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Prepare yourself for your new favourite treat – Vegan Carrot Cake Cupcakes! They are ready in 20 minutes – and most of that is baking time! Fluffy, sweet, and made with only six ingredients, these dairy free and gluten free carrot cake cupcakes are sure to be a hit with all!
Recipe Difficulty – Very Easy
Table of Contents
Why this recipe works
Carrot Cake Vegan Cupcakes, like most delicious treats, are great any time of year! These are so quick and easy to make that they are the perfect treat any day of the week!
This vegan carrot cake muffin recipe couldn’t get much easier. It is made using only 6 ingredients, all of which are found at supermarkets. As an added bonus, you are actually getting in one of your ten vegetables a day with this cup cake recipe!
Another great thing about this vegan carrot cupcake recipe is that it is very versatile. You can add a lot of things to it! I think raisins, nuts, or berries would work really well.
If you have kids, make sure to get them involved in making these eggless carrot cake cupcakes. They will absolutely love making these! They would be great for Easter or even a great-looking Halloween-style recipe to bake as treats.
When it comes to making carrot cake cupcakes vegan and gluten free, it can be tough to get them to both rise and maintain a fluffy texture. Often they can be either very dense or flat. As you can see from the pictures, these cupcakes rise really well and they maintain their shape and fluffiness inside.
They pair well with these amazing Gluten-Free Cinnamon Baked Dougnuts for a party.
I also added this recipe into my collection of 21 Gluten Free Easter Recipes, my best 33 Vegan Desserts, 35 Gluten Free Desserts and 10 Healthy Baking For Kids Recipes round up!
Ingredients to make Vegan Carrot Cake Cupcakes
- Gluten Free Self Raising Flour – I use Doves Farm for this muffins recipe. If you have some spare then try my Fluffy Gluten Free Pancakes.
- Cinnamon – adds the perfect spice to these cupcakes.
- Maple Syrup – is my favourite natural sweetener to use.
- Coconut Oil – needs to be melted before adding it into the recipe.
- Unsweetened Plant-Milk – I use almond milk for these cupcakes. If you fancy baking a cake that uses the same milk then try my Gluten Free Victoria Sponge Cake.
- Carrots – should be grated before mixing them into the batter. If you have some spare then try making my popular soups like this Carrot & Coriander Soup, Carrot and Parsnip Soup or Carrot & Lentil Soup.
See recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Substitutions
- Gluten Free Self Raising Flour – If you don’t have self raising flour, add 1 tbsp baking powder to regular flour. You could also use normal self raising flour if you’re not gluten-free.
- Coconut Oil – If you have a nut allergy or don’t love the taste of coconut oil, try using rapeseed oil or butter (if you’re not vegan).
- Maple Syrup – Honey is a great substitute for maple syrup.
- Unsweetened Plant Milk – Regular milk will work if you’re not vegan or dairy free!
Variations
- Deluxe – Add parsnip, nutmeg, and a handful of sultanas for a fancier cupcake! You can also consider adding raisins, nuts, and/or berries.
- Kid friendly – You can’t get much more kid friendly than cupcakes! Let the kids help if they want to. If you want gluten-free and vegan cupcakes with cream cheese frosting on top, check out this recipe from Just What We Eat.
See this Carrot Cake version of this recipe on my website!
How to make Vegan Carrot Cake Cupcakes
Step 1: Preheat your oven to 180C.
Combine all of the ingredients in the order listed into a large mixing bowl. Mix until it is a smooth batter.
Step 2: Spoon the mix into cupcake liners and cook for 15-18 minutes.
Step 3: After removing them from the oven, allow them to cool for 15-20 minutes.
Hint: Make sure to allow them to cool first as this will help them to come out of the liner.
Leftovers
Leftover cupcakes can be left out for a couple of days in an airtight container. If you add cream cheese icing, be sure to refrigerate them. They’ll last five or so days in the fridge. You can also freeze them in an airtight container for a couple of months.
Recipe FAQs
Cupcakes are more likely to stick when they’re hot, so allow them to cool first. If they still stick, I would suggest either lightly greasing the paper with coconut oil or using silicone cupcake moulds.
To make carrot cake muffins vegan, you’ll need to swap out the eggs for plant-based milk. Everything else is naturally vegan!
Absolutely! My recipe is gluten free, vegan, and refined sugar free! I keep it simple with only 6 ingredients and they are so delicious. Rather than a bunch of refined sugars, I use maple syrup.
Yes! The ingredients stay the same, but you’ll need to use a cake pan and bake the cake for a longer amount of time.
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Vegan Carrot Cake Cupcakes
Ingredients
- 200 g gluten free self raising flour, (I use doves farm)
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 6 tbsp maple syrup
- 4 tbsp coconut oil, melted
- 130 ml unsweetened plant-milk , (I use almond)
- 2 small carrots, grated
Instructions
- Pre-heat your oven to 180C
- In a large mixing bowl add all the ingredients in the order above and mix into a smooth batter
- Spoon the mix into cupcake liners and place into the oven for 15-18 mins at 180C
- Once out the oven allow to cool for 15-20 minutes. This helps to the cupcake to come out of the liner
Notes
Nutrition
Beautiful cakes my kids love
I’ve subbed coconut for rapeseed oil and they were lovely!
I’ve also done them with parsnip and nutmeg and a handful of sultanas and they were gone before I even had a chance to take a photo
Thank you for such a brilliant recipe with no fancy/weird ingredients James
Thank you James! These were really quick and easy. Saved me when I needed a quick sweet fix and a great way to use up my carrots before they went rubbery.
Thanks Melissa 🙂 glad you enjoyed them!
What is the nutrition facts on the recipes for banana bars +donuts +carrot cake cupcakes. Please. Have serviced diabetic I cook for and need all the nutrition facts. Thanks ever .
Hi Patricia, I don’t share any nutritional information on my site but it’s easy to input the information into apps etc if you need to.
Hi
Kindly let me know the substitute of self raising flour if I have gf all purpose flour can I use that? How much baking powder I should add?
Thanks
Hey Heena, I would add 1 tbsp baking powder. Let me know how it goes 🙂
These taste so good!
Thank you Jacqueline, so pleased you enjoyed them!
Hey, is it possible to sub a more natural flour like almond or tapioca or coconut? What quantities if so? Thanks!
Hey Sinead, those types of flour won’t rise very well hence why I use this self-raising flour. You could swap for almond and just add baking powder but they will still be more dense.
Make these. The cakes were delicious but very well adhered to the cupcake liner. I had to scrape it off with my teeth. Any suggestions?
Hey James, so pleased you enjoyed the recipe! If that happens I would suggest either lightly greasing the paper with coconut oil or use silicone cupcake moulds 🙂 Hope that helps for next time.
James
These were really nice! I made them for my cookery project at school!
Yay, so pleased you enjoyed them Henriette!! Thank you for sharing your feedback 🙂
Could I use butter instead of coconut oil (nut free).
Thanks
Hey Melissa, butter should work although I haven’t tried it personally. Let me know how you get on 🙂
Hi- we don’t have self raising GF flour where I live and so I’ve been passing on a few of your recipes. Any ideas on how to make my own or what to add? I have GF flour.
Hi Candace,
A few have tried the recipes with gluten free flour and baking powder which has worked with the doughnuts. With cupcakes it might not rise as much but still should work.
Give it a try and let me know how it goes.
James