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 ½-1 cup of add-ins.
- This recipe can be doubled to make 24 cupcakes.
Enjoy! The full printable recipe is just below the video, make sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel if you enjoy watching these videos!!
How Do You Make Carrot Cake Cupcakes
Carrot Cake Cupcakes
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cups (157 g) all-purpose flour
- ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- ½ cup (100 g) light brown sugar packed
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¾ cups (180 ml) avocado, vegetable, or canola oil
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 Tablespoons milk
- 1 ½ cups (170 g) grated carrots
- ½ cup (60 g) chopped walnuts or pecans, optional
- 1 batch Cream Cheese Frosting
Recommended Equipment
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.1 ¼ cups (157 g) all-purpose flour, ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar, ½ cup (100 g) light brown sugar packed, ¾ teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- Stir in oil. Add eggs, one at a time, pausing to scrape down sides of the bowl after each addition. Beat until well-combined.¾ cups (180 ml) avocado, vegetable, or canola oil, 2 large eggs
- Stir in vanilla extract and milk.1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract, 2 Tablespoons milk
- Add carrots and nuts (if using). and stir until combined.1 ½ cups (170 g) grated carrots, ½ cup (60 g) chopped walnuts or pecans, optional
- Evenly divide batter into cupcake liners, filling each ⅔-¾ 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 in the baking tin for 5 minutes before carefully removing to a cooling rack to cool completely before decorating with cream cheese frosting*.1 batch Cream Cheese Frosting
Notes
Storing
Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
Jessica
Hi!! Your recipe was delicious! Wanting to make a whole carrot cake instead of cupcakes next- can I use the same recipe? Advice on baking temp and minutes? Thank you ma’am!
Sam
Hi Jessica! I would recommend checking out my carrot cake recipe. 🙂
Marcy
This recipe is AMAZING!!! I love carrot cake, and reminded me so much of the carrot cake from my favorite bakery back home. I included raisins and walnuts in my cupcakes, and piped in the cream cheese frosting in addition to frosting the top of the cupcakes, and was really happy with the results. The cream cheese frosting was INCREDIBLE–I only used one box of confectioners sugar (it was all I had, but worked out perfectly). My colleagues at work were also raving about these cupcakes!!!! They said it was like they bought it from a high end bakery. Thank you for sharing–I will definitely be making these again!!!
I wanted to know, is there a way to pipe in the cream cheese frosting so the filling is throughout the cupcake and not just towards the top?
Sam
Thank you so much, Marcy! I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much! I appreciate you taking the time to leave such wonderful comments. 🙂
Marcy
My pleasure, it was all true 🙂 I wanted to know—is there a way to pipe the cream cheese frosting into the cupcake so the filling is spread more throughout the cupcake?
Sam
You could cut a little plug out of the cupcakes and then fill them with some frosting and replace the plug on top. 🙂
Jen
Can I use crushed pineapple?
Sam
Hi Jen! I know others have added some with success but I haven’t tried it myself. 🙂
Sahil.M
Oh my God.
I am so happy to have accidentally ran into your website. These were so delicious and SOO moist. I went to heaven and back. You have my word. ❤️
Bookmarked your website
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed them so much, Sahil! 🙂
Laura
I made these for Easter and they were a hit. They were so moist and delicious. I loved how much crunch the walnuts retained after baking. They added a really nice texture with the shredded carrots. I think I might use less sugar in the cupcakes and frosting next time, as they were a touch sweeter than I would have liked, but everyone else seemed to love them as is!
Sam
I’m so glad everyone enjoyed them so much, Laura! 🙂
Bethany
Ok these were Stupid-GOOD. I bake often but this was my first time even making carrot cake. I followed it exactly, no subs and they were such a huge hit. I Always give you credit Sam and refer people to your website. You’re an incredible baker!
Sam
Thank you so much, Bethany! I am so glad you enjoyed them so much! 🙂
Lou
Hi there I made this recipe & did 7 x the amount as I wanted to make a large batch. Have to say cupcakes are very moist & light. But next time I might add some crushed pineapple to add extra texture. Definitely a winner recipe for me. Thanks
Sam
That’s a lot of cupcakes! I’m glad you enjoyed them. 🙂
Cheryl
If I double the recipe, do I really use 3 tsp vanilla?
Sam
Yes that is correct. You have a lot more batter to spread the flavor throughout. 🙂
Jan Ellen Caimano+
this recipe has been an enormous hit with my very picky carrot cake loving family! But since everyone here is dieting, I’m worried that the calorie count per cupcake of 219 calories is actually WITHOUT the frosting. Can you confirm the calorie count without frosting?
Sam
Hi Jan! I haven’t calculated it without the frosting, but you can usually do it for free on a site like My Fitness Pal. I’m so glad everyone enjoyed them so much. 🙂
Azrael
How long does this cupcake last in the ref?
Sam
They should last about a week in the refrigerator in an air tight container. 🙂
Cynthia Chung
Baked today finally and it is a success! The cupcake texture is exactly what I wanted. Cream is stable n yumms. I only used 90gm powder sugar.
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed them, Cynthia! 🙂
Thrat
Is it okay if our grated carrot pieces are moist/wet because I washed them?
Sam
I would pat them dry so you don’t introduce too much moisture into the batter. 🙂
Virginia Speck
These were by far the best carrot cake cupcakes I have ever made. I followed the recipe and the cream cheese icing recipe exactly, and everything worked out beautifully. I ended up crumbling up an extra cupcake and topped the frosting with the crumbles. These were so flavorful and beautiful. Cannot wait to serve them for Easter 🙂
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed them, Virginia! 🙂
Kennedie
Very yummy! I like that this recipe left me with a little bit of extra batter versus leaving me with not a enough. Very moist and delicious! In terms of the frosting, I know you state not to use low fat, but I did (just what I had on hand). I ended up only putting 2 cups of powdered sugar in for the whole brick of cream cheese. It was a very smooth and creamy texture, perfectly for spreading it on! I definitely enjoyed this recipe that. Highly recommend and throwing in the recipe book. 🙂
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed them so much, Kennedie! 🙂
Hailey
Is it okay to blend the carrots in a blender instead of shredding?
Sam
Hi Hailey! That may be a little too much and you may end up with a carrot juice. I don’t really recommend it. 🙁
B. Kaufman
Wow these are good! I made 6 regular cupcakes and 18 minis. This will be THE recipe I use for carrot cake from now on. Perfection!
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed them so much! 🙂
Tessa
I tried this for my cooking test and was fast and easy thanks:))
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed them so much, Tessa! 🙂
Hrvatica
I am European and not a fan of American desserts. All off them are too sweet for me. This carrot cake recipe is the best thing I had since I’m in America. Thank you so much for sharing! It is absolutely perfect!
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed it so much! 🙂
Lena
Is the batter supposed to be so thick?
Sam
Hi Lena! You can see the batter in my video. 🙂