• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Loving It Vegan

  • Home
  • About Me
  • Recipes
  • Free Ebook
menu icon
go to homepage
  • Home
  • About Me
  • Recipes
  • Free Ebook
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
  • search icon
    Homepage link
    • Home
    • About Me
    • Recipes
    • Free Ebook
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
  • ×
    Home » Desserts

    Vegan Gluten Free Carrot Cake

    Published: May 7, 2019 Updated: Nov 18, 2021 by Alison Andrews This post may contain affiliate links

    Jump to Recipe
    Vegan Gluten Free Carrot Cake

    This vegan gluten free carrot cake is so good no one will ever guess that it’s either vegan or gluten-free! It’s perfectly moist and packed with flavor.

    Slice of vegan gluten free carrot cake on a cake lifter.

    One of the most popular recipes on this blog is our vegan carrot cake. 

    But it’s not gluten-free. Many have tried it using gluten-free flour and had success, but I wanted to do a version that is designed as gluten-free so that it’s as delicious as it can possibly be and this is it.

    No one would ever know that this cake is either vegan or gluten-free never mind both.

    It is perfectly moist with all that delicious signature carrot cake spiciness and texture. 

    Want to make cupcakes instead? You’ll love our vegan gluten free carrot cake cupcakes.

    You’ll also love our fabulous vegan gluten free chocolate cake.

    Vegan gluten free carrot cake slice on a cake lifter.

    How To Make Vegan Gluten Free 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.

    • Add gluten free all purpose flour to a mixing bowl along with brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg and mix together. 
    Collage of two photos showing dry ingredients added to mixing bowl and mixed.
    • Then add in grated carrot, flax eggs (ground flaxseed meal mixed with hot water), applesauce, oil, vanilla, apple cider vinegar and chopped walnuts and mix into a thick batter.
    Collage of two photos showing wet ingredients added to mixing bowl and mixed into a thick batter.
    • Divide between two 8-inch (you can also use 9-inch) prepared cake pans and bake for 30-35 minutes. 
    Collage of two photos showing carrot cake in cake pans before and after baking.
    • Let the cakes cool for a few minutes in the pans and then transfer them to a wire cooling rack to cool completely before frosting and decorating.
    Collage of two photos showing carrot cake layers on a wire cooling rack and then frosted on a cake stand.

    The Frosting

    There are several frosting options that would work great for this cake. We used our vegan lemon buttercream frosting in these photos. And the flavor blend of lemon frosting with carrot cake really works. 

    You can also use our vegan buttercream frosting recipe or our vegan cream cheese frosting. 

    Vegan gluten free carrot cake topped with chopped pecans on a cake stand.

    Ingredient Notes

    Use a gluten-free all purpose flour blend. This is super important, this recipe has been designed around using a blend, not a single type of flour like almond flour or rice flour. So it’s important that you use a blend as well. If you use a single type of flour then I can’t be sure at all if it will work out. 

    You can use any vegetable oil or canola oil. I also tested it with extra virgin olive oil and coconut oil. Both of those also work great but coconut oil makes it harder to stir in since this is a very thick batter. 

    The walnuts are optional. I think chopped walnuts add something wonderful here and we decorated the cake with chopped pecans but if you’re nut-free you can leave them out with no issues. 

    Vegan gluten free carrot cake slice on a cake lifter.

    Baker’s Tips

    Weigh ingredients like flour and grated carrots. This is going to give you the best chance of accuracy in this recipe. If you don’t have a food scale, I highly recommend one. They are really a baker’s best friend in the kitchen. 

    Be patient when mixing this batter. You might think I’ve forgotten an ingredient when you see how thick the batter is, but just leave the bowl for a minute, and let those carrots release extra moisture into the batter and then come back and stir again and suddenly it will turn into a batter.  

    You can make it in either 8-inch or 9-inch pans. We tested it in both sizes and it works great for both. What you see pictured here is 8-inch cake layers, but as you can see the layers are nice and fat, so it does adapt to 9-inch cake pans as well, you just have slightly thinner layers, but it still totally works.  

    Vegan gluten free carrot cake with a slice removed on a cake stand.

    Storing Tips

    It stays fresh for a couple of days at room temperature, and around 5 days covered in the fridge. It is also freezer friendly for up to 3 months so if you want to freeze it, go right ahead. 

    Slice of vegan gluten free carrot cake on a white plate.

    More Vegan Cakes

    1. Vegan Banana Cake
    2. Vegan Vanilla Cake
    3. Best Vegan Chocolate Cake
    4. Vegan Apple Cake
    5. Vegan Red Velvet Cake
    6. Vegan Pound Cake

    Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!

    Sliced vegan gluten free carrot cake on a cake stand.

