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If you’re in the mood for carrot cake, but don’t feel like turning on the oven, this chilled Gluten-Free Carrot Cake is the perfect dessert for you! This cake doesn’t require any baking, and it comes together in just 20 minutes.
Not only is this flourless carrot cake gluten-free, but it’s also vegan! The cake slices are held together using a base of dates and pecans, packed together with the carrots. It has all the flavors of carrot cake, from the warm spices of cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger. Instead of cream cheese icing, it has a creamy cashew maple coconut icing. This is the perfect chilled dessert for Easter or whenever a carrot cake craving strikes!
If you like unique carrot cake-inspired recipes, you will love my Carrot Cake Protein Smoothie and Carrot Cake Bites!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Fun Spin on the Classic: I love classic carrot cake, but I can’t eat it all the time. This healthy carrot cake lets me satisfy my cravings without even turning on the oven or loading up on sugar.
- Vegan Dessert: From the cake to the icing, this is a true vegan dessert. There’s no need to substitute anything with plant-based alternatives because it’s all plant-based!
- Delicious Carrot, Date, and Walnut Base: The rich base for this cake is made with carrots, dates, and walnuts. The dates hold the cake together and supply loads of fiber to every slice.
Ingredients
- Carrots: You can’t have carrot cake without carrots! Use a food processor to shred them into little pieces so they are easy to eat inside the cake without being too large or crunchy.
- Dates: Not only are dates naturally sweet, but they are an excellent source of fiber.
- Walnuts: Nuts are a great source of healthy fats, and walnuts taste amazing in carrot cakes. They add crunch to this no-bake cake.
- Coconut Flour: This flour absorbs a lot of moisture and acts as a binder for no-bake desserts.
- Spices: You need warm spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger to capture the flavors of a traditional carrot cake.
- Cashews: Blending soaked cashews creates a rich, creamy icing that’s naturally vegan to top this cake with.
- Coconut Milk: You’ll need a bit of coconut milk to add to the cashews to create the icing and keep it thin.
See the recipe card below for exact ingredient amounts, nutritional information, and detailed instructions.
Variations & Dietary Modifications
- Try a Different Sticky Base: If you aren’t a fan of dates, you can use dried figs, raisins, or even dried cranberries as the sticky base for this gluten-free, dairy-free carrot cake recipe.
- Try with Olive Oil: This paleo carrot cake uses coconut oil, but you can use olive oil instead. The two oils can be substituted for each other using a 1:1 ratio, which keeps things simple.
- Make Cream Cheese Icing Instead: If you don’t need a vegan cake and miss that cream cheese tang, feel free to make a cream cheese icing using softened cream cheese and maple syrup instead, just like in this banana carrot bread recipe.
How to Make Gluten-Free Carrot Cake
This gluten-free carrot cake recipe doesn’t require any baking and comes together in just 20 minutes. All you need to make it is a food processor and a loaf pan lined with parchment paper.
- Step 1: Process Dates to Paste. Blend the dates in the food processor until it forms a paste. Use a spatula to break up the paste into chunks and spread them evenly throughout the food processor.
- Step 2: Add Other Ingredients. Add the walnuts, carrots, ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon, coconut flour, coconut oil, and coconut flakes to the food processor and blend them until they combine with the dates and form a dough.
- Step 3: Pack Into a Loaf Pan. Transfer the dough to your lined loaf pan and press it into an even layer. Place it in the freezer while you make the icing.
- Step 4: Blend the Icing. Add the soaked cashews, coconut milk, maple syrup, almond extract, and coconut oil to the food processor. Blend until they form a silky smooth icing.
- Step 5: Top with Icing and Freeze. Use a spatula to spread the icing over the cake. Top with walnut pieces if you’d like. Then place the cake back in the freezer for at least 4 hours before slicing and enjoying!
Expert Tips
- Soak Cashews: Be sure to soak your cashews in water for at least 4 hours, but overnight is best. This helps them soften and absorb the moisture so the consistency after blending is creamier.
- Soften Dates: You will probably also need to soften the dates in water before you blend them into a paste. Soak them in slightly warm water for 5-10 minutes before blending them.
- Storing: This cake must be kept in the freezer. The coconut oil and other components begin to melt and break down at room temperature, so this needs to be stored in the freezer at all times. It will last frozen for at least 2-3 months. You can cut the cake into individual slices after the initial freeze to make them easier to grab for a quick snack.
Serving Suggestions
These simple no-bake carrot cake bites are the perfect vegan snack when you’re in the mood for carrot cake. The warm spices, carrots, and nuts capture all of the flavors of the classic cake, while the dates add sweetness and hold it together. These need to be kept cold so they don’t melt apart, so if you want to pack them for lunch or on-the-go snacking, be sure to use ice packs in an insulated cooler!
- This date-based carrot cake has plenty of fat and fiber, but not much protein. Create a more nutritionally balanced snack by pairing it with a strawberry Greek yogurt smoothie.
- Enjoy these little slices of cake as dessert with your avocado chicken salad for lunch.
- Use your leftover carrots and make my orange carrot ginger juice for a little extra nourishment in the afternoon while you snack on your cake.
Gluten-Free Carrot Cake Recipe FAQs
No, this recipe only works with coconut flour. It’s needed to absorb moisture and bind the cake together. I don’t recommend using any other flour.
If your cake is soft, mushy, and falling apart, then it just needs more time in the freezer. The ingredients melt when warm and will cause the cake to fall apart if it’s not cold enough.
Technically, you could make this no-bake cake batter without a food processor, but you’d need a high-powered blender (like a Vitamix) to blend the cashews and dates well.
