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.
April
Do you think I could substitute bananas instead of carrots in this recipe? I love how moist these cupcakes are. That is why I was wondering about the bananas.
Sugar Spun Run
Hey, April! If you love this recipe, I recommend that you try my banana cake or
banana muffin recipe. Both have hundreds of 5-star reviews. Both recipes are moist and can be made into cupcakes easily. 🙂
Dianne
Hi Sam! Can I use melted butter instead of canola oil? Thanks in advance for your reply.
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Dianne! I generally don’t recommend substituting butter for oil in cakes/cupcakes because it tends to make them less moist, but this carrot cake cupcake recipe is so moist anyway I think you could get away with it. I would melt the butter before using it. I hope that helps!
Bri
What should I change if I want to make a cake instead of cupcakes?
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Bri! I actually have a carrot cake recipe that you can use instead. I hope that you enjoy it! 🙂
Nakita Arthur
Perfect recipe once followed to the T. Cupcakes were moist and flavorful. Tasted excellent everyone loved it 💜
Sugar Spun Run
I am so glad that the carrot cake cupcakes were such a hit, Nakita! Thanks for commenting. 🙂
KAY
Could I use Cake flour instead of AP?
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Kay! I typically use all-purpose flour however, others have substituted with cake flour and had success. 🙂
Carol
These were delicious but I was afraid of the amount of oil so I used 1/4 cup of oil and 1/2 a cup of crushed pineapple with juice. They were a typical carrot cake texture and yummy.
Sugar Spun Run
I am so happy that your carrot cake turned out perfectly, Carol! Thanks for trying my recipe and for commenting. 🙂
Rylee
Can I use applesauce in replace of oil?
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Rylee! I have heard of others replacing applesauce for oil however, I have not tried it. With that being said, I am not certain how it will do. If you do try it, I’d love to know how it works out. 🙂
Noluthando Kubheka
Can i ask how much would u if how much do the ingredients cost
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Noluthando! As far as costs go, it is really dependant on where you shop, where you live and what you have already on hand. Unfortunately, I can not provide you that information. 🙁
Rachel
So I may be a little obsessed with the carrot cake recipes but I decided to try the cupcake and fantastic as usual. I got a dozen cupcakes and had extra batter so I made a small cake as well. So I’m wondering if the extra batter is normal or if the size of my cupcake tray is small?
Sugar Spun Run
I am so glad that you are a fan of my carrot cake recipe and decided to try this recipe, Rachel. It’s hard to say exactly why you had leftover batter. I use a standard cupcake pan and get approximately 12 cupcakes. It could be a smaller pan or not the same amount of batter was used in each. Regardless, I hope that you enjoy them. 🙂
Bonny
Excellent recipe! I followed it exactly as written just doubled it. I got 2.5 dozen beautiful, moist, golden brown cupcakes! Used the cream cheese frosting recipe provided as well. It made just enough frosting to completely cover each cake with more than enough frosting. Cakes and frosting go together beautifully!
Sam
I am so happy to hear this, Bonny! Thank you so much for letting me know how the recipe turned out for you, I appreciate it 🙂
Faith
Hi Sam! My cupcakes and frosting turned out perfect. First time making both, and delish!
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed the cupcakes so much, Faith! Thank you for the feedback. 🙂
Luke Baranouskas
So perfect! Our little family loved these so much we almost ate the whole dozen right away – taste, texture, moisture, level of cooking, everything was -superb-, thank you for the great recipe & happy new year!
Sugar Spun Run
I am so glad that everyone enjoyed the carrot cake cupcakes, Luke! Thank you for commenting. Happy New Year to you as well. 🙂
Katrina
Hello I have come acrossed your carrot recipe.doing a baby shower, the customer wants carrot cup cake 2doz.so I just double your recipe? Excited how do I get a lil done on top sometime they be leveled .help help thanks they look great awaiting your reply.
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Katrina! This recipe yields 12 cupcakes so yes, you want to double the recipe so you can get 2 dozen. As far as your question: “How do I get a lil done on top sometime they be leveled?” Can you clarify? 🙂
Kayla
I think they meant “done” instead of “done”. Hope this clarifys!
A
Made these twice and my housemates enjoyed it a lot! These are exactly what I want cupcakes to taste: moist & soft! Just perfect. Thanks for sharing! Can’t wait to try your other recipes 🙂
I replaced 1/4 cup oil with plain Greek yogurt to make it less oily (cupcake liners still had some oil residue on the outside but that’s fine)
Sugar Spun Run
I am so glad that everyone enjoyed the carrot cake cupcakes, A! Thank you so much for commenting. 🙂
Rachel
What changes would you make to the recipe if making six jumbo cupcakes?
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Rachel! This recipe yields approximately 12 standard size cupcakes. Not knowing the exact sizing of your pan, I would make it according to the directions. The only thing I would change is the bake time itself. Not having the same pan and having tested it myself, I recommend just keeping an eye on it. Keep me posted on how the carrot cake cupcakes turn out. I hope that you love them! 🙂
Rachel
Can I use soya bean oil instead of canola oil?
Sam
Hi Rachel! While I haven’t tried it, I think that would work just fine. Enjoy! 🙂
sam
Can i use virgin oil instead of canola oil
Sam
Hi Sam! I don’t recommend using olive oil because it is more fragrant and will leave some of that flavor in the cupcakes. You can use vegetable oil. 🙂