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Gluten Free Carrot Cake

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A tender, flavorful gluten free carrot cake with cream cheese frosting, or buttercream frosting. I’ve included instructions to make a layered cake, sheet cake, and cupcakes from this gluten free carrot cake recipe.

If you love cake, like me, you’ll want to make my Gluten Free Pumpkin Cake. My Gluten Free Chocolate Cake is also scrumptious.

close up of a slice of gluten free carrot cake topped with frosting and chopped nuts on a white plate

Gluten Free Carrot Cake

Have you ever seen a more lovely slice of gluten free carrot cake? This carrot cake recipes uses a few simple ingredients, and there are no complicated steps. I’ve tested this carrot cake recipe with a couple of different flour blends – which I share below.

Please follow my directions the first time around before testing any substitutions in this gluten free carrot cake recipe.

If you are an experienced baker and you do make a substitution to this carrot cake please leave a comment below sharing what you used.

There’s a section below with how to make gluten free carrot cake with step by step photos, and I give alternate directions for making a gluten free sheet cake carrot cake and gluten free carrot cake cupcakes.

serving utensil moving a slice of gluten free carrot cake from a white cake plate

Gluten Free Flours

For this carrot cake recipe you can use my gluten free flour blend recipe, Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 Gluten Free Baking Flour (not the all-purpose gf flour), or GFJules Gluten Free Flour Blend.

Working with Gluten-Free Flours

When working with or measuring gluten-free flour, spoon the flour into the measuring cup and level. Do not scoop your measuring cup into the gluten-free flour.

The best method really is to weigh the gluten-free flour but I don’t have the ingredient weights for all my recipes yet.

Dairy-Free Gluten Free Carrot Cake

They only dairy in this gluten free carrot cake recipe is in the frosting. You can make a cream cheese frosting or buttercream frosting using dairy-free ingredients to keep this carrot cake dairy-free.

eight numbered images in a collage showing the steps how to make Gluten Free Carrot Cake

How to make gluten free carrot cake

  1. In a large mixing bowl, cream sugar and eggs.
  2. Add oil and vanilla; beat just until smooth.
  3. In a separate medium mixing bowl combine flour, baking
    soda, baking powder,salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and ground cloves.
  4. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients.
  5. Mix until combined.
  6. Stir in grated carrots. Optional: Stir in chopped nuts.
  7. Spoon batter evenly into two round 9” and bake as directed.
  8. Cool completely before frosting.

Although the photos of this gluten free carrot cake show the cake as a layered cake, you can easily make this carrot cake into a sheet cake or cupcakes. See below.

side view of a whole gluten free carrot cake topped with chopped nuts on a wihte cake stand

Gluten Free Carrot Cake Sheet Cake

To make a gluten free carrot cake sheet cake mix the batter up as directed. Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C) and grease a 9×13 inch baking pan.

Pour cake batter into your prepared pan and level with the back of a rubber spatula.

Bake for 35-38 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting.

Gluten Free Carrot Cake Cupcakes

For the cupcakes: Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Position rack in center of oven.

Line two cupcake pans with paper liners; set aside. Mix the batter as directed.

Spoon batter evenly into cupcake liners.

Bake for 20-22 minutes or until the centers springs back when touched and the gluten free carrot cake cupcakes are very lightly browned.

a slice of carrot cake and a down view of the top of a carrot cake with the words gluten free carrot cake inbetween the two images

For this homemade gluten free carrot cake recipe, I like to use finely shredded carrots, but you can use regular grated carrots. I find the finely shredded carrots lend to a more tender texture, without any large carrot pieces.

I don’t use applesauce in my gf carrot cake but if you’d like you can replace half the oil with applesauce.

I haven’t tried replacing all the oil with applesauce. Everyone who’s tried this homemade gluten free carrot cake has said it’s the best gluten free carrot cake – even people who don’t eat gluten free.

For another amazing cake with carrots try this Gluten Free Carrot Zucchini Cake.

