This vegan gluten-free carrot cake is moist, tender, perfectly spiced, and crowd-pleasing – especially topped with a (refined sugar-free) citrus glaze or vegan cream cheese frosting!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Easter is around the corner, and I’m in full-on carrot cake mode. I’ve already shared several ‘healthier alternatives,’ like my sugar-free carrot cake and no-bake carrot cake balls. Still, this ultra-moist, refined sugar free, gluten-free vegan carrot cake is one of my all-time favorites. Who says healthy can’t be delicious?!
This better-for-you vegan and gluten-free cake is just proof you really can have it all: flavor, texture, and a boost of fiber, and nutrients. It’s easy to make, too – you only need a few bowls and your pick of pan—round for a fancy finish or a loaf for ease (scroll down for pics!). Optionally, top it with a tangy citrus glaze or decadent vegan cream cheese frosting… It’s sure to disappear fast!
The Ingredients and Substitutes
- Carrots: Always use fresh; avoid dry, packaged shredded one.
- Gluten-free flour: I use a blend of rice flour (white or brown), tapioca starch (or cornstarch/arrowroot), and coconut flour. Check the recipe notes for substitutes.
- Ground almonds (almond flour): Or ground seeds/nuts like sunflower, cashew, walnut, or hazelnut.
- Spices: Add cozy depth with cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg.
- Oil: I use coconut oil, but any neutral oil (like canola or vegetable oil) works well.
- Chia eggs: (or flax eggs) A simple blend of ground chia + water makes a thick, gelatinous binding egg replacement for vegan carrot cake.
- Maple syrup: or another liquid sweetener – brown rice syrup, agave nectar, etc. Brown sugar/coconut sugar may work, but you might need a little extra milk.
- Dairy-free milk: Full-fat coconut milk gives a super tender texture, though lite coconut or other plant-based milk (soy milk, homemade oat milk, almond milk) work too – just be sure to add a bit more oil to make up for the lower fat.
- Frosting: Optionally, use my dairy-free cream cheese frosting or a lighter citrus glaze (powdered sugar/erythritol + lemon juice + plant-based milk).
A complete list of ingredients with measurements and nutrition facts is in the printable recipe card below.
Recipe Variations
- Dried fruit: Add up to ½ cup of raisins, sultanas, dates, apricots, pineapple, etc.
- Pineapple: Add ½ cup well-drained crushed pineapple and reduce the carrots accordingly.
- Orange zest: (or lemon zest) for citrusy brightness.
- Mix-ins: Add ½ cup vegan chocolate chips, shredded coconut, and/or chopped nuts (walnuts, pecans, almonds, etc.)
- Alternative topping: i.e., vegan lemon frosting, coconut whipped cream, or vegan marzipan will taste delicious with this gluten-free and vegan carrot cake.
How To Make Vegan Gluten-Free Carrot Cake
- First, whisk the ground chia and water in a small bowl and set aside for 5 minutes to gel/thicken.
- Meanwhile, finely shred the carrots (using a box grater or food processor grating disk) and grease or line an 8×4-inch loaf pan (or 8-inch round pan). Also, preheat the oven to 190°C (375°F).
- Next, whisk all the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Add the wet ingredients and stir until combined.
- Fold in the carrots and pour the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the top.
- Bake a vegan carrot cake loaf for 50-60 minutes or a round 8-inch cake for 35-40 minutes. It’s ready when it has a few cracks and a toothpick/ skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean (or with a few moist crumbs).
I prefer mine ever so slightly under-done for a gooey center.
- Leave it to fully cool on a cooling rack. Meanwhile, prepare the frosting/glaze (if using). Spread the frosting over the cake, optionally decorate with nuts/seeds or marzipan carrots, slice, and enjoy!
Enjoy it on birthdays, Mother’s Day, baby showers, afternoon tea, and anytime!
Storage Instructions
Store: In a paper towel-lined airtight container at room temp for 2-3 days (without frosting) or in the fridge for 5-7 days.
