After spending my entire three-week Winter Break sinking my teeth into every single dessert I saw—sugar cookies, hazelnut cake, raspberry truffles, and more—I decided to skip all sweets as my New Year’s Resolution during my sophomore year of college. Yes, I now bake and blog as a living… And I enjoy a small treat once, twice, or sometimes three times a day. But that holiday season, my sweet tooth completely spiraled out of control!
That year, I originally challenged myself to shoot for just one quarter—10 weeks, plus another week of finals—without dessert. After those three months passed, resisting treats basically became second nature, so I decided to continue and see if I could go the entire year without a single dessert.
For the record… Dark chocolate does NOT count as dessert. Just like your 8 glasses of water, a small square or two is a daily necessity!
The weekend my birthday rolled around in late June, I had to leave town for a few days. When I returned, I opened my apartment door and found bright purple and yellow crêpe paper strung all around the living room and hanging from the ceiling fan. Matching balloons came flying around the corner, closely followed by my two roommates shouting, “Happy birthday!!”
They handed me tissue paper-filled gift bags and brought out a large homemade sheet cake on our biggest cutting board from the kitchen. “We know you aren’t eating dessert,” the girls explained. “But we still wanted you to be able to make a birthday wish and blow out candles!” After setting down the cake on the coffee table, the three of us knelt down on the carpet with a packet of matches, carefully avoiding the temperamental smoke detector, and began my little birthday celebration.
Since they knew I wouldn’t sneak even a teensy tiny bite, the ladies elected against my preferred fudgy chocolate cake and baked their favorite flavor instead: carrot cake. They followed the directions for a boxed spice cake mix and simply added freshly grated carrots, but they happily finished it off in my honor over the next few days. Now whenever I eat carrot cake, I think of those girls!
My lightened Classic Clean-Eating Carrot Cake is much healthier but still just as easy as their doctored box mix version! Saturated with spices and topped with a generous layer of sweet vanilla ricotta frosting, each large square elicits memories of big church potlucks or decadent Easter feasts, grandma’s famous baking or special family dinners. This simple recipe will immediately win you over, convincing you that carrots are your favorite vegetable and cake is the best way to eat them!
Because I turned to melted coconut oil instead of creaming butter and sugar, there’s absolutely no need for a mixer. Just grab your favorite sturdy spoon or fork and stir! I know, I know… You probably think I’m crazy, adding coconut oil to a classic carrot cake recipe. But I promise you can’t taste the coconut! Its flavor is completely masked by maple syrup and plenty of spices. You’ll use both cinnamon and nutmeg; the latter adds a subtle depth and really helps the cinnamon’s warmth shine.
Like many of my other cake and cupcake recipes, this low-fat one only requires 1 tablespoon of oil. Instead, the majority of the cake’s tender texture comes from Greek yogurt. As a true powerhouse in healthier baking, it contributes lots of moisture while lowering the fat and calories. Bonus: Greek yogurt adds a little extra protein too!
Now for the star of the show… The carrots! Pack in as many as you can: the more the merrier. I mixed in a whopping 2 cups, but if you accidentally measure a little more, go ahead and add in the extra too. Make sure you use freshly grated carrots. Avoid the pre-shredded ones available in the produce section because those are dry and crunchy. Freshly grated carrots contain more moisture and natural juices, which they release as the cake bakes and make it unbelievably moist. Because of that, be sure to spray the pan really well to prevent the cake’s bottom from sticking!
Tip: Grate the carrots using a food processor with a grater attachment to speed up the process!
The frosting is laughably easy to make. Just mix the 4 ingredients together in a bowl with a fork! Do NOT use an electric or stand mixer because those would over-beat the frosting, resulting it a thin runny texture. Unlike cream cheese, ricotta has less of a “cheesy” taste, so this frosting actually tastes more like vanilla than cheese as written. Feel free to adjust the vanilla extract according to your tastes.
Ricotta also contains a grainier texture than cream cheese, so right after mixing the ingredients together, the frosting feels rather grainy on the tongue. As it rests, the graininess gradually fades. I found it best to frost the cake at least 1-2 hours before slicing and serving to really reduce that grainy texture.
