These Carrot Cake Cupcakes are the BEST! Fluffy and plush with a generous layer of cream cheese frosting all over top.
The Best Carrot Cake Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
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I looooooooved this recipeeee ❤. Super moist and with just the right amount of sweetness. Thank you, thank you, thank you !
Marine
Video To Make These Cupcakes
The Carrot Cake Cupcakes That Won My Heart
OOH BABY these are so good! My husband’s favorite dessert is carrot cake, so the bar is high for us to have a really solid house-favorite carrot cake cupcake recipe.
(I’m also very attached to this carrot cake coffee cake, which is a bit more brunchy, so we now have options.)
They are fluffy and plush with a nice little domed top, but they are also dense and buttery-ish enough to feel like a proper carrot cake!
I am not much of a decorator, but my sister made these little cute carrot toppers a few years ago and I’ve been thinking about them ever since – they will get you some ooh’s and ahh’s at Easter brunch. (Instructions for making them is in the notes section of the recipe.)
Moist, tender, not overly cluttered, and crowned with cream cheese frosting. It’s a thing of beauty. Hope you love them!
The Best Carrot Cake Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 12 cupcakes 1x
Description
Carrot Cake Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting! Plush and springy, but also dense and moist, with a generous layer of cream cheese frosting all over top.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
Carrot Cake Cupcakes
- 3/4 cup canola oil (see notes)
- 1 cup packed brown sugar (190 grams)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
- 2 eggs
- 2 medium carrots, peeled, grated, and chopped (180 grams – about 1 1/2 cups)
- 1 cup + 2 tablespoons flour (160 grams)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger (optional)
- 3/4 teaspoon salt (I use table salt)
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 5 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 5 tablespoons butter (I prefer salted butter), softened
- 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Prep: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a muffin tin with nonstick spray. (I like these without paper liners – they get a perfect ridged edge and nice little domed top, plus a chewier edge!)
- Carrots: Grate the carrots, and then roughly chop them into smaller, papery bits. You can also do this in the food processor, but when compared side by side I liked the grated and chopped version better.
- Cupcake Batter: Whisk the oil, brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla together until combined. Fold in the carrots. Mix in the dry ingredients until just combined.
- Bake: Fill each muffin tin about two thirds of the way full with batter. Bake for 16-17 minutes. Gently press on the centers – if they spring back, they’re done. If not, give them another 2-3 minutes. (Using paper liners will require closer to 19 minutes.)
- Cream Cheese Frosting: Using an electric mixer, beat the softened butter and cream cheese together until smooth. Add the powdered sugar and vanilla; mix until smooth. It should be structured enough for piping, but if it’s not, just pop it in the fridge for a moment to solidify.
- Frost and Enjoy: Pipe the frosting on top of the cooled cupcakes; serve immediately or store in the fridge. (They’re also great a day later!)
Notes
What Type Of Oil: We tested this with avocado oil, vegetable oil, canola oil, and coconut oil. (!!) I loved the coconut oil – it gave a supremely delicious, buttery texture when warm, but they became firm and dry as they cooled. Since I’m guessing most of us would be making these ahead of time to take to a gathering, I wanted these to be baked with an oil that would stay soft and moist even when cooled. With that in mind, canola oil is a good choice because it stays soft and moist for several days.
Carrot Amounts: You can get a lot of variation with carrot sizes! I made this many times, and I highly recommend weighing the carrots if you can – I use this scale (super easy to use). I weigh them after I peel them and cut tops off, so I know exactly how much carrot (and flour, and sugar) I’m adding to the recipe.
Making Carrot Toppers: Optional, but my sister did this years ago (idea from Sally’s Baking Addiction) and it’s the cutest. Here’s my method for it: melt 3 squares of almond bark in the microwave for 90 seconds, checking it at 30 second increments. (Almond bark is much easier to use than white chocolate, in my experience.) Divide it between two bowls and use gel food coloring to make a light orange (a few drops of red + a few drops of yellow) and a green. Transfer the orange to a baggie, snip the corner, and pipe out small triangle-shaped squiggles onto parchment or wax paper. Then, do the same for green. I placed a small green dot at the top of the carrot and using a toothpick to fan it out into a 3-pronged carrot top. They’ll cool in about 20 minutes and be ready to pop onto your cupcakes!
