If you are looking for the best ever healthy carrot cake, I've got you! This carrot cake is made with gluten-free flour and sweetened with coconut sugar and pineapple. Each piece is loaded with carrots, raisins, walnuts, and pineapple and topped with a delicious cream cheese frosting. Say hello to your new favorite carrot cake recipe.
Equipment
Ingredients
Carrot cake:
- ¾ cup finely shredded carrots packed
- ½ cup crushed canned pineapple do not drain all of the liquid out. when measuring your 1/2 cup, be sure to include some of the liquid, too.
- ¼ cup coconut oil melted (or avocado oil)
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 ½ teaspoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 ½ cups gluten-free flour
- ½ cup coconut sugar
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ cup raisins
- ½ cup chopped walnuts
Cream cheese frosting:
- 1 8 oz container dairy-free cream cheese
- ½ cup vegan butter
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
Instructions
To make the carrot cake:
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- Grease an 8x8 square baking dish very well, and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, mix together the carrots, crushed pineapple, melted coconut oil, vanilla, and vinegar.
- Next, add the flour, coconut sugar, cinnamon, ginger, baking soda, raisins and chopped walnuts.
- NOTE: the batter should be thick, but NOT dry and crumbly. If it is, that is ok! Just add a few more tablespoons of the pineapple juice or a few tablespoons of water. It's all good, do not worry!
- Transfer the mixture to the greased baking dish.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until toothpick in the center comes out clean.
- Let the cake cool completely before adding the cream cheese frosting.
- Cut into squares and enjoy!
To make the cream cheese frosting:
- In a bowl, beat together the dairy-free cream cheese and the vegan butter. I use a hand mixer to do this. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, as needed.
- Slowly add in the powdered sugar, about 1/4 cup at a time, until well combined. It might look dry at first, but the more you beat it, the creamier it will become, I promise.
- Add the vanilla extract and the lemon juice and beat all of the ingredients together until they are soft, fluffy, and fully smooth.
Calories: 268kcal | Carbohydrates: 35g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.04g | Sodium: 173mg | Potassium: 117mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 17g | Vitamin A: 1703IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 25mg | Iron: 1mg
Notes
NOTE: the batter should be thick, but NOT dry and crumbly. If it is, that is ok! Just add a few more tablespoons of the pineapple juice or a few tablespoons of water. It's all good, do not worry!
Did you make this recipe?
I’d love to see what you made - tag @kalejunkie
in your posts and I’ll re-share!
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