Carrot Cake Loaf Recipe (2024)

Published: Apr 12, 2020 · Modified: Sep 20, 2021 by Meymi. This post may contain affiliate links.

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You’ll love this carrot cake loaf recipe that is soft and moist! It is so easy to make with simple ingredients. No mixer needed!

Today I share my favorite carrot cake loaf. It is perfect for teatime, breakfast or any time you want to eat a nicely spiced yummy treat.

This loaf is as deliciously soft and moist as my simple banana bread recipe and pumpkin chocolate chip bread. You don’t need a mixer to make this easy and delicious carrot cake that is baked in a loaf pan. I think we can name it as carrot cake bread as well.

Let’s start with the ingredients;

The Ingredients for Carrot Loaf

Carrots–gives moisture besides being the star of this loaf
All-purpose flour– gives structure
Baking powder– works as a leavener
Cinnamon and nutmeg-go perfect with carrots but if you don’t have nutmeg you can still make a delicious carrot cake with only cinnamon.
Vanilla– I use vanilla extract. It enriches the flavor. If you have it I suggest you use it, if you don’t have, don’t worry, this loaf cake will be still yummy.
Granulated Sugar-I use 155 grams(¾ cup) for 1 loaf. It is sweet and moist enough with that amount.
Eggs-give structure
Olive oil-gives moisture
Walnuts-perfect in a carrot cake but you can replace them with pecans

How to Make Easy Carrot Loaf

First mix the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder (and salt if using) in a medium bowl and set aside.

Then roughly chop the walnuts into small pieces with a sharp knife, set aside.

Next, peel and grate the carrots. You’ll need two large or 4 medium carrots. It is 230 grams (2 cups). Set aside.

Then place the sugar and eggs in a large bowl and mix with a whisk until just combined for almost 30-45 seconds until combined.

Next, add the olive oil and vanilla extract. Stir with a whisk until just combined.

Add the flour mixture in batches. You can use a whisk in the beginning but continue with a spoon/spatula as it will make the mixing easier.

Then add the carrots and stir with a spoon/spatula. Mix in the walnuts.

The mixture will be sticky and a little thick. You can take help from a spoon to pour the batter into the loaf pan.

Let the carrot bread bake for 50-55 minutes or until the toothpick comes out clean once inserted into the middle and the top is golden brown.

If you remove early, you can’t cut proper slices. If you over bake, the loaf will become dry. So you should watch your oven.

Enjoy!

How to Store

You can keep in an airtight container up to 3 days at room temperature and up to 7 days in the fridge. You can freeze up to 3 months.

You should also check my banana carrot muffins which are a healthier version of this cake.

Other cake loaf recipes you may enjoy!

Apple Cake loaf
Marble Loaf Cake
Orange Cake Loaf
Peach Bread

If you are looking for yeast bread, you should try these recipes!

No knead bread without dutch oven
No knead whole wheat bread
Soft dinner rolls
No knead cinnamon rolls

I love hearing from you! If you try my Carrot Cake Loaf Recipe or other recipes please leave a comment and give a star rating!

Carrot Cake Loaf Recipe

This carrot cake loaf is so easy to make with few ingredients. You’ll love this carrot cake that is soft and moist!

5 from 181 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 50 minutes minutes

Total Time: 1 hour hour

Servings: 10 slices

Calories: 292kcal

Author: Meymi

Ingredients

▢ 190 g (1 cup and 5 tablespoons) all-purpose flour dip and sweep
▢ 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
▢ ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg*
▢ ⅛ teaspoon salt, optional
▢ 2 and ½ teaspoons baking powder
▢ 2 large eggs, room temperature
▢ 155 g(¾ cup) granulated sugar
▢ 110 g (½ cup) olive oil
▢ 1 teaspoon vanilla extract*
▢ 230 g (2 cups) grated carrots
▢ 60 g (½ cup) walnuts, roughly cut into small pieces

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350°F(177°C). Grease 8 ½ * 4 ½ inch (21,5*10,5cm) loaf pan and line the bottom and sides with parchment paper, about 2 inches(5 cm) of overhang on each side. If you like, you can grease and flour the dish instead of parchment paper.
Place the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder (and salt if using) into a medium bowl and mix. Set aside.
Roughly chop the walnuts into small pieces with a sharp knife, set aside.
Peel and grate the carrots, set aside.
Put the sugar and eggs in a large bowl and mix with a whisk until just combined for almost 45 seconds.
Mix in the olive oil and vanilla extract, stir with a whisk until just combined.
Add the flour mixture in 2 batches and stir until just combined. You can use a whisk in the first batch but it will be easier to use a spoon/spatula in the end to mix easily.
Add the carrots and stir with a spoon/spatula. Mix in the walnuts.
Pour the batter into the loaf pan with the help of a spoon.
Bake for 50-55 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean that is inserted in the center and the top is golden brown. After you remove the pan from the oven, leave in the pan until it cools completely, at least for 1 hour.

