Vegan Carrot Cake

The most fluffy and tender Vegan Carrot Cake you will every sink your teeth into! Wonderfully nutty, spicy-sweet, and perfectly textured!

Oh hey, hello there. I know we just had gluten free dairy free carrot cake like a few days ago…

…and I have a few more carrot cake recipes coming for you but it’s okay right?

That one was gluten free and this one is not so, if you think about it, I’m just being a carrot cake all inclusivist. No one gets left out from the World’s best way to eat vegetables.

This cake is CRAZY fluffy and tender but, liiiike, without eggs? I don’t know when God gave flaxseed magical powers, but it happened and I am not mad about it.

Why you will LOVE this Recipe

With Easter time fast approaching, you know I love NOTHING MORE than to indulge in some carrot cake goodness! Here on the blog, there is NO shortage of carrot cake recipes- from gluten free carrot cake truffles to coconut flour carrot cake dip and beyond, we’ve got it all here! Today’s recipe is PERFECT for those in your life who are following a vegan eating plan, and really, EVERYONE because it’s so delicious! That’s right, this healthy vegan carrot cake is tender, flavorful, and the texture is on point! It also uses less refined sugar to sweeten it and of course, doesn’t include any animal products. You and your crew will LOVE it this Easter!

What can I substitute for eggs in Vegan Carrot Cake?

When you’re following a vegan eating plan, you may think that means you have to give up your favorite foods. Well, I’m here to tell you that one thing you won’t have to give up this Easter is CAKE! Instead of using eggs like I normally would in a cake recipe, I used flax meal and warm water to create a binding agent to hold this cake together and keep it tasting great!

Ingredients Needed

To make this recipe, I used a handful of better-for-you ingredients to make the BEST vegan carrot cake recipe ever! The whole family is going to love it, and it’s perfect for those with dietary needs and preferences! Here’s what you’ll need to round up before getting started:

Flax Meal
Warm Water
Unsweetened Coconut Flakes
Pecans
All Purpose Flour
Coconut Sugar
Cinnamon
Salt
Baking Powder
Ginger
Nutmeg
Cloves
Unsweetened Almond Milk
Avocado Oil
Vanilla Extract
Crushed Pineapple
Carrot
Dairy Free Cream Cheese
Dairy Free Butter
Vanilla
Salt
Powdered Sugar

a slice of Vegan Carrot Cake on a small plate

How to make Vegan Carrot Cake

Prepare

Fire up the oven and let it preheat while you work. Line the bottoms of 2 cake pans with parchment paper and rub the sides with oil. Whisk the flax meal with the water and place it in the fridge for a bit.

Toast

Place the coconut flakes and pecans on 2 separate baking sheets and pop them in the oven. Toast until they smell nutty- this should just take a couple of minutes for the coconut and about 10 minutes for the nuts! Chop up the nuts and set aside.

Whisk

In a large bowl, add the flour, sugar, cinnamon, salt, baking powder, baking soda, ginger, nutmeg and allspice and whisk together until everything is well combined. Add in the milk, oil, vanilla and flax mixture from the fridge and continue stirring to combine. Press out a bit of the liquid from the pineapple and add it to the bowl as well, along with the carrots, pecans and coconut.

Bake

Divide the batter between the 2 prepared pans and place them in the oven. Bake the cakes until a toothpick inserted comes out clean!

Frost and Serve

Once the cakes have cooled completely, frost them as desired and DEVOUR!

Vegan Carrot Cake on a cake stand with a slice cut out

How to make it Gluten Free

If you need to make a vegan cake that is also gluten free, you are in luck! Like I said, we’ve got a carrot cake recipe for EVERYONE here on FFF. Check out Vegan Gluten Free Dairy Free Carrot Cake for the BEST recipe out there!

Top Tips for Making Carrot Cake

Let the flax sit: Don’t skip this step! It’s important for the flax and water to sit for a while so that the flax breaks down a bit. This way, it will be better incorporated throughout the batter and help the cakes to cook evenly and hold together well!
Wring out the liquid: Make sure to carefully press some of the moisture out of the pineapple. Too much juice can result in mushy cake!
Be gentle when slicing: Since the cake does not contain eggs, you will want to be sure to be extra careful when slicing it to serve!

one slice of Vegan Carrot Cake on a small plate with sprinkles on the side

more delicious vegan desserts

Vegan Carrot Cake

The most fluffy and tender Vegan Carrot Cake you will every sink your teeth into! Wonderfully nutty, spicy-sweet, and perfectly textured!

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes

Total Time 50 minutes

Servings People

Calories 615kcal

Author Taylor Kiser

Ingredients

2 Tbsp Flax meal
6 Tbsp warm water
2/3 Cup Unsweetened coconut flakes
1/2 Cup Pecans
2 1/2 Cups All purpose flour (312g)
1 1/2 Cups Coconut sugar
2 1/2 tsp Cinnamon
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Baking soda
1 tsp Baking powder
1 tsp Ginger
1/2 tsp Nutmeg
1/4 tsp Cloves
1 Cup Unsweetened almond milk
3/4 Cup Avocado oil (or any neutral flavored oil)
1 Tbsp Vanilla
1 Cup Crushed pineapple
2 Cups Carrot, grated

For the frosting:

8 Oz Dairy-free cream cheese, softened to room temperature
1/2 Cup Dairy-free butter, softened to room temperature
1 tsp Vanilla
1/4 tsp Salt
3 Cups Powdered sugar

Instructions

Heat your oven to 350 degrees and line the bottom of 2 8 inch cake pans with parchment paper, rubbing the sides with oil.
Whisk the flax meal and water and place into the fridge for 10 minutes.
Spread the coconut flakes and pecans on two separate small baking sheets and bake until the coconut is golden, about 3-5 minutes and the pecans smell nutty, about 10 minutes.
Finely chop the pecans and set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk the flour, sugar, cinnamon, salt, baking powder, baking soda, ginger, nutmeg and cloves
Add in the milk, oil, vanilla and the flax mixture from the fridge and whisk well.
Lightly press out some of the liquid from the crushed pineapple and stir it, along with the carrots, pecans and coconut into the batter.
Divide between two cake pans and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 37-42 minutes. let cool COMPLETELY

To make the frosting

Using an electric hand mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter until fluffy. Add in the vanilla and salt and beat again.
Add the sugar a little at a time and then beat until fluffy.

To assemble

Spread 3/4 of frosting on one of the tops of the cakes and then place the other cake on top.
Spread a VERY thin layer of frosting over the entire outside of the cake and then refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Once chilled, frost the rest of the cake.
DEVOUR!