Healthy Carrot Cake Bars

A carrot cake bar topped with vanilla icing. A bite has been taken from the bar.

4.79 from 33 votes

Healthy carrot cake bars made with almond flour and sweetened with coconut sugar. They’re moist, delicious and perfect for the carrot cake lover in your life. Gluten-free and grain-free.

Prep Time10

Cook Time25

Total Time35

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: healthy carrot cake bars

Servings: bars

Author: Brittany Mullins

Ingredients

1 cup blanched almond flour I used Bob's Red Mill
⅓ cup coconut sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
⅛ teaspoon fine sea salt
2 large eggs
¼ cup unsweetened applesauce
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger or ½ teaspoon ginger powder optional
⅓ cup grated carrots
⅓ cup chopped raw walnuts plus more for garnish
¼ cup raisins
3 Tablespoons dark chocolate chips optional

Frosting

1 ½ cups healthy cream cheese frosting or Lexi's vanilla buttercream frosting (page 288)

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350° F and line an 8-inch square baking dish with parchment paper or spray with non-stick cooking spray.
In a large bowl, stir together the dry ingredients: almond flour, coconut sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt until well blended.
Whisk in the wet ingredients: eggs, applesauce, vanilla and ginger, if using, until smooth.
Fold in the carrots, walnuts, raisins, and chocolate chips, if using.
Pour the mixture into the prepared pan, smooth out the top, and bake for about 25 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the middle.
While the cake is baking, make the frosting and set aside.
When the cake is done, let it cool completely in the pan before frosting or cutting.
Spread the frosting evenly across the top of the cake and garnish with extra chopped walnuts, if desired. Cut into 9 to 12 bars to serve.
Store the bars in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

Notes

Frosting – I used my healthy cream cheese frosting, but Lexi recommends using the vanilla buttercream frosting from her cookbook (page 288). Feel free to also go the store-bought route. My favorite healthier store-bought frosting is Simple Mills vanilla frosting.
Almond flour – I haven’t tested this with another flour, but if you want to experiment, let me know in the comments below how it turns out!
Coconut sugar – If you don't have coconut sugar on hand you can use cane sugar instead.
Walnuts – I prefer chopped walnuts, but you could play around with other nuts! I bet almonds or pecans would be delicious.
Raisins – If you aren't a raisin fan, you can use dates or skip them all together.
Vegan – I haven't tested this recipe without eggs, so I'm not sure how a vegan substitute like flax or chia eggs would work, but let me know in the comments if you decide to try it!

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