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A healthy carrot cake recipe that is gluten free, is very easy to make, is frosted with a delicious cream cheese frosting. This simple gluten free carrot cake is made with almond flour and can be easily made dairy free with the swap of cashew cream cheese frosting. Perfect for birthdays or holidays like Easter!
Yes, it’s okay to call it healthy because it’s jam packed with good for you ingredients like fresh carrots, almond flour, raisins (aka fruit!!!), walnuts or pecans, and no refined sugar.
Just close your eyes when it comes to the cream cheese frosting and we can pretend the whole thing is full of nutrients 😉
But since I was being so good with the entire cake, I figured having a little bit of an indulgent cream cheese frosting would make this healthy carrot cake perfect.
If dairy isn’t your thing, you can easily go dairy-free and make my homemade cashew cream cheese frosting which is equally as good, in my opinion!
I’ve always been a carrot cake lover, like hard core obsessed with the flavor combination and my eyes would always light up whenever I saw it on a menu.
Ingredients for Healthy Carrot Cake:
Almond Flour – the only flour you need for this cake is almond flour! It makes a perfectly fluffy texture, and keeps the whole cake low-carb if you’re watching your carbs! Almond flour is one of my favorite gluten-free flours to bake with.
Pumpkin (yes! really!) – pumpkin doesn’t have much of a strong flavor but adds in beautiful color and makes the cake perfectly moist and fluffy. This time of year you can find canned pumpkin in the baking aisle of your grocery store.
Maple Syrup – my choice of natural sweetener for this cake! You could also use honey or agave if you do not have maple syrup.
Eggs – I haven’t tried this with any egg replacer and I sadly don’t have faith that it would work without eggs! You really need them to hold this cake together!
Almond Butter – helps keep this cake nice and moist! I use regular unsalted almond butter for this recipe, but if you use salted, just use a little bit less salt in the overall recipe
Coconut oil – my favorite oil for baking, in place of traditional vegetable oil or butter!
Grated Carrots – quickly grated up some big carrot sticks in my food processor.
Raisins + Walnuts – these are optional, but highly suggested! You can also use pecans if you don’t have walnuts.
+ spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger.
I top this cake with a homemade healthier cream cheese frosting, and it uses ingredients like cream cheese, powdered sugar, a little bit of butter. You can easily swap this out for my cashew cream cheese frosting if you are dairy free.
Why is this carrot cake healthy?
The ingredients in this gluten-free carrot cake are fresh, natural, and all real food. That’s why I feel good when I’m eating it! Instead of using butter, white flour, and traditional sugar, I use coconut oil, almond flour, and maple syrup.
I even gave this cake to my parents who love traditional baked goods, and they both thought it was so good!
How do you make healthy carrot cake?
Super easy! All you need it do is combine all of the dry ingredients in a bowl, combine all of the wet ingredients in a separate bowl, and then add the two together.
Once those are combined, add in the carrots, raisins, and walnuts.
Separate into two separate 8 inch cake pans and bake! While it’s baking you can prepare the cream cheese frosting.
Once the cakes are completely cooled (must be completely cooled or else the frosting will cause the cake to get soggy!) frost them by adding frosting to the top layer of the first cake.
Then add frosting to the top layer, and frost the sides if you wish. I added crushed walnuts and coconut shreds to the top of mine!
What’s the best way to store healthy carrot cake?
If eating the same day, keep it out at room temperature! After 12 hours, I would store in the fridge. You can also pop it in the refrigerator right after frosting it and just take it out about one hour before so it comes closer to room temperature!
If you make this recipe, be sure to comment below and let me know how it was! Also tag @erinliveswhole on Instagram and use the hashtag #erinliveswhole so I can see it and feature you!
If you liked this recipe, you’ll want to try these!
Healthy Carrot Cake
A healthy carrot cake recipe that is gluten free, is very easy to make, is frosted with a delicious cream cheese frosting. This simple gluten free carrot cake is made with almond flour and can be easily made dairy free with the swap of cashew cream cheese frosting. Perfect for birthdays or holidays like Easter!
