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These easy vegan carrot cake cookies truly deserve their name – soft, moist, cakey, perfectly spiced, & loaded with carrot, walnuts, & raisins!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
When it comes to homemade cookies, I’m often all-in on soft, chewy cookies (hello, my dairy-free chocolate chip cookies). But, this time, cakey cookies are the name of the game. These vegan carrot cake cookies are a cross between cookie and cake – thick, moist, and cakey – plus free from eggs or dairy for more of the family to enjoy.
These carrot cookies taste just like vegan carrot cake, with warming spices (like cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and clove), crunchy walnuts, and chewy dried fruit. Even better, this recipe is so easy to follow. A couple of bowls, super simple pantry ingredients, zero dough chilling (who has time for that?!), and boom—you’ve got a batch ready in just 1 hour – perfect with a swirl of vegan cream cheese frosting.
They’re perfect for Easter and springtime potlucks, brunches, and parties, or any time you want. You might also like easy carrot cupcakes, carrot cake muffins, and carrot cake oatmeal.
The Ingredients
Refer to the recipe card for the full list of ingredients, substitutes, and quantities.
Carrot Cake Cookies Recipe Variations
- Almond extract: Add just ½ tsp for subtle depth.
- Dried pineapple: Instead of or alongside the raisins for more sweet chew.
- Coconut shreds/flakes: Add a few tbsp for texture and flavor.
- Citrus: Add a small amount of orange zest to the dough for a subtle citrusy depth.
- Vegan chocolate chips: Add up to ½ cup of dark or semi-sweet chocolate chips/chunks. White vegan chocolate chips will work, too, for extra creamy sweetness.
- Candied ginger: Finely chopped to add a little kick of sweet, zingy flavor.
- Vegan frosting: Make these carrot cake cookies even more cake-like with a decadent frosting.
- Vegan cream cheese frosting (either an ‘accidentally vegan’ pre-made tub or make it with vegan cream cheese + vegan butter + powdered sugar.
- Vanilla vegan buttercream frosting
- Orange or lemon buttercream frosting
- Orange or 3-ingredient lemon glaze
- Maple glaze
- Pumpkin spice glaze
How to Make Carrot Cake Cookies (Vegan)
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 350F/180C and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat. Also, wash, peel, and shred the carrot using the medium holes on a box grater or food processor shredding disk. Then, in a large bowl/stand mixer, cream the vegan butter and sugars until light and fluffy (3-5 minutes).
Step 2: Add the applesauce and vanilla and mix for another minute. In a separate medium bowl, combine the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda, and pumpkin spice). Mix well. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ones and use a spatula to gently mix until just combined into a dough.
Step 3: Gently fold in the carrot, raisins, and walnuts (if using).
Step 4: Use a 2-tablespoon-sized cookie scoop to scoop the batter onto the baking sheet, leaving 1 inch between, and lightly flattening each with your hands. Bake the vegan carrot cake cookies for 11-13 minutes, then remove them from the oven and allow them to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack to fully cool. Enjoy!
FAQs
Although I haven’t tried, you should be able to replace wheat flour in a 1:1 ratio with a gluten-free all-purpose flour blend like King Arthur’s or Bob’s Red Mill.
I don’t recommend it, as pre-shredded/matchstick carrots are usually too thick, too long, and too dry to achieve the same texture as freshly shredded carrots.
Yes, you can prepare and chill the dough for this carrot cookies recipe 2-3 days before baking them or even roll the dough into balls, flatten slightly, and freeze. Bake from frozen, adding 1-3 minutes extra.
Sure, you could make this recipe for carrot cake cookies with only cinnamon and a pinch of nutmeg, but the addition of ginger and cloves definitely adds more depth, and are popular additions to carrot cake. This way, you don’t have to measure out individual spices.
Pro Recipe Tips
- Measure flour properly: To avoid dry, crumbly cookies. First, fluff it in its bag. Then, use a spoon to transfer it to the measuring cup, leveling it with the back of a knife.
- Speedy prep: A food processor shredding disk shreds carrots in seconds.
- Use freshly shredded carrots: They taste better and provide more moisture. Pre-shredded carrots can also be a little too thick.
- Adjust carrot texture: I like a little ‘bite,’ so I use medium-coarse carrot shreds. Finely shredded carrots will more evenly ‘melt’ into the dough for more even distribution.
- Don’t overwork the dough: Mix until only just combined to avoid tough cookies.
- Toast the nuts: If you have the time, I highly recommend toasting the walnuts (in a pan or in the oven until fragrant) to bring out their flavor.
Storage Instructions
Store the cooled carrot cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for a day or two or in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
You can also freeze the cookies for 2-3 months. Flash-freeze them on a tray first, then transfer them to a Ziplock/Stasher. Thaw them in the fridge overnight or at room temperature.
Carrot Cake Cookies (Vegan)
Ingredients
- ½ cup of vegan butter room temperature
- ¼ cup of granulated sugar
- ¼ cup of brown sugar
- ⅓ cup of unsweetened applesauce
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
- 2 cups of all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon of baking soda
- ½ teaspoon of baking powder
- 1 teaspoon of pumpkin spice
- ½ cup of carrots grated
- ⅓ cup of raisins optional
- ⅓ cup of chopped walnuts optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat. Set aside.
- In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the vegan butter and both sugars. Mix for 3 to 5 minutes or until light and fluffy. Add the applesauce and vanilla extract. Mix for 1 minute.
- In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and pumpkin spice.
- Add the dry ingredients to the bowl with the wet ingredients. Using a spatula gently mix just until the ingredients are combined.
- Fold in the carrots, raisins, and walnuts (if using).
- Using a 2-tablespoon cookie scoop, scoop the batter onto the prepared baking sheet and leave 2 inches between each cookie. Lightly flatten them using your hands and bake for 11 to 13 minutes.
- Remove them from the oven and allow to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack and allow them to fully cool.
Notes
- Speedy prep: A food processor shredding disk shreds carrots in seconds.
- Use freshly shredded carrots: They taste better and provide more moisture. Pre-shredded carrots can also be a little too thick.
- Adjust carrot texture: I like a little ‘bite,’ so I use medium-coarse carrot shreds. Finely shredded carrots will more evenly ‘melt’ into the dough for more even distribution.
- Don’t overwork the dough: Mix until only just combined to avoid tough cookies.
Nutrition
Disclaimer: Although plantbasedonabudget.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, kindly note that these are only estimates. Nutritional information may be affected based on the product type, the brand that was purchased, and in other unforeseeable ways. Plantbasedonabudget.com will not be held liable for any loss or damage resulting for your reliance on nutritional information. If you need to follow a specific caloric regimen, please consult your doctor first.
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