Carrot Cake Bread

Perfectly moist, sweet and crazy delicious carrot cake in loaf form. Top it with cream cheese icing, add chopped pecans, make it yours! This Carrot Cake Bread will become a Springtime recipe staple in your kitchen, guaranteed.

Carrot cake bread is a fun twist on two of my favorite things: cake and bread. I know, I know, that sounds kind of simple but truly when a mashup like this comes along, I just get so excited – it’s everything you love about a sweet bread (cinnamon, sugar, vanilla, eggs, and carrots in this case) and everything you love about cake (okay all of the same ingredients and plus optional frosting). But you don’t feel so bad when you’re eating carrot cake bread and not carrot cake…cake. Long story short – make this, make it now!

How to Make This Recipe

1. First, preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9-inch loaf pan. (not pictured)
2. Then, in a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. (photo 1)
3. In a large bowl, mix together the oil, applesauce, sugar, brown sugar, vanilla, and eggs, then stir in the shredded carrots. (not pictured)
4. Combine the batter by adding dry ingredients to wet ingredients and stir it by hand until it’s just combined and there are no more steaks of flour. (Do not over-mix.) (photo 2)
5. Transfer the batter to the prepared baking pan. Bake for 60-70 minutes (on a rack in the lower third of the oven) until a toothpick inserted deep into the center comes out clean (a few loose crumbs are fine, but you don’t want any wet batter!). (photo 3)
6. Allow to cool in the pan for at least 15 minutes before turning out onto a cooling rack to cool completely. (photo 4)
7. Finally, if you’re making the frosting, you can do this while the cake cools.

Making the Frosting (optional)

1. In a medium bowl cream together the cream cheese and the butter for 2-3 minutes.
2. Mix in the vanilla and the salt, then add powdered sugar one cup at a time until it’s completely incorporated, and frosting is fluffy. (If it’s too thick, you can mix in 1 tablespoon of milk.)
3. Frost the cake loaf, slice, and serve.

Why This Recipe Works

So delicious – So moist, sweet, carroty, cinnamony, and deliciously frosted (if you want!) that you’ll want to make it over and over again.

Great for guests – Did I mention this carrot cake loaf is so very delicious? So delicious that you might even want to share it with others. Maybe. But seriously, I love to make this carrot bread for Easter morning to share with the family. And it’s also great for brunches with houseguests.

Optional frosting – Unfortunately (for me) most of my family prefers this carrot cake loaf unfrosted. So we’ll serve it like you would any other banana bread or banana muffin, for breakfast or a snack. Buuuuut it’s also so good frosted and eaten as dessert! Just one extra step and voila! Dessert is ready!

Simple ingredients – You probably have all the things you need for this carrot bread in your pantry and fridge right now. (Go ahead and check, I’ll wait.) See? You can whip this up for tomorrow’s breakfast tonight, or today for dessert. Easy, peasy.

Is This Recipe Healthy?

Unfortunately, even though carrot cake has veggies in it, it’s still a cake made with oil, butter, and sugar and it still is a dessert, which generally means it’s not in the “healthy” category. But I say everything in moderation and a little slice of carrot cake loaf with frosting is okay!

Recipe Customizations

• Do you love bread with nuts? Me too! I often add chopped walnuts to this carrot cake loaf. Just about ¼ cup will do. I also like to sprinkle some chopped walnuts over the top of the frosting too.
• A little nutmeg is also really good in carrot cake loaf. A teaspoon is plenty.
• Coconut flakes are really yummy in this recipe too. I like to sprinkle them on top of the frosting or mix them into the batter. About ¼ cup of coconut flakes is perfect.
• Serve this carrot cake bread with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side – you won’t be sorry!

Expert Tips

• Carrot tip: Be sure to grate the carrots yourself, do not use pre-shredded carrots – they are too large and dried out, this recipe needs the moisture of freshly grated carrots. On that note, you do not need to squeeze/drain your shredded carrots. 
• If you’re making the frosting, use full-fat cream cheese. Anything other than full-fat cream cheese will not taste great or mix correctly.
• If your cake begins to brown too much on top in the oven, place a sheet of foil loosely over the top of the cake pan. (I usually do this about halfway through the baking time.)
• Store the carrot cake bread recipe into an airtight container for up to 3 days or in the fridge up to 5 days.

More Recipes To Check Out

Looking for all the carrot recipes? I’ve got you covered! Try these Carrot Cake Muffins, Carrot Cake Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting, and Cream Cheese Swirled Carrot Cake Bars.

• Sheet Pan Balsamic Chicken with Potatoes and Carrots
• Honey Brown Sugar Roasted Carrots
• The BEST Classic Carrot Cake
• Carrot Coriander Soup

If you make this Carrot Cake Bread, please tag me on social and rate the recipe below!