This post may contain affiliate links and we will earn a commission if you purchase through those links. Thank you for supporting us!
This easy and healthy carrot cake recipe is tender, perfectly spiced, and full of flavor! Made without oil or butter, this lightened-up carrot cake is perfect for Easter, spring gatherings, cozy fall desserts, or any time you want a wholesome sweet treat.
My favorite childhood dessert was my mom’s carrot cake, the star of every gathering and always requested by everyone. Inspired by her classic recipe, I created a lighter, healthier version that’s tender, moist, perfectly spiced, and full of flavor without the extra fat and sugar. For more delicious carrot cake flavor, try our carrot cake mug cake, carrot cake baked oats, carrot cake bliss balls, and carrot cake overnight oats next!
🔍 Quick Look: Healthy Carrot Cake
- ⏱️ Prep Time: 10 minutes
- ⏱️ Cook Time: 30 minutes
- 🕒 Total Time: 40 minutes
- 🍽 Calories: ~135 kcal per serving
- 👥 Servings: 9 servings
- 🥣 Key Ingredients: Flour, grated carrots, cinnamon, eggs, crushed pineapple, applesauce
- 👩🍳 Cook Method: Baked
- ⭐ Difficulty: Easy
Summarize & Save This Content On
Why You Will Love This Recipe
- Lighter Option: It is lightened up and made with healthier ingredients.
- Made Without Oil or Butter: There is no oil or butter in this recipe.
- Topped with Cream Cheese Frosting: The cream cheese frosting is incredibly delicious.
- Easy to Make: This carrot cake is easy to make and turns out moist.
- Make a Loaf or Muffins: You can make a carrot cake loaf, muffins, or cupcakes with this recipe. Try our healthy banana carrot muffins next!
“This recipe was so yummy! I made it for Easter brunch last year. I am making it again this year because I loved it so much.”
– sheila
Key Ingredients
- Flour: Use all-purpose flour in this recipe.
- Sugar: Sweeten this carrot cake with sugar or a 1:1 sugar-free sweetener.
- Cinnamon: Ground cinnamon adds flavor to this carrot cake.
- Carrots: Buy whole carrots and grate them yourself for this recipe.
- Eggs: Use two eggs in this recipe.
- Crushed Pineapple: Use crushed pineapple in its own juice. Drain the juice from the pineapple.
- Applesauce: Use unsweetened applesauce in this recipe. The applesauce lightens up this recipe instead of using oil or butter.
- Cream Cheese: Use light or fat-free cream cheese for the base of the cream cheese frosting. Try our pumpkin cookies with cream cheese frosting next!
Find the full measurements in the recipe card below.
Substitutions & Variations
- Sweetener Options: You can use sugar or a 1:1 sugar-free sweetener in this recipe. For the cream cheese frosting, use powdered sugar or a 1:1 sugar-free powdered sugar alternative.
- Cream Cheese to Use: You can make the cream cheese frosting with full-fat cream cheese, or for a lighter option, use fat-free or light cream cheese.
- Add Nuts: You can add chopped walnuts, pecans, or almonds over top of the frosted carrot cake or fold some into the batter.
- Raisins: You can mix some raisins into the batter or sprinkle them on top once frosted.
- Make a Loaf or Cupcakes: You can make a carrot cake loaf in a 9×5 loaf pan with this recipe. Or, you can pour the batter into a muffin pan or cupcake liners to make muffins or cupcakes.
How To Make Healthy Carrot Cake
- Grate the carrots, don’t use pre-shredded carrots.
- Combine all of the dry ingredients in a bowl. Add the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt to a bowl. Then, mix until thoroughly combined.
- In another bowl, combine all the wet ingredients. Add the freshly-grated carrots, whisked eggs, drained crushed pineapple, unsweetened applesauce, and vanilla extract to the bowl. After that, thoroughly mix all the wet ingredients.
- 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.
- Lightly spray your muffin pan or loaf pan with oil. Then, pour the carrot cake batter into the muffin pan or loaf pan. If you are making carrot cake muffins with this recipe a 1/4 measuring cup is helpful to evenly distribute the carrot cake batter in the muffin pan. Or, make a carrot cake loaf in a 9×5 loaf pan. Next, bake the carrot cake and let it cool before frosting it.
- To make the delicious cream cheese frosting, mix the light or fat-free cream cheese, vanilla extract, powdered sugar, and lemon zest until smooth. After that, spread the frosting on top of the carrot cake or use a piping bag.
Expert Tips
- 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.
- Drain the Pineapple: Use crushed pineapple in its own juices and make sure to drain the juice before adding the crushed pineapple to the bowl with the wet ingredients.
- Cool Before Frosting: Let the carrot cake completely cool before frosting it.
- Check if Done: To check if your carrot cake is done and cooked, insert a toothpick into the center. It is done when the toothpick comes out clean.
- How to Shred Carrots: A food processor works well to shred carrots quickly and without a mess. Or, the large side of a box grater works perfectly to grate the carrots for this recipe if you don’t have a food processor.
