a couple teaspoons.
Alison Andrews says
Awesome Mel! Thanks so much for sharing!
Barbara Carroll says
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this carrot cake! Thank you Alison.
Alison Andrews says
Thanks Barbara! 🙂
Robin says
NO JOKE the BEST vegan cake I’ve ever had. I’m not vegan but my friends who are have said the same about this recipe whenever I make it. It’s a little on the sweeter side so you might want to reduce the amount of sugar, but I have a strong sweet tooth so I always go by the book. Thank you so much Alison!
Alison Andrews says
So happy to hear that Robin! Thanks a million!
Roma Divanji says
If using an 8″ pan, do I need two pans or a single pan for all the batter? As I only have a single 8″ pan, do I need to half the recipe?
Alison Andrews says
Hi Roma, yes I would halve the recipe for a single 8-inch cake layer. 🙂
Sami says
Hi
Sorry forgot to give rating.
Alison Andrews says
Thanks Sami!
Vai says
WORKS EVERYTIME. This is my go to recipe for carrot cake everything! I used it for muffins, made loaves, cakes. I bet it would even work as pancakes!
I like to prep the carrots in advance by mixing them with sugar and spices and allowing to sit for a few hours. Or sometimes I pop it in the fridge overnight – saves prep time the next day if you get them ready whilst cooking dinner. This allows for water release and spice infusion.
I usually make half the batter for a loaf or muffins and it works a treat! I’ve also made this with spelt flour a few times and it worked out great. You just need less flour then because spelt absorbs slightly more liquid.
THANK YOU
Alison Andrews says
Awesome! Thanks for the wonderful review Vai!
Lisa says
Looks delicious- and I’ll be making for my birthday next week! Do you think I could bake the cake ahead of time and freeze it without issue?
Alison Andrews says
Yes it is freezer friendly. 🙂
Ashley Fils-Aime says
Love this recipe. I just like to add a trick I used after making it the first time to get the carrots easier to work with (forgive me if this was recommended already) and that is I buy bagged shredded carrots and I pulse them in the food processor before adding it to the batter. The consistency in the batter is smooth and easier to mix.
Alison Andrews says
Hi Ashley! So glad you enjoyed the recipe and thanks for sharing! Usually though I wouldn’t recommend buying pre-bagged shredded carrots because they can be more dry than freshly grated, which can affect your cake. But so glad it has worked out great for you!
Joan says
I made this cake for my husband’s birthday, being that carrot cake is his favourite. I only had whole wheat flour plus serious nut allergy in our family so couldn’t use those. I used 9″ pans and followed your directions (something I’m not good at!) to increase batter .. it was perfect! I’d say it’s my first really successful vegan cake. Next time I’ll try your icing recipe, already had some icing on hand. Oh, and it even improved in the few short days it lasted!!
Alison Andrews says
So happy to hear it was a success Joan! Thanks for the wonderful review.
Lisha da costa says
Also , can I add dates to this ? If so how much
Alison Andrews says
I haven’t tried that but I think you could.