Soft, fluffy, and moist carrot cake cupcakes! Made completely from scratch with real grated carrots and the option to add nuts or raisins, these cupcakes are always a hit! Make sure to top them off with the absolute best cream cheese frosting.
Carrot Cake Cupcakes will forever be my favorite way to get my daily serving of vegetables. Give me a cupcake and a zucchini muffin for each hand and I’ve got the bottom of the food pyramid covered.
Alright, maybe carrot cake cupcakes aren’t the best way to get your daily vegetables, but it’s definitely the tastiest, especially when topped off with a very generous swirl of cream cheese frosting. They’re soft, moist, and cheerfully fluffy, these cupcakes taste like springtime and sunny weather (which I could really, really use right now!).
These carrot cake cupcakes are a modified version of my favorite carrot cake. The recipe is almost identical to the cake portion except for a bit more liquid in the batter — the original is perfect for cake but I found it to be too dense in the small space of a cupcake liner and added some milk for a bit of levity.
I use all oil in this recipe (no butter) for the moistest (sorry if you hate that word, if you have a better substitute I’m happy to hear it!) cupcakes, and thanks to the spices you’re not missing anything in terms of flavor, I promise! I found that butter just didn’t give these cupcakes the texture that they really needed.
I have a few tips on how to make your own carrot cake cupcakes turn out perfectly, so let’s get into that!
Tips for Making Carrot Cake Cupcakes
- I recommend using the grate setting on your food processor to prepare your carrots, and then briefly pulsing them in your food processor for fine shreds of carrot. I feel like just grating them leaves carrot pieces that are too big, but don’t overdo it when you pulse or you’ll have carrot juice and it will impart way too much carrot flavor into your cupcakes!
- If you don’t have a food processor, you can use a hand grater to grate your carrots.
- While I didn’t use them for my carrot cake cupcakes, you can add walnuts, pecans, or raisins (why, though!) to this recipe, if you’d like. This batter can hold about 1/2-1 cup of add-ins.
- This recipe can be doubled to make 24 cupcakes.
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How Do You Make Carrot Cake Cupcakes
Carrot Cake Cupcakes
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (157g)
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar (100g)
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar packed (100g)
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 3/4 cups canola oil (180ml)
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 Tablespoons milk
- 1 1/2 cups grated carrots (170g)
- ½ cup chopped walnuts or pecans optional
- 1 batch Cream Cheese Frosting
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F (175C) and line a 12-count muffin pans with paper liners.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer (or in a large bowl using an electric mixer), whisk together flour, sugars, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg.
- Stir in canola oil. Add eggs, one at a time, pausing to scrape down sides of the bowl after each addition. Beat until well-combined.
- Stir in vanilla extract and milk.
- Add carrots and nuts (if using). and stir until combined.
- Evenly divide batter into cupcake liners, filling each 2/3-3/4 of the way full. Transfer to oven and bake on 350F (175C) for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with moist crumbs.
- Allow to cool completely before decorating with cream cheese frosting*.
Notes
Nutrition
Emma says
I made these for mothers day and they were a hit. First batch i subbed in olive oil (coles brand at that) and second batch i used canola. Both were great but different people had different preferences. I made them again with bananas instead of carrot and my partner said they were his favorite. You just have to add a bit extra flour to balance it out. Also i found half the sugar for the icing and half the icing in total was enough for 1 barch.
Sam says
I’m so glad you enjoyed, Emma!!
Angel says
Is it okay if i don’t have nutmeg?
Sam says
It will definitely change the flavor of the cupcakes without it.
Ms. Mo P. says
I just made it today, and it was easy to follow and tastes AMAZING! This recipe is a KEEPER!!!
Sugar Spun Run says
I am so glad that you enjoyed them! Thank you for trying my recipe and for commenting. 🙂
Kay says
I baked these today and followed the recipe as written, no nuts. Perfectly baked at 20 minutes. I also made your cream cheese frosting. Delicious!! This recipe is a keeper.
Sugar Spun Run says
I am so glad that you enjoyed them, Kay! Thank you for trying my recipe and for commenting. 🙂
Ebonie says
Is it possible to use this recipe for carrot cake but not in the shape of cupcakes?
Sugar Spun Run says
Hi, Ebonie! I actually have a carrot cake recipe that I would reccomend using instead. 😉
Lynae says
I’ve tried many receipes for carrot cupcakes, but this one is for sure the best of the best! Perfection all the way, wouldn’t change a thing!
Sam says
I am thrilled to hear this, Lynae! Thank you for commenting!
Molly says
Great recipe to follow!!! Amazing taste too! Do these need to be refrigerated?
Sam says
Hi Molly! The frosting would be your only issue here. You would want to refrigerate them if you live in a humid area or you don’t eat them within 24-48 hours. 🙂
Naomi Reyes says
Hi I wanna know what I can do if I don’t have granulated sugar but have brown sugar?? Cause also I don’t wanna it to be too sweet soo want are your Recomendations. Also I’m going to be doing the same serving size that says in the recipe
Sam says
Hi Naomi! You can substitute the granulated sugar with an equal amount of brown sugar, but it will make the cupcakes sweeter. I don’t think they will be overbearingly so, but if you are worried about it you can reduce the sugar a bit (a tablespoon or two). Enjoy!
Elaine says
Usually I’m that person who looks for reviews but doesn’t bother rating but this recipe was so easy to follow and completely delicious. Thank you!
Sam says
Thank you so much for rating and letting me know how it turned out! I appreciate it, Elaine! 🙂
Mary Vaughn says
Easy and met with rave reviews – I’ve already been asked when I plan to make them again 🙂
Sugar Spun Run says
I am so happy that they have been such a hit, Mary! Thanks for trying my recipe and for sharing them. Good luck on your next batch. 😉
Carol says
These cupcakes are super delicious without any changes to the recipe! I even ate one without frosting (I couldn’t wait) and it was awesome! I noticed someone asked about adding pineapple…..first it doesn’t need anything added….but ever the experimenter, I wondered if there should be an adjustment to the recipe if you did add pineapple. For the amount of liquid it would add. I had an 8-0z can of crushed pineapple I was tempted to try but didn’t because I wanted to see what the cupcakes were like following the recipe exactly. Again I repeat, it is a keeper recipe without changing a thing.
Sugar Spun Run says
I am so glad that you loved the cupcakes, Carol! As for the pineapple I have not tried it with this recipe, however, think that would taste awesome. I will let the experimenter chime in to share what worked well for her. Thanks for trying my recipe and for commenting. 🙂
Deb says
I tried it and it now one of my favourites.
Thanks for sharing
Sugar Spun Run says
I am so happy to hear how much you enjoyed the cupcakes, Deb! Thank you for trying my recipe and for commenting. I am glad that you now have a new favorite. 🙂