Everything that comes out of my kitchen is dairy-free, but for my family, at special events, I like to bake things that are as “normal” as possible. To do so, I often peruse the recipes that grandma clips from the newspaper or dog-ears in her favorite magazine, Taste of Home. Though I’m not completely sure of the original source, this dairy-free carrot cake recipe was born from one that I found at my grandma’s house.
My grandma, father, and I are big carrot cake fans, and it took just a few minor tweaks to develop a dairy-free carrot cake recipe that we all loved. I surprised her with a big slice of it for her 6th 75th birthday (you do the math).
Carrot Cake Frosting Tips
I topped it off with the dairy-free cream cheese frosting recipe that I created for Allergic Living magazine, but this recipe is also quite delicious. To maintain the thickness of the frosting, start with just 1 cup of powdered sugar and only add as much as needed for your tastes. I find that adding the full amount can make it a touch runny, depending on the brand of dairy-free cream cheese alternative.
Vegan & Egg-Free Carrot Cake Suggestions
If you can use eggs in this recipe, do! The results are superior with eggs. If you need an egg-free option, I have a full egg substitute guide to help out. The options I recommend trying are a powdered egg replacer or aquafaba. Avoid alternatives that are too moist and heavy, like applesauce and flax eggs. The cake might not set up if you use an egg option with density but not structure.
Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free Carrot Cake Suggestions
Because carrot cake is so moist, I recommend using a flour blend that doesn’t contain any gums. Gums can get, well, gummy in moist recipes. But I do recommend keeping the eggs, and not using an egg replacer, if you are trying this recipe without gluten. The carrot cake recipe I created for Allergic Living used a basic gluten-free flour blend of 2 cups brown rice flour, 2/3 cup potato starch, and 1/3 cup tapioca starch. I have not tested that specific blend in this recipe.
Quick Tip
Note that I do grate the carrots for this dairy-free carrot cake recipe by hand, which can be time consuming. If you have a food processor to help make fast work of the carrots, this cake will come to together quite quickly.
Special Diet Notes: Grandma’s Best Dairy-Free Carrot Cake
By ingredients, this recipe is dairy-free / non-dairy, nut-free, peanut-free, soy-free, and vegetarian. For an egg-free and vegan carrot cake, see my tips above.
- 6 cups grated carrots
- 1 cup light brown sugar
- 1 cup coarsely chopped raisins
- 4 eggs (see notes in the post for egg-free suggestions)
- 1½ cups white sugar
- 1 cup vegetable or grapeseed oil
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup crushed pineapple, drained
- 3 cups all-purpose flour (see notes above on my gluten-free recipe)
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
- Combine the grated carrots and brown sugar in a medium bowl and set aside for an hour. After the two have had some good mingling time, stir in the raisins.
- Preheat your oven to 350ºF, and grease and flour two 10-inch cake pans, three 8-inch cake pans, or two 8-inch cake pans +8 cupcake tins.
- In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg, and briefly set aside. In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs, and gradually beat in the white sugar, oil and vanilla. Stir in the pineapple. Stir the flour mix into the wet mixture, being careful not to over mix. Gently fold in the carrot mixture and nuts.
- Pour the batter evenly into your prepared pans. Bake as follows: 10-inch pans – 40-50 minutes, 8-inch pans – 30-35 minutes, Cupcakes – 20-22 minutes, or for all, until the cakes are springy to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Place the pans on a wire rack to cool for 10-20 minutes before removing them from the pan.
- Once the cake is completely cool, then you can frost it or drizzle with icing.
142 Comments
Really, 6 cups of grated carrot?! It almost sounds like a typo… Please confirm. Also, I’ll likely be using my food processor to “grate” the carrots as my arthritic hands may not be able to muster the strength to use a manual grater. OK? I’ll be making this cake for Easter weekend and wanted to be right for my son’s 31st birthday as well on Saturday. Thanks! Michele
No typo – it’s true carrot cake! Note that it makes 3 8-inch layers – so a lot of cake. Yes, your food processor would definitely help! I’d use the fine holes if you can.
Two feet of layers?? Am I reading this correct?
8-inch refers to the width – your using 8-inch round cake pans.
Thank you so much for this amazing recipe.
My family loved it.
I omitted the raisins, and substituted the walnuts for toasted almonds (based on family preferences).
