This healthy carrot cake recipe is delicious and super easy to make! Growing up, one of my fondest memories of Easter besides the Easter baskets and the Easter egg hunts was my mother’s amazing carrot cake. I knew her carrot cake would be my inspiration behind this lightened-up version of her original carrot cake. So, I called her for the recipe and I jotted it down knowing that I was going to have to revamp the 2 cups of sugar, oil, and 2 sticks of butter! I love her carrot cake so my goal was to recreate the flavors of that carrot cake without all of the fat! It took 3 test runs but I believe I have nailed it. It is moist, delicious, perfectly balanced, and I promise that it delivers a classic carrot cake without butter or oil.
Also, I have given you two options. You can make this carrot cake with sugar or you can use monk fruit or your favorite sugar alternative. Additionally, you can use light or fat-free cream cheese. I love to give you options! We hope you enjoy this carrot cake this Easter and many more to come!
How To Make Healthy Carrot Cake
Start by combining all of the dry ingredients in a bowl. Add the flour, sugar or monk fruit, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt to a bowl and mix until they are thoroughly combined.
In another bowl, combine all of the wet ingredients. Add the shredded carrots to the bowl, the whisked eggs, the drained crushed pineapple, applesauce, and vanilla extract to the bowl. Thoroughly mix all of the wet ingredients.
Then, add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients a little bit at a time. Thoroughly mix until all of the dry and wet ingredients are combined. Spray your baking pan lightly with oil and pour the carrot cake batter into the muffin pan. We like to make carrot cake muffins with this recipe. A ¼ measuring cup is helpful to evenly distribute the carrot cake batter in the muffin pan. Also, you can go back and add any extra batter to ones that may need it. Bake the carrot cake muffins and let them cool before frosting them.
How To Make The Cream Cheese Frosting
To make the delicious cream cheese frosting, start by combining all of the ingredients. Mix the light or fat-free cream cheese, vanilla, powdered sugar or powdered monk fruit, and a little bit of lemon zest until the frosting is smooth. Spread the frosting on top of the carrot cake or use a piping bag. Enjoy!
A Few Notes & Tips
Two Ways to Shred Carrots
- Use a Food Processor: A food processor works well to shred carrots quickly and without a mess.
- Use a Box Grater: The large side of a box grater works perfectly to grate the carrots for this recipe if you don’t have a food processor.
Shred The Carrots Yourself
Make sure not to buy pre-shredded carrots. It is very important to buy whole carrots and grate them yourself because the consistency of freshly grated carrots is finer and cooks better in the muffin.
How to Store Healthy Carrot Cake
This carrot cake can be refrigerated for up to 2-3 days. Bring the carrot cake to room temperature before eating.
Get the Right Pineapple and Applesauce
Make sure to use crushed pineapple in its own juices and make sure to drain the juice before adding it to the wet ingredients. Also, make sure your applesauce has no added sugar.
Sweeteners You Can Use for This Carrot Cake
I find that everyone has different tastes and preferences so I wanted to give you the option to use sugar or a sugar alternative in this recipe.
The Cream Cheese Frosting
I have given you options for the cream cheese frosting as well! You can use either fat-free or light cream cheese in this recipe. Also, it can be made with powdered sugar or powdered monk fruit. In addition, we love adding chopped walnuts on top, so if you like walnuts definitely try it!
Other Recipes You Will Love!
- The Best Healthy Apple Pie Filling
- Easy and Healthy Banana Bread No Sugar
- Amazing and Healthy Blueberry Cheesecake With Sauce
- Easy and Delicious Chocolate Covered Strawberries
- Join us on our YouTube channel for recipe videos!
EASY AND HEALTHY CARROT CAKE
Course: DessertCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Easy9
servings10
minutes30
minutes135
kcalThis healthy carrot cake recipe is delicious and super easy to make! It is moist, delicious, perfectly balanced, and I promise that it delivers a classic carrot cake without butter or oil.
