Carrots for breakfast, why not when they're in these moist delicious Vegan Carrot Cake Bars topped with brown sugar, oat, and a sweet citrus glaze.
I love a good carrot cake but I don't make it often. The other day while at the grocery I picked up a 4-pack of carrot cake muffins, but after reading the price and calorie count I decided to go home a try making them myself and skip the fluffy frosting.
As the recipe came together it became more of a bread and not the standard cake or muffins, but calling it carrot bread bars just didn't sound right so I'm calling it Vegan Carrot Cake Bars because it's egg and dairy free.
The batter is sweetened with only a ½ cup of maple syrup which makes it more of a breakfast or snack bread. I did however, sprinkle the top with a mixture of oats and brown sugar and drizzled it with a citrus sugar glaze for a little sweetness.
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For those who are concerned about the sugar, you can simply omit or reduce the amount of sugar used. Some other add-in options are raisins, nuts, coconut flakes or simply sprinkle the top with the nuts and coconut.
Ingredients
- 2 cups shredded carrots I used 2 and ½ medium carrots
- 2 cups whole wheat or all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- zest of one medium orange about 1 teaspoon
- 1 cup non-dairy milk
- ½ cup sparkling water to replace the egg
- ½ cup maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ⅓ cup canola oil
- TOPPING
- ⅓ cup brown sugar
- ⅔ cups oats
- CITRUS GLAZE
- 1 ¼ cup powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon fresh orange juice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray a 9x11 shallow baking pan with non-stick cooking spray.
- Shred the carrots, cover and set aside.
- In a medium bowl combine all of the dry ingredients and in another bowl combine all of the wet ingredients.
- Pour the wet into the dry and mix until well combined.
- Transfer mixture to the baking pan and spread evenly in pan.
- In a small bowl mix the brown sugar and oats and sprinkle using your fingers over the surface of the batter.
- Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
- While the carrot bread is cooling mix together the powdered sugar and orange juice until well combined, it may seen that more liquid is needed, but please don't add or it will be too thin.
- When bread has cooled, drizzle the glaze over the cake, slice and serve.
Notes
Nutrition
If you make this recipe or a version of it, please take a picture and share with me on Instagram, tag it #thewholeserving. I’d love to see your version of this Vegan Carrot Cake Bars.
Dylan Cutler says
Wow, this looks amazing! The ingredients are pretty clean and of course, vegan is my jam 🙂 Nice!
Celeste says
Thanks Dylan,
They are mouthwatering delicious.
Enjoy!
Jennifer Abel says
They look so yummy. Thanks for sharing on #overthemoon
Celeste says
Thanks Jennifer, I hope you have a chance to give it a try. Have a wonderful week and a Happy Easter weekend.
Cathy says
Oh mouthwatering amazing! I love carrot cake and these look delicious! 🙂
Cathy
Celeste says
Thanks Cathy,
Have a great week and Happy Easter!
Mrs. AOK says
These sound delicious! Thanks for sharing your amazing recipe with us at #mmbh, we've pinned your recipe to our board.
XOXO
Celeste says
Thanks Mrs.AOK,
Have a great week and wonderful Weekend!
Marie says
These look absolutely delicious! I love carrot cake so I can't wait to make these. 🙂 Thanks so much for sharing at Merry Monday with us this week!
Celeste says
You are so welcome Marie, I always find awesome links at your party.
Emma {Emma's Little Kitchen} says
These looks utterly DELISH!
Celeste says
Thanks Emma!
Have a great weekend.
Linda at Mixed Kreations says
These look awesome! I remember my aunt use to make carrot cake and it was so yummy. These look healthier and with the citrus glaze I bet the are soooo yummy.
CakePants says
These bars look wonderful! I would certainly get up a little more quickly if I knew I had one of these waiting for me at the breakfast table. That's great to know that they freeze well, too!
Celeste says
Thanks, I hope you have a chance to give them a try.
Thanks for visiting.
Celeste says
Exactly, they are so delicious!
Brandi Penguins in Pink says
YUM! These look amazing. I might have to make a gluten free version of these bars. I would love to know why you used sparkling water instead of regular water.
Celeste says
Hi Brandi,
I used the sparkling water to replace the egg in the recipe instead of using a flax egg. And you can totally use gluten-free flour. Enjoy!
Charlotte says
These look delicious! I love the citrus glaze too! I have so many things that would go with, I didn't realise how simple it was to make! Thanks for linking to #YumTum
Celeste says
I think it's the citrus glaze that takes it over the top.
À LA MODEST says
Oh, I love carrot cake! This looks mighty delicious. Love the blog name, too!
Celeste says
Thanks, I hope you have a chance to give these a try.
J. Matthew Barnes says
Wow! These look really pretty yummy! And I'm not really all that into carrot cake.
Celeste says
Hi Jay,
Thanks for visiting, have a great weekend.
Kathryn says
Another winner, Celeste! Your recipes are always so easy to share. Pinning and hoping to make soon!
Celeste says
Thanks Kathryn!
Jen B says
Looks delicious! What a great way to use up extra carrots too!
Celeste says
The best way to use those extra carrots!
Bonnie says
This sounds so good!! I will have to add it to my to-try list!
Celeste says
Thanks Bonnie, Enjoy!
Mihaela Echols says
Yum this looks good!
Celeste says
Tanks Mihaela.
Enjoy!
Liz @ The Clean Eating Couple says
These look delicious!! Carrot cake is my favorite dessert - I need to try them!
Celeste says
Thanks Liz for visiting.
Enjoy!
Marilyn says
This looks so yummy Celeste. Coming to you fom #yumtum
Celeste says
Thanks Marilyn!
Erin says
I love carrot cake! It is my favorite spring dessert 🙂 These look wonderful!
Celeste says
Thanks Erin, If you are like me you will find it hard to not eat the entire batch by yourself.
MyCookingSecrets.com | Krystallia Giamouridou says
Nice recipe... Even though I follow a gluten-free diet it will be easy for me to substitute all-purpose flour with the one I normally eat. Carrots are my favorite vegetable so I 'll give it a try... Thanks for sharing! Enjoy the rest of the day...
Celeste says
Hi Krystallia, I'm glad you like this one and it's nice that you will be able to sub using a gluten-free flour.
Christine says
I really enjoy baking with carrots. They keep things moist and naturally sweet. These bars are certainly calling my name. So happy they are vegan because I don't take dairy! 🙂
Celeste says
Thanks Christine.
A lot of people think that vegan cakes are dry, but this is a super moist recipe.
Lucy @ Globe Scoffers recipes says
I love these for breakfast they look so yummy. ????
Celeste says
They are just right for those busy on-the-go mornings.
Anne says
Yum! This looks amazing and a much healthier version of carrot cake!
Celeste says
Thank you Anne.
These make for a great breakfast on the go or afternoon snack.