MOIST 1 Bowl Vegan Carrot Cake Recipe with Cream Cheese Frosting

This is honestly the best vegan carrot cake you’ll ever have, and it’s a crowd favorite with even non-vegan eaters. No eggs, no dairy, one bowl, and easily gluten free, this carrot cake is topped with a super lush and a creamy dairy free cream cheese frosting. Soon to be your favorite cake recipe ever! 

Reasons to love this vegan carrot cake

Just wait until you try this unbelievably vegan carrot cake recipe. Seriously, whether you’re vegan or not, I know you will fall in love with it.

I’ve been working on this recipe since 2018 (BEFORE I even started The Banana Diaries!), and I’ve finally cracked the code for the most lovely, moist, tender and soft carrot cake that’s made entirely without eggs and dairy.

Like my ultra rich vegan vanilla cake and chocolate cake recipes, this secretly vegan cake‘s flavor is just perfectly sweet while being so tender, soft, and moist with the perfect crumb. 

Using a dairy free vegan cream cheese frosting, you’ll be able to create a carrot cake fit for a bakery (or even better!).

This recipe is so good, I even based my carrot cake loaf and carrot cake cheesecake off of it.

And like my vegan lemon blueberry cake, this carrot cake can be made in just one bowl.

If you need more proof, then the carrot cake king himself (my dad lol) claims this is his favorite carrot cake. Carrot cake is his absolute favorite cake of all time, so I wanted to make sure that this eggless and dairy free carrot cake would pass his high standards 😉

Now, my dad is not one to like many gluten-free and/or vegan creations, but this carrot cake changed his mind!

So let’s get into the ingredients for this vegan carrot cake! Because there are a few ingredients that, yes, they’re common in the kitchen, but I’m betting you probably have never tried them in a carrot cake 😉

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Ingredients Needed:

For this eggless carrot cake, you’ll need a few key ingredients:

• Grated Carrots: if you want an arm workout, you can grate about 6-7 large carrots. You’ll rinse and remove the skins of the carrots. Then use a box grater- it’s much easier!
• Flour: You can use all purpose flour or gluten free 1:1 flour (I recommend King Arthur’s mix).
• Dairy free yogurt: My absolute favorite vegan egg substitute. I love using Forager Project cashew milk yogurt, but you can use your favorite! Another great option is applesauce, but I really love the texture of yogurt.
• Vegan Buttermilk: This is NOT a store bought ingredient, but rather a homemade one. Just dairy free milk and an acid! Soy milk, almond milk, or oat milk work wonderfully here! We’ll mix it with apple cider vinegar or lemon juice to create the vegan buttermilk.
• Brown sugar: You can also sub in coconut sugar.
• Granulated sugar: Be sure that your granulated sugar is vegan. I always use Florida Crystals for that reason.
• Vegan butter: I recommend using Miyoko’s vegan butter, or if you’re nut-free, sub in either coconut oil or Violife vegan butter.
• Leavening agents: this is your baking powder and soda.
• Spices: well, you can’t have a carrot cake without the spices! I use a blend of cinnamon, Allspice, and nutmeg! Hits the spot!

Traditionally, carrot cake also contains chopped walnuts or pecans and raisins. I personally love a non-crunchy carrot cake, and simply use the nuts as a garnish. However, if you’re nut-free, you can also just omit the garnish! I always try to keep my nut allergy people in mind when creating these vegan and gluten recipes because I feel they’re highly underserved! 

SO I omitted the walnuts…and the raisins (because truthfully, I don’t like when carrot cake has raisins!).

However, you may find the optional add-ins listed in the notes section of the recipe!

Now onto the vegan cream cheese frosting, because you cannot do a vegan carrot cake with any other frosting, in my humble opinion. And it’s not even complicated! Check out the ingredients below!

We’ve really come a long way with vegan “dairy” options. I personally find that vegan cream cheeses tastes just as good, if not better, than regular cream cheese.

For the frosting you’ll need:

• Vegan cream cheese: I personally love to use Tofutti or Kite Hill for cream cheese frostings. 
• Vegan butter: for a vegan butter that tastes good and is simple, I highly recommend Miyoko’s. It’s the base that I use in all of my vegan buttercream recipes too!
• Dairy free milk
• Powdered Sugar: Also known as confectioners’ sugar! Again, I recommend Florida Crystals, as they’re 100% certified vegan.

Overview: Step by Step Photos for How to Make a One Bowl Vegan Carrot Cake

For the full written instructions and ingredient measurements, see the bottom of this post in the recipe card. You can also hit the “jump to recipe” button at the top of this post! Here, we’ll go over a brief overview of the steps, along with providing visuals for a better understanding of the recipe. 

I still can’t get over how delicious this vegan carrot cake tastes, and with the vegan cream cheese frosting, you’re just going to be blown away!

I’m planning on making this recipe for Easter, but it’s also wonderful during fall and Christmas time 🙂

I’ll probably make this for my dad on Father’s Day as well, since he loved it so much! Oh, and don’t expect this cake to last you long, because it will for sure be gone in the snap of a finger!

Let me know in the comments below if you gave it a try, as well as leaving a rating down below ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ so that others may find it!

As always, I love to see your beautiful creations on Instagram and Pinterest, so be sure to tag me there.

Happy carrot cake baking!

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If you make this recipe, please be sure to leave a comment and a rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ below. This helps others to find the recipes! As always, I absolutely love to see your beautiful creations on Instagram and Pinterest, so be sure to tag me there as well!