Serving Suggestions
This healthy carrot cake is delicious on its own, and it also pairs beautifully with other dishes. Serve it at Easter alongside our cottage cheese quiche, carrot raisin salad, cottage cheese egg salad, and honey and orange-glazed ham for a memorable spread. It’s also perfect for spring brunches, cozy fall gatherings, or as a sweet treat any time of year.
Healthy Carrot Cake FAQs
Is Carrot Cake Healthy?
This carrot cake is a healthier alternative. There is no butter or oil in this recipe. Instead, we used unsweetened applesauce. Also, you can make the cream cheese frosting lighter by using light or fat-free cream cheese.
How Long Does Carrot Cake Last?
This carrot cake will last for 2-3 days when stored in an airtight container in the fridge. Bring it to room temperature before enjoying again.
More Carrot Recipes to Try!
If you try this recipe please be sure to leave us a comment and star rating, ★★★★★, letting us know how it turns out for you.
Easy and Healthy Carrot Cake
Ingredients
For the Carrot Cake
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup sugar or monk fruit
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ cups grated carrots
- 2 eggs
- 4 ounces crushed pineapple in its own juice
- 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the Cream Cheese Frosting
- 8 ounces fat-free or light cream cheese
- 1/8 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup powdered sugar or powdered monk fruit
Instructions
- Grate the carrots yourself for this recipe, don’t use pre-shredded carrots, as the texture won’t be the same. First, peel the carrots and then use the large side of a box grater to grate them.
- Add the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt to a bowl. Thoroughly combine the dry ingredients in the bowl.
- To another bowl, add the grated carrots, eggs, drained crushed pineapple (don’t add the juice), unsweetened applesauce, and vanilla extract. Thoroughly mix all of the wet ingredients.
- Add the dry ingredients to the bowl with the wet ingredients a little at a time. Mix until all of the dry and wet ingredients are combined.
- Lightly spray your baking pan with oil so the carrot cake doesn’t stick. We like to make carrot cake muffins and use a 1/4 measuring cup to pour the carrot cake batter into the muffin pan. Bake the carrot cake muffins at 350°F for 30-35 minutes. Let them cool before frosting them. Or, make a carrot cake loaf in a 9×5 loaf pan and bake at 350°F for about 50-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- For the cream cheese frosting, add the light or fat-free cream cheese to a bowl. Then, add the lemon zest, vanilla, and powdered sugar. 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!
Video
Notes
- Cream Cheese Frosting: You can use either fat-free or light cream cheese in this recipe.
- Grate Carrots: Freshly grate carrots for this carrot cake. A food processor works well to shred carrots quickly and without a mess. Or, you can use a box grater.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I was so surprised how delicious these were will definitely make them again. l am going to share this recipe at my WW meeting tomorrow morning.
Hi Nancy, this makes me so happy to hear! I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe! Also, thank you so much for the support and for sharing the recipe at your meeting!
I love love, love carrot cake, and I tried this recipe because I had some very mushy bananas and it was so easy to make and it was so tasty even without frosting on it you could just eat them plain very moist and they lasted like a week without getting any mold on them or anything in a Tupperware container so I would definitely recommend making them for your enjoyment
Hey Jules, I’m so happy you tried our recipe and enjoyed it! Thank you so much for sharing your experience and for leaving a review!
Hi girls what would be the points without icing
Hi Lucille, to see the points without icing and ensure they are correct for you, I would recommend simply clicking on the tracking link in the “notes” section of the recipe card. From there, it will bring you to the app, where you can remove the icing ingredients, and the points will adjust. You can make any other adjustments there, as well. I hope this helps, and you enjoy the recipe!
can the carrot cake be made with almond flour? or ground oats?
Hi Meryl, we haven’t tested this recipe with ground oats or almond flour, but I would recommend using oat flour in place of all-purpose flour. Use the same amount, and let the batter sit for a few minutes before baking, since it absorbs liquid a bit differently. If the batter is too thin, add a little more oat flour to thicken it. The texture will be slightly softer, but it should still work well. We don’t recommend almond flour, as it changes the texture too much.
is the pineapple absolutely necessary? I love carrot cake but I don’t like it with pineapple in it.
Hi Frances, the pineapple in this recipe adds moisture, but it isn’t absolutely necessary. To keep the moisture, we recommend adding an extra 2-4 tablespoons of unsweetened applesauce. If the batter still feels too thick, you can add 1-2 tablespoons of your milk of choice as needed.
These Carrot Cupcakes are absolutely delicious. I served them to a group of ladies who always want the high-calorie desserts after our dinners. I served these, and they were amazed. I was thrilled that I had made extra to have at home for myself. I didn’t have to share! I can’t wait to make more tasty meals and desserts!
Hi Linda, thank you so much for sharing! I’m so happy you made these healthy carrot cake cupcakes and that they were such a hit with your group. It’s wonderful that you got to enjoy some for yourself, too. I’m excited for you to make more tasty meals and desserts!