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Ingredients
1 1/2 CUPS flour
1/2 CUP sugar or monk fruit
1/2 TSP baking soda
1/2 TSP baking powder
1 1/2 TSP cinnamon
two pinches (1/8 TSP) nutmeg
1/4 TSP salt
1 1/2 CUPS carrots
2 eggs
4 oz crushed pineapple in its own juice
1/2 CUP applesauce no sugar added
1 TSP vanilla extract
- Ingredients for the Cream Cheese Frosting
8 oz bar fat-free or light cream cheese
1/8 TSP lemon zest
1 TSP vanilla extract
1/3 CUP powdered sugar or powdered monk fruit
Directions
- Start by combining the dry ingredients in a bowl. Add the flour, sugar or monk fruit, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt to a bowl. Thoroughly combine the dry ingredients in the bowl.
- In another bowl, combine the wet ingredients. Add the shredded carrots to the bowl. I like to whisk the eggs before adding them to the bowl. Then, drain the pineapple juice and just add the crushed pineapple to the bowl. After that, add the applesauce and vanilla extract to the bowl. Thoroughly mix all of the wet ingredients.
- Add the dry ingredients to the bowl with the wet ingredients a little at a time. Add some dry ingredients, mix, and then add more of the dry ingredients. Thoroughly mix until all of the dry and wet ingredients are combined.
- Spray your baking pan lightly with oil so the carrot cake doesn’t stick. We like to make carrot cake muffins and use a ¼ measuring cup to pour the carrot cake batter into the muffin pan. Then, you can go back and add any extra batter to the ones that may need it. Bake the carrot cake muffins at 350 degrees F for 30-35 minutes. Let them cool before frosting them.
- For the delicious cream cheese frosting, add the light or fat-free cream cheese to a bowl. Then, add a little bit of lemon zest, vanilla, and the powdered sugar or powdered monk fruit. Mix the ingredients until they are thoroughly combined and the frosting is smooth. Spread the frosting on top of the carrot cake or use a piping bag. Enjoy!
Recipe Video
Notes
- The WW points are per serving and this recipe makes 9 servings.
- WW Points™: 3 points *if you use a sugar-free sweetener
- To see your WW Points™ in the WW app for this recipe click here! Or, please manually add the ingredients to the recipe builder.
- Nutritional information is provided as a reference, using an online calculator. We recommend verifying the information independently. It could vary based on cooking methods and ingredients used.
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Nutrition Facts
9 servings per container
- Amount Per ServingCalories135
- % Daily Value *
- Total Fat
1.5g
3%
- Saturated Fat 0.6g 3%
- Cholesterol 38mg 13%
- Sodium 301mg 13%
- Total Carbohydrate
22.2g
8%
- Dietary Fiber 1.4g 6%
- Sugars 3.4g
- Protein 7.3g 15%
* The % Daily Value tells you how much a nutrient in a serving of food contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
Hi! I follow you on WW. I see this makes 9 servings. I would like to make this as a 2 layer, 8” or 9” cake for Easter. Do I follow the recipe as is or do I need to double it? I’m not a “baker” so not sure how big your 9 servings would be. Thank you!!
Hi Kara, Thank you for the support! We are so glad you are here! I would definitely double the recipe in order to make two layers. Also, depending on the thickness of each layer be mindful of the cooking time. I would do the toothpick test for around 25 min and go from there to make sure it does not burn. Also, consider doubling the frosting since you will have a larger cake to cover and you may want to add some frosting between the layers. If you need anything else please let me know. I hope you enjoy it!
Thank you so much for your help!!
Where is a list of ingredient amounts. Can’t see it.
Hi Laura, the list of ingredients along with the amounts are on the recipe card. Also, we have a step-by-step recipe tutorial on our YouTube channel that is included in the recipe card. The recipe card with the ingredient amounts is printable as well. Hopefully this helps, let me know if you need anything else!