For some reason my batter look a bit dense, so I got scare and added a 1/3 cup of the pineapple syrup… it came out amazingly moist.
I baked on a bundt pan and a 8” rectangular pan… for the bundt pan took 45 min, for the rectangular pan 40 min.
That sounds like a lovely addition Esther!
I made this for the first time for a carrot-themed party where moms were dairy-free attended and I was asked many times for the recipe! Thanks for such a great one!
That’s fabulous! So glad you enjoyed my carrot cake recipe and thank you for the feedback!
Could I use coconut oil instead of veg/grapeseed oil?
You can, but you need to make sure all ingredients, including carrots, eggs, and pineapple are room temperature – not cool at all. Coconut oil will solidify into little shards if added to anything below room temperature.
What type of frosting did you use?
When grating carrots for this cake, is it best to use the large side or the small side on the grater?
I use the small / fine holes Jeanne. But don’t pack the carrot when measuring, just add it to your measuring cup.
Hi Alisa
I’m only just starting out when it comes to baking and this will be my first dairy free cake!! It’s probably a very silly question to everyone else out there but what is that actual measurement of a cup?
Thanks so much x
Hi Vikki, I’m not sure I follow your question. If you have or purchase some measuring cups, they should come with a “1 cup” measuring cup. Did that answer your question?
1 cup is 128g or 4.5oz in UK we tend not to use cups but we have a set and they work just fine!
Hi David and Alisa, very good question! 1 measuring cup in Australia is 250ml (as we use metric here) which is very different from the UK size. So is your cup is referring to metric cup?
Also i had previously asked a question but couldn’t find it here any more for some reasons: do you drain the juice after soaking the graded carrots in sugar? I assume leaving the carrots in the sugar for an hour would produce some liquid?
I don’t drain the carrots. I wish I could help, but I don’t know the conversion. It’s U.S. cups.From what I read, the UK cups are 250mL too, but the US are not.
I’ve been looking for a good carrot cake recipe for a while. Can’t wait to try adapting this one to be egg-free! I’ll let you know how it turns out.
Yes, please do let me know how egg-free goes for you Sarah!
Can I make this in one bundt pan?
I’ve never made it in a bundt pan, so I can’t comment on the bake time, but I think it should work well.
BEST CARROT CAKE EVER! I subbed the oil for applesauce, reduced both white and brown sugar by 1/2, and left out the raisins. Ended up with an incredibly moist, heavy cake that disappeared within hours! Thank you!
That’s so great! Thank you for sharing your adaptations, too Marybai.
The icing what do you use
There is a link in the recipe for a similar frosting to the one I use -> https://www.godairyfree.org/recipes/dairy-free-desserts/cream-cheesy-frosting-vegan-gluten-free-nut-free
The one that I use specifically is in Go Dairy Free: The Guide and Cookbook – it’s a little different from this one, but similar. And I don’t use almond extract, like mentioned in that online recipe.
How do you soak the carrots?
It’s step 1. The carrots and brown sugar are left to sit and “soak.”
Can I add Zucchini in place of some of the carrots? What can I use to substitute some of the pineapple?
Would the moisture from zucchini help with less pineapple?
I really couldn’t tell you without testing this Leonie. Zucchini does contain more water, so your changes might work well, but it’s hard to say.
What would you suggest to also make this gorgeous cake gluten free.
Hi Sue, I haven’t tested this recipe gluten-free as of yet. You might want to try my carrot cupcakes recipe, which is gluten-free and now posted on Allergic Living – http://allergicliving.com/2013/03/28/carrot-cupcakes-with-dairy-free-pineapple-cream-cheese-frosting/
Alisa this looks so good- I’ve actually never had a carrot cake with crushed pineapple in it!
Really? I’ve always known that as a traditional ingredient! Try it, you’ll love it 🙂
Do you taste the pineapple at all? or just it just help with the sweetness? My sister is very picky.
I don’t think the pineapple flavor is overt at all, but helps to give it that classic carrot cake taste – it’s more underlying in the grand scheme.
