Sheet Pan Carrot Cake is the best Spring recipe! Don’t worry about making a fancy tiered cake. Instead, make an easy sheet pan cake. This fluffy and moist gluten-free cake is loaded with carrots, coconut, walnuts, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg, and topped with a Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting.
Carrot Cake is everywhere during the Spring.
It’s a go-to Easter dessert for many families. But, growing up, mine was never one of them!
No, this isn’t my Mom or Grandma’s best Easter cake recipe. My family loves chocolate way too much to request a carrot cake for any holiday. 😉
If we did have Carrot Cake, it was only because of the cream cheese frosting on top (which my family does love).
I think after making my Carrot Cake Oatmeal Cookies, I un-learned that desserts have to have chocolate to be decadent and delicious!
Now I love Carrot Cake. I might still choose chocolate first, but I love the cozy seasonings, coconut and nuts, and cream cheese frosting combined.
I’ve been wanting to make my own Carrot Cake recipe for a while now, and I finally rolled my sleeves up and got to work. So I took my favorite Vanilla Cake recipe and Carrot Cake-ified it!
This gluten-free Sheet Pan Carrot Cake recipe is:
- Loaded with carrots, coconut, and walnuts
- Spiced with cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger
- Topped with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting
- Made healthier with less butter and sugar (with Greek yogurt and applesauce instead!)
- Fairly quick to whip up
- Super easy to make in one 9×13 pan
If you are looking for an easy (and, dare I say, a little healthier) Spring treat, look no further!
Why a Sheet Pan Cake, you might ask?
I LOVE the ease of a sheet pan cake.
You don’t have to worry about removing the cake layers, frosting them, stacking them, and decorating them just right.
Instead, you simple leave the cake in the 9×13 pan. Top it with frosting. Add whatever sprinkles, nuts, shredded carrots, or coconut on top that you’d like to use. That’s it!
If you aren’t a fan of decorating cakes, or don’t have time for it, sheet pan cakes are for you.
Let’s talk about a few other things I used in this cake, and why.
FLOUR BLEND
I’ve begun to use a combination of almond flour, oat flour, and a gluten-free all purpose flour blend together and I love the fluffy and moist texture they provide (like in my Healthy Lemon Blueberry Muffins).
If you don’t want to (or can’t) use oat flour, you can simply use more gluten-free all purpose flour blend in it’s place.
I do recommend keeping the almond flour in the recipe though. It adds a great texture to the Carrot Cake.
SPICES
I like to use cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg in my Carrot Cake recipes. I think it adds a great pop and depth of flavor. But, I know some people like to use just cinnamon.
If you don’t want to use ginger and nutmeg, simply omit them. Feel free to substitute the spices for your own favorite combination, if you have one.
FILLINGS
- Carrots: You’ll need to shred up a ton of carrots for 2 1/2 cups. I recommend using a food processor for quick shredding.
- Walnuts: Feel free to use other nuts (like pecans) if you’d like. Or, omit them if you need the Carrot Cake to be nut-free.
- Coconut: You can use sweetened or unsweetened, either works.
CINNAMON CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
YUM! What could sound better than that?! I’ve simply added a little cinnamon to a classic cream cheese frosting recipe for even more depth of flavor.
I’ve also kept the layer of frosting on the thinner side (not too thin, just right to me!).
But, if you prefer to have a hefty layer of frosting on your cakes, I’d recommend making either a 1 1/2 or double batch. I know many people think the cream cheese frosting is the best part!
This gluten-free Sheet Pan Carrot Cake is easy, fluffy, moist, and filled with flavor. Perfect for an Easter dessert or Spring treat.
After you make it, let me know what you think! I love to hear from ya’ll. Leave a comment and rating below, and/or find me on Instagram and tag me in your picture.
Does your Carrot Cake love run deep? Check out my Carrot Cake Snack Balls, Carrot Cake Breakfast Cookies, Carrot Coconut Oat Muffins, and Carrot Cake Banana Bread.
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt (I prefer Fage 2%)
- 3/4 cup applesauce (sweetened or unsweetened)
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 4 eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 1 cup almond flour
- 1 cup oat flour (certified gluten-free) or gluten-free all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup gluten-free all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ginger
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 1/2 cups shredded carrots
- 1 cup shredded coconut (sweetened or unsweetened)
- 1 cup walnuts, finely chopped
- 1/4 cup butter, softened
- 4 oz cream cheese
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 2 cups powdered sugar
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To begin, preheat your oven to 350 and spray a 9×13 pan with non-stick spray.
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To a large mixing bowl, add your butter, Greek yogurt, applesauce, white sugar and brown sugar and beat together with a mixer till smooth. Add your eggs and vanilla and mix together till the eggs are well incorporated.
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To the same bowl, add your almond flour, oat flour, gluten-free all purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and salt. Stir together till you have a consistent cake batter.
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Add your carrots, coconut and walnuts and fold them into the cake batter till they're evenly incorporated. Pour into your 9×13 pan in an even layer.
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Bake in the oven for 40-45 minutes, or till a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool entirely before frosting.
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To a mixing bowl, add your butter and cream cheese and beat together with a mixer till smooth.
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To the same bowl, add your vanilla, cinnamon and 1 cup of powdered sugar. Beat until thick and creamy. Add another cup of powdered sugar and beat again till creamy and smooth.
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Spread on top of your cooled cake in a thin, even layer. Decorate the top with sprinkles, nuts, carrots, coconut, etc.
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Devour!
Stored in an airtight container in the fridge, this cake tastes best within a week.
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