Ingredients
Carrot Cake
- 1.5 cups almond flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tbsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp dried ginger
- 4 eggs
- 1 cup pumpkin – (can get year round in baking aisle of your grocery store!)
- 1/2 cup maple syrup
- 1/2 cup coconut oil, melted.
- 1/4 cup almond butter
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 2 cups finely grated carrots
- 2/3 cup chopped walnuts (or pecans)
- 2/3 cup raisins
- coconut + more walnuts for sprinkling
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 2 (8oz) blocks Neufchatel or reduced fat cream cheese, softened
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1/4 cup butter, softened
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp salt
Can also use this vegan cream cheese frosting
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350F and grease two 8 inch cake pans. I also line the bottom with parchment paper cut into circle shape.
2. In a small bowl, mix almond flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger.
3. In a large bowl, whisk eggs together with maple syrup, coconut oil, almond butter.
4. Add in pumpkin and vanilla and whisk until well combined.
5. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and stir well.
6. Stir in carrots, raisins, and walnuts and then divide the batter between the two pans.
7. Bake for 34-36 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cover halfway through with aluminum foil if getting dark.
8. While baking, prepare frosting. Using a hand mixer, blend together cream cheese, powdered sugar, butter, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt until creamy. Chill in fridge for 30 minutes.
9. Let cakes cool completely before frosting, the icing will melt into the cakes if not completely cool. You can frost it however you want and there will be enough if you want to cover the entire cake in frosting.
10. Top with extra walnuts and coconut.
*Notes for how to store the cake in post!
Notes
This will make a double layer cake with enough frosting for the whole cake and middle layer!
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Katy says
This CAKE! I made this for easter and let me tell you – it wowed. I always find it hard to really taste the carrot cake flavor but between the moist cake and the creamy frosting it is the perfect dessert for any occasion. And as always, is super approachable and convenient to make. I also love that Erin never uses a massive amount of ingredients or steps to make the dish successful, and I usually have 90% of what I need on hand.
★★★★★
Erin says
Hi Katy, so happy you loved it so much! Thanks for your kind words!
Meaghan says
The best carrot cake recipe ever!!! Made this for easter and it was such a hit. I did use regular flour instead of almond flour and it came out amazing. I think this is my favorite ELW recipe yet. Thank you!
★★★★★
Erin says
Hi Meghan, so gad you loved it so much! 🙂
Shelby says
So yummy!! Hubby has been wanting carrot cake and I have been eyeing this recipe for awhile. I love it cold out of the fridge 😍
★★★★★
Erin says
Hi Shelby, so glad you both loved it!
Erica says
This was my first attempt at making carrot cake and a 2 layer cake. It was so easy to follow and came out perfectly! No one could even tell it was healthier. It had such good flavor and the texture was perfect! Thank you for another amazing recipe!
★★★★★
Erin says
Hi Erica, so glad you loved it!
Mindy says
Made this carrot cake for Easter and it was a big hit! delish. My 3 year old cried when it was gone.
★★★★★
Erin says
Hi Mindy, so glad you both loved it! Sounds like you need to make another!
Abby McAleney says
Made this for my family on Easter. SOOO yummy! Doesn’t taste like a “healthier” version at all. Everyone raved about it
Erin says
Hi Abby, so glad they loved it!
Emily says
SO GOOD!! The best carrot cake my family and I have ever had! Such a simple recipe and I love that it’s not overly sweet. The frosting is to die for. Another wonderful recipe, Erin!!!!
★★★★★
Erin says
Hi Emily, so glad everyone loved it! Thanks for your support!!
Haley says
This carrot cake was PHENOMENAL! So moist and yummy.
Erin says
Hi Haley, so glad you loved it!
Maria says
Loved these! I made a half batch in a 12pc muffin pan, and I used tofutti vegan cream cheese. Very very good!
★★★★★
Erin says
Hi Maria, so glad you liked it and great idea to make as muffins!!
Gina Alfieri says
This is the BEST carrot cake I’ve ever made! Everyone raved about the cake on Easter. In fact, it was so good that it may have been my breakfast today too 😉
★★★★★
Erin says
Hi Gina, so glad it was a big hit!!
Rachel says
Really good and moist! Made it for Easter and everyone loved it.
★★★★★
Erin says
Hi Rachel, so glad it was a hit!!
Bethany Eitel says
This carrot cake is amazing!!!!
★★★★★
Erin says
Hi Bethany, so glad you loved it!
Brianne says
First attempt at making Carrot Cake. This was DELISH! My husband doesn’t like carrot cake and loved it.
I used Kite Hill Cream Cheese due to limited time and no cashews, but would love to try Erin’s DIY Cashew Cream Cheese next time! Also, I used Peanut Butter and 1/4C Maple Syrup and 1/4C Honey—all delicious… and I used Swerve Confectioners Sugar, which made the frosting a little too sweet, but still really yummy. Next time if I use that, I’ll use a little less… or real powdered sugar. 🙂
One of the layers was a little too moist in the middle and slightly fell a part, but I fixed it with the frosting… not sure if it need to be cooked an extra minute (my stick came out clean at 34 minutes)… or that I put the cakes in the fridge overnight-covered with tin foil and Not frosted… so maybe it got too moist from doing that?! I’m a novice baker, so not sure.
Either way, great recipe!!!
★★★★★
Erin says
Hi Brianne, so glad you both loved it! I love you made your own subs and hmm maybe the middle layer needed a few extra minutes but happy it came out well! 🙂
Amy says
This was delicious! I had a teeny butternut squash to cook up, which I used for the pumpkin. It didn’t render quite a cup, so I made up the rest with applesauce. I didn’t have an open jar of almond butter, so I just used some seed butter I had open. For the icing, I cut down on the sugar and used only 1.5 c. I thought it tasted great with only 1 c., but I was worried about having enough to coat the cake. The other adjustment I made was to omit the cinnamon from the icing, just a personal preference. My partner who “doesn’t like carrot cake” loved this recipe! It was so moist, and not too sweet. We have no dietary restrictions, but I like to occasionally make GF type dishes, and this gluten friendly family approves.
★★★★★
Erin says
Hi Amy, so glad you both loved the cake and made it your own!! Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Tom says
Best carrot cake I’ve ever had. It’s so flavorful!
★★★★★
Erin says
Hi Tom, so glad you loved it!!
Sylvia says
THIRD YEAR IN A ROW MAKING THIS AS CUPCAKES AND WOWOWOWOWOWOWOW!!!!!!!!!!!!
★★★★★
Erin says
Hi Sylvia, so glad you loved them! 🙂
Amanda says
Do you think this would work ok in a cupcake form?
Erin says
Hi Amanda, yes of course! I am not sure the bake time, so just be sure to keep an eye on them and check them with a toothpick for when the middle is cooked. Let me know how they come out!
Shantel Wieland says
Can I make this in an 8×8 or 9×9 pan? Should I half the recipe?
Thanks!
Erin says
Hi Shantel, yes, half would be perfect for 8×8, or you could keep it the same and use 2 8x8s! Let me know how your cake comes out!!
kate says
This cake was amazing! I made it for my birthday, and everyone loved it. I omitted the raisins and baked in two 9 inch rounds, and it turned out perfectly!
★★★★★
Erin says
Hi Kate, I am thrilled you enjoyed it and made it your own!!
Ellie says
I absolutely love this cake! I requested it for my birthday last year, and everyone raved about it. We did half with the vegan cream cheese frosting and half with the regular cream cheese frosting and both were delicious. I definitely know what I will be bringing to Easter lunch this year!
★★★★★
Erin says
Hi Ellie, so happy you enjoyed it and share it with others!!