Scrumptious yet easy vegan carrot cake cupcakes with lots of beautiful spices, walnut pieces and the dreamiest dairy-free cream cheese frosting. Just like your corner bakery!
The cupcake portion can be made refined sugar-free and gluten-free. Alternatively, check out my vegan carrot muffins or vegan carrot cake recipes!
These delightful treats are just like your traditional carrot cake but in cupcake form! They are moist, tender and are so nostalgic.
Perfect as a vegan Easter dessert in April, easy Spring recipe or for any celebrations throughout the year. This is my favorite carrot cake recipe and I bet they'll become yours too!
Ingredients to make vegan carrot cupcakes
These cupcakes use only everyday pantry staples which you probably already have! You'll need:
Notes about the ingredients
All-purpose plain flour, which can be substituted with whole wheat or spelt flour for healthier vegan carrot cake cupcakes. You can also make these cupcakes gluten-free. Check out the notes of the recipe card below.
Brown or coconut sugar (instead of regular cane sugar) for depth of flavor.
Dairy-free milk. I'd recommend using a full-bodied milk such as soy milk, oat milk or almond milk.
Grated carrot (coarse or fine). For ease, I used a food processor to grate my carrots but a hand-held grater will work too!
Any light-tasting oil such as sunflower, avocado or light olive oil. You may use melted coconut oil but it tends to solidify when cold which might make the cupcakes feel dry.
Optional add-ins include chopped walnuts and raisins
Even though these are eggless carrot cake muffins, we don't need any egg replacers such as flax eggs!
A complete list of ingredients, quantities and instructions are in the gray recipe card at the bottom of this post.
How to make vegan carrot cake cupcakes
The carrot cake cupcakes come together in just ONE BOWL! You don't have to whip any aquafaba or mix separate ingredients in different bowls.
So, simply add all the dry ingredients to a large mixing bowl and mix. Add the wet ingredients then mix again!
The batter should be quite thick and shaggy (like image 4 below). When we bake the cupcakes, the carrots will leak their natural juices so a thick batter is perfect!
When you spoon your batter into your cupcake liners, I'd recommend using an ice cream scoop. This allows you to get evenly sized cupcakes and it's SO much easier and less messy than using spoons!
The batter fills each cupcake mold about ¾ of the way. This is just enough for you to have decent-sized cupcakes but not enough for the cupcakes to overflow.
How to make vegan cream cheese frosting
First, it's important to use room-temperature cream cheese and vegan block butter! Mixing cold ingredients makes it difficult to create a smooth lump-free frosting.
To make the frosting, combine the cream cheese and vegan butter. The aim is to remove any lumps!
Then add your powdered sugar and mix through. I'd recommend using a spatula or electric hand beaters rather than a stand mixer. It's important to not overmix cream cheese frosting as it can make it too runny or it will split!
Tips for making a stable dairy-free cream cheese frosting
Cream cheese frosting is notoriously soft. However, I have a few tricks to make cream cheese frosting firmer and a pipeable consistency that won't just melt within 5 minutes:
- Make sure you use a vegan block butter that is firm when chilled. Vegan spreadable margarine is too soft for cream cheese frosting.
- Add 3 tablespoons of melted vegetable shortening or refined coconut oil. I'd recommend adding this with the butter and cream cheese and then whipping the mixture before adding the sugar.
- Add more powdered sugar for a firmer frosting.
- Add 2-3 tablespoons of cornstarch (corn flour) to the frosting. This absorbs any additional liquid (from the cream cheese and butter) and makes it more firm.
For more tips, check out Sally's Baking Addiction post for (non-vegan) cream cheese frosting.
Other ways to decorate carrot cake cupcakes
Dare I say, I actually LOVE these vegan carrot cupcakes without frosting.
If you don't have cream cheese, you can frost the cupcakes with vegan buttercream OR coconut whipping cream.
Alternatively, skip the frosting and sprinkle the unbaked batter with walnuts to make vegan carrot cake muffins!
Expert tips and customizing these cupcakes
I'd recommend substituting plain flour for whole wheat flour or spelt flour. This will make heavier muffin-like cupcakes but they'll still be delicious!
Regarding the sweetener, my top recommendation is coconut sugar. I do not recommend using liquid sweeteners such as maple syrup as this will weigh down the cake
I haven't tried substituting the oil with applesauce or something similar, though it may work.
Yes, I'd recommend substituting the all-purpose plain flour with 50% gluten-free all-purpose and 50% almond flour by weight (check out the notes of the recipe card for the exact quantities).
Alternatively, you can use a high-quality gluten-free flour such as Bob Red Mill's 1:1 flour.