Did you make this gluten free carrot cake? Please stop back by and let me know what you thought. Leave a comment below and share your experience.

Yield: 16 servings

Gluten Free Carrot Cake

Cutting a slice of gluten free carrot cake

A tender gluten free carrot cake that is simple to make and uses minimal ingredients. Top this homemade gluten free carrot cake with cream cheese frosting or buttercream frosting.

Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Additional Time 20 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes

Ingredients

For the carrot cake:

For the Cream Cheese Frosting

  • 8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
  • ½ cup butter (1 stick), room temperature
  • 2 teaspoons gluten-free vanilla extract
  • 4½ cups powdered sugar

For Buttercream Frosting

  • ½ cup butter (1 stick), room temperature
  • 1½ teaspoons gluten-free vanilla extract
  • 4½ cups powdered sugar
  • ¼ cup milk

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Position the oven rack in center of oven. Line two 9” round cake pans with parchment paper (cut out circles for the bottom of the pan), and spray with oil; set aside.
  2. In a large mixing bowl, cream sugar and eggs. Add oil and vanilla; beat just until smooth.
  3. In a separate medium mixing bowl combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves.
  4. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until combined.
  5. Stir in grated carrots. Optional: Stir in chopped nuts.
  6. Spoon batter evenly into the baking pans.
  7. Bake for 36–40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. Start with the lowest time and watch for doneness from there.
  8. Remove from oven and let cool in the pan for 5–10 minutes, then remove from pan and let cool on a rack.
  9. Frost with your favorite frosting. For a layer cake, place a little frosting in the center of your cake plate. Place a layer on top, frost the top. Add the second layer and frosting the top. If desired frosting the sides.
  10. Store this gluten free carrot cake in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, and in a sealed container in the freezer for up to 3 months.
  11. For the cream cheese frosting - In a medium mixing bowl, beat together cream cheese, butter and vanilla until light and fluffy. Gradually add powdered sugar, one cup at a time, beating well. You can store frosting in the refrigerator in a sealed container
    for up to a week.
  12. For the buttercream frosting - In a medium mixing bowl, beat together butter and vanilla until smooth and creamy. Gradually add powdered sugar, one cup at a time, beating well. Alternate one cup of powdered sugar and 1 tablespoon of milk until all ingredients are blended. Beat in additional milk if needed to obtain desired constancy. You can store frosting in the refrigerator in a sealed container for up to a week.

Notes

  • Spoon gluten free flour into the measuring cup, then level.
  • Gluten Free Carrot Cake Sheet Cake - To make a gluten free carrot cake sheet cake mix the batter up as directed. Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C) and grease a 9×13 inch baking pan. Pour cake batter into your prepared pan and level with the back of a rubber spatula. Bake for 35-38 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting.
  • Gluten Free Carrot Cake Cupcakes - For the gluten free carrot cake cupcakes preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Position rack in center of oven. Line two cupcake pans with paper liners; set aside. Mix the batter as directed. Spoon batter evenly into cupcake liners. Bake for 20-22 minutes or until the centers springs back when touched and the gluten free carrot cake cupcakes are very lightly browned.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

16

Serving Size:

1 slice
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 697Total Fat: 34gSaturated Fat: 12gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 20gCholesterol: 92mgSodium: 276mgCarbohydrates: 96gFiber: 1gSugar: 81gProtein: 5g

This nutrition info is based on the exact ingredients and brands that I used a the time. It may not be 100% accurate. Please check your ingredients nutrition labels.

© Chrystal
Cuisine: American / Category: Desserts
a serving utentil moving a slice of gluten free carrot cake from a white cake stand with the words gluten free carrot cake on the top

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. My husband said this was the best GF carrot cake he’s ever had. Because of the quarantine I didn’t want to go out for groceries…so my frosting was made with plain Keffir and a bit of sour cream lol it was actually pretty close to cream cheese flavour!! Thanks for all your delicious recipes!

    Reply

    • Hi Lacey,
      I am so glad you both loved this carrot cake. Thank you for taking the time to stop by and let me know. I love your mock cream cheese frosting! Using keffir and sour cream is very creative.

      Best,
      Chrystal

      Reply

  2. Hi! I’m prepping the ingredients to bake the recipe tomorrow. Do you really not need salt in the carrot cake? Thanks so much for sharing all your recipes! I’ve tried vanilla cupcakes, red velvet cupcakes, chocolate cookies, and they’ve all been fantastic. My favorite are the red velvet cupcakes – they are phenomenal!! Thanks for the answer on the salt, if you have time.

    Reply

  3. Wow, we loved this recipe! I’ve been gluten free for 5 years and this is the first cake I’ve made. I wanted a special Easter dessert for my husband and this is what he chose. I was nervous because not all of my GF recipes have turned out well. This one did and is definitely a keeper! Thank you for sharing this.

    Reply

  4. Hi Chrystal, I made cupcakes today. They’re as light as angel wings! I made icing with butter, almond butter, almond extract, a spoon of almond milk, and finely chopped crystalized ginger. So delicious. Thanks for posting the recipes.

    Reply

  5. Made cupcakes instead and they where delicious. Best GF cake recipe I have ever tried. All other recipes have been dense and sticky but this one was light and soft….just like regular cake! My husband who flat out said he didn’t like carrot cake has been eating these all day, thank you!

    Reply

  7. I like to bake, and so the other day my friend asked if I could make a gluten free cake for her family. I had never tried making a gluten free cake, but I said that I would try. Anyway I finally found this website and decided to try the carrot cake, since I like cake and I wanted to do a trial cake on my family.WOW, my family loved it, I even got asked for seconds! They said that they couldn’t even tell that it was gluten free (and I would say that they are particular when it comes to food) . So that’s why I give this recipe 5 stars no doubt.

    Reply

    • Hi Liz,
      I am so glad you and your family loved it. I hope your friend loves it too. Thank you for taking time to stop by and let me know.

      Best,
      Chrystal

      Reply

  8. Since the recipe is so so good, my mom has me bake her one every week! It’s crazy, I know, a cake a week, but she absolutely adores it. I was wondering if I could opt out the carrots and replace it with apples? I cannot find an apple cake recipe anywhere to my liking and think this would be a scrumptious base for the apples.

    Thank you,
    Sofee

    Reply

    • Hi Sofee,
      I am so glad she loves it. You can definitely use apple. Make sure to use a tart apple like a granny smith. After you shredded it, pat the shredded apple with paper towels to take a little of the extra moisture out.

      Best,
      Chrystal

      Reply

  12. Oh! My goodness Chrystal ! I used the muffin option for this recipe and they are fantastic!
    I haven’t had the best of luck baking with gluten free flour but these turned out perfect . In honour of Halloween , we added some orange food Coloring to our cream cheese frosting (LF cream cheese) yum !

    Reply

  14. Most of my gluten free recipes use xantham gum to help the ingredients come and stay together. Do you not use xantham and still get a good result?

    Reply

    • Hi Laura,
      You can use xanthan gum in this recipe. Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 has xanthan, I an I use it often. You don’t always need xanthan to bind ingredients if the recipe isn’t high in fat (like pie crust, it needs xanthan). This cake has enough variation in ingredients that it’s not needed to bind, but you can still add it for shelf life.

      Best,
      Chrystal

      Reply

  15. Hi, I was wondering is there any way I can reduce the amount of sugar, my son reacts if he has too much 🙂

    Reply

    • Hi Deran,
      You can reduce the sugar to 1 1/4 cup for the cake and make a sugar free cream cheese frosting, or frost with fresh whipped cream.

      Best,
      Chrystal

      Reply

  16. If I only have one round cake pan would it be ok to bake separate? or should i figure out some other way, Also i love you recipes and I’m such a big fan!! Cant wait for new recipes!

    Reply

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