Pure veggie dessert bliss.
Loaded with soft carrots and warm spices, this skinny Classic Carrot Cake carries all of the comforting flavors your childhood favorite but none of the guilt of typical oil-laden recipes. Its supremely moist texture draws you back bite after bite… I should know—I ate three slices the day I photographed this cake! One as an after-lunch dessert, another as post-dinner treat, and the third as an I’m-still-hungry-and-craving-something-sweet-as-a-midnight-snack just before bedtime.
Yup, it’s that addictive! Even the Easter Bunny would agree. ♥
| Healthy Classic Carrot Cake | | Print |
- for the cake
- 1 ½ cups (180g) whole wheat or gluten-free* flour (measured like this)
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 1 ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground nutmeg
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 tbsp (14g) coconut oil or unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ cup (120mL) pure maple syrup
- ¼ cup (60g) plain nonfat Greek yogurt
- ¼ cup (60mL) nonfat milk
- 2 cups (180g) freshly grated carrots (about 3 medium, peeled first!)
- for the frosting
- 8 oz (227g) nonfat ricotta cheese
- 3 tbsp (45g) plain nonfat Greek yogurt
- 2 tbsp (30mL) agave
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Preheat the oven to 350°F, and coat a 9”-square baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.
- To prepare the cake, whisk together the flour and next 5 ingredients (through salt) in a medium bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the coconut oil, egg, and vanilla. Stir in the maple syrup and Greek yogurt, thoroughly mixing until no large clumps remain. Alternate between adding the flour mixture and milk, stirring just until incorporated, beginning and ending with the flour. (For best results, add the flour mixture in 3 equal parts and the milk in 2 equal parts.) Fold in the carrots.
- Spread the batter into the prepared pan, and bake at 350°F for 28-31 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan for at least 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack. Cool completely to room temperature before frosting.
- To prepare the frosting, stir together the ricotta cheese, Greek yogurt, agave, and vanilla in a medium bowl. Spread on top of the cooled cake. Let the frosting set for 1-2 hours before slicing and serving.
White whole wheat flour, whole wheat pastry flour, or all-purpose flour may be substituted for the regular whole wheat flour.
Honey or agave may be substituted for the pure maple syrup in the cake batter.
Pure maple syrup or honey may be substituted for the agave in the frosting.
As written, the frosting tastes more like vanilla than cheese, so adjust the amount of vanilla to suit your tastes.
{gluten-free, clean eating, low fat}
View Nutrition Information + Weight Watchers Points
can i cook this in a loaf pan
We really appreciate your interest in this recipe! We actually have very similar recipes for a Healthy Carrot Cake Breakfast Quick Bread and Healthy Carrot Cake Pound Cake that are already adjusted to bake in a loaf pan! You could definitely make the frosting from this carrot cake recipe to top either one if you’d like! We’d love to hear what you think if you decide to make some!
This cake is AMAZING! I’ve made it several times now. I usually use oat flour, but have also used spelt and they turn out fantastic. I’ve also subbed the yogurt with sour cream and almond milk with coconut milk. We usually add raisins and pecans or walnuts too to the mix. I’ve not made the frosting but a cream cheese frosting is delish on this. It’s even great with no frosting! It’s so moist and flavorful. It’s my favorite to bring to get togethers. My favorite part is that there’s no junk in this recipe! Thank you!
I’m thrilled that you love this cake, Bekah!! That’s such high praise. I’m honored that you’d make it to bring to get togethers — what a huge compliment! Thank you so much for taking the time to let me know and rate the recipe too. It really means a lot! ♡ I always love hearing what modifications work out, so I also appreciate you including your recipe tweaks. That’s great to know about the sour cream, spelt flour, and oat flour!
Can this be made ahead of time?
We appreciate your interest in this recipe, Caroline! This cake is totally fine to make ahead of time! We’d love to hear what you think if you decide to try this recipe! 🙂
Could you bake this in a Bundt pan or a 9×13 and doubled, I’m assuming?