    Vegan Gluten Free Carrot Cake

    This vegan gluten free carrot cake is so good no one will ever guess that it’s either vegan or gluten-free! It’s perfectly moist and packed with flavor for a perfect dessert.
    4.94 from 80 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Dessert, Gluten-Free
    Cuisine: American
    Diet: Gluten Free, Vegan
    Prep Time: 30 minutes minutes
    Cook Time: 30 minutes minutes
    Total Time: 1 hour hour
    Servings: 12
    Calories: 452kcal
    Author: Alison Andrews

    Ingredients

    For the Carrot Cake:

    • 3 cups Gluten Free All Purpose Flour Blend (408g)
    • 2 cups Light Brown Sugar (400g)
    • 1 ½ teaspoons Baking Soda
    • 1 ½ teaspoons Baking Powder
    • ¾ teaspoon Salt
    • 1 Tablespoon Ground Cinnamon
    • 1 ½ teaspoons Ground Nutmeg
    • 2 Flax Eggs 2 Tablespoons Ground Flaxseed Meal with 6 Tablespoons Hot Water
    • 3 Tablespoons Applesauce
    • 3 ⅓ cups Grated Carrot (366g)
    • ¾ cup Canola Oil (180ml) or Vegetable Oil
    • 2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
    • 1 ½ Tablespoons Apple Cider Vinegar
    • 1 ½ cups Walnuts (150g) Chopped, Optional

    Frosting Options:

    • Vegan Lemon Buttercream Frosting
    • Vegan Buttercream Frosting
    • Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Instructions

    • Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Spray two 8-inch* cake pans with non-stick spray and line the bottoms with parchment paper.
    • Sift the flour into a mixing bowl and add the brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg and mix together.
    • Prepare your flax eggs by adding 2 Tablespoons ground flaxseed meal to a bowl and then adding 6 Tablespoons of hot water from the kettle. Leave it to sit for a minute to become gloopy.
    • Add the flax eggs, applesauce, grated carrot, oil, vanilla extract, apple cider vinegar and chopped walnuts and mix into a thick batter. If it’s struggling to come together, just leave the bowl to sit for a couple of minutes and then come back and stir again and it should come together. Leaving it for a minute will allow the grated carrots to release more moisture into the bowl allowing it all to come together.
    • Divide the batter evenly between the prepared cake tins. Place into the oven and bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out mostly clean. If you have some crumbs on the toothpick, this is fine, but you don’t want wet batter.
    • Let them cool for 5 minutes or so and then remove them from the cake pans and place them onto a wire cooling rack and allow to cool completely before frosting.
    • Frost with any of the choices of frostings above and decorate with chopped nuts (we used pecans).

    Notes

    1. It’s very important that you use a gluten-free all purpose flour blend that is intended to replace wheat flours in baking. I have used various brands and all have worked great, the important thing is that it must be a blend.
    2. Weighing ingredients like your flour and grated carrots is going to give you the best chance of a perfect result.
    3. The frosting we used in these photos is our vegan lemon buttercream frosting. 
    4. This cake can also be made in 9-inch cake pans. Everything else remains exactly the same, the layers will just be slightly thinner than what you see pictured here. We have tested this as 9-inch and it’s perfect.
    5. Nutritional information is for cake only and does not include frosting.

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1Slice | Calories: 452kcal | Carbohydrates: 61g | Protein: 5.5g | Fat: 22.8g | Saturated Fat: 2.7g | Sodium: 396mg | Fiber: 4.9g | Sugar: 35.5g
    DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE? Rate it & leave your feedback in the comments section below, or tag @lovingitvegan on Instagram and hashtag #lovingitvegan
    Get Your Copy! It's FREE!
    « Cashew Ice Cream
    General Tso’s Tofu »
    38.3K shares

    About the Author

    Hi I'm Alison Andrews, I'm the voice and cook behind Loving It Vegan. I love making delicious vegan food and creating vegan versions of all your old favorites, so that you’ll never feel like you’re missing out. Find out more about me here.

    Loving It Vegan is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. This site may contain some of these links to Amazon.com. If you make a purchase through one of those links, Loving It Vegan will receive a small commission from the purchase at no additional cost to you.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Claire says

      May 22, 2025 at 11:47 am

      Hello,what does the apple sauce do in this recipe?Is it acting as egg?Thanks

      Reply
      • Nadine @ Loving It Vegan says

        June 27, 2025 at 12:03 pm

        Hi Claire. Yes, the apple sauce acts as a moistening agent.

        Reply
    2. Siobhan says

      March 15, 2025 at 4:31 am

      Absolutely love this cake! It’s now our go to for birthdays and special occasions because it always turns out well. If it could have less sugar, then I’d probably make it even more. lol. Being vegan and gluten free can be a bit tough but this is a brilliant cake. Thanks so much for sharing.

      Reply
      • Nadine @ Loving It Vegan says

        March 17, 2025 at 2:21 pm

        Glad to hear you enjoyed the recipe Siobhan!

        Reply
    3. Jeanne says

      October 08, 2024 at 10:01 pm

      Kite Hill brand cream cheese (Almond milk base) and 8 Tbsp plant based spread worked beautifully for the GF Vegan cake. It is rich and moist, everything a carrot cake should be. Commercial cakes with gluten have a finer crumb, not as perfectly nutty as this one though.5 stars

      Reply
      • Nadine @ Loving It Vegan says

        October 22, 2024 at 10:21 am

        Happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe Jeanne! Thanks so much for sharing and for your great review!

