Carrot Cake Loaf

By: Julie Blanner22 Comments
Posted: 4/6/23

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This carrot cake loaf is basically like the best carrot cake, but in convenient bread form. Easy to slice, serve, and most importantly, enjoy, this Carrot Bread is covered in a delicious cream cheese glaze for the perfect cake-to-frosting ratio!

Carrot bread is like carrot cake in loaf form, which makes it perfectly acceptable to enjoy at breakfast. For some reason, it seems to be a spring favorite, but I think it should be enjoyed year round!

A carrot cake loaf topped with cream cheese glaze

The other day, a friend of mine mentioned that she loves all of my bread recipes and suggested I make a carrot cake bread.

I’ve made carrot cake muffins and carrot cake cookies, so why not carrot bread?

Table of Contents

Carrot Cake Loaf

You’ll find that carrot loaf is easier to slice and store than the traditional cake. In fact, you can even freeze it because you know you’ll want to save some for later.

I serve this carrot cake loaf 12 months out of the year, but if you’re looking for more easy Easter ideas, you can find a comprehensive list of all my Easter Recipes here, including my Cottontail Easter Cupcakes and Carrot Cake Cheese Ball. So many to choose from!

Why You’ll Love It

DELICIOUS – You know how some carrot cake recipes are cloyingly sweet because they’re loaded with cream cheese frosting? This carrot bread has the perfect icing-to-loaf ratio—it’s just sweet enough without overdoing it.
VERSATILE – It can be enjoyed for breakfast, snack, or dessert! It’s a sweet treat any time, for any occasion, but easy enough to whip up on a weekday.
MOIST – Yes, I know, everyone hates that word, but we all love super moist quick bread recipes! And all those carrots give this carrot cake loaf a nice, tender crumb.
QUICK AND EASY – Only 10 minutes of hands-on time and the oven does the rest!

Dietary Note

To make this recipe gluten-free, swap the all-purpose flour for a gluten-free measure-for-measure all-purpose flour substitute.

Ingredients and Substitutions

Visit the printable recipe card for complete ingredients and instructions.

For the carrot bread:

White granulated sugar
All-purpose flour – Lightly spoon this into the measuring cup, rather than scooping it.
Baking powder
Salt
Cinnamon
Egg – Let this come to room temperature.
Milk – The milk should also be room temperature before you start baking.
Vegetable oil – Canola oil is fine too.
Vanilla extract – Store-bought or homemade vanilla.
Carrots – Use a box grater or your food processor to grate the carrots.

For the topping:

Cream cheese – Let this come to room temperature so it will mix smoothly with the other ingredients. Learn how to soften cream cheese.
Butter – The butter should be room temperature as well. Learn how to soften butter quickly.
Vanilla extract
Powdered sugar – Also known as confectioners’ sugar – if you don’t have any, learn how to make powdered sugar here.

Directions

Prep – Preheat your oven to 350ºF. Grease a 1 pound loaf pan with cooking spray or butter.
Mix the dry ingredients – Whisk the sugar, flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon in a medium bowl.
Combine the wet ingredients – In a mixing bowl or mixer, beat the egg, milk and oil.
Finish the batter – Slowly add the dry mixture to the wet mixture until just moist. Fold in the grated carrots.
Bake – Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 50 minutes or until golden brown and set. Let it cool, then remove it from the pan.
Ice – Combine the cream cheese, butter, vanilla extract, and powdered sugar. Warm for 15 seconds in a microwave until the mixture is smooth and pourable. Pour the icing over the bread.

Cream cheese glaze pouring over a baked carrot bread loaf.

Tip

You can add more or less grated carrot depending on your texture preferences. You can also grate it into smaller or larger pieces!

Shortcut

Buy grated carrots from the grocery store and save yourself the work of grating them yourself.

Variations

Instead of the cream cheese icing, you can sprinkle Demerara sugar over the top of the loaf for a crunchy topping that’s a bit less sweet.
Fold chopped walnuts into the batter after adding the carrots if you like nuts in your carrot cake.
Soak raisins in spiced rum, then drain off the liquid and fold the raisins into the carrot loaf batter.

Club crackers in and around a small food processor, on a marble countertop.

Tool to Use

A food processor will help you quickly shred the carrots with minimal mess.

How to Store

Refrigerate – Refrigerate carrot bread in an airtight container or wrapped in plastic for up to 4 days.

Freeze – To freeze carrot bread, cover in plastic wrap and place in a freezer bag. This will prevent any freezer odors from seeping in, along with freezer burn.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why are carrots used in baking?

Carrots are a great addition to baked goods because they provide moisture and sweetness. The natural sugars in carrots caramelize when baked, giving the bread a sweet flavor. Carrots can be grated, chopped, or mashed and added to the batter for a unique texture as well.

Do carrots need to be peeled before shredding?

As long as you wash the carrots well, there’s no need to peel them.

Can you leave carrot cake with cream cheese frosting out overnight?

If your kitchen isn’t too warm, you can leave carrot cake (or this carrot cake bread) out overnight, but not any longer than that. The sugar will help preserve the cream cheese frosting for a short amount of time, but beyond that, it will need to be refrigerated.

Tips

Don’t over-mix! You only need to mix until the dry ingredients are mostly incorporated into the wet; a few streaks of flour are fine.
You can allow the carrot bread to cool completely on a wire rack which will set the icing, or you can serve it warm. The choice is yours!
Place the loaf on a wire rack set over a piece of foil before icing. The excess will drip onto the foil and then you can throw it away for easy cleanup.
You can make one large loaf pan or, if you prefer, 6 miniature loaf pans. Just reduce the baking time. I love using miniature loaf pans for easy gifting.