MOIST Vegan Carrot Cake Recipe with Cream Cheese Frosting

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 4.9 from 29 reviews

• Author: Britt Berlin
• Prep Time: 15
• Cook Time: 30
• Total Time: 45 minutes
• Yield: 18 1x
• Category: Dessert
• Method: Baking
• Cuisine: American
• Diet: Vegan

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Description

This is honestly the best vegan carrot cake you’ll ever have, and it’s a crowd favorite with even non-vegan eaters. No eggs, no dairy, one bowl, and easily gluten free, this carrot cake is topped with a super lush and a creamy dairy free cream cheese frosting. Soon to be your favorite cake recipe ever! 

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 4 cups (360 g) grated carrots, about 6-8 large carrots
• 2/3 cup (160 mL) vegan buttermilk, room temperature
• 3 1/2 (440 g) cups all purpose flour or cake flour*
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp cardamom
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1 1/4 cups (250 g) granulated sugar
• 1 cup (200 g) light brown sugar or coconut sugar
• 1 cup (226 g) vegan butter, melted and cooled to room temperature (or sub neutral oil)
• 2/3 cup (150 g) dairy free yogurt, room temperature
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 batch vegan cream cheese frosting

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Instructions

1. Prep: Preheat the oven to 350F, and line three 8″ cake pans with cooking oil and parchment paper. Make sure the carrots are grated, and mix together the dairy free milk with the apple cider vinegar to create the vegan buttermilk. 
2. Prep the dry ingredients: You can just add the dry ingredients all at once, but if you’d like to, you can pre-mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Simply whisk together the flour, spices, and leavening agents. Set aside.
3. Make the carrot cake batter: In a large bowl, whisk together the vegan butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until combined. Then add in the dairy free yogurt and vanilla extract. Mix just until combined. Then add in the flour, leavening agents, and spices in about 3 increments, alternating between pouring in the vegan buttermilk as well. Be careful not to over mix. I try to mix just until there are no dry streaks left. Fold in the carrots.
4. Bake: Divide the batter evenly into the cake pans. Bake the cakes for about 28-30 minutes for 8″ cake pans, or until the toothpick comes out clean.
5. Cool: Allow the cakes to cool in their pans for 10 minutes, then carefully transfer them to cooling rack to fully cool. Do not frost until the cakes are cool to touch, and there is absolutely no heat coming from them.
6. Make the vegan cream cheese frosting: To prepare the frosting, cream together the vegan butter and cream cheese with a stand mixer or using a hand mixer and a large bowl. Sift in the powdered sugar in increments of 1 cup, beating the mixture between each cup until combined. Add in 1-2 tbsp dairy free milk if needed to achieve a smooth texture.
7. Assembly: Frost the cake, applying about 1/3 cup frosting in between each layer, and coating the sides of the cake. If you’d like to pipe the carrots onto the sides, reserve about 1/2 cup total frosting and divide in two bowls. Color one with vegan orange coloring and the other with vegan green. I used a Wilton Piping Tip 66 and Wilton Piping Tip 1. 
8. Slice and serve! Store any leftovers in an airtight container and in the fridge for up to 4 days, or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

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Notes

Gluten free: I recommend King Arthur Measure for Measure Gluten Free Flour. 

Walnuts/Raisins: If you’d like to add in walnuts, raisins, or pecans, you may add in 1/3-1/2 cup of each (if you’re using just walnuts, add in 1/2 cup, if you’re adding in all three, use 1/3). 

The Original Paleo Vegan Carrot Cake Recipe:

This recipe has been retested and adjusted from its original to suit more households. However, there are some original readers that love the original Paleo Vegan carrot cake version, so I left it here in case you prefer this one!

Vegan Carrot Cake

• 1 cup shredded carrots (can buy pre-shredded)
• 1 1/2 cup oat flour
• 1 1/2 cup cassava flour flour
• 3 tbsp ground flax/chia seed (mixed with 1/3 cup water)
• 1 cup coconut milk with 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 cup olive oil or vegan butter (unsalted) (melted)
• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 1 cup mashed sweet potato (pre-cooked)
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp all spice
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp sea salt

Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting

• 1 cup vegan cream cheese (room temperature)
• 1 cup vegan butter (room temperature)
• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 2 tbsp coconut milk
• 1 batch vegan caramel sauce (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 375F and grease three 6″ cake pans with olive or coconut oil.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together oat flour, cassava flour, baking soda, baking powder, spices, and sea salt. 
3. Pour in coconut milk, olive oil, vanilla extract, maple syrup, and ground flax seed mixture, and mix until well combined.
4. Add in shredded carrots and mashed sweet potato. Mix thoroughly.
5. Pour evenly into both cake pans and place cake pans in the oven.
6. Bake for 40 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean.
7. Remove the cakes from the oven and allow them to cool fully before frosting.
8. *Follow instructions below for the frosting so that you make it while the cakes are cooling.

Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting

1. In a medium bowl and using a hand mixer, beat together vegan cream cheese, vegan butter, and coconut milk.
2. Add in powdered sugar and beat until it becomes thick.
3. Set aside and cover until ready to frost (you can place it for a few minutes in the fridge, but not too long because you don’t want it to harden).
4. Frost cake, top with vegan caramel sauce if desired, and enjoy!

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1 slice
• Calories: 336
• Sugar: 35.1 g
• Sodium: 284.8 mg
• Fat: 10.1 g
• Saturated Fat: 3.6 g
• Carbohydrates: 58.3 g
• Fiber: 1.1 g
• Protein: 3.4 g
• Cholesterol: 13 mg