More Healthy No-Bake Dessert Recipes
If you tried this Gluten-Free Carrot Cake recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how you go in the 📝 comments below.
Gluten-Free Carrot Cake
Ingredients
For the Base
- 1 cup Carrots, shredded in a food processor
- 1 cup Dates, pitted
- ½ cup Unsweetened Coconut Flakes
- 1 cup Walnuts
- ¼ cup Coconut Oil, melted
- ¼ cup Coconut Flour, do not substitute this
- 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon Nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon Ginger
For the Icing
- ½ cup Cashews, soaked in water 20 minutes
- ⅛ cup Unsweetened Coconut Milk, or milk of choice
- 1 tablespoon Maple Syrup
- 2 tablespoons Coconut Oil, melted
- 1 teaspoon Almond Extract
- 2 tablespoons Walnuts, for topping
Instructions
- To make the base, mix dates in a food processor until it forms a paste. Break up the paste into a few chunks to spread it evenly throughout the food processor.
- Add the walnuts, carrots, ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon, coconut flour, coconut oil and coconut flakes together to the food processor with the date paste and combine until mixed together.
- Line a loaf pan with parchment paper vertical and horizontal so you can pull up the cake easily once set.
- Place the base mixture in the loaf pan and place in the freezer while you make the icing.
- To the food processor, add soaked cashew, coconut milk, maple syrup, almond extract and coconut oil. Blend until a silky smooth icing forms.
- Remove the loaf pan from the freezer and using a spatula spread the icing over the base covering all the corners and edges. Sprinkle with walnut pieces and gently push into the icing with your finger to secure.
- Place the loaf pan back in the freezer, 4 hours minimum (overnight is best).
- Remove from the freezer and slice into 16 mini carrot cake bites.
Video
Notes
- Soak the cashews in water for 3-4 hours, or overnight, to allow them time to soften and absorb extra moisture. This helps them blend smoother and creamier.
- Soften the dates in slightly warm water for 5-10 minutes before blending them to help them blend easier.
- Keep these bars stored in the freezer for up to 3 months. They will melt and fall apart if left at room temperature for too long.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
My boyfriend requested carrot cake for his birthday so I made him a traditional cake with all the bad stuff. I didn’t want to be tempted while everyone was eating cake so I made these as well. I think I’ll like them more refrigerated… they were very frozen. But the flavor was good!
Although, nuts and coconut products (flour, meat, oil) have some very impressive health benefits, ie: coconut oil can increase metabolism, reduce hunger and boost HDL (the “good”) cholesterol, there are limits to how much fat should be consumed on a daily basis. And although medium-chain triglycerides may boost metabolic rate slightly, eating more calories and fat than needed could still lead to weight gain.
At 180 calories per bar, 65% of those calories come from fat, 50% of which are saturated and then add 8 gms of sugar to that. I am confused. Is this really considered a healthy option?
Yes, it is a healthy option as long as there is no health status requiring fats to be limited. There’s only 5.7 grams of saturated fat. Anything less than 5 per serving is the general recommendation. The sugar is natural sugar balanced by high fiber which means there’s very little blood sugar spike. Furthermore, those wanting to lose weight should be eating higher fat and protein diets. If someone eats above their daily caloric requirements sure they will gain weight; however, there are plenty of studies showing that it’s more than just calories when it comes to weight loss. The belief that high fat diets causes weight gain is an old one. Macronutrient content and timing is actually more important.
What can I use instead of coconut flour, and what would be the amount needed for the substitute?
I have not tried another substitute. You could try almond flour, but I’m not sure on the amount. It’s hard to say because the consistency of coconut flour is very absorbent.
The cake part turned out great and it is still super yummy even with the crunchy “icing!”
Awesome! So glad you liked it. Yeah, the crunchy topping isn’t necessary.
Not sure why, but my icing looks nothing like the pic! What kind of coconut milk did you use? I used Pacific Organic that comes in a box. Was I supposed to use the thicker kind in a can?
I used the regular kind of out of a carton. The icing get really creamy from the soaked cashews not the coconut milk.
Strange. My Vitamix didn’t blend it well even though I soaked the cashews overnight. I think a double batch would help. There just wasn’t enough quantity in the mixer
Weird. I’ve had tons of people make this and love it. You’re the only one who’s ever mentioned it.
Could I make this in a large round tin so it is like a raw carrot cake cheesecake? If so would I need to double the recipe?
I haven’t tried it, but I’m guessing you would have to.
Hi Megan.
Love your site and recipes!
Unfortunately I’m allergic to cashew nuts…can I use almonds and get the same result for the topping?
It’s unlikely almonds or any other nut would work. They don’t get creamy when soaked in water the way cashews do. Have you ever heard of aquafaba? It’s the water from canned garbanzo beans. If you whip it up for a very long time it become a cream like substance. Coconut cream may be another substitute. I haven’t tried any of these, but I’m guessing they would work.
Walnuts are gross. Any substitutions??
Well, you can omit them from the top. The walnuts in the crust you can’t taste. You could try almonds. I haven’t tried it, but I’m guessing the consistency would work with a similar flavor.
I made this exactly like the directions. I tasted the base…AH-mazing… before putting it in my loaf pan. I just made the icing…AH-mazing. And now I have to WAIT four hours for it to set up in the freezer. This is going to be hard. Thanks for a wonderful treat. I love this and I will be making it and sharing it often.
That is just awesome! That is hands down my favorite dessert and it’s so easy. Thanks for letting me know you like it. People usually only right in when they hate something. lol
I made this today. So amazing! Thank you.
Glad you liked it! One of my personal favs.