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My Carrot Cake Is So Good!
Ok yes, it’s so good—but I think what’s more important is that my carrot cake is so easy! I love ordering carrot cake at restaurants and can’t resist the fancy two layers with cream cheese frosting in between them. But I knew if I was ever going to create a home version, there would be no time to get that fancy.
So, I developed this version with both me and you in mind, knowing a sheet cake is much more realistic and doable at home. Seriously, I think the hardest part of the cake is just grating the carrots (but you can always just buy pre-grated!).
Carrot Cake Ingredients
- Carrot: I like to grate the carrots on the largest holes of a box grater, which helps them hold up in the cake!
- All-purpose flour: This is what gives the cake structure, so it doesn’t fall apart. If you’re gluten-free, use your favorite gluten-free flour blend.
- Leaveners: You’ll need both baking powder and soda, which will help the cake rise.
- Sugar: I use granulated and light brown sugar in this simple carrot cake recipe. They both help keep the cake moist, but brown sugar also adds a molasses flavor!
- Eggs: If you have an egg allergy, you can try substituting flax eggs, but I can’t vouch for how the cake will turn out.
- Avocado oil: You can substitute another neutral-tasting oil. Melted coconut oil would also add a nice flavor.
- Vanilla extract: I use this in both the cake and cream cheese frosting.
- Spices: You’ll need just three spices: cinnamon, ground ginger, and ground nutmeg plus salt to balance the sweetness. You can also try adding up to ½ teaspoon of ground cardamom or ginger.
- Walnuts: You could also use pecans.
- Raisins: These are classic in carrot cake, but you could leave them out.
- Cream cheese: Full-fat cream cheese will have the best flavor, but you can use low-fat.
- Butter: I like to use unsalted butter and add a pinch of salt to the frosting.
- Powdered sugar: The key to light, fluffy frosting!
Popular Additions
- Pineapple: I know pineapple is a carrot cake must-have for some people. If that’s you, drain an 8-ounce can of crushed pineapple very well before stirring it into the batter. I would recommend replacing it with one cup of the carrots though so the cake doesn’t have too much moisture.
- Orange zest: In an effort to keep the ingredients minimal, I skipped the orange zest but I love adding it to break up the sweet flavors and spices of the cake. If you want to use, zest one small orange and add it when you add the carrots.
- Coconut: You can fold the shredded coconut I like to also sprinkle shredded coconut sometimes. Add up to ¼ cup.
How to Make Carrot Cake
Cream Cheese Frosting
My Easy Carrot Cake Recipe Tips
- Measure the flour the right way. I like to spoon the flour into a measuring cup, then use the flat edge of a butter knife to level it off.
- Don’t add too many mix-ins. I know it’s tempting to throw in all the raisins, pineapples, coconut and nuts, but I would limit to only 1 ½ cups total since since there are 3 cups of shredded carrots too.
- Toast the walnuts. Toasted nuts just taste better than un-toasted ones. Place the walnuts on a baking sheet and into a 350°F oven until they’re lightly browned and fragrant before chopping them up.
- Make sure the butter and cream cheese are softened. This will make it easy to mix them into the frosting. You can read how to soften butter here! I would use the microwave method for the cream cheese.
Recipe Help & FAQs
Kept in an airtight container in the fridge, the carrot cake will last for up to 5 days. I recommend placing pieces of wax or parchment paper between the layers of cake to prevent them from sticking together.
Yes, you can! I would only freeze the unfrosted cake though. Wrap the cake in a layer of plastic wrap followed by a layer of foil. It’ll last in the freezer for up to 3 months and can be thawed in the fridge.
I’m guessing this is a matter of incorrectly measuring out ingredients! If you add too much flour and too little wet ingredients (like oil), you could end up with a dry cake.
More Easy Cake Recipes:
- Chocolate Cake
- Orange Cake
- Olive Oil Cake with Lemon Zest
- Chocolate Souffle
- Cranberry Cheesecake
- Lemon and Ricotta Cake
- Chocolate Mug Cake
- Almond Flour Cake
- Semolina Turmeric Cake
If you try this Easy Carrot Cake recipe or any other recipe on Feel Good Foodie, then don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave a comment below! It helps others who are thinking of making the recipe. We would love to hear about your experience making it. And if you snapped some shots, share it on Instagram so we can repost on Stories!
Easy Carrot Cake
Ingredients
- cooking spray
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 4 large eggs
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 cup avocado oil
- 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 cups freshly grated carrots
- 1 cup chopped walnuts
- ½ cup raisins
For the Cream Cheese Frosting:
- 6 ounces cream cheese softened
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter softened
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a 13×9 baking dish with cooking spray.
- In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, ginger, and nutmeg.
- In a separate large bowl, whisk the eggs until smooth, then add in both sugars, oil, and vanilla and combine. Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture and mix until no flour streaks remain. Add the grated carrots, walnuts, and raisins and fold together until just combined.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.
Cream Cheese Frosting
- Place cream cheese and butter in a large bowl. Use a hand mixer and beat together on medium-high speed until smooth and fluffy.
- Add vanilla and sift in powdered sugar and beat until smooth and light.
- Once the cake is cooled, spread frosting on top and cut into 20 equal squares.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information provided is an estimate. It will vary based on cooking method and specific ingredients used.
We enjoyed the carrot cake following your recipe, sooooo good.
Aww, so happy you liked it! Thank you!!
Hello, can we use different oil – i.e. extra virgin or coconut oil?
Yes, I think melted coconut oil would give a wonderful flavor! Please let me know how it turns out if you end up trying it.
Can I use flax eggs instead?
Hi there! I haven’t tried this recipe with a flax egg myself yet, but I think it would work well. Please let me know how it turns out for you! Here’s my tutorial for making a flax egg, in case you find it helpful: How to Make a Flax Egg