Gluten Free Carrot Cake

Carrot cake is not something I usually make, as I am a big chocolate person. However, I was asked for a carrot cake recipe a few times and decided to give it a try.  I started with my recipe from culinary school as a base and adapted it to be gluten free from there.  I have to tell you that I now LOVE carrot cake.  I had idea I would ever have so much affection for something other than chocolate :P

In making this cake, I urge you to use fresh carrots and finely grate them.  Don’t use carrots that have been in the drawer for months or a bag of grated carrots…  I have tested this recipe on several groups of non gluten free people who could not tell it was different (gf) and thought it was pretty tasty.

This will be one of the many recipes I am posting for Easter.  This would be a delicious addition to any Easter celebration, not too mention festive to the particular holiday.  This recipe is easy to double for layered cakes or sheet cake.  Please enjoy my gluten free and grain free carrot cake recipe!

Gluten Free Carrot Cake

  • 1/4 cup oil
  • 1/2 cup honey
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 cup finely grated carrots
  • 1/2 cup crushed pineapple (canned is fine)
  • 1/2 cup almond flour, packed
  • 1/4 cup coconut flour, packed
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup chopped pecans
  1. Preheat oven to 350.
  2. Whisk together oil, honey and eggs.
  3. Stir in carrots and pineapple.
  4. Whisk in dry ingredients, making sure you get out all the clumps.
  5. Stir in pecans.
  6. Pour batter into greased baking dish.
  7. Bake for 25-30 minutes.
  8. Cool completely before icing.
  9. Top with my creamy vanilla yogurt frosting or your favorite cream cheese frosting.

* Some notes on this recipe.  If you have an oven that tends to turn things dark quickly, lower temperature to 325.  This recipe is perfect for an 8×8 glash dish, pie plate or 12 cupcakes.  For a layered cake or 9×13, double the recipe :)



28 thoughts on “Gluten Free Carrot Cake”

  • I LOVE your recipes!!!! Your site is one of my go to sites for yummy, grain free food. Just had your parmesan chicken nuggets and they were wonderful. Where is the recipe for the vanilla yogurt frosting? Thanks for posting. :) Tessa

    • Thank you Tessa, I love to hear feedback :) Just to let you know I posted the Vanilla Yogurt Frosting today.

  • I found your site via Elana’s Pantry…I’ve recently been “moving” to eating gluten free and am anxious to try this recipe and the brownies! They both look yummy. What elevation do you live at as I’m as 5500ft & have high altitude adjustments to account for?

    • Hi Jannett,
      I’m glad you found my site! I am in Maryland and have actually not been asked for high altitude adjustments to my recipes. I am not very familiar with that, but based on what I have read, I think adding an egg to each recipe would be helpful. I checked out your blog and it seems you may have a better idea of what to change :P Please be sure to comment under each recipe what you end of trying, as I am sure others in high altitude locations could benefit. I’m sorry I don’t have a clear answer for you.

      • thanks! while i have a handle on high alt. adjustments for wheat, i’m kinda stumbling through the no gluten world…your site is a welcome relief…will post comments when i make this…the brownies are first on the list this sunday!

  • I made this last night…2 layers with cream cheese frosting. It was amazing! We all loved it! I even sent it in lunches for my kids today! Thank you!

  • I made this to share at our Resurrection potluck today and it was fantastic. We have a number of gluten and grain free people, so ti was very appreicated. I’ll be making it again for sure! Thanks so much!

  • these were so good!! I made them as cupcakes. My daughter loved them! The first batch was almost gone in a couple of days!

  • i made this for my husbands birthday – it was phenomenal. per his request, i omitted the nuts and put 1/2 c. of raisins in instead. everyone loved it. one of our friends at the party was skeptical and made a face when i handed him his gluten-and-white-sugar-free slice. everyone tasted it and my husband said “this is awesome” and our friend, with his mouth FULL of cake, says “oh yeah, it really is!!!”. it was perfect :)

    i’m going to try this as cupcakes for my kids next time…..it’s a dangerous recipe for me to have around; i ate the leftovers for breakfast for the rest of the weekend.

