Our favorite healthy carrot cake recipe! Moist, warmly spiced, and topped with cream cheese frosting, it's easy to make and perfect for celebrations.

spring — Jump to recipe

It’s carrot cake season! I don’t know about you, but when the weather warms up, my dessert cravings shift away from chocolate towards lighter, brighter treats. This change works out well for me, because carrot cake is Jack’s all-time favorite dessert, and we make it every year for his April birthday.

You’ll find our go-to healthy carrot cake recipe below. It’s based on my mom’s, and it uses her secret ingredient: applesauce. It steps in for some of the oil and sugar that you’d find in a traditional carrot cake recipe without compromising on taste.

This healthy carrot cake is super moist and tender, and cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla fill it with warm, spiced flavor. Tangy cream cheese frosting takes it over the top!

If you’re looking for an easy, delicious dessert for Easter, Mother’s Day, or any celebration, I hope you’ll try this healthy carrot cake recipe. We’ve made it and loved it time and time (and time) again, and I think you’ll love it too.

Healthy Carrot Cake Ingredients

Here’s what you’ll need to make this healthy carrot cake recipe:

Carrots, of course! They make the cake super moist and tender.
Whole wheat pastry flour – A healthier alternative to all-purpose flour. If you don’t have whole wheat pastry flour, you can substitute a 50/50 mix of all-purpose and regular whole wheat flour.
Baking powder, baking soda, and eggs – They help the cake rise.
Maple syrup – Instead of making this cake with brown sugar or regular granulated sugar, I sweeten it naturally with pure maple syrup. I love the depth of flavor that the maple adds to the cake!
Applesauce – For more moisture and extra (natural) sweetness.
Almond milk – Or any milk you like! My homemade oat milk would work nicely here too.
Coconut oil – For richness. Free free to use olive oil or vegetable oil if you prefer.
Cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla extract – For warm, spiced flavor.
And sea salt – To make all the flavors pop!

Find the complete recipe with measurements below.

How to Make Healthy Carrot Cake

You can find the complete healthy carrot cake recipe with measurements at the bottom of this post. For now, here’s a quick overview of how it goes:

First, grate the carrots. Shred them on the small holes of a box grater or on the grating disk of a food processor.
Next, make the batter. Combine the dry ingredients in one mixing bowl and the wet ingredients (including the carrots!) in another. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until just combined.
Then, bake. Pour the batter into a greased baking pan. Bake at 350°F until a toothpick inserted comes out clean, about 35 minutes.
Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool. It needs to cool to room temperature before you add the frosting.
Finally, frost it. Slather the cake with cream cheese frosting (or enjoy it plain!).

So easy!

Recipe Tips

Here are my tips and tricks for making the best healthy carrot cake:

Grate your carrots finely. Finely grated carrots meld seamlessly into the cake, while larger pieces create a less uniform texture. Finely grate your carrots for light, fluffy, and cohesive cake slices!
Spoon and level your flour. Anytime you’re baking, how you measure flour matters. It can easily become compacted in a canister or bag, so if you scoop it up directly with your measuring cup, you might accidentally pack too much into your scoop. Too much flour = dry baked goods. And no one likes dry carrot cake! To avoid using too much flour, try the spoon and level method for measuring flour. Your carrot cake will come out moist and tender every time!
Don’t overmix. Mix the batter until just combined—and not any longer—or your cake will be dense.
Let your cake cool completely before frosting it. If it’s still warm, the frosting will melt!

Variations

Jack is a HUGE carrot cake fan. If he’s taught me anything, it’s that carrot cake can be a personal thing. Here are a few ways to make this recipe your own:

Feel free to add mix-ins to the cake batter. Fold in 1/2 cup shredded coconut, raisins, or chopped nuts like walnuts or pecans. You could sprinkle the coconut or chopped pecans or walnuts over the frosted cake too.

You can also choose your cake size and shape! The recipe below makes any of these:

one 9-inch round cake (pictured)
one square 8×8-inch cake
a 2-layer cake using two 6-inch cake pans (also pictured)

Finally, choose your favorite frosting. You can make my cream cheese frosting recipe with regular or dairy-free cream cheese (I used Kite Hill here), though the regular version will be stiffer and better for slathering between the cake layers if you’re making a layer cake. A lighter frosting option would be the cashew maple frosting from this recipe, which is more of a glaze. You could also leave the cake plain or serve it with a dusting of powdered sugar.

Let me know what variations you try!

Love carrot cake? Don’t miss my carrot cake cupcakes or vegan carrot cake recipe!

How to Store Healthy Carrot Cake

Store unfrosted cake in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. Frosted cake keeps well in an airtight container in the fridge.

The cake also freezes well, with frosting or without! Once it’s cool, seal it in an airtight container or wrap it in foil or plastic wrap. Freeze for up to 3 months.

Allow frosted cake to thaw overnight in the fridge. You can let unfrosted cake thaw at room temperature or quickly defrost it in the microwave.

More Easy Cake Recipes

If this healthy carrot cake recipe earns rave reviews, try one of these easy cakes next:

Applesauce Cake
Apple Cake
Lemon Yogurt Cake
Vegan Chocolate Cake
Or any of these 25 Super Fun Baking Recipes!

Healthy Carrot Cake

rate this recipe:

4.98 from 95 votes

Prep Time: 25

Cook Time: 35

Total Time: 1

Serves 10 to 12

Save Recipe Print Recipe

My favorite healthy carrot cake recipe! Made with wholesome ingredients like whole wheat pastry flour, applesauce, and pure maple syrup, it's moist, delicious, and easy to make.

Ingredients

2¼ cups whole wheat pastry flour (or half white, half wheat)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
3 teaspoons cinnamon
½ teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon sea salt
2 large eggs
½ cup applesauce
½ cup maple syrup
½ cup almond milk, at room temperature
½ cup melted coconut oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups finely grated carrots

Frosting

4 ounces cream cheese*
1½ tablespoons butter*, slightly softened
2 cups powdered sugar, more if a stiffer frosting is desired
⅛ teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease a 9-inch round baking pan, 8x8 square pan, or two 6-inch round cake pans.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.
In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs and then whisk in the applesauce, maple syrup, almond milk, coconut oil, and vanilla. Stir in the carrots.
Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl of dry ingredients and stir until just combined.
Pour the batter into the baking dish and bake for 35 to 38 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let the cake cool completely before frosting.
Make the frosting: In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and butter with an electric mixer until smooth. Add the vanilla and powdered sugar and mix until smooth.

Notes

If you're making a layer cake, you may want to chill the frosting and the cakes so that the frosting stays firm while layering.

*To make this cake non-dairy, use Kite Hill vegan cream cheese and vegan butter in place of the regular cream cheese.