Best Healthy Carrot Cake Ever (vegan, gluten-free)

This is the BEST healthy carrot cake you’ll ever eat and perfect to kick off the spring season! No one would know it was made with wholesome and good for you ingredients. This is an easy carrot cake made with simple ingredients that you can whip up quickly.

It’s moist, perfectly sweet, fluffy, flavorful, and filled with warm spices. The texture is perfect and I absolutely love the walnuts in this carrot cake. It adds a nice crunch and nuttiness that pairs well with the flavors in this cake.

This healthy carrot cake is made with oat and almond flours. You can seriously eat it for breakfast, as a snack, or for dessert. It’s wholesome, yet so delicious. It is also refined sugar free too and actually does not have a lot of added sugars. I don’t love super sweet cakes and I think this carrot cake has just the right amount of sweetness. It tastes even better the next day as the flavors have more time to meld and develop, making the cake more moist and sweet.

I used Spero Food’s original sunflower cream cheese as my “frosting”. I am not a huge fan of frosting, but I added some cinnamon and pure maple syrup to the cream cheese and it was delish! It isn’t super sweet and is made with great ingredients too. I’ve also used Trader Joe’s vegan cream cheese and made a more classic cream cheese frosting. Both are amazing! However, feel free to use your favorite vegan cream cheese frosting for this cake or eat it plain! I actually would prefer to just eat it plain, but that’s just me!

If you make this, tag me @nutsaboutgreens on Instagram so I can see your creations!

Best Healthy Carrot Cake Ever (vegan, gluten-free)

This is the best healthy carrot cake you will ever eat! It's made with wholesome ingredients that will leave you feeling great!

Print Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 flax eggs (2 Tbsp ground flaxseed + 6 Tbsp water)
• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1/4 cup avocado oil (or any oil)
• 2/3 cup almond milk (or any non-dairy milk)
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup + 2 Tbsp coconut sugar (or brown sugar)
• 2 cups oat flour (I blended 2 cups of rolled oats in my Vitamix into a fine flour)
• 1/2 cup almond flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 1 cup shredded carrots
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Frosting

• Use your favorite vegan cream cheese frosting. I used Spero Foods Original Sunflower Cream Cheese, some cinnamon, and pure maple syrup (to taste) for the frosting.
• I've also made a more classic cream cheese frosting using Trader Joe's vegan cream cheese. I beat 6 oz of cream cheese with 1/4 cup vegan butter. Then I added about 1 1/2-2 cups of powdered sugar and 1 tsp vanilla extract. Beat until fluffy and creamy.

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line an 8×8 square pan with parchment paper or grease the pan.
• In a large bowl make the flax egg by combining the ground flaxseed and water. Mix and set aside for 5 minutes to thicken.
• In a medium bowl, add the oat flour, almond flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and salt. Whisk until well combined.
• In the bowl with the flax egg, add the applesauce, oil, milk, vanilla, and coconut sugar. Whisk until well combined.
• Add dry ingredients to the wet. Use a rubber spatula and mix until just combined (don’t overmix!). Fold in the carrots and walnuts. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for 35-38 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let it cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Then lift cake out with parchment paper and place on a cooling rack to cool completely.
• Once cake is cooled, frost with your favorite cream cheese frosting. Slice and enjoy! Keep leftovers in the fridge. It tastes even better the next day too!

Servings: 9

Author: valeria.chao