This Paleo Carrot Cake is moist, perfectly spiced, and topped with a luscious dairy free frosting... and you’d never guess it’s grain free, gluten free, and refined sugar free! Unlike most paleo carrot cake recipes made primarily with almond flour, this version uses tigernut flour for a completely nut-free option with incredible texture. This healthy carrot cake recipe is sure to be a crowd pleaser whether it's for Easter, Mother's Day, a birthday, or just to make when the carrot cake craving hits.
I’ve been making this paleo carrot cake recipe for years, and it’s the dessert I’m always asked to bring to holidays and gatherings. It’s soft, tender, and filled with warm spices and freshly shredded carrots. No one ever guesses this grain free carrot cake is actually allergy friendly!
Why You'll Love This Paleo Carrot Cake Recipe
- Allergy friendly: this healthy carrot cake is gluten free, grain free, dairy free, and easily made nut free.
- Refined sugar free: this cake contains half the sugar of traditional carrot cakes and is made with unrefined coconut sugar.
- Tastes like classic carrot cake: it may be paleo, but it doesn't taste like it!
- Easy to make: made with simple ingredients and steps, this easy recipe will be on repeat.
- Frosting options: Choose between my healthy frosting made out of white sweet potatoes or a more traditional cream cheese frosting with raw cashews.
Dairy Free Sweet Potato Frosting
You may have seen my Chocolate Sweet Potato Frosting recipe before, but we'll be using white sweet potatoes to make this frosting. Sweet potato frostings aren't overly sweet and I love using them to add a nutrient boost to baked goods. This paleo carrot cake with dairy free frosting utilizes a white sweet potato frosting that has some lemon juice in it for the tangy cream cheese vibe. It's unique, but delicious and definitely worth trying!
Paleo Carrot Cake Ingredients
Carrot Cake Ingredients
- Tigernut flour: tigernut flour is a nut-free flour alternative, but you can also use almond flour. It adds some sweetness and improves the texture of gluten free baked goods.
- Arrowroot flour or Tapioca Flour: starch helps keep the cake from being dense.
- Coconut flour: a mix of flours creates the best texture in paleo recipes, so this is the third flour we'll be using.
- Ground cinnamon, ground ginger, cloves, nutmeg or mace: the mix of spices to get that warm, cozy carrot cake flavor.
- Coconut sugar: the unrefined sugar that provides rich molasses flavor.
- Applesauce: be sure to use plain, unsweetened applesauce.
- Olive oil: keeps this cake light and moist.
- Eggs: 2 large eggs.
- Orange juice and zest: orange enhances the carrot cake flavors, but see substitutions below if you don't want any orange flavor.
- Carrots: freshly shredded carrots are a must for carrot cake.
- Walnuts, raisins: my favorite add ins! The added crunch is the perfect balance with the soft cake and creamy frosting.
- Baking powder, baking soda, salt, vanilla extract
Frosting Ingredients
- White sweet potato: you can make a healthy frosting by using cooked, white sweet potato.
- Maple syrup
- Coconut oil: melted coconut oil helps set the frosting.
- Lemon juice: lemon adds tang for more of a cream cheese frosting vibe.
- I provide two other frosting options below depending on your preference.
How to Make Paleo Carrot Cake
For best results, I highly recommend weighing the flours. After testing this paleo carrot cake dozens of times, I found that using a kitchen scale produces the most consistent texture and rise. If you don't have a kitchen scale, I have provided cup measurements, but I highly suggest weighing as the cup measurements don't result in as good of a cake.
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- Sift all dry ingredients together in a medium bowl.
- In a large bowl or stand mixer, combine all of the wet ingredients and sugar. Beat on medium until well combined.
- Add flour mixture to wet ingredients and beat on low until just combined. Use the paddle attachment if using a stand mixer. If the batter seems way too thick, add 1-2 tablespoons of milk. I find this really depends on the brand of flours that you are using, so you may not need the milk if you are using the same brands I have linked.
- Fold in the shredded carrots and any add-ins you are using.
- Let batter sit while you line a 8x8 baking dish with parchment paper.
- Evenly spread the cake batter into the baking dish and bake for 35-40 minutes in the preheated oven, until a toothpick comes out with a few crumbs on it.
- While cake cools, make your frosting of choice.
- Once cake is cooled, remove from pan and ice. Decorate the top of the cake as desired.
- Slice, serve, and enjoy!
Substitutions and Variations
- Flours: in a pinch, you can use cassava flour in place of the starch. This cake was specifically designed to be a grain free cake recipe. For a gluten free carrot cake option, try my Gluten Free Carrot Coffee Cake.
- Olive oil: I love using olive oil in baked goods to provide a light and airy texture. Melted coconut oil or butter (dairy free or regular) could work, the cake will end up denser though.
- Coconut Sugar: you can use ½ cup of browns sugar instead, but the recipe will no longer be fully paleo and refined sugar free.
- Orange: you can taste the orange flavor from the little bit of juice and zest. If that's not your jam, sub the orange juice for dairy free milk.
