This gluten-free Carrot Cake is a family favorite. It’s a healthy dessert for cookouts, picnics, and graduation parties. Made with almond flour, this cake is high in protein and good fat, so you won’t be left with a high-carb hangover after eating it.
I went on a gluten-free diet in 1998, when I was diagnosed with celiac disease. I went on a grain-free diet in 2001, and haven’t looked back. My digestion really improved when I gave up typical gluten-free flours like rice flour, that are high in carbohydrates. I’m so glad that I made the switch to paleo baking way back when!
If you are on a nut-free diet, try my incredible Nut-Free Carrot Cake.
Carrot Cake
Ingredients
- 3 cups blanched almond flour (not almond meal)
- 1 teaspoon celtic sea salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 5 large eggs
- ½ cup agave nectar or honey
- ¼ cup grapeseed oil or palm shortening
- 3 cups carrots, grated
- 1 cup raisins
- 1 cup walnuts
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine almond flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, and nutmeg
- In a separate bowl, mix together eggs, agave, and oil
- Stir carrots, raisins, and walnuts into wet ingredients
- Stir wet ingredients into dry
- Transfer batter into 2 well greased 9 inch springform pan
- Bake at 325°F for 35 minutes
- Cool cake for 3 hours, then remove from pan
- Serve
In other news, my spring has been filled with baseball. As I mentioned, I am coaching my son’s little league team and it is quite a hoot. We won again yesterday, though more importantly, the boys are playing as a team and have great spirit. It is somewhat amazing to see how focused 9 year olds can be and how supportive they are of each other. This coaching deal has been a real treat for me.
We like to smother this Carrot Cake with any of the healthy frosting recipes below for an incredible show stopping dessert:
Patti A says
Hi Elana, I was ready to make this for Easter, but then saw that I had no raisins or walnuts… BUT had dates (chopped them) and pecans! So went ahead and made this in a 9×13 with your cream cheese frosting. WOW! It was wonderful. My 15 year old granddaughter said this is the best cake she ever had and could she take some home (yes!)! Thank you for this and for all you do for this community!! Happy Spring!
Elana says
Patti, thanks so much for letting me know this was WOW wonderful, and that your granddaughter said it was the best cake she ever had!
Anneliese Bopp says
I thought I saw somewhere that you have a recipe for a low carb carrot cake but I can’t find the recipe.
Elana says
Anneliese, this is it :-)
Melissa Eastman says
Elena, do you have the nutritional value so I know how many carbs per serving?
I made this cake this weekend and it is SO delicious!! Second time I’ve made it and no one suspects it’s sugar free (refined) and low carb!
Elana says
Melissa, thanks so much for letting me know this cake is SO delicious! For more on nutrition info please go here:
https://elanaspantry.com/nutrition-information/
Have a wonderful day!
Elana
mary says
i think it’s low carb comparatively speaking to conventional carrot cake but if you are looking for a dessert that is for a low carb diet, then this may not fit due to the raisins and honey. Though I can vouch that it is delicious and for the mindful eater a healthier option. IF you are watching carbs for health reasons, i.e., diabetes, thyroid, then you may need to skip this one. :)
Elana says
Mary, I’m so happy to hear that this is delicious! It’s one of our all time favorites :-)
Margaret Aliff says
You can make it without raisins and reduce amount of Honey to reduce carbs….it will still be delicious!
Farhaana says
Hi Elena,
The carrot cake recipe in your book says 2 teaspoons sea salt, but the above says 1. Which one do you prefer?
Thank you,
Elana says
Farhaana, I like it with the two teaspoons, but some readers have told me they prefer it with one :-)
Megan says
How many cupcakes would this make? Any idea?
Elana says
Megan, I haven’t tried that so not sure :-)
Alex says
Hi Elana,
I love this recipe and have made it so many times! I’m wondering if you’ve ever made a vegan version of it? I want to make it for my friend’s birthday but just realized the egg won’t work for her. If you have a vegan friendly version I’d love to try it.
Elana says
Alex, thanks for your comment! I haven’t tried making a vegan version of this cake. I have an excellent vegan chocolate cupcake recipe in this book:
https://amzn.to/1XWy2n7
Have an amazing day!
Elana
Dawn says
This recipe is delicious, thanks for sharing. I just made a simple glaze for the top and it was so good!
Elana says
Dawn, thanks so much for letting me know this cake was so good!
Lisa Baker says
My 17 year old son and I made this for my birthday this weekend. This is the first birthday cake I’ve had in three years. It was amazing. I have hidden the last bit of it from the rest of my family :). They love it. I subbed the agave for honey (because I’m SCD), and I swapped the grapeseed oil for coconut oil (because that was all I had). It turned out beautifully. I iced my cake with a combination of coconut cream/butter/honey/vanilla. I will make this again soon! Thank you again, Elana, for another amazing recipe. I have not made ONE thing from your cookbooks or website that I didn’t like. You rock! Sending you well wishes…Lisa Baker
Elana says
Lisa, happy birthday! I’m so glad to hear you and your family loved this cake :-)
Valerie says
I live outside the US and can’t get grapeseed oil so I am please to see that I can use coconut oil. I was thinking of using safflower oil but I do have coconut oil here. Thanks!
Emily says
I made this cake over the weekend …and, oh, my gosh!! It is amazing!! Nobody could tell it was a gluten/healthier version …just delicious :-) Thank you for the awesome recipes you continually post!!
Elana says
Emily, I’m so glad to hear that this cake was amazing and that you are enjoying my recipes!
Laura T says
I want to thank you for this recipe. I had a friend make it for me for my birthday cake this year, as our prayer group celebrates birthdays, and she knows I do no grain, and is willing to make it for me special. Since I turned 70 this year, I felt it was a lovely choice for my cake, as I love carrot cake so much that I had it for my wedding cake 40 years ago. We did the sub of pineapple and coconut for one cup of the carrots that another comment mentioned. We also used pumpkin pie spice, ! TBSP, in place of the spices listed, as I am not fond enough of cinnamon for the amount given. It turned out absolutely fabulous. Best carrot cake ever!!!! We used honey, and a sugar free cream cheese icing, using goat butter and goat cheese (chevre soft cheese) and Swerve sweetener. Amazing stuff. And it was beautiful besides, as she decorated it with pansies on a lavendar icing. This is the first of your recipes that we have actually tried, although I love to read your blog and the recipes all sound good. This recipe is definitely a keeper.
Elana says
Laura, Happy Birthday! I’m so glad that I was party of your celebration via this recipe and that this cake turned out absolutely fabulous :-)
Hautefinds says
The recipe came out moist and smelled wonderful however mine was quite salty. I could not find Celtic Sea Salt so I used fine ground Mediterranean Sea Salt. Does the Celtic Salt have less salty taste?
On a more positive note, I made the cream cheese frosting and that was a hit.
Elana says
Hautefinds, yes precisely about the salt! So glad that the cream cheese frosting was a hit :-)