Sweetness of the Frosting: If you find the cream cheese frosting to be too sweet for your liking, you can make some whipped cream and fold it into the cream cheese frosting to make it more fluffy and butter rather than more sweet. Great idea from a commenter recently!
Liners vs. no liners: I prefer to bake these without paper liners – they get a nice little crispy ridge, and the contrast of the chewy, slightly caramelized exterior is the perfect contrast with the fluffy insides! Like so! 
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: carrot cake cupcakes, cream cheese frosting, carrot cake
Frequently Asked Questions For This Recipe
Can you add nuts and raisins to these cupcakes?
Sure can! Just mix them into the batter at the end before baking.
Can I use liners in the pan?
Baking directly in the muffin tin without the liners is my favorite way to bake these! They bake up perfectly, they get a nice edge that contrasts the rest of the muffin, and they should look very beautiful without the paper! Downsides of paper liners: they take longer to bake, and these are very moist muffins, so if you’re making them a day ahead, the oil may saturate the paper liners.
Can I make these in a mini muffin tin?
Love that idea! Just reduce the bake time to 10 minutes and check on them from there.
Can I made these cupcakes dairy-free?
The carrot cake cupcakes, as written, are dairy free. For the frosting – I’ve never tried it, but I would imagine using dairy-free butter and vegan cream cheese would work for the frosting (like this recipe).
Can I use a different oil for this recipe?
I prefer a neutral-tasting oil for this, so canola oil or vegetable oil. I also loved coconut oil in these, but they didn’t stay as soft once they cooled. (See the notes of the recipe for my full comments on our experiences testing other oils!)
More Spring Baking Recipes I Love
April 9, 2025
Nice to meet you!
I’m Lindsay and I ♡ FOOD. I used to be a teacher, and now making food and writing about it online is my full-time job. I love talking with people about food, and I'm so glad you're here.
Did you make a recipe? Tag @pinchofyum on Instagram so we can find you!
Just when I was wondering what to serve for Easter dinner! I’ve never commented here before but I’ve followed your blog for many years and I figured it was long past time for me to voice my appreciation for my favourite food blog! Phenomenally flavourful yet simple, healthy, and creative recipes, many of which are plant-focused – your cooking style is the way I love to eat! Your freezer meal guide is life-changing and many of your recipes are in my personal hall of fame. Thank you so much for providing the most incredible, free resource for us home cooks, Lindsay! Keep up the amazing work!
❤️ Megan
Love to hear this, Megan! Thanks for the comment!
These cupcakes look AMAZING!! Perfect for Easter!
I understand we all want nice fluffy cupcakes; however, canola oil is one of the worst oils anyone can use. it is considered a seed oil. Seed oils are one of the oils that can hurt our bodies. Maybe a mixture of avocado and coconut oil. I do not know the answer just know that people should try to find an alternative to these harmful oils. I am still looking.
Totally agree with this…I will probably make with avocado oil! She didn’t mention testing with melted butter…wonder if that would work as well? I’m all about avo oil, coconut oil, and grass fed butter!
Is it possible to make this in a 8 in pan? My daughter wants to make it for easter, but she wants it to be a layered cake. Would you say to begin checking it at 30 – 35 minutes?
I apologize, I meant two 8 inch cake pans for a two layer cake.
This should work in a round pan, but you’ll likely want to double the recipe to bake two layers!
Would this yield one, one-layer 9-inch cake?
Yes, it would!
I did this in a cake pan (I just dont have muffin tins) and it came out perfectly! Didn’t change a thing.
Thank you for that note, glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Thank you for sharing your wonderful recipes! I’m just wondering how you personally feel about making these cupcakes without the cream cheese frosting.
Still delicious! More like a carrot cake cupcake/snacking bread without the frosting!
I will give yours a try as I also love carrot cake. The best I’ve had to date are Nagi’s from RecipeTineats
https://www.recipetineats.com/carrot-cake-cupcakes/
Wondering if you have made the cupcakes and frozen them and then added the frosting the day of serving? Do the taste moist ?
