I always thought carrot cake was only enjoyed in the spring, but I’ve found that people like making this gluten-free carrot cake year-round! This easy gluten-free carrot sheet cake is one you’ve got to try! Just because you can’t have gluten, doesn’t mean you have to miss out on your favorite holiday and seasonal desserts! Has Spring had you craving carrot cake? If so, you’ll love this gluten-free classic carrot cake. It got thumbs up all around from a dozen gluten-eaters this weekend! The best part is that it couldn’t be easier to make or serve, as it’s made as a sheet cake. No fussing to line up multiple layers of cake and icing and hoping it doesn’t all slide off! Sheet cakes are so much easier! I surveyed many friends before making my gluten-free carrot cake to see what people’s preferences were on extra ingredients. There were only a few people that wanted nuts; most were adamant to not include nuts. Some liked raisins inside, some didn’t. A few liked coconut. Almost everyone said to definitely NOT include pineapple. Strong feelings on that one!! Ultimately, I decided to go for making a simple, classic, moist gluten-free carrot cake, full of spice flavor and topped with a tangy cream cheese frosting. I’m not going to lie – I enjoy frosting as equally as I enjoy cake. You can’t have one without the other, in my opinion! This cream cheese frosting has the perfect mix of sweet and tangy. It’s made with cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, heavy cream, and pure vanilla extract. Only the best ingredients and it makes a frosting so good, you’ll be licking your spatula! You can also stir chopped nuts into the cream cheese frosting if you want. Chopped pecans would be yummy! Yes! The carrot cake itself is already almost completely free of dairy – the melted butter already includes a substitution to just add additional oil. The frosting recipe can be made dairy-free too. Use dairy-free cream cheese (I recommend Kite Hill), a butter alternative like Earth Balance or Melt Buttery Sticks, and your favorite dairy-free milk alternative for the cream. Or if you have it on hand, use a dairy-free creamer. Let’s talk about the rest of the ingredients. If you like coconut, nuts, raisins, or pineapple, feel free to stir in any of those into the cake batter! Why did I call this gluten-free carrot cake easy? The hardest part is getting the carrots washed, peeled, and shredded. The rest is simple mixing together! Wash and peel your carrots before finely shredding them. A food processor or food chopper is best for finely shredding them. You can save time by buying baby carrots too! Then you can just drop them right into the food chopper. The food chopper I use is this one that does about a cup of them at a time. I prefer it over my huge food processor as this one is so easy to clean – just plop the three parts right in the dishwasher! Looking for more gluten-free recipes with carrots? Love soup? I added chopped carrots to my gluten-free cheeseburger soup. My friend Erin adds big carrot chunks to her Italian minestrone soup. And I add them to my hearty gluten-free ham cheddar chowder recipe too! So many options for carrots – just thought I’d share a few! How about these paleo carrot cake muffins from my friend Chrystal? Of course I use shredded carrots in this simple coleslaw recipe. These carrot fritters caught my eye, as they’re unlike anything I’ve had before! These roasted rainbow carrots from my friend Megan will brighten up any dinner! I think serving them alongside any hearty meat dish would be a hit. Now go make this cake and serve up a big slice for yourself!! Another favorite Easter or spring dessert is this gluten-free cheesecake! Or if you want something chocolate, go for my gluten-free chocolate cream pie! Recipe adapted from my fellow food bloggers Mel and Sally: unbelievable carrot cake (cake) and super moist carrot cake (icing). One final note, you can cut this cake into the number of slices you really need. Here I cut into 15 larger slices, but you could easily do 18 slices or 24 instead. If you try this, would you please come back and give it a 5 star rating and comment with any successful substitutions you tried (if any)? Those help others so much! Follow this recipe to make a flavorful, classic, moist gluten-free carrot cake topped with a tangy cream cheese frosting. Perfect gluten-free Easter dessert! Feel free to add your favorite mix-ins like raisins, coconut or nuts, to this classic moist gluten-free carrot cake. As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases. Post updated with new text and photos April 2019. Originally published April 2014. Old photo: I hope you and your family enjoy this gf carrot cake as much as my family does!Can this gluten-free carrot cake be made dairy-free?
Notes on ingredients and substitutions for this gluten-free carrot cake:
Easy Gluten-free Carrot Cake Recipe:
Easy Gluten-free Carrot Cake
Ingredients
Cake:
Frosting:
Instructions
When cake is cool, mix up cream cheese icing:
Notes
Recommended Products
Yield: 15 slices
Prep Time
20 minutes
Cook Time
40 minutes
Additional Time
30 minutes
Total Time
1 hour 30 minutes
Kay Nicol
Wednesday 20th of January 2021
Looks lovely but printer says print blocked. Can you please advise me?. Thanks
Alexandra
Saturday 9th of January 2021
Hello Michelle, I live in Sweden and Greece My husband and I made your gluten free carrot cake and added walnuts It was perfect We made it for a brunch party Everybody loved it Thank you Alexandra and Vasilios
May
Thursday 7th of January 2021
Hi Michelle Can I substitute the butter and applesauce with canola oil? So altogether I mix in 1 1/2 cups of oil? If I don’t use rectangular pan, what size round pan should I use? Thanks
Elsy Silvestre
Friday 27th of November 2020
Excellent recipe. Made it for Thanksgiving. Honestly the BEST carrot cake I've ever had. Didn't even taste GF. Everyone loved it. Shared the recipe on my Facebook page.
Cecelia Kuskie
Sunday 22nd of November 2020
If you haven't tried this recipe and you like a really moist flavorful cake, you have to try it! You won't be disappointed.
Michelle Palin ~ My Gluten-free Kitchen
Monday 23rd of November 2020
Thank you for that compliment! So glad you liked it Cecelia!