Freezer: Freeze this vegan and gluten-free carrot cake whole or sliced, with or without frosting, in plastic wrap for up to 3 months. Thaw in a fridge overnight or on the counter for a few hours.
FAQs
Can I make muffins?
I’ve already shared a recipe for healthy carrot cake muffins (also gluten-free). To try it here, though, divide the batter into muffin liners and bake for about 25 minutes.
Can I reduce the amount of oil?
You can sub a portion of oil with unsweetened applesauce, but I don’t recommend replacing it all, to avoid negative textural changes.
Baking Times for Loaf vs. Round Pan
I’ve baked this dairy and gluten-free carrot cake in an 8×4-inch loaf pan and an 8-inch round pan. The baking time for the loaf pan is 50-60 minutes and for the round 8-inch pan 35-40 minutes.
Top Recipe Tips
- Don’t use too much flour: I highly recommend measuring ingredients by weight.
- Use fresh carrots: They taste better, are much fresher, and can be finely shredded.
- To adjust carrot texture: Finely shredded carrot melds into the cake. Medium shreds provide more ‘bite’. Adjust as preferred, or even use a blend.
- For speedy prep: Shred the carrots with a food processor disk in just seconds.
- Monitor the cake: You can bake this gluten-free vegan carrot cake recipe in a loaf tin or round/square pan- which take different baking times (see FAQs). Test with a skewer for doneness—avoid over-baking to keep it moist.
More Gluten-free Vegan Cake Recipes
- Vegan gluten-free coffee cake
- Vegan lemon cake
- Hazelnut and date cake
- Gluten-free vegan coconut cake
- Vegan peanut butter chocolate cake
- Avocado chocolate cake
If you try this vegan gluten-free carrot cake recipe, I’d love a comment and ★★★★★ recipe rating below. Also, don’t forget to tag me in re-creations on Instagram or Facebook with @elavegan #elavegan – I love seeing them.
Vegan & Gluten-Free Carrot Cake
Video
Ingredients
Dry ingredients:
- 1 cup (160 g) white rice flour (see notes)
- ½ scant cup (50 g) tapioca flour (see notes)
- ¼ cup (33 g) coconut flour (see notes)
- ½ cup (45 g) ground almonds (see notes)
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- Spices to taste (see notes)
Wet ingredients:
- 2 ½ cups (375 g) finely grated carrots
- ½ cup (120 ml) canned coconut milk (see notes)
- ⅓ cup (110 g) maple syrup or agave syrup
- 2 Tbsp (28 g) coconut oil melted (see notes)
- 2 chia eggs (2 tbsp ground chia seeds + 6 tbsp water) (see notes)
- 1 Tbsp lemon or lime juice
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Frosting
- ⅓ cup (70 g) Erythritol or icing sugar
- 1 ½ Tbsp (21 g) dairy-free milk (use less if you use icing sugar)
- 2 ½ tsp lemon or lime juice
Instructions
- I recommend using a kitchen scale to measure the ingredients in grams for best accuracy. And don’t forget to check out the video for step-by-step visuals!
- First, whisk the ground chia and water in a small bowl and set aside for 5 minutes to gel/thicken.
- Meanwhile, finely shred the carrots (using a box grater or food processor grating disk) and grease or line an 8x4-inch loaf pan or 8-inch round pan. Also, preheat the oven to 375°F/190°C.
- Next, whisk all the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Add the wet ingredients and stir until combined.
- Fold in the carrots and pour the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the top.
- Bake a vegan carrot cake loaf for 50-60 minutes or a round 8-inch cake for 35-40 minutes. It’s ready when it has a few cracks and a toothpick/ skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean (or with a few moist crumbs).Leave it to fully cool on a cooling rack. Meanwhile, prepare the frosting/glaze (if using).
- To make the icing, blitz the Erythritol in a spice/coffee grinder until it’s super fine, like powdered sugar. Whisk all icing ingredients together in a small bowl. If it’s too thick, add a splash more milk; if too thin, add more powdered Erythritol (or icing sugar). Spread the frosting/icing over the cake, optionally decorate with nuts/seeds or marzipan carrots, slice, and enjoy!