Notes

*If you don’t have nutmeg or vanilla extract you can leave them out. But if you have I suggest you use them.

As the baking time changes from oven to oven, you should watch the oven carefully. If you remove the pan early or don’t let the loaf completely cool after it bakes, you can’t cut proper slices. If you overbake, the loaf will become dry.

My carrot loaf starts to fill the kitchen with its beautiful smell after 35-38 minutes. Then I continue to bake for almost 12 minutes until the toothpick comes out clean. I bake for 2 more minutes until golden brown.

This recipe makes 12 muffins. You can bake for almost 22 to 25 minutes or until the top is golden brown and the toothpick that is inserted into the center comes out clean.

How to Store: You can keep in an airtight container up to 3 days at room temperature and up to 7 days in the fridge. You can freeze up to 3 months.

The calorie information above is an estimate that is provided by an online nutrition calculator.

Nutrition

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Reader Interactions

Comments

Susan
December 04, 2020 at 8:29 pm

Just made this and it turned out very good! I made a couple modifications: I used vegetable oil and only used 1/4 cup, I also used whole wheat flour, and brown sugar but half the amount and added a little honey. Delicious!! Thank you.
Reply
Christine Ferguson
February 06, 2022 at 10:07 pm

This turned out so delicious!!!! What a treat, will make again for sure.
Reply
- Meymi
  February 07, 2022 at 5:57 pm
  Hi Christine, I am so glad you enjoyed this carrot cake. Thank you for your comment!
  Reply
Debra
February 14, 2022 at 8:06 pm
I have this carrot cake loaf in the oven now and it smells so delicious
Reply
- Meymi
  February 14, 2022 at 9:12 pm
  Hi Debra, Thank you for trying my recipe. I hope you enjoy this carrot cake as much as I do!
  Reply
Sherry
April 07, 2022 at 8:40 pm

I just made this recipe, but used sugar free substitute.The rest I followed the recipe
Turned out amazing.
I will definitely bake again !
Thank you for the recipe 🙏
Reply
- Meymi
  April 07, 2022 at 9:24 pm
  Hi Sherry, I am so happy that you loved this recipe so much! Thank you for your comment!
  Reply
Mischka
August 27, 2022 at 9:24 am
Hi! I love this recipe and so does my family! Is there anything I could use instead of olive oil and sugar? Trying to lessen the calories but keep the yumminess!
Reply
- Meymi
  August 29, 2022 at 5:33 pm
  Hi Mischka, I’m so glad you love this recipe. I haven’t tried this cake with alternative ingredients so I’m not sure how to substitute.
  Reply
Arlene Matthys
September 18, 2022 at 5:50 pm
Can you use a couple of jars of baby food carrots in place of the 2 cups of carrots?
Reply
- Meymi
  September 20, 2022 at 6:01 am
  Hi Ariene, I haven’t tried so I am not sure but as jars of baby carrots may have excess water, you may need to increase the flour. If you try, I would love to hear how it turns out for you! Thank you!
  Reply
Amanda
October 15, 2022 at 10:18 pm

This recipe is so moist and I’m saving it to do again! My family gobbled it right up!
Reply
- Meymi
  October 16, 2022 at 7:06 pm
  See Also
  Easy Gluten-Free Corn Tortillas Recipe | GFP
  Hi Amanda, I’m so glad to hear that your family enjoyed this cake loaf so much! Thank you for your comment!
  Reply
elaine
November 19, 2022 at 6:50 pm

Love carrot cake bread and want to give mini loaves as gifts this holiday season what would be the temperature and time to cook them
Reply
- Meymi
  November 19, 2022 at 9:28 pm
  Hi Elaine, You can bake at the same temperature, probably 20-25 minutes. I would check the oven after 18 minutes. You should bake until a toothpick that is inserted in the center comes out clean.
  Reply
Karen
January 08, 2023 at 6:15 pm
It’s in the oven now, I may add a little crushed pineapple next time.
Reply
- Kari
  July 27, 2023 at 5:23 pm
  Hi Karen, I haven’t tried this yet but would love to add crushed pineapple as well. Have you tried that yet? If so, did you make any other adjustments?
  Reply
Bridget
January 11, 2023 at 12:45 pm
Hi sounds delicious but would you know if I can use almond flour and if so do I leave out the baking powder. Thanks so much
Reply
- Meymi
  January 12, 2023 at 7:29 pm
  Hi Bridget, I haven’t tried this recipe with almond flour so I’m not sure how to substitute flour.
  Reply
Munira Bengashier
February 20, 2023 at 7:59 am

I tried this recipe it is so easy and tasty. 💕💕 Thank you
Reply
- Meymi
  February 21, 2023 at 6:23 am
  Hi Munira, I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe. Thank you for your comment!
  Reply
Anna
March 02, 2023 at 7:26 pm
Yum. I used sligthly less sugar and run out on the flour so probably was 3 spoons short haha still delicious
Reply
Sherry Cantar
May 23, 2023 at 6:30 pm
OMG, I just made this…absolutely amazing! It really is a perfect loaf.
I added about 1/4-1/2 tsp of grated orange zest. It adds a really lovely flavour.
Thanks for the recipe!
Reply
- Meymi
  May 24, 2023 at 6:29 pm
  Hi Sherry, I’m so happy to hear that you loved this recipe so much. Thank you for your feedback!
  Reply
Andrea
August 18, 2023 at 4:20 pm
Hi, can you use butter instead of oil? And what about using yogurt??
Reply
- Meymi
  August 18, 2023 at 7:38 pm
  Hi Andrea, You can use butter but olive oil adds a nice flavor besides making this cake moist. You should use 2/3 cup of melted butter. You probably asked yogurt for moisture but I think it should be fine with melted butter. If you try, I’d love to hear your feedback!
  Reply
Presley
August 24, 2023 at 4:55 pm
Made this is in the air fryer as I don’t have an oven. 325 for 25 mins- turned out PERFECT
Reply
- Meymi
  August 25, 2023 at 9:44 am
  Hi Presley, Thank you so much for your feedback!
  Reply
Louise (Canada)
September 24, 2023 at 5:15 pm

WOW! Delicious.
I was worried about the oil making the loaf greasy, but it turned out beautifully. I doubled the recipe (making 2 loaves)
I also grated orange rind from 1 navel orange and added 1 small can of drained crushed pineapple into it all.
For the flours, I used 1/2 all purpose and 1/2 whole wheat.
Reply
- Meymi
  September 25, 2023 at 8:44 am
  Hi Louise, I’m so glad you loved this loaf so much! Thank you for your feedback!
  Reply
Christina
September 25, 2023 at 3:34 pm
So good! I may have added an extra turn of olive oil, and of course fall treats need dried cranberries. But if you make this recipe exactly as-is it will be delightful. Such good smells while baking.
Reply
Angele
October 17, 2023 at 2:25 am

Making a second one since last night 😆
Easy to make
Reply
- Meymi
  October 18, 2023 at 6:51 pm
  Hi Angele, I’m so happy to hear that you loved this carrot cake so much! Thank you for your comment!
  Reply
Michele
October 30, 2023 at 10:33 pm
Could I use oatmeal instead of walnuts?
Reply
- Meymi
  October 31, 2023 at 8:57 am
  Hi Michele, You can use oatmeal but walnuts add a nice flavor.
  Reply
Sonia Reedy
December 30, 2023 at 3:41 am

Hello,
I made mini cake loaves as Christmas gifts this year. Your recipe was very delicious and glad I followed your recipes instructions!
Reply
- Meymi
  December 30, 2023 at 3:54 pm
  Hello Sonia, I’m so glad you loved this recipe and the instructions were helpful. Thank you for your comment!
  Reply
Barb
February 10, 2024 at 1:00 am

Made this today to use up carrots. It was very good and will make again. I had no walnuts, so used raisins.
Reply
- Meymi
  February 10, 2024 at 7:07 am
  I’m so glad you loved this recipe so much! Thank you for your feedback!
  Reply
Dorian
March 03, 2024 at 10:27 am

Very tasty carrot 🥕 cake 🎂 type loaf 🍞. Just what I needed to use up some carrots and make dessert!
Reply
- Meymi
  March 03, 2024 at 3:55 pm
  Hi Dorian, I’m so happy that you enjoyed this recipe! Thank you for your comment!
  Reply