Lindsay was 100% correct on this carrot cake muffin…
excellent…not too sweet.
i substituted Grapeseed oil instead of Canola. Great texture.
Glad you enjoyed it, Beth!
I’d love to know your magic trick for keeping the cupcakes/muffins from sticking to the muffin tin. Share your secrets! 🙂
I’ve tried everything, and they never come out as pretty as yours. Can’t wait to try making these this weekend!
These are so good! While carrot cake cupcakes are especially cute at Easter, they are so yummy that I could eat them for breakfast or dessert any time of year. Delish!
What about olive oil or melted butter?
I subbed 3 apple sauce pouches for the oil 🙂
I had such a hard time getting these out of the pan.. I sprayed the tin with cooking spray in each well and rubbed it around the walls of each tin.. was that the wrong approach? I’m excited to eat them still but they are pretty ugly from extracting them from the pan.
Hi Abbey! I’m sorry to hear they stuck a bit in the pan. What brand of pan were you using? Is it quite old?
If you’re wondering if you can hide a scoop of protein powder in this recipe and your family will be none the wiser, the answer is no 😂🫠. I’ll follow POY anywhere Lindsey wants to take us, and it was an immediate yes when she posted these muffins today and said they could be made ahead for tomorrow. Then I went off script and I should know better. If baked goods were meant to have protein in them they’d be made of cottage cheese, and I even trust Lindsey to take me to cottage cheese based carbs. Will definitely be grating more carrots and trying again with the recipe as written. Happy Easter everyone!
Could you make these and freeze them, then frost them after thawed out?
Yes, definitely!
Hi Lindsay,
I made this recipe and the muffins didn’t rise. I tried a second time thinking I made an error, but the second batch turned out the same. Is there something missing in the ingredients list?
This happened to me too. The first time I doubled the recipe and they were very flat and expanded. I tried again with a single recipe and got the same result.
Hello! Can you describe what you mean when you say they didn’t rise? As in, they didn’t rise above the rim of the pan? Did the crumb still turn out properly?
No notes!! Made these for an Easter brunch and they were a hit. So many compliments. I used vegetable oil and they were so moist. I also cut the powdered sugar in the frosting by about half and found frosting to be plenty sweet and delicious.
Glad they were enjoyed, Kelsey!
I looooooooved this recipeeee ❤. Super moist and with just the right amount of sweetness. Thank you, thank you, thank you !
So glad to hear that! Thanks for making the recipe.
I just made these yesterday and they’re wonderful! Moist and springy, they’re holding up great in the fridge on their second day. Had no trouble getting them out of a greased muffin tin with a small offset spatula and some patience. I also added about 3/4 cup of chopped walnuts. Overall it was an incredibly easy and straightforward recipe.
I decreased the amount of powdered sugar in the frosting to 2 cups and am glad I did–even that was a bit sweet for my taste. Other than that change, I’ll make these again for sure!
Made these as our Easter dinner dessert. Delicious!! Cut marshmallows in half to use as bunny ear decorations. So cute.
The bunny ears, such a fun idea!
I made these for Easter and everyone raved about them! They came out perfect – followed the recipe for the cupcakes exactly. I cut the frosting with whipped cream and really liked the consistency and slight reduction in sweetness it provided.
Oh, love the whipped cream idea! Glad the cupcakes were enjoyed.
Let me tell you! I’ve made these twice and they were an absolute hit both times. My husband and kids LOVED THEM. They were so good I paid a neighbor to take down a fence and used them as payment. 10/10 recommend
So glad they were enjoyed!
You never miss! I’ve loved your blog for years but am new to baking and I knew you wouldn’t steer me wrong! Even when I was second guessing whether there was enough batter or frosting, it came out so perfect! Delicious, fluffy, flavorful and the simple frosting is so good I’ll never buy store bought again! Thanks for another Pinch of Yum success!
These muffins are amazing! They are moist and chewy with just the perfect amount of sweet. The cream cheese frosting just puts them over the top. So easy to make too! Thank you for this recipe, it will definitely be on rotation in my house.