We really appreciate your interest in this recipe, Allison! This other carrot cake recipe of ours is baked in a 9×13″ pan. Perhaps that might be a better option for you? 🙂
We haven’t tried doubling this recipe to make in a 9×13″ pan, so I can’t personally guarantee the results of that. However, if you’d like to double it and bake it in two 9″-square pans, that will work!
I’d love to hear what you think if you end up making either carrot cake recipe!
Does this recipe work in a round pan? Wanting to make it as a birthday cake for my little kiddo!
That’s such a sweet idea, Jannah! We’re honored that you would use our carrot cake recipe for your little one’s birthday! A round pan should work just fine. I’m not sure what size your round pan is, but keep in mind that the baking time may be more or less, since a round pan would have a different volume than a square pan. We’d love to hear what you think!
It came out great but the whole wheat flower made it dense so next time I, using oat flour
It means a lot that you tried my recipe, Kevin! I’m happy you enjoyed this cake’s flavor. I really appreciate you taking the time to rate the recipe and let me know. 🙂
If you’d like your next cake to be less dense, I’d actually advise against using pure oat flour. This is because gluten is the protein in wheat-based flours that helps baked goods rise and maintain their shape while cooling. Oat flour lacks that, so when you substitute it for wheat-based flours in my recipes that rise (like cakes, cupcakes, muffins, quick breads, etc!), your baked goods will often turn out denser and may collapse while cooling.
Instead, substituting half all-purpose flour would likely achieve better results than oat flour. You could also try reducing the amount of carrots to 1 or 1 ½ cups (and that might cause the cake to finish baking sooner, so start checking on it earlier!).
I don’t want you wasting time and ingredients, so I wanted to mention that, just in case it’s helpful!
This cake came out perfectly! Very moist and delicious! I had full fat yogurt on hand and just added honey to it for the frosting. It was nice too that I had all the ingredients on hand!
Thanks for a winning recipe!!
We’re so happy to hear that you enjoyed this carrot cake, Connie! I’m glad you were able to make this with ingredients you already had on hand… I love when I don’t make extra trips to the store! 😉 Thanks so much for taking the time to let us know, it really means a lot!
What would be the best replacement for eggs?
We really appreciate your interest in this recipe, Anjani! Amy has a family member that’s allergic to eggs, and Ener-G is her favorite substitute. In case you haven’t heard of it, Ener-G is a shelf-stable powder that keeps for ages. It works perfectly as an egg replacer in nearly all of our recipes, including this one! For our recipes, use 1 ½ teaspoons Ener-G + 2 tablespoons warm water for each egg white, and you’ll need an additional ½ tablespoon of butter or coconut oil {or stick-style vegan butter, if you’re planning to make this vegan friendly!} for each egg yolk.
We’d love to hear what you think if you decide to make this cake!
Could you use Almond or Coconut Flour?
We really appreciate your interest in this recipe, Sue! We typically don’t recommend that substitution in our cake recipes, including this carrot cake. This is because gluten is the protein in wheat-based flours that helps baked goods rise and maintain their shape while cooling. Coconut flour lacks that, and it’s also incredibly absorbent (about 3x as much as most other flours). Substituting it would make your cake really dry and crumbly. Almond flour also lacks that, so when you substitute it for wheat-based flours in our recipes that rise (like cupcakes, cakes, muffins, quick breads, etc!), your baked goods will often turn out denser and may collapse while cooling.
However, if you don’t mind that texture difference with almond flour (where your carrot cake will collapse and turn out denser), the flavors will still remain the same. Since almond flour is less absorbent than wheat-based flours, we’d also recommend an additional 2-4 tablespoons so the batter is the correct consistency. (It should be fairly thick!)
If your main goal is to make this cake gluten-free, then see the Notes section of the recipe (located directly underneath the Instructions)! We’ve shared our favorite way to make it gluten-free there — and it’ll still turn out with the correct texture with this option. We know it can be easy to miss that though!
We’d love to hear what you think if you decide to try making this carrot cake! 🙂