You might also like these recipes for vegan carrot cupcakes and vegan carrot cake pancakes. Who doesn’t love carrot cake? Especially when it has a soft and silky crumb and melts in your mouth in a pool of cinnamon-scented sweetness? This vegan carrot cake is all that and so much more. This is the dessert I make most often for guests because everyone who eats it raves about it. Many have told me it’s the best carrot cake they’ve ever eaten. There’s so much to love about this recipe, and I don’t just mean the deliciousness of it. As the baker you will love the ease of making it, and the fact that you likely already have most of these ingredients on hand. Go on, make it one of your recipes this Easter or just make it for a cozy anytime treat because why not? Be sure to come back for seconds!

Why you will love this recipe

Utterly delicious. If you remember grandma’s carrot cake with oodles of nostalgia, you will love this cake because it has that classic carrot cake flavor, only minus the dairy and eggs. The cake has a super-moist texture and is perfectly sweet with just the right amount of carrot flavor to make you go yum! The soft, creamy cream cheese frosting is beyond delicious. Healthy-ish. This is a dessert so I am not going to make outrageous claims about how healthy it is, but there are carrots in this recipe and walnuts, both great-for-you ingredients, along with applesauce. If you want to you can make this recipe with whole wheat pastry flour. I often use it instead of all-purpose flour and it makes an equally magnificent cake. Easy recipe. This two-layer carrot cake recipe is quite straightforward and simple and if you follow instructions and use the right ingredients you just cannot go wrong. I’ve made this cake dozens of times and it turns out perfect each time! Dairy-free, soy-free and can be nut-free. The cake is friendly to most diets. If you are nut-free just skip the walnuts.

How to make vegan carrot cake

Frost the cake by placing one cake on a plate or cake stand. Spread half the frosting over the cake, then place the other cake on top and frost with the rest of the cream cheese mixture. Sprinkle more toasted walnuts on top, if desired.

Unbleached all-purpose flour. You can also use whole wheat pastry flour or substitute half the all-purpose flour with regular whole wheat flour. Leavening agents: Baking soda + Baking powder Ground cinnamon. Cinnamon alone adds incredible flavor but you can also add nutmeg and/or a dash of ginger for more yum. Sugar. I used turbinado sugar but any granulated sugar is great here. You can also use brown sugar. Coconut oil. Or any vegetable oil. If using coconut oil make sure it is melted and not solid before adding it to the batter. The coconutty flavor of virgin coconut oil is fabulous in this recipe and the oil also keeps the cake extremely moist. Applesauce. Applesauce contributes to making the cake very tender and moist and helps bind the cake without any eggs or flax eggs (which, albeit healthy, add a flavor I don’t love in this cake). Applesauce will also provide the acidity needed to combine with the baking soda and make the cake airier, no need for apple cider vinegar! You can replace ½ a cup of the applesauce with vegan yogurt. Carrots. These are the stars of the recipe. Pure vanilla extract. Although not purely necessary, vanilla adds a nice depth to the sweetness of the cake. Skip if you’d rather. Walnuts. Pecans are a fine substitute. Vegan cream cheese. Use any brand of your choice. I used two 7.1 oz tubs of Violife. I’ve made this frosting with other brands like Tofutti in the past and they work equally well. Vegan butter Powdered sugar

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Helpful tips

You don’t have to sift the flour but I strongly recommend you do because it aerates the flour, producing softer, fluffier cakes. Sifting also helps the baking soda and baking flour mix evenly with the flour. For an even richer cake, substitute ½ cup of the applesauce with vegan yogurt. Toasting the walnuts or pecans lightly before adding them to the batter will deepen their nutty flavor, making them–and the cake–even more delicious. Make sure the vegan cream cheese and vegan butter are both at room temperature before you begin making the frosting. Otherwise you will end up with a lumpy frosting. It won’t be beyond repair, but you will get better and quicker results when you begin with room-temperature ingredients. If you don’t have time to make frosting, serve the cake as is. It is delicious on its own.

Storage instructions

Refrigerate: You can store the carrot cake, covered, at room temperature for up to three days. You can also refrigerate it, again covered, for up to a week. Freeze: Freeze individual slices, double wrapped in freezer wrap, for up to four months. Thaw the cake before serving.

More yummy vegan carrot recipes

Recipe card

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