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These tender Carrot Cake Cupcakes are made from scratch and loaded with spice and freshly grated carrots. Topped with the fluffiest cream cheese frosting ever! 

Carrot cake cupcake with the wrapped down and a bite missing.


 

The classic flavoring of carrot cake in a cupcake form with swirls of smooth cream cheese frosting. Made with fresh carrots, tons of spice, and greek yogurt, these are the perfect cupcakes.

Serve them for a birthday, Easter celebration, or anytime. This recipe is easy enough for beginning bakers and always receive great reviews!

Ingredients & Substitutions

Ingredients needed to make carrot cake cupcakes.
  • Flour: Use regular or organic all purpose flour. For a gluten free option use a 1:1 gluten free mix.
  • Oil: Use your favorite cooking oil. Options include vegetable oil, coconut oil, or avocado oil. You can swap the oil out for unsalted butter.
  • Greek Yogurt: This makes the cupcakes extra tender and moist. You can swap this out for sour cream if needed.

Find the complete recipe card below with measurements and full instructions.

How To make carrot cake cupcakes

Following the recipe below will yield 20 carrot cake cupcakes.

First, in a large size mixing bowl combine the wet ingredients of eggs, greek yogurt, oil, sugars, and vanilla extract. Stir until completely combined.

Mixing bowl with wet ingredients for carrot cake cupcakes then oil being added in.
Whisking wet ingredients for carrot cake cupcakes.

Next, in a separate medium size bowl combine the all purpose flour, baking powder, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon. Whisk these together to combine.

Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet and stir until mostly combined.

Dry ingredients added to the wet ingredients being stirred.

Fold in the grated carrots and the chopped pecans. Don’t over-mix, it’s ok if some lumps remain.

Grating the Carrots

To prepare the carrots for grating make sure to rinse and dry them. Then peel the outer skin off. You can either grate them with a traditional box grater, using the large side. If you prefer smaller pieces of carrot that basically disappear into the cake while baking you can use the smaller side.

You can also grate carrots quickly and easily in a food processor if yours came with a grater plate. It would sit towards the top of the processor, cut the ends of the carrots off and place them in the hole in the cover. Press the carrots against the slicer while pulsing with the pusher. Quick and easy!

Carrots and chopped pecans added to cupcake batter.

Scoop the batter and fill the cupcake liners about 3/4 full.

Carrot cake batter being scooped into cupcake liners.

Bake for approximately 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Carefully remove the cupcakes from the tin and allow the cupcakes to cool on a wire rack.

Baked carrot cake cupcakes.

To prepare the frosting add the cream cheese and butter to a mixing bowl. Mix until smooth. Add in the vanilla and powdered sugar. Mix on high speed until frosting is smooth and creamy.

Cream cheese and butter before and after mixing in a white mixing bowl.
Powdered sugar and vanilla added to cream cheese and butter for frosting.

Finally spread the cream cheese frosting onto the cooled cupcakes with an offset spatula or use a pastry bag fitted with your choice of piping tip.

Recipe Tips

  • Room Temperature Ingredients: Remove the eggs and yogurt 30 minutes before mixing. Do the same for the frosting, setting the butter and cream cheese out for them to be room temperature to ensure an ultra creamy frosting.
  • Don’t Overmix: Over-mixing cake batter deflates all the air bubbles making our cakes flat and dense. Mix the batter until the ingredients are just mixed together, it’s ok to have some small lumps left.
  • Remove from the pan to cool: Carefully remove the cupcakes from the tin after baking to let them cool on a wire rack. Leaving them in the hot baking pan and continue the baking even once removed from the oven.
Carrot cake cupcakes with cream cheese frosting swirl.

Storage

  • Storage: Store baked and frosted cupcakes in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
  • Freezing: Baked cupcakes can be frozen for up to 3 months. Remove from the freezer and allow to defrost at room temperature.

Carrot Cake Cupcakes FAQs

Can I use this recipe to make a cake instead of cupcakes?

This carrot cake cupcake recipe could be made as a cake also using a 9×13 size cake pan. Bake for about 40-50 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Do these have to be refrigerated once frosted?

Yes, since these cupcakes have cream cheese frosting they should be stored in the refrigerator. They don’t need to be served cold though. Remove the cupcakes from the refrigerator 1-2 hours before serving to let them come to room temperature.

What are some other frosting options?

Use a regular vanilla frosting, cinnamon flavored frosting, or a dairy-free frosting if needed.

Carrot cake cupcakes on a white cake stand.

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Carrot Cake Cupcakes

4.96 from 21 votes
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 20 minutes
Total: 30 minutes
Servings: 20
Author: Serene
These tender carrot cake cupcakes are loaded with spice and freshly grated carrots. Topped with the fluffiest cream cheese frosting ever!
Carrot cake cupcake with a bite taken out.

Ingredients  

  • 4 large eggs
  • 5.3 ounces plain or vanilla greek yogurt
  • ½ cup vegetable oil
  • 1 cup light brown sugar
  • 1 cup white sugar
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 2 cups all purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon nutmeg
  • 3 cups grated carrots
  • ¼ cup chopped pecans

Cream Cheese Frosting

  • 8 ounces cream cheese room temperature
  • ¼ cup unsalted butter room temperature
  • 3 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla

Instructions 

  • Preheat oven to 350℉ degrees. Place liners in a cupcake tin and set aside.
  • In a large size bowl combine the wet ingredients: eggs, greek yogurt, vegetable oil, sugars, and vanilla extract. Stir until completely combined.
  • In a separate medium size bowl combine the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon. Whisk together to combine.
  • Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet and stir until mostly combined. Fold in the grated carrots and the chopped pecans. Don’t overmix.
  • Scoop the batter and fill the cupcake liners about 3/4 full.
  • Bake for approximately 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
  • Carefully remove the cupcakes from the tin and allow the cupcakes to cool on a wire rack.
  • To prepare the frosting add the cream cheese and butter to a mixing bowl. Mix until smooth. Add in the vanilla and powdered sugar. Mix on high speed until frosting is smooth and creamy.
  • Spread onto cooled cupcakes  with an offset spatula or I used an Ateco 808 tip in a pastry bag.

Notes

  • Flour: Use regular or organic all purpose flour. For a gluten free option use a 1:1 gluten free mix.
  • Oil: Use your favorite cooking oil. Options include vegetable oil, coconut oil, or avocado oil. You can swap the oil out for unsalted butter.
  • Greek Yogurt: This makes the cupcakes extra tender and moist. You can swap this out for sour cream if needed.
  • Storage: Since these cupcakes have cream cheese frosting they should be stored in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. They don’t need to be served cold though. Remove the cupcakes from the refrigerator 1-2 hours before serving to let them come to room temperature.

Nutrition

Serving: 1 | Calories: 293kcal | Carbohydrates: 52g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 51mg | Sodium: 169mg | Potassium: 137mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 40g | Vitamin A: 3481IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 71mg | Iron: 1mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Like this? Leave a comment below!

Photography by JessGaertnerCreative.com

Recipe first published March 9, 2018. Updated March 12, 2024.SaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSave


Welcome to my kitchen!

Welcome to the House of Yumm!! My name is Serene. I’m the food photographer, recipe developer, and official taste tester around these parts.

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8 Comments

  1. I’ve been using this recipe for years and it’s amazing! Always a hit!

    Could I bake this recipe on sheet pan rather than cupcakes? Would I just need to adjust baking time?

    1. Yes you can use it as a sheet cake, you’ll just have to adjust the bake time to ensure it bakes completely.

  2. I made these for a golf banquet.  The response from the ladies, “Best Carrot Cupcakes” EVER!  Thank you for sharing this fantastic recipe.  So delicious!

  3. I just wanna let you know, I made this recipe in May for my dad’s birthday because carrot cake is his favorite…and he LOVED THEM! I shared with friends and ate some myself and these were delicious! I’ve never made carrot cake before and this recipe was so easy to follow and produced an amazing result! I’ll be making them again this weekend!