Hands down the best gluten-free carrot cake around! Easy to make with everyday ingredients and topped with a blanket of fluffy cream cheese frosting. Nobody will guess this is gluten-free!
Easter dinner isn’t complete without a delicious carrot cake for dessert! I’ve been making this homemade gluten-free carrot cake recipe for a few years now and it’s always an unbelievable hit. It is light and moist with the perfect tender crumb and hint of spice.
The traditional cream cheese frosting is just the right amount of sweet. It’s whipped until it’s fluffy so it makes a blanket of frosting over the cake. Nobody will guess this great recipe is gluten-free!
I love how easy it is to make sheet cakes! (Like this easy gluten-free chocolate cake.) No stacking layers precariously with frosting. No worrying it will tip over on the car ride over to a friends house.
Just easy-peasy cake made in a 9×13 pan that is no-fuss, portable and always a crowd-pleaser. (However, you could make this a layer cake, if you really wanted to!) For another easy sheet cake try this gluten-free banana cake.
For more gluten-free cake recipes, try this gluten-free lemon cake, gluten-free birthday cake, gluten-free pineapple upside down cake, gluten-free red velvet cake or these gluten-free vanilla cupcakes. You also might like these gluten-free pumpkin bars for the fall.
Why You’ll Love this Gluten-Free Carrot Cake
- Great for special occasions (like Easter)
- Easy to make, no-fuss recipe
- Topped with cream cream cheese frosting (that isn’t too sweet)
- Always light, fluffy, and moist
Check out this collection of gluten-free Easter desserts for more recipes!
How to Make Gluten-Free Carrot Cake
This carrot cake is surprisingly easy to make-it’s made with simple ingredients, and it’s no different than making a regular carrot sheet cake! The ingredients are basically the same (eggs, sugar, oil, carrots, spices, etc.) except you use gluten-free 1:1 baking flour. This is also sometimes called measure-for-measure flour.
Just be sure to pick a flour that contains xanthan gum that acts as a binder. I like using King Arthur Flour Gluten-Free Measure-For-Measure Flour and a little bit of almond flour for the dry ingredients in this recipe.
There are a few tricks for making gluten-free cake in general. For this reason I highly recommend using recipes that are designed specifically to be gluten-free rather than swapping in gluten-free flour for regular flour in a standard recipe.
STEP 1: You start by beating together the eggs, white sugar and brown sugar in a large mixing bowl. You can use the bowl of a stand mixer or a hand mixer for this – either will work!
STEP 2: Slowly add the oil in a steady stream while beating until fully incorporated. Then whip the whole mixer until light and fluffy, about 1-2 minutes.
STEP 3: Add the dry ingredients, grated carrots, and pecans into the large bowl. I shred my carrots in the food processor to speed up the process. You can omit the pecans if you like but I love the little bit of texture! However if you ask me, golden raisins and pineapple have no place in a carrot cake! I like the nice light texture of a cake without the other mix-ins.
STEP 4: Mix the dry and wet ingredients until incorporated, then pour the cake batter into a 9×13 pan.
TIP: Shred carrots in the food processor to save time.
STEP 5: Make the luscious cream cheese frosting! This is my very favorite recipe for gluten free cream cheese frosting. It really makes a difference to whip the powdered sugar and other ingredients together for a few minutes for a nice fluffy texture. I also like this cream cheese frosting because it uses a little less sugar than other recipes and isn’t overwhelmingly sweet.
STEP 6: Spread the frosting over the cooled gluten-free carrot cake. Refrigerate until serving if needed. Let the cake come to room temperature for about 20 minutes before serving, then enjoy the perfect gluten-free treat!
Storage Instructions
Store your cake by covering the pan in plastic wrap, or by placing leftovers in an airtight container. Store in the fridge for up to two days.
Tips for Making Gluten-Free Cake
This recipe is perfectly designed to work as written with gluten-free flour. (Like this gluten-free angel food cake!) I highly recommend seeking out recipes that are specifically designed to be gluten-free. However, here are few tips for making cake gluten-free if you’re adapting a regular flour recipe.
Use a high-quality gluten-free 1:1 flour: I like King Arthur Flour. I also usually reduce the amount of flour slightly as gluten-free flour tends to be denser than regular flour.
Reduce the amount of oil slightly: Gluten-free flours aren’t as absorptive as regular flour so sometimes you need to cut back on the vegetable or canola oil slightly.
Add an extra egg: Eggs can give gluten-free baked goods an extra lift and needed structure.
Bake the cake longer: Gluten-free cakes often need longer in the oven than regular cakes. Be sure to test the center with a toothpick to ensure it’s cooked through.
Use parchment paper: If you want to be able to easily remove the whole cake from the prepared pan, line it with parchment paper and let some hang off the sides.
You also might like this gluten-free coconut cake or gluten-free coffee cake.
More Gluten-Free Cake Recipes
I hope you love this gluten-free carrot cake recipe as much as we do! Leave a comment/rating below if you try this recipe. I’d love to hear from you!
Easy Gluten-Free Carrot Cake
Video
Ingredients
For the Cake:
- 2 cups gluten-free measure-for-measure flour 310 grams
- 1/2 cup almond flour 55 grams, or substitute with 1/4 cup more measure-for-measure flour
- 1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 pound carrots 450 grams, peeled and grated
- 4 eggs
- 1 cup granulated sugar 200 grams
- 1 cup brown sugar 200 grams
- 3/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup pecans toasted and chopped (optional – plus more for topping finished cake if desired)
For the Cream Cheese Frosting:
- 16 ounces brick-style cream cheese 452 grams, softened to room temperature
- 10 tablespoons butter 140 grams, softened to room temperature
- 2 tablespoons sour cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 cups powdered sugar 340 grams
Instructions
- For the Cake: Preheat the oven to 350F. Spray a 9×13 pan with cooking spray and set aside.
- Grate the carrots in a food processor (this way is the easiest!) or by hand. In a medium bowl, add the flour, almond flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and salt. Whisk to combine.
- In a large bowl or bowl of a stand mixer, add the eggs, granulated sugar and brown sugar. Using a hand or stand mixer, beat until frothy and combined. Slowly pour in the oil while mixing and whip until light and fluffy, about 1-2 minutes.
- Add the flour mixture, carrots and nuts and mix everything together with a spatula until well-combined. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and spread out evenly.
- Bake for 40-45 minutes until set and a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. Let cool completely before frosting.
- For the Frosting: Mix the cream cheese, butter, and sour cream at medium-high speed in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or in a large bowl using handheld mixer) until well combined, about 30 seconds, scraping down the bowl with rubber spatula as needed.
- Add the vanilla and powdered sugar and beat on low speed for 10-15 seconds, then increase the speed to medium-high and whip for 1-2 minutes until very fluffy. Spread the frosting over the cooled cake and top with more pecans if desired.
- Refrigerate until serving if needed. Let the cake come to room temperature for about 20 minutes before serving. Enjoy!
Is the recipe asking for ground cloves or whole cloves?
Hi Maria, we use ground cloves. Thank you for your question! We hope you enjoy the cake!
Hi, I’m low carb and my d-in-law is g-free so I often tweak recipes to suit us both. Could I make this cake with all almond flour instead of flour and xylitol instead of sugar? Sorry, I expect this is a hard one to answer!
Hi Carol, almond flour has different properties than the gf measure-for-measure flour blend so it won’t work as a 1:1 swap. We don’t bake with sugar substitutes so we’re not sure how the xylitol will do. If you decide to give it a try, we’d love to hear how it goes!
Can you use Splenda white and brown sugar in this recipe to cut back on calories and carbs for a diabetic?
Hi Myrna, thank you for your question! We don’t typically bake with sugar substitutes and haven’t tried Splenda options in any recipes. If you decide to give it a try, we’d love to hear how it goes!
Can you use the pre shredded carrots?
Hi Melissa, we recommend using fresh carrots since pre-shredded carrots are drier and thicker than freshly grated ones. They may impact the overall texture of the finished cake. Thank you for your question!
Can I add a little crushed pineapple and if so, how much that would not affect the outcome thank you looking forward to try this recipe love all your other recipes especially the chicken and biscuits!
Hi Pamela, we haven’t tested it out, but adding 1/2 cup of well-drained crushed pineapple should work well. You just don’t want to add too much liquid to the batter. We hope you enjoy! We’re so glad you loved the other recipe!
Could you bake this in a muffin pan?
Hi Colleen, yes this cake can be made into cupcakes using a muffin pan! We’d recommend baking them at the same temperature, but reducing the baking time to about 20-25 minutes. We’d also recommend using these cupcake liners (they work best for gluten-free baking and never stick!). We hope you enjoy the recipe!
Can I use olive oil instead of vegetable oil please?
Definitely, Rebecca! We hope you enjoy the cake!
This was delicious and easy! Agree that you’d never know it’s GF. So yummy and moist!
Yay! We’re so pleased to hear how much you loved the recipe. Thank you for your kind feedback!
This might be a silly question but so you use ground cloves or whole ones?
Hi Erica, not a silly question at all! We use ground cloves in this recipe. We hope you enjoy!
Can I use this recipe to make a layer cake?
Hi Shari, yes you can use this recipe to make a layer cake with two 8″ round pans. We hope you enjoy the recipe!
Perfect, but can I omit nuts totally? Should I take more of something since it’s quite much nuts?
Hi Ulrika, you can just omit the pecans. If you are wanting to leave out the almond flour too to make the recipe nut-free, you can replace that flour with more gluten-free measure-for-measure flour. We hope you enjoy the cake!
Perfect, Thank You soo much for Your respond…looks great☺️
Best carrot cake ever! Even my husband who despises anything gluten free loved it!
Yay! We’re so happy to hear how much you and your husband loved the recipe! Thank you for your kind feedback, Rebecca.
Can You onit the pecans? Or use almonds instead?
Hi Ulrika, you can definitely omit the pecans! We haven’t tried almonds, but if you decide to test them out, we’d love to hear how it goes. Happy baking!
Would this work in a sheet pan? Sort of like a pumpkin bar but with carrot cake?
Hi Alyssa, we recommend making this in a 9×13 pan (a quarter sheet pan). Making it in a full sheet pan would require multiplying the recipe to have enough batter. We hope this helps and you enjoy the recipe!
Delicious cake. You would never know it is gluten free.
I will definitely make this again Thank you.
Hi Diane, we’re so glad you enjoyed the carrot cake! Thank you for your kind review. Happy baking!
Is it possible to use a round cake pan or a bundt cake pan? Can I omit the cloves, i only have the whole cloves, is that what I would use?
Hi Cerissa, yes this recipe is enough for two 8″ round pans. We haven’t tried it in a Bundt pan though. We typically use ground cloves. You can definitely leave it out or grind the whole cloves if you prefer. We hope you enjoy the recipe!
Wow, these are AMAZING. I’m not gluten free but a few friends are, so I do a reasonable amount of GF baking — and I’d never know these are GF. I made these as cupcakes and baked for 20 minutes, they came out perfectly moist and delicious!
Yay! We’re so glad you loved this recipe so much, Jenna! Thank you for taking the time to share your positive feedback with us!
Can I add raisins without making it dense?
Hi Jodi, thank you for your question! We don’t typically add raisins to our carrot cake, but other readers have shared they’ve done so with this recipe and has success. If you decide to give it a try, we’d love to hear how it goes!