Easy Carrot Cake Bread

Sweet Treats
Written By Merritt Taylor
carrot cake made in a loaf pan

By: Merritt Taylor

Carrot cake is one of the best spring desserts! Made with delicious and earthy carrots, warm spices, and topped with cream cheese frosting, nothing beats a good slice of carrot cake. This recipe for carrot cake bread is a simple carrot cake recipe that is easier to put together than cake and is made in a bread pan.

The ingredients for carrot cake bread are likely items you already have in your kitchen, meaning there is no reason not to make this incredibly easy dessert!

I pair my carrot cake bread with an equally easy to make cream cheese frosting. You can make it as sweet or not so sweet as you want and it goes so well with the flavors of carrot cake. This carrot cake bread is also easy to bring to parties and it can be whipped in the same day with little fuss. This post will walk you through making this delicious and easy carrot cake bread.

Notes and Tips for Carrot Cake Bread:

  • Using room temperature ingredients is really helpful when baking. I like to take my carrot, eggs and yogurt out of the fridge about an hour before I plan on baking to let them slightly warm up.

  • The cream cheese frosting also requires slightly room temperature ingredients, make sure to pull the cream cheese and butter out right when you go to pre-heat your oven.

  • Make sure to let the bread fully cool down before adding the icing. The frosting will melt if you try to add it to a warm bread.

iced carrot cake bread

Common Questions Carrot Cake Bread

What Kind of Carrots Do I Need?

  • Any kind of carrot will work for carrot cake bread. I typically use the common orange carrot since using a different color carrot will not give you that bright orange color of traditional carrot cake. You can also use baby carrots for this recipe if that is all you have on hand. The carrots will get blended until smooth or very small.

What Kind of Pan Do I Need?

  • Since this is carrot cake bread, a bread pan, also called a loaf tin, will be necessary. You can bake this in a 9”x9” baking pan if you do not have a bread pan. The bread pan is nice for giving the carrot cake bread that nice loaf shape.

How Much Powdered Sugar Do I Need For Cream Cheese Frosting?

  • Cream cheese frosting and carrot cake are a classic pairing. I use my go-to recipe for cream cheese frosting that is made of butter, cream cheese, and powdered sugar. I use about 2 cups of powdered sugar but you can use up to 4 cups if you like a really sweet icing. I suggest adding the powdered sugar in slowly and tasting every so often to make sure you have the flavor you like.

What is the Difference Between Carrot Cake and Carrot Cake Bread?

  • Carrot cake will typically have more liquid and a little more oil than carrot cake bread. Cake is usually a little lighter and fluffier than carrot cake bread. Carrot cake is also sweeter than carrot cake bread, usually containing a little more sugar.

Does Carrot Cake Bread Have to Be Stored in the Fridge?

  • If you add the cream cheese frosting, then yes the bread should be stored in the fridge. Cream cheese frosting will go bad if it sits on your counter top for too long. If you leave the frosting off, the bread can sit on your counter and taste great for a few days!

What Else Can I Add To Carrot Cake Bread?

  • If you love the texture of them, raisins are a classic pairing for carrot cake. You can throw a good handful of raisins in with the dry ingredients before mixing everything together. When they get coated in flour, it helps prevent them from sinking down to the bottom of the bread.

  • You can also add walnuts, another classic for carrot cake. I recommend sprinkling walnuts on top before baking or if you want to ice your cake, you can add them to the batter or on top of the frosting.

  • You can also add pecans to your carrot cake bread. I love pecans with the spices of carrot cake and I think they make a great addition.

What are some Oil Alternatives for Carrot Cake Bread?

  • I call for vegetable oil for carrot cake bread since vegetable oil stays liquid at room temperature or colder. This means that the bread will stay moist for longer. If you want to use melted butter, that is totally great too! You may find that your bread is slightly more dense than with vegetable oil.

  • Other alternatives for oil are melted coconut oil or any other neutral oil.

Ingredients For Carrot Cake Bread

Recipe: Makes 6-8 large slices

  • 1-1 1/3 cup grated carrot (215g)
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 cup Greek Yogurt
  • 1/3 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 tsp vanilla paste or extract
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/4 cup dark brown sugar
  • 1 2/3 cup all purpose flour (200g)
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp fine salt
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp nutmeg
  • 1/4 tsp clove
  • 1/4 tsp all spice

Recipe: Easy Cream Cheese Frosting

  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter
  • 8 oz cream cheese
  • 2-4 cups of powdered sugar

How To Make Carrot Cake Bread

  1. Preheat the Oven to 350 F

    1. Wash, trim, and rough chop 1 large or 2 medium carrots that measure around 215 grams total

    2. To a food processor, add the trimmed and washed carrot. Blitz until very small and then set aside.

    3. To a small mixing bowl, combined the flour, salt, baking powder, and spice. Whisk until combined and then set aside.

    4. To a large mixing bowl or stand mixer, add the carrot, vegetable oil, egg, yogurt, vanilla and sugars. Mix until well combined.

    5. Slowly add the dry to the wet, stirring until everything is just combined.

  2. Bake the Carrot Cake Bread

    1. Using a bread or loaf pan, oil the pan or line with parchment paper.

    2. Add the carrot cake bread mixture and spread until even.

    3. Bake for 40-45 minutes until a knife comes out almost all clean and the bread is starting to pull away from the edges.

    4. Transfer to a cooling rack and then allow to cool completely before adding icing.

  3. Make the Cream Cheese Frosting

    1. To a stand mixer or a large mixing bowl, add in 1/2 cup of butter. Beat the butter until it is smooth, fluffy, and lighter in color.

    2. Add in the cream cheese and lightly incorporate.

    3. About a 1/4 cup at a time, add in powdered sugar until your frosting is to your desired sweetness level. I usually use about 2 cups of powdered sugar.

    4. Store in the fridge until ready to use.

    5. Once the cake is cooled, add as much frosting as you want and enjoy!

Carrot Cake Bread

Carrot Cake Bread

Yield: 6-8
Author: Merritt Taylor
Prep Time: 20 MinCook Time: 45 MinTotal time: 1 H & 5 M

This incredibly easy dessert is an ode to the classic carrot cake but is so much easier to make! Carrot cake bread is a delicious treat topped with smooth cream cheese frosting.

Ingredients

Recipe: Carrot Cake Bread
  • 1-1 1/3 cup grated carrot (215g)
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 cup Greek Yogurt
  • 1/3 cup vegetable oil
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/4 cup dark brown sugar
  • 1 2/3 cup all purpose flour (200g)
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp fine salt
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp nutmeg
  • 1/4 tsp clove
  • 1/4 tsp all spice
Recipe: Cream Cheese Frosting
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter
  • 8 oz cream cheese
  • 2-4 cups of powdered sugar

Instructions

How to Make Carrot Cake Bread
How to Make the Cream Cheese Frosting

Notes

Allow the bread to full cool before icing it.

The icing will likely have leftovers which can be stored in the fridge or freezer.

Nutrition Facts

Calories

868

Fat

42 g

Carbs

118 g

Protein

9 g

Cholesterol

107 mg
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