    • Jen,
      I’m so glad the cake went over so well with your husband and friends! Thank you for the variation using raisins, I’m glad it was a success :)

  • Hello Michelle! I was introduced to you and your website by Sara Reid from the Vineyard :). I am so impressed with your recipes, everything that you’ve posted looks so delicious! I have been gluten free for seven years and I am always on the lookout for tasty gf dishes; especially ones that my husband and kids will eat along with me and not make faces (we’ve had some interesting meals because of my gf experiments)!!! So, I’m excited to try out some of your recipes. I have a few questions about the ingredients for your Carrot Cake…

    What kind of oil do you use?
    Where do you buy almond and coconut flour? I live near the Key Bridge and have looked for both of those flours at Giant, Mars, Trader Joe’s and Wegmans and haven’t had any luck.

    Thanks so much for sharing your beautiful gluten free creations and passion for healthy foods with us ~ I certainly do appreciate your efforts!

    Sincerely,
    Raeann

    • Hi Raeann! I’m excited to have you here! I actually purchase all of my flours online because it is cheaper and the quality is better than I have found in local stores. I have links to the brands I use under my ingredients tab. Depending on the recipe, I either use melted butter, coconut oil, grapeseed oil, or olive oil. They seem to be pretty interchangeable, so whatever you have on hand should work. Good luck with the recipes and please come back and share how they turned out for you and your family :)
      https://glutenfreefix.com/ingredients/
      Blessings,

      Michelle

  • Hi Michelle
    Your website is amazing. I live in Singapore and am struggling to find coconut flour anywhere. The concept of gluten free products is just coming to the surface here. Is there anything I can substitute in this recipe for coconut flour and pineapple (I’m intolerant to pineapple)?
    Thanks so much
    Mallika

    • Hi Mallika! Do you have access to unsweetened coconut flakes, chips, or shredded coconut? Any of those could be made into coconut flour in the food processor. Otherwise, I suggest buying it online, but I don’t know about shipping to Singapore :/…. As for as the pineapple goes, I would sub in equal parts applesauce in the recipe. Hope this helps!
      ~Michelle

  • Hi Michelle
    Thanks so much! I tried the applesauce replacement and it turned out great, though a trifle more mushy than normal. I managed to get shredded coconut, blended it in the food processor and that that worked well. My husband and son loved it! Couldn’t tell it was gluten free :-)
    Thanks for these awesome recipes!
    Mallika

  • This is a fantastic recipe!! I’ve made it 2 nights in a row now due to popular demand! Thank you thank you for your sharing of your fabulous recipes. It’s so nice to have something that I can eat that tastes amazing and doesn’t make me feel bad afterwards! I’m a cinnamon-aholic though, so I quadrupled the amount of cinnamon that was in the recipe. :D Tastes amazing and is soooo moist!

  • Michelle – love your recipes. Our family just started on the gluten free journey and I have made several of you recipes. I cant wait to try this carrot cake as I LOVE carrot cake. My husband LOVES your almond curried chicken, second in two weeks that I am making it. Thanx for sharing with us!!!

  • This looks delicious! Do you have an idea of what I could replace the pineapple with? Maybe unsweetened applesauce instead of the canned pineapple? Thank you!

  • Hi Michelle,
    I made this for Easter and it was delicious! Just added some raisins.:) I love your site. It is my no#1 favorite grain free site. Your recipes are so easy to follow and I appreciate the simplicity of ingredients. Also, they are extremely child friendly! Take care.

  • Hi there I am so delighted I found your site, I really found you
    by accident, while I was searching on Digg for something else, Nonetheless I am
    here now and would just like to say thank you for a remarkable post and a
    all round thrilling blog (I also love the theme/design),
    I don’t have time to read through it all at the moment but
    I have bookmarked it and also added in your RSS feeds, so when I have time I will
    be back to read much more, Please do keep up the superb work.

    Feel free to surf to my webpage; cs-servers.lt

  • hi Michelle
    I made this today. It turned out crumbly, oily and heavy. I followed recipe exactly , not sure if that’s how it ‘s supposed to be. Also made the fluffy yellow cake and it was springy, moist,like glutenous cake. Do you find that same difference in the two recipes? Thank you. I just love your site.~karen

  • I made these as cupcakes and a small cake a year ago for my sons first birthday and they were a huge hit!!!!

    This year I’m making as a cake again for his 2 year old birthday! It’s so yummy i couldn’t resist!!

    Thank you for the amazing recipes! They have changed my life! :)

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *