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!
‘This is the best cheesecake ever’ said everyone at the baby shower. All present requested the recipe. I added raisins. I would like to add nuts but there was an allergic person present.
I made just half the icing and personally I think that is enough. Personal preference. I would make the full icing if doing a layer ca.
We love to hear how much everyone loved the cake! Thank you for taking the time to come back and share this feedback with us, Lynda. We’re glad the raisins went well and love the nut idea for next time!
Will this work with coconut oil or avocado oil instead of vegetable oil?
If so – would I use the same amount?
Thank you – I try to stay away from vegetable oil.
Hi Nancy! Yes you can use avocado oil as a 1:1 swap. We’d recommend it over coconut oil since it’s pretty neutral in flavor. We hope you love the cake!
Hi Erin,
When I made the frosting for this carrot cake it was very runny. Is there a typo in the frosting recipe? I have made so many of your recipes and this is the first one that was not received/eaten with rave reviews.
Hi Tracey! We’re sorry you had this experience. The frosting can become runny if the cream cheese and butter are too warm, the frosting is beaten too long or too fast, etc. When this happens you can add a little extra powdered sugar incrementally to thicken it up. We hope your next bake is a total success!
This was so good and moist but too sweet for me. I added some dried, candied ginger, dates and golden raisins because I do like them in my carrot cake. If I reduce the amount of sugar in the batter will it still rise and have a beautiful texture?
We’re so glad you loved the carrot cake, Tricia! Thank you for coming back to share your experience with us. It’s great to learn that those mix-ins worked well for you! We don’t recommend reducing the sugar as that will impact taste and texture. Happy baking!
Can this be made into cupcakes? I want to make them for Easter. I love all of your recipes. I haven’t found one I didn’t like. I come from a long line of amazing cooks/bakers. Your recipes have been amazing since being diagnosed with Celiacs over a year ago.
Hi Michele! Yes, that should work great! We’d recommend baking them at the same temperature, but reducing the baking time (we’d start checking around 15 minutes and go from there). We’re so pleased you’re loving Erin’s recipes! Thank you for the kind feedback!
Is it ok to add raisins and if so how much?
Hi Carol! 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!
So delicious! Loved by all who tried. I made this nut-free as well.
We love to hear this, Michelle! Thank you for your positive review!
Erin, this is the most delicious carrot cake I’ve ever had! Thank you for all your amazing recipes.
Aww, we’re so pleased you loved the cake this much, Lisa! Thank you for your kind feedback!
I’m still working on my gluten free baking as I’ve been diagnosed as celiac 3 years now. My carrot cake came out ok, but was pretty dry.
I used the King Arthur flour and almond flour. I’m not sure what I could do to make the cake more moist which is a favorite characteristic of carrot cakes. I didn’t bake it the full 40 minutes, it was done in 35 min. So I don’t think it was over cooked. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Hi Carol, we’re sorry you had this experience! Typically, GF carrot cake will end up dry if the batter is overmixed and/or the cake is overbaked. Since you pulled it out early, we’d lean overmixing unless your oven is running extra hot. Things like over-measuring the dry ingredients or under-measuring the wet can also make a difference. We hope this helps!
Can this be made into a layered cake??
Definitely, Sharon! We’d start checking around the 30-35 minute mark with a 9″ round pan, but 8″ pans will need longer since they’re deeper. We find the toothpick test to be the best way to adjust for layer cakes. Happy baking!
The carrot cake, like most of your recipes, turned out delicious. My only comment is that the frosting is about twice what is needed to cover the 9×13 sheet. We froze the rest for next time! We used King Arthur Merasure for Measure flour for this recipe, but our go to flour is Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1. I think is gives a better crumb especially for your banana nut bread.
Thank you for sharing your feedback with us, Dennis! We’re so glad you enjoyed the recipe! The frosting will keep well in the freezer – perfect for next time!
I’m excited to try this but don’t love using vegetable oil! Is there anything you would recommend subbing for vegetable oil? Butter? Olive oil?
Hi Allie, you can use any neutral oil, such as avocado oil. We hope you love the cake!
This was my very first GF cake recipe I’ve made from scratch and it’s so good. I did let it sit for 15min like I’ve been taught. I will be making this again very soon.
We love to hear this, Helen! Thank you for taking the time to share your positive experience with us!
yummy and Deliches
We’re so glad you loved the recipe! Thank you for the positive review!
Made this cake today. I let the dough rest for a hour before baking. It was delicious. Will make again. I used King Arthur gluten free flour.
We’re so pleased you enjoyed the cake, Judy! Thank you for your kind review!