This recipe is absolutely delicious!!! I subbed apple sauce for pineapple, but then it was too runny, so I added a half cup brown rice flour. I used Bob’s Red Mill all purpose for my flour. I also added dried cranberries along with the raisins and walnuts. Great tip on chopping the raisins! I don’t know why I never thought of that??? As well as letting the sugar and carrots marinate–brilliant! We cut the recipe in half and got a dozen over-sized cupcakes. I think I will do the pineapple next time. Thank you so much! This is the first cake I’ve made that it was not immediately totally obvious that it was gluten and dairy free!! ps. we haven’t tried the frosting yet, this is so sweet that I was able to get away with a dusting of powder sugar on my daughter’s to make her happy 😉
Sounds like you made some pretty impressive recipe mods yourself Kathe! Smart to add in the brown rice flour when subbing in applesauce!
I don’t have crushed pineapple in my pantry and we are home sheltered with this COVID-19 virus. Any idea how to substitute for it? I want to make this today with my kids for my birthday ? cake! ☺️
You should be able to omit it without a big problem.
Thanks Alisa! Since making this back in 2020, it’s been a hit here in my home. My youngest requests it for his birthday every year and I make it for Easter. Thanks for sharing your recipe!
Thank you for leaving the kind note Christina, and so glad you are both loving this recipe!
where are the notes that give suggestions for no eggs in this recipe?
Hi Lynn, they’re buried in there – “to make it egg-free and vegan, I believe Ener-G egg replacer would work quite well, though I haven’t tested it.”
I made this recipe as cupcakes for my work one morning – they went down a treat! I’ve since made it into a cake (two layers, with cream cheese icing in-between) and am about to whip up another cake for my husband’s colleagues. It’s become my go-to! I left out the pineapple as the dairy-free girl in my office also doesn’t like pineapple and I’ve found the recipe to be perfect regardless – I was concerned it’d affect its moistness but it was just perfect. Thanks heaps for a brilliant recipe 🙂
Thanks so much for your feedback Sarah and excellent to know that it is great without the pineapple, too!
How many cupcakes does the entire recipe make?
Also, can I freeze these cupcakes before frosting?
I would guestimate 28 to 32 cupcakes. I don’t typically freeze cake, but the recipe should freeze as well as any other cake recipe. So if you find cake freezes well, then this should freeze well!
Hello, I just tried this recipe and it is delicious. My whole family loved it. Thank you for posting it. I’m definitely going to try this one again.
So glad you all liked it!
Great recipe! Turned out really moist and beautiful. I cut everything in half and I could make 12 cup cakes out of this. Everyone loved it! 🙂 Thanks for sharing!
Marvelous! Thanks for offering the cupcake ratio for the recipe, too!
This is the best recipe. I made it gluten-free by using Tom Sawyer’s Multipurpose Gluten Free Flour (www.glutenfreeflour.com) which can be used cup for cup replacement in any recipe. I first made this cake for Easter and my mom loved it so much she requested it for Mother’s Day. So I made it for her and it turned out just as good or better the second time. Thanks for sharing.
As a Breastfeeding mama I have recently gone dairy-free, my 15 week old baby has a dairy intolerance. After several weeks with very few treats I decided to have a go at this recipe. Having never made carrot cake before, I was a little nervous … but it turned out ok 🙂 Going to have a go at the ‘overnight oatmeal cookies’ next. Thanks for the great, easy, recipes.
Michelle, South Yorkshire, England
Sod glad that you liked the recipe Michelle! I hope the oatmeal cookies hit the mark, too.
This cake was absolutely amazing! Better than any other recipe I have ever used.
Fantastic, so glad you enjoyed it Vanessa!
Great recipe thanks for sharing! Made these for a family get together everyone raved about them.
These are so moist and delicious. I only had enough carrots to make 4c. Still enought tho. Will definatly make again
Wow, I’m impressed. I haven’t had carrot cake in ages, but this gluten-free version of yours in Allergic Living (thanks for the link) sounds doable. And delicious. The frosting looks like the “real” thing and the cake part looks perfect. I’m definitely giving this a try.
Hi, I just made the cake for the third time. The first 2 are perfect. But this time, I think I made mistake(s). The cake has texture like brownies! I wonder if it is due to packing the 6 cup of carrots. Or putting both pans in the oven at the same time (top and Bottom).
Carrot cake brownies sound good, but that definitely isn’t how it should turn out! Since your first two turned out well, I’d say your assumptions are correct. Too much moisture will definitely make it more dense. I do prefer to bake the pans side by side rather than top and bottom (can cause some moisture retention), but packing the carrots would definitely add a lot of moisture.