Try substituting the dairy-free milk for orange juice to make orange carrot muffins or cupcakes!
More easy vegan cupcake and muffin recipes
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Vegan Carrot Cake Cupcakes
Ingredients
Dry ingredients
- 2 ⅓ cups (290g) all-purpose plain flour, (note 1 for alternatives)
- 1 cup (190g) packed brown sugar, or coconut sugar
- ½ cup (60g) walnuts, chopped roughly (optional, note 2 for raisins)
- 2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- Pinch of salt, optional
Wet ingredients
- ~2 cups (200g) finely or coarsely grated carrot, (around 2-3 medium carrots)
- ¾ cup (190mL) dairy-free milk
- ¼ cup (65mL) neutral flavored oil
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar, regular vinegar or lemon juice, optional
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, optional
To decorate (optional, note 3)
- 220 g (8 oz) vegan cream cheese, room temperature (1 tub)
- ¾ cup (170g) vegan butter, room temperature
- 3-4 cups (300-400g) powdered sugar / icing sugar, to taste
- ¼ cup (30g) walnuts, chopped roughly
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Line a cupcake pan with liners.
To make the cupcakes:
- Add all the dry ingredients to a large bowl and mix until combined or until there are no more big lumps except the walnuts. Add all the wet ingredients and mix until just combined.
- Divide the batter amongst your cupcake tray.
- Bake the cupcakes in the oven for 20-25 minutes or until a skewer can be inserted into one and it comes out clean. The cupcakes will still be moist from the carrot.
- Cool the cupcakes in the tray for 5 minutes then turn out onto a wire rack. If you can't help yourself and eat the cupcakes at this point (no judgement), they will be very moist. However, when they cool, they will be perfect!
To make the frosting:
- Add the vegan cream cheese and butter to a bowl. Whisk or beat until the mixture is light and fluffy and there are no lumps. Add the sugar and mix until just combined. If you overmix the frosting, it will become loose and may not hold up. Add more powdered sugar for a firmer frosting (note 4).
- When the cupcakes have completely cooled, use a piping bag, knife or spoon to top the cupcakes with the cream cheese frosting. Sprinkle with the remaining chopped walnuts.
- Serve immediately. Leftover frosting cupcakes can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Allow them to sit at room temperature for 10 minutes before serving.
Notes
- For healthy vegan carrot cake cupcakes, use whole wheat flour or spelt flour. To make vegan GLUTEN FREE cupcakes, substitute the flour with 1 cup (160g) gluten free flour blend and 1 ¼ cups (125g) almond flour OR a high quality 1:1 gluten free flour. All brands of flours work differently so you may need to make minor adjustments to the amount of plant-based milk.
- If you'd like to add raisins instead, I'd recommend adding ¼ - ½ cup to taste. If you'd like to add raisins in addition to the walnuts, I'd recommend adding only ¼ cup.
- This can be substituted with buttercream, coconut whipped cream or omitted to make healthy vegan carrot muffins.
- More powdered sugar will create a firmer frosting whereas less sugar will create a softer frosting. If your frosting is a little too soft for piping, I'd recommend chilling it until it's a little firmer. Also, see the post above for extra tips on creating a firmer frosting.
Nutrition
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This looks delicious! I’m hoping to make this for my baby’s first birthday party. In place of sugar, do you think unsweetened applesauce or mashed bananas would work as a substitute? If so, how much would you recommend?
Hi Jennifer! It may work however, the muffins will be a lot denser. I haven't tested it myself so I'm not 100% sure of quantities, sorry!
Absolutely Devine🤍
I've tried these cupcakes recently and they were delicious! My non-vegan co-workers really loved them as well! Now I want to make an actual carrot cake instead of cupcakes for my upcoming birthday. What size of baking pan would you recommend? Would 24 cm be sufficient, or too big?
I will use the muffin recipe for the cake as recommended and use this recipe for the lovely frosting.
Aw, it's great that you and your co-workers enjoyed these cupcakes! I'm actually developing a vegan carrot cake recipe now :). I used my vegan carrot muffin recipe but increased the milk to 1 1/4 cups (315g) milk. This gives the cake a fluffier texture rather than a muffin texture. The cake fit well in two 20x4cm round cake pans - I think a 24x4cm round cake pan will be too small but a taller 24cm cake pan should be fine. Alternatively, you can scale down the recipe. I hope that helps!
These are by far the best carot muffins I have eaten and made! I love that they are packed with this autumn/winter flavour 😍. The consistency is just perfect! The next time I will make the frosting too. I can't wait to make them again xD.
Hi! Can I make these with oat flour? Thanks!