Notes
- Coconut flour: I don’t really recommend swapping it, but if you want to, just remember that coconut flour soaks up a lot of moisture. You’ll need to use at least ½ cup of another flour, like almond flour, to replace it—sometimes even a bit more, depending on the texture of your batter.
- White rice flour: You can use brown rice flour instead. Sorghum flour might work as well. Also, regular flour or spelt flour should be fine.
- Tapioca flour/starch: You could use cornstarch, potato starch, or arrowroot flour.
- Ground almonds (almond flour): You can use any other ground nuts/seeds (e.g. hazelnuts, cashews, walnuts, sunflower seeds, etc.) instead of ground almonds.
- Canned coconut milk: If you don't like the taste of coconut, I would suggest using your favorite plant-based milk with the addition of 3 tablespoons oil.
- Maple syrup: Any other liquid sweetener like brown rice syrup, agave syrup, etc. is fine.
- Coconut oil: Can be replaced with canola oil.
- Chia eggs: Flax eggs should be fine too.
- Check the step-by-step photos above in the blog post.
- 2 tsp of cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp of ground ginger
- Optional spices: Nutmeg, ground cloves to taste
Nutrition information is an estimate and has been calculated automatically
„Simple and Delicious Vegan“ Cookbook by ElaVeganCLICK HERE to order!If you use Pinterest, feel free to pin the following photo:
So I made the recipe exact other than subbing the tapioca flour with arrowroot flour and the rice flour with oat flour. I put it in the oven for 35 minutes, added 10 more minutes, added 10 more minutes and then added another 15 as the batter still wasn’t cooked all the way through. After taking it out this last round it’s a bit sunken in and still raw other than the sides. No sure where I went wrong. Any ideas?
Hi Caitlin, that are quite a few substitutes, however, I still believe it should have worked as someone reported in the comments that she used oat flour and cornstarch with success. Did you add the coconut flour? Was the batter thick (same consistency as the batter in my video) or was it thinner? If it was much thinner, then maybe your carrots were very juicy and released a lot of liquid. Also, what was the size of your pan? 🙂
I am no baking expert but I’m wondering if your carrots had too much moisture? I’ve tried MANY vegan carrot cakes (it’s my husband’s favorite dessert but he’s lactose intolerant) and they’ve always ended up never fully cooking like you mentioned. I came across one recipe that says you need to press the carrots between two paper towels to dry them out a bit… I haven’t tried this recipe yet but I am excited to try it, I plan on wringing out the carrots though.
Hi Kay! Therefore, I am using coconut flour in the recipe because it absorbs a lot of moisture. So many people have tried the recipe with success (I see remakes on Instagram daily) but I really believe it depends on the carrots. If you are going to wring out the carrots, the batter will be definitely too dry. You can see in my video that it’s quite dry before adding the carrots. Hope this helps. 🙂
Ela, this carrot cake was so delicious we finished it first day lol thank you so much for always posting amazing recipes. You’re the best. Kisses
I am so glad you loved the carrot cake, Lala! Thanks for your feedback. 🙂
Just tried this recipe, came out great. I used hazelnut instead of almonds, and flax seeds instead of chia seeds for egg replacement. I also left out ginger , I never used it in baking , and I didn’t have it handy, also didn’t have nutmeg, but I was still super happy with the taste.
I used powdered sugar for icing , but it was runny and transparent , no white color like in your picture.
I was thinking to try your other recipe for non baked carrot cake, does it taste similar ?
Thank you !
Hi Ann! I am so glad you liked the recipe! 🙂 Yes, the frosting will be only white when using Erythritol. Icing sugar will make it transparent and runny. Therefore, I love using Erythritol, it works so much better. 🙂
The no-bake carrot cake tastes a little different because of the cream. I love both though!
