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.
Christina
Great!
Mike
Big hit with friends and family. Great recipe!
Humi
I tried this recipe and they were a hit! Really good.
I’m wondering if I could use this batter in a loaf tin for a carrot cake that isn’t as dense? would that work?
Sam
I would recommend using my carrot cake recipe instead of this one.
Simone Hagoort
These are amazing! I made them last week and everybody loved them! Could you also use this recipe for a bigger carrot cake? How long does it need to bake then?
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re so happy you enjoyed them, Simone! We’d recommend our carrot cake recipe for this 😊
SUSAN
Delicious!
Noelle
Could incorporate crushed pineapple without the cupcakes being too moist?
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Noelle! We haven’t tried adding crushed pineapple, but others have reported doing so with success 🙂
Barb
If adding, how much crushed pineapples would you recommend? 1/2 cup and with some juice?
Sam
Hi Barb! I have not tried it, but others have reported adding 1/2 cup without issue. 🙂
Tanya
Absolutely delicous, super soft and moist, everyone loved it got so many complimants thank you for the delicous carrot cake cupcake recipe 🙂
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Thanks for trying our recipe, Tanya! We are so happy everyone enjoyed them 🩷
Teri
This recipe is always a hit at work!! I have someone who doesn’t like nuts in their desserts, so If I am not adding the nuts would I need to add more carrots? Love your site!!
Thank you
Teri
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Teri! Nope, you can just skip the nuts. We are so happy this recipe has been such a hit for you! 😊
Gee
I just made these yesterday for my son’s birthday. He LOVES carrot cake though is very particular about texture. These were so easy to make, so moist, and very flavorful. The cream cheese frosting was also delicious, though I did have the recipe and only added 1 1/3 c powered sugar so the tartness of cream cheese would shine through. This is definitely a repeat cupcake recipe-thank you.
Lorelei
I tried this recipe, but the cupcakes came out pointy on top. What could have been the cause?
Sam
I’m so sorry to hear this happened! If your oven temperature is a bit too high it will cause the sides to set prematurely and could cause this issue. 🙁
Meg
I am looking forward to trying this recipe, it looks great! Could I use coconut oil?
Thanks!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Meg! Several commenters have swapped the canola oil for coconut oil successfully. Enjoy!
Saba
These came out excellent. We baked for about 27 minutes at 160 in our fan oven- we also snuck in extra carrots and it turned out so well! Thanks for sharing this incredible recipe
Eva
over mixing can cause poity tops
Veronica
My family absolutely loved these cupcakes! I can’t make enough
Val
Best carrot cake cupcakes ever. They are a crowd-pleaser, and I’m always asked for the recipe!
KenoDi
I made these cupcakes as a birthday cake, instead of the regular chocolate cake I always make. We wanted a healthier alternative, and didn’t want lots of leftover cake. I have made carrot cakes in the past; and have tried some really good recipes. But THIS one is now at the top of my list! Yes, I added walnuts and golden raisins; but I’m sure it would be just as good without them. And your cream cheese frosting; well that is also a must. Thank you for all of your yummy recipes!! I know I can always come here for great ideas.
Layla
I made these and they were really good, I was nervous that I was over mixing the batter, but they turned out really moist! The only thing, is that they were very oily, I used canola oil (3/4 cup). As I was taking them out of the cupcake tins, they left an oily residue on my hands. Is this what’s supposed to happen or did I mess up?
Sam
Hi Layla! Try removing them (carefully!) from the cupcake tin and placing them on a cooling rack to cool completely after they’ve cooled for about 5 minutes. This should keep that from happening.
Jori
These are great, especially if you add the walnuts! I like that this recipe provides gram measurements for the flour, sugars, and oil. I got 15 cupcakes out of this recipe instead of the standard 12. They’re light and moist and everything you want in a carrot cake. Up there with some of the best I’ve had, and I got to make it myself at home! Thanks for the recipe, will definitely make it again next time I’m in need of a carrot cake fix 🙂
Cassandra
The cupcakes came out super moist and fluffy! Best Carrot cake Cupcakes I’ve ever had.