Hi Elena, I think oat flour normally needs to be combined with other gluten-free flours to make it work. I hope that helps!
I tried this out and it’s pretty good. The only adjustment that I had to make was the amount of almond milk. I needed a lot more than what the recipe called for but other than that, the recipe was perfect! I’ll definitely be making this again.
Glad you enjoyed these cupcakes! By any chance, did you measure the ingredients using cups? I find that if you pack too much flour into the cup or if your carrots were too dry, you'll need more milk. But glad that you worked around it and thanks for your feedback!
Hi! can I make a whole cake instead of cupcakes with this recipe? Will it cook properly in the middle?
Hey! I recommend using my carrot muffin recipe instead to make a larger carrot cake. The muffin recipe has the same amount of raising agents that I normally use in larger cakes so it should bake inside. I hope that helps!
Thanks a lot for the recipe!
First attempt and great result.
These were the best carrot cupcakes in my life.
How much corn flour do you recommend? 1 tablespoon? I live in Asia. I may like to make these for Easter weekend. Thanks.
Hi Sue, I'd recommend 2-3 tablespoons of corn flour. Hope that helps!
These were delicious but I don't know if I did something wrong? They turned out a bit lumpy and didn't rise up quite that much. Almost like they spilled out as they rose. They're not holding their shape spectacularly and they're just a little bit too moist? Should I try baking them a bit longer maybe? Or adding less carrot? More flour?
Glad you enjoyed the taste of these! And ooh so strange that your cupcakes were lumpy! Generally, lumpy cakes can be from undermixing or a slight mismeasurement of ingredients. Did you measure the ingredients using cups or grams (I test all of my recipes using grams) or slightly altered the ingredients (i.e. less sugar)? And can I ask if your batter was thick or runny? If the cupcakes looked fine in the first few minutes but eventually spilled out, it's likely that the cupcake moulds were slightly overfilled :). Let me know if there's anything I can do to help!
I was skeptical when I saw how much batter filled the cupcake tin, but they turned out absolutely beautiful and delicious. I used the Tofuti Better Than Cream Cheese for the icing and it was possibly a little runnier than it otherwise would have been? But it tasted good.
I gave them away at an event and multiple people approached me to compliment them! Highly recommend for vegans and non-vegans alike.
So glad you enjoyed these cupcakes! Yes, cream cheese icing is notoriously soft, especially if it's warm where you are. I learnt that adding more icing/powdered sugar and even a pinch of corn flour/starch can help with the consistency. But sometimes a soft cream cheese icing is nicer to eat! And that makes me so happy that non-vegans loved these too - thanks so much for your comment 🙂
Yum! Little bites of joy. Showstoppers🤩
Aw, I'm happy that you enjoyed this recipe!
These are fantastic. I've made alot of carrot cakes in my time! But cannot fault these... Perfectly balanced flavour & texture is amazing too. I used 1/3 spelt flour 2/3 plain flour, and only used 100 sugar (mix of coconut & raw cane). Also added a small handful of raisins.... Didn't use the topping as didn't have cream cheese to hand, but will definitely try this next time. This is now my go to recipe! Thanks!
That's the nicest comment, I'm soo glad to hear! And that's great those substitutions worked for you :). Thank you for leaving a comment!
I made these, and they were bloody delicious! So easy to make, tasty, and exactly what my 8 months pregnant body wanted. Now my mouth is watering and I think I’m gonna have to make them again...
Ooh I'm so happy to hear that! I hope you're recovering well and enjoying time with your new bub now xo
I made these for a family gathering, everyone loved it! I doubled the recipe and everything was gone after 10 minutes!
YAY! Best news ever! Thanks soo much for your feedback 🙂
LOVED THESE! And so easy to make as well. I used spelt flour instead, so needed less than the recipe calls - around 250g. I also halved the sugar and they still turned out great! Although if you are making these for a special occasion I'd recommend following the recipe because I'm just not a big sweet tooth. Also, they definitely need to bake for at least 20min. I took one out after 15min to check as it already had a golden crust. Even though it was technically cooked, it still needed the extra minutes to really bake and to finish caramelising. Will bake it again!
Aw this was sooo nice to hear Vai! Glad they worked with spelt flour, less sugar and that your cupcakes baked after 20 min. Thanks so much for your ongoing support - it's truly truly appreciated!!!
How much apple cider vinegar? X
One tablespoon xo
Where can I find vegan cream cheese in Australia ?
I love Miyoko's cream cheese which used to be in Woolies/Coles but is now in some health food stores. The major stores have Made with Plants vegan cream cheese and Sheese (but has some additives). I'm still trying to find a good local brand for it!