- Add-ins: try pecans, golden raisins or chopped dates, some coconut flakes, or crushed pineapple.
- Frosting: opt for your favorite cream cheese frosting or dairy free frosting.
Storage
Store leftover slices of this healthy carrot cake in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. You can slice and freeze un-iced cake in a freezer safe container for up to 3 months.
What's the Best Way to Shred Carrots?
If you want the arm workout, you are welcome to use a box grater to hand shred your carrots. I personally don't have the time or energy for that and prefer a much easier method called The Food Processor. I roughly chop my carrots into large chunks then shred it in the food processor. This is the easiest way to get grated carrots for carrot cake!
Tips for the Best Paleo Carrot Cake
- Measure flour correctly: as mentioned above, weighing the flours works best for this recipe. I've made this cake dozens of times now and it just doesn't turn out the same using cup measurements.
- Don't over mix: when adding the dry ingredients to the wet, mix until a few streaks of flour remain then fold in the carrots until everything is just combined. Over mixing can result in a gummy or dense cake.
- Don't over bake: over baking will dry out the cake, so be sure to pull it from the oven when a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out with a few crumbs on it and the center springs back when touched.
FAQ
Yes, you can turn this into a layered carrot cake. Double the recipe and bake in two 8-9inch round cake pans. You'll also want to double whatever frosting recipe you use to make sure you have enough icing for between the cake layers.
You can make this a nut free paleo carrot cake by leaving out the walnuts in the batter, using tigernut flour, and making a cashew-free frosting option.
A dry cake is the result of incorrect flour measurements or over baking. A dense cake is a result of over mixing or not enough moisture. See Baking Tips above for troubleshooting.
If you want a gluten free carrot cake recipe, make the base of my Gluten Free Carrot Coffee Cake recipe and then whichever frosting you like!
Absolutely! You can bake it a day or two ahead then frost it the day of. The frosting can also be made up to 3 days ahead and store din the fridge.
More Carrot Desserts
If you love carrot cake, then be sure to check out my Gluten Free Carrot Cake Coffee Cake or Gluten Free Stuffed Carrot Cake Cookies.
If you try this recipe, please leave a rating and review below! Don't forget to tag me on social media too.
Healthy Paleo Carrot Cake
Ingredients
Cake
- 110 grams Tigernut flour or almond flour. This is about 1 cup
- 70 grams arrowroot or tapioca starch cassava flour works in a pinch. This is about ½ cup
- 30 grams coconut flour this is about a scant ⅓ cup
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- pinch of cloves
- pinch of nutmeg or mace
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup coconut sugar
- ½ cup applesauce
- ⅓ cup olive oil
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoon fresh orange juice
- ½ teaspoon orange zest
- 1-2 tablespoon milk of choice *may not need
- 1.5 cups peeled and shredded carrots about 2-3 carrots
- ½ cup walnuts, plus more for decorating** optional
- ½ cup raisins** optional
Sweet Potato Frosting
- 1 large white sweet potato, cooked and cooled to room temperature about 16 oz.
- ⅓ cup melted coconut oil
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ lemon, juiced
Cashew Frosting
- Vegan Cashew Buttercream this does require chilling time, be aware.
Third Frosting option
- 1 cup yogurt of choice Thicker yogurts work best, like Greek or a thick coconut yogurt.
- ½ cup powdered sugar*** make your own at home powdered coconut sugar to keep refined sugar free
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoon lemon juice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- Shred the carrots first and set aside. The easiest way to do this is in a food processor.
- Sift all the dry ingredients together in a bowl. This include the flours, baking powder and soda, spices, and salt.
- In a large bowl or stand mixer, combine all of the wet ingredients and sugar- eggs, applesauce, oil, vanilla, orange juice and zest, and sugar. Beat on medium until well combined.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet and beat on low until just combined. Use the paddle attachment if using a stand mixer. If the batter seems way too thick, add 1-2 tablespoons of milk until you have a smooth batter. I find this really depends on the brand of flours that you are using, so you may not need the milk if you are using the same brands I have linked.
- Fold in the carrots and walnuts/raisins, if using.
- Let batter sit while you line a 8x8 or 9x9 baking dish with parchment paper.
- Evenly spread batter into baking dish and bake for 35-40 minutes, until a toothpick comes out with a few crumbs on it.
- Let the cake cool completely before icing.
- While cake bakes and cools, make the frosting. For the sweet potato frosting, blend all ingredients together in a high speed blender or food processor. Let set in the fridge for at least 3 hours until spreadable, but holds its form.
- If making the cashew frosting option, be sure to read the recipe as it does require chilling time and should be made in advance.
- To make the third frosting option, combine all ingredients together in a bowl and mix well until you have a thick, spreadable icing. If the icing is too runny for any reason, add more powdered sugar.
- Once cake is cooled, remove from pan and frost. I like to add more crushed walnuts on top, but decorate as desired. Slice, serve, and enjoy!
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