Hi Ela, would I be able to use cornflour instead of rice flour? Also, do I just blend chia seeds in a spice grinder to make them ground? I’m a complete beginner to baking lol 🙂
Hi Rebecca, yes, you can blend/grind the chia seeds in an electric spice grinder (or in a blender).
I never used cornflour but I think it could work fine in this recipe. Please report back if you give it a try. 🙂
Hi Ela, I made this cake last night, but my batter was too runny, so the bottom part came out slightly undercooked after 50 minutes of baking. When I used the ingredients listed the batter needed more moisture, so I added more plant milk, but I realised I put too much after checking your photos.
We (2 people) still managed to eat the whole thing by lunchtime today, less than 24 hours after baking.
I reduced the maple syrup to 80g and thought that was enough. I’m planning to make this cake again with just a bit more milk than in your recipe and will also add raisins.
Hello Veronica! I am glad you enjoyed the recipe. The batter is supposed to be thick before adding the carrots. But once you add them and mix thoroughly, they release some of their liquid and the batter turns out just fine (not too thick). Hope this helps. 🙂
Hi Ela,
Can I use regular sugar instead of maple syrup, if so how much?
Thanks!
Hi! 1/2 cup should be fine but you might need to add a little more milk, otherwise, the batter will be too thick. 🙂
Can we use organic honey as a sweetener
Hello! As mentioned in the blog post, any other liquid sweetener is fine. Please note that the cake won’t be vegan anymore if you use honey (just in case you want to share it with vegan family members or friends). 🙂
¡Hola Ela! Me encantan tus recetas, pero tengo una pregunta. Este carrot cake, ¿lo puedo hacer en una olla en la estufa?. Gracias.
Hola Rosa, yo no creo que sea posible hacer la tarta en una olla en la estufa. 🙂
Great recipe! This is the first time a vegan gluten-free cake of mine comes out not crumbling and moist enough without using a store-bought GF mix.
I used all I had in the pantry so reeked a little the frosting inside (used the thick part of the canned coconut milk) and had to cover with coconut whipped cream. Next time I will definitely do it with non-dairy cream cheese to keep the original carrot cake flavor. I also dared to make it layered. Still – it came out absolutely perfect. Thank you, Ela!
You are very welcome, Eva! I am glad you liked the recipe. 🙂
thank you so much!!! We can be best friends now! Seriously you cook and bake wonderfully !!!!! I made the sweet potato curry amazing !!! I added baked cauliflower
Awesome! Thanks for your feedback, Rachel! 🙂
Hello and thanks for the amazing content. I would like to make it with regular flour, do you think its possible? Would be nice to have pics of the process so we could see the texture of the dough and other details that helps 🙂
Hello Nathalia, I am sure it’s possible but since I don’t use regular flour (because of a wheat intolerance) I am unable to tell you how much you will need and how the texture will look like. It shouldn’t be too thin though. So I would recommend using less liquid at the beginning and if the dough is too thick, then slowly add more. Hope this helps. 🙂
Can i ise plain flour or self raising instead? If so how much should i use?
Unfortunately, I can’t tell you, since I don’t use wheat flour (I have a wheat intolerance). But I think it will work fine! 🙂
Hi, yes, I try! I changed tapioca flour into corn starch and rice flour into whole oat flour. Add more plain milk and more oil (perfect and organic rapeseed oil). Thank you, Ela. This cake perfect with coffee with coconut milk. My family love cakes with carrot or pumpkin. So, next I’ll try your pumpkin cake ????
Wonderful! Thanks for your great feedback 🙂
Hi, can I change tapioca flour into corn starch? And maybe rice flour can change into oat flour or corn flour? Thank you for answer.
Hi Kristine, yes, you can sub cornstarch for tapioca flour. And yes, oat flour should work instead of rice flour. However, you might need to increase the amount of coconut milk because oat flour absorbs more liquid than rice flour. Let me know how it turned out. 🙂
Where can I find the frosting ingredient? In dubai
Hi, I guess the best way would be if you order the ingredient online because I have no idea if it’s available in Dubai since I don’t live there. Good luck!