        Reply
    4. Shelle Belle says

      October 05, 2024 at 12:44 pm

      I’m not a great baker and cakes are a bit of minefield for me. I’m GF my partner is vegan so this recipe fit the brief. And it came out great! I was so impressed. I added a tiny drop of extra water to get the last of the batter together and added chopped dates because we love them. And it was delicious. Its a heavy sponge but not too dense.
      Next time will try with half the sugar and add more dates..4 stars

      Reply
      • Nadine @ Loving It Vegan says

        October 24, 2024 at 4:21 pm

        Happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe Shelle! Thanks so much for sharing and for your great review!

        Reply
    5. Savannah Quinn says

      September 17, 2024 at 2:32 am

      I recently baked pumpkin bread using club soda as a sub for eggs and I really loved the texture. Do you think that would work for this instead of the flax egg or no?

      Reply
      • Nadine @ Loving It Vegan says

        September 17, 2024 at 10:15 am

        Hi Savannah. Not sure if that would work, you can rather sub the flax egg for a mashed ripe banana or some apple sauce.

        Reply
    6. Lynn says

      September 12, 2024 at 1:48 am

      It came out perfect! Huge hit at a birthday party which included GF friends.

      I used half the sugar, the crushed pineapple version, and MCT oil. Added some ginger. I loved the surprising way the batter came together when the shredded carrots released their juice. Easily my all-time favorite cake!

      Thank you, and Congratulations on creating this terrific recipe!5 stars

      Reply
      • Nadine @ Loving It Vegan says

        September 17, 2024 at 1:05 pm

        Thanks so much for sharing and for your awesome review Lynn!

        Reply
    7. Carol says

      August 19, 2024 at 12:35 pm

      Fantastic! Great flavor and texture ! Always a hit! I have made this about 5 times and just love it! Made the buttercream frosting this time and added a little lemon juice and some extra sugar. I did make the lemon frosting 1 time but it was a bit too lemony and too sweet. But that could be adjusted.5 stars

      Reply
      • Nadine @ Loving It Vegan says

        August 21, 2024 at 11:46 am

        Thanks for sharing and for your great review Carol!

        Reply
    8. Marsi Gorman says

      June 20, 2024 at 4:53 pm

      Hello! I am trying your recipe for a GF and dairy free Carrot Cake for my friend’s birthday. They are not vegan but I am GF / DF. If I were to use real eggs, how many would I use for this Carrot Cake recipe? Thank you so much! All of your recipes look amazing!5 stars

      Reply
      • Nadine @ Loving It Vegan says

        June 28, 2024 at 11:27 am

        Hi Marsi! We didn’t test this recipe with eggs, so I can’t say if it’ll work out.

        Reply
    « Older Comments

    Comment Policy: Your feedback is really appreciated! Please do us a favor and rate the recipe as well as this really helps us! The most helpful comments are the ones that give useful feedback for others who might make the recipe, tell about substitutions you made or adjustments you made and how it turned out, or assisting other commenters. Rude or insulting comments will not be accepted.

    4.94 from 80 votes (34 ratings without comment)

    Leave A Comment & Review Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    Primary Sidebar

    Hi I’m Alison Andrews! I love making delicious vegan food and creating delicious vegan versions of all your old favorite dishes, so you can have your vegan cake and eat it too!

    More about me →

    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Instagram
    • YouTube
    • Pinterest

    Popular Posts

    • Vegan tuna on an open faced sandwich on a wooden board.
      Vegan Tuna
    • Serving spoonful of vegan mac and cheese.
      The Best Vegan Mac and Cheese (Classic, Baked)
    • Vegan burritos stacked up on top of each other.
      Vegan Burrito
    • Vegan tofu scramble with sliced avocado and fried tomatoes on a white plate.
      Super Eggy Vegan Tofu Scramble
    • Thick slice of cashew cheese on a wooden board.
      Sliceable Cashew Cheese
    • Homemade vegan butter in a glass butter dish with a knife.
      Homemade Vegan Butter

    Veganuary

    • Vegan chop suey served in a black bowl.
      Vegan Chop Suey
    • Vegan German Potato Salad served in a black bowl.
      Vegan German Potato Salad
    • Vegan Italian Dressing
    • Vegan Thai Peanut Noodles in a black bowl.
      Vegan Thai Peanut Noodles
    • Slices of grilled vegan halloumi on a gray plate.
      Vegan Halloumi
    • Vegan stuffed mushrooms on a white plate.
      Vegan Stuffed Mushrooms

    See all Veganuary Recipes →


    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    As Seen In

    Press logos black and white

    About

    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms & Conditions

    Follow Us

    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Instagram
    • YouTube
    • Pinterest

    Contact

    • About
    • Contact

    Copyright © 2022 Loving It Vegan

    Get 10 fabulous dinner recipes!
    Absolutely free! Sign up below!
    Get Your Copy! It's FREE!

    Rate This Recipe

    Your vote:




    A rating is required
    A name is required
    An email is required

    Recipe Ratings without Comment

    Something went wrong. Please try again.