Carrot Bread with Cream Cheese Frosting is packed with the requisite shredded carrots, nuts, and coconut, but it’s that frosting that’ll get you every time. If you love carrot cake but rarely have the time or energy to pull it off, try this quick carrot bread!
Nothing beats a rich moist carrot cake with cream cheese frosting, unless of course it’s a rich moist carrot bread with cream cheese frosting ~ so much easier (all the benefits with half the work!) Plus permission to have carrot cake with your morning coffee. Win.
carrot bread ingredient notes
- carrots ~ 2 or 3 to make 1 1/2 cups grated. Do not buy pre-grated carrots, grate them yourself.
- walnuts ~ sub pecans if you prefer.
- shredded coconut ~ I use sweetened shredded coconut which is moist. Unsweetened shredded coconut is very dry and can dry out your cake.
- flour ~ all purpose
- sugar ~ white
- vegetable oil ~ your choice
- eggs ~ large
- cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves ~ this combination of spices gives the cake its nice rich color.
- vanilla ~ don’t skip this, it brings all the flavors together.
- baking soda ~ a little needed lift for a heavy batter.
- cream cheese ~ brick style. With my revolutionary technique for making the frosting you won’t even need to bring the cheese to room temperature.
- butter
- powdered sugar
- salt
the (cream cheese) icing on the cake
It’s what pulls it all together and makes this carrot bread, well, almost a cake! An irresistible cake if I do say so myself.
Shhhhh! My cream cheese frosting secret…
I don’t want everyone to know my secret to perfect cream cheese frosting so lean in…it’s the food processor!
- Pile the cheese, butter, powdered sugar, vanilla, and salt into your food processor and pulse/process until everything is combined.
- Scrape down the sides of the bowl, then process briefly until smooth and silky.
- With this method you can even start with cold ingredients! The food processor blasts any potential lumps even from fridge-cold cream cheese ~ score!
- If you don’t have a food processor, check out these handy tips for bringing cold ingredients to room temperature in a jiffy.
Customize your carrot bread
- Leave out the walnuts, or substitute pecans. If you have the time, roast them for 15 minutes in a 350F oven, the flavor is amazing.
- Leave out the coconut, or double down and also sprinkle it on top of the frosting.
- Add raisins, I love golden.
- Simplify the spices and just use a teaspoon of cinnamon.
Storing and freezing carrot bread
- Store any leftovers in the fridge. Cream cheese frosting shouldn’t be left at room temperature for more than a couple of hours for safety.
- To freeze carrot bread, wrap the baked but unfrosted bread tightly and freeze it. Thaw and then frost when ready to serve.
Making carrot bread ahead of time
- if you want to make this bread ahead of time, bake the bread, let it fully cool, then wrap in foil and refrigerate for up to a couple of days. Frost when ready to serve.
put these quick breads on your to do list
- Paleo Fruit and Nut Bread
- Maple Oat Nut Banana Bread
- Easy One Bowl Pumpkin Bread
- Amish Cinnamon Bread
- Lemon Poppy Seed Zucchini Bread
- Rhubarb Bread
Carrot Bread
Carrot Bread with Cream Cheese Frosting is packed with shredded carrots, nuts, and coconut, then iced with a thick layer of everybody's favorite frosting!
Servings: 10 slices
Equipment
- 9×5 loaf pan
- parchment paper
Ingredients
- 1 cup white sugar
- 3/4 cup vegetable oil
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/8 tsp ground cloves
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups shredded carrot
- 3/4 cup walnuts, finely chopped
- 3/4 cup sweetened shredded coconut
Cream cheese frosting
- 4 ounces cream cheese, brick style
- 3 Tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 pinch salt
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F and line a 9×5 loaf pan with parchment paper.
- Whisk together the sugar, oil, eggs, vanilla extract, baking soda, spices, and salt.
- Add the flour and mix to combine.
- Fold in the carrots, walnuts, and coconut.
- Mix until everything is evenly combined, but don't over mix.
- Spread the batter into your prepared baking pan and even out the top.
- Bake for about 60-70 minutes until risen and fully cooked.
- Allow the cake to cool before frosting.
- To make the cream cheese frosting, add all of the ingredients to the bowl of a food processor.
- Process briefly until smooth. Scrape down the sides if necessary to get all the dry sugar incorporated.
- Frost the cooled loaf cake generously.
Nutrition
Calories: 505 kcal · Carbohydrates: 55 g · Protein: 5 g · Fat: 33 g · Saturated Fat: 21 g · Trans Fat: 1 g · Cholesterol: 54 mg · Sodium: 307 mg · Potassium: 171 mg · Fiber: 2 g · Sugar: 42 g · Vitamin A: 3515 IU · Vitamin C: 1 mg · Calcium: 40 mg · Iron: 1 mg
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. This information comes from online calculators. Although The View from Great Island attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures are only estimates.
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I have tried to bake the banana bread and carrot cake, but have not got a chance for carrot bread. Is it a combination texture of both? It looks so tempting and delicious. Reading all the successful comments encourages me to bake it, I will definitely give this recipe a try in the summer. Thanks so much for sharing, Sue!
Yes, I’d say the texture would be like a cross between the two, Chau. Hope you love it!
Made this in a 9″ springform pan for a friend’s birthday. The cream cheese frosting was delicious and I can’t believe how easy it was to make in the food processor! Omitted ginger, nutmeg, and cloves and decreased cinnamon to 1 tsp. due to personal preference. Took your suggestion and used golden raisins in place of the coconut. So quick and easy to mix by hand. We all thought the cake was excellent!! Another winner, Sue! Thank you!!
Thanks so much Billie, love your feedback. You’ll want to check out today’s new recipe for the perfect carrot layer cake!
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O my word!!
This little bread/cake is delectable. Made as directed. Just a few golden raisins. Thank you.
Bake it today!
Spicy Carrot Bread – just lovely.
Why have I never thought to make the frosting in the processor! Will in future.
Thanks Sue. :))
Thanks Mary! You’re going to thank me for the processor tip 😉
Made this today, absolutely delicious! I loved that I could make the batter in a bowl. The icing was so easy to make, and tasted great too.
I just made this recipe this afternoon and the frosting is unbelievable! Cannot wait to have this tomorrow morning for breakfast with coffee. Thank you!
I wonder if this can be made in muffin form. And if it is as good if you don’t ice it. Not a big fan of icing.
I don’t see why you couldn’t bake this in muffin tin, but be aware that it’s a dense sort of cake, not the classic ‘muffin’ or ‘cupcake’ texture. And it would be delicious plain, if you prefer it that way.
Can’t wait to try! I just LOVE your blog!! Your buttermilk lemon bread is life changing!!! Hmm… I’m wondering what you would think about swapping the coconut for golden raisins? I like coconut but the rest of the family doesn’t. Any adjustments you would recommend?
Yes, for sure, just leave the coconut out and add in those raisins, delish!
Perfect timing! Our son has been asking for a spiced carrot bread like this for a while. With all those spices and the frosting, this one looks amazing! Will make it for him soon. Thank you for the recipe Sue!
You’re so welcome ~ it’s the spices that make this one distinct, I think 🙂