Carrot Sheet Cake is the easiest cake you will ever make! You can have it baked, frosted, and ready to serve at the party in just one hour!
Whether you are looking for the best Classic Carrot Cake to feed a crowd or you just want an easy dessert that lasts all week, you’ll love this tasty Cake Recipe. Give my Ultimate Carrot Cake (with Carrot Cake Jam) a try too!
Sabrina’s Carrot Sheet Cake Recipe
When you are craving carrot cake but you don’t want to go through the work of making a layer cake, Carrot Sheet Cake is the recipe you need. The thinner, brownie-sized, cake bars have the perfect amount of frosting and all the flavor you love in a carrot cake. Did I mention it’s frosted and ready to eat (or go to a party) in less than hour?!
Recipe Card
Ingredients
- 4 large eggs , room temperature
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 2 cups sugar
- 2 cups flour
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3 cups shredded carrots
- 3/4 cup walnuts , chopped
- 4 cups Cream Cheese Frosting
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 10×15 inch sheet pan or jelly roll pan, set aside.
- In a bowl, beat eggs, oil and sugar until smooth.
- Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Add to egg mixture and beat well.
- Fold in carrots and walnuts. Pour into greased baking pan.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes before frosting.
Nutrition
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Table of contents
About this Recipe
This cake is a basic carrot cake recipe with everyday ingredients like sugar and all-purpose flour. The shredded carrots are the star of this cake and make this it incredibly moist. Buttery walnuts add a bit of a crunch but you can leave them out if you don’t have them on hand. One of the best things about a sheet cake is you can easily swap out or add ingredients to make it your own.
Recipe Tips & Tricks
- Make sure all your ingredients have been at room temperature for at least 30 minutes before you start making this cake. This not only makes mixing easier it also keeps your cake fluffy instead of being dense. This is especially important when adding heavy ingredients like walnuts and carrots.
- Gently fold the carrots and walnuts into your batter to keep from over-mixing.
- You can shred the carrots yourself using a grater or pulse chopped carrots in a food processor.
- To make it even easier on yourself, pick up a bag of finely shredded carrots at the grocery store. Just make sure the carrots are big enough to taste and add texture (you don’t want a paste), but not so big they are still crunchy when baked.
What to Pair With Carrot Sheet Cake
- The subtle earthy, sweet flavor from carrots is practically made for Cream Cheese Frosting. The homemade cream cheese frosting used for this recipe is made in less than 10 minutes. Make the frosting while your cake is baking and keep at room temperature (no more than 2 hours) for easier spreading.
- Cream cheese frosting is the first pick for this delicious Carrot Sheet Cake, but try other frostings too! You can use Buttercream Frosting or leave it unfrosted and drizzle with Salted Caramel Sauce for a tasty breakfast cake. If you have some extra time, and love decadent flavors, you should definitely try this Carrot Cake Jam recipe! It will make your cake absolutely drool worthy!
How to Store
- Serve: Once this cake is frosted, it can be at room temperature for up to 2 hours. Unfrosted it can be at room temperature, covered with plastic wrap, for up to 4 days.
- Store: Cover cake pan tightly with plastic wrap, or place cake in an airtight container, and refrigerate up to 1 week. Set on counter for 30 minutes before serving to bring to room temperature.
- Freeze: Freeze your cake frosted or unfrosted for up to 3 months wrapped in plastic wrap and then aluminum foil. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight and serve at room temperature.
Variations
- Pineapple: Add 1 cup of crushed pineapple to your cake batter to make it extra moist. For a tropical Pineapple Carrot Cake, serve frosted cake with Pineapple Topping.
- Mix-Ins: Fold in shredded coconut, white chocolate chips, raisins, or other dried fruit to your cake batter. You can use other nuts like pecans or almonds too.
- Brown Sugar: Substitute 1 cup brown sugar for the white sugar for a light molasses flavoring and extra moisture.
- Buttermilk: Give your cake some tang by adding ¾ cup buttermilk or sour cream. Reduce the recipe by 1 egg and ½ cup vegetable oil.
- Spices: More classic spices used in Carrot Cake are nutmeg, allspice, and Pumpkin Pie Spice. Add spices a ½ teaspoon at a time to keep them from overwhelming your cake.
Related Recipes
More Delicious Carrot Cakes
I’m about to make this for the 3rd time. The last time I made this cake, I added the cup of crushed pineapple as suggested at the bottom, and 1/2 cup of golden raisins and lightly toasted the walnuts before adding (my dad actually noticed that I had freshly toasted them) – it made for a “busy” carrot cake but unbelievable good. Highly recommend.
LOL…love the “busy” carrot cake comment Emily and thank you for the five stars 🙂
How tall is this cake? All the other recipes I have seen use the same amount of flour for cakes in 9 x 13 pans and this is in a 10 x 15 pan. I’m worried that the cake will be short (less than 2 inches tall).
I’m guessing with the frosting it is right at roughly 2 inches tall.
I love brown sugar.. Is it possible to substitute for the white sugar? i would try it myself but i need it sooner … thank you so much for your time!
You can. It will change the taste, color and density of the cake. Would love to hear how it turns out!
Made this for a family gathering yesterday and EVERYONE loves it! Thank you!
You’re welcome! So glad you enjoyed the Carrot sheet cake!
This cake is the best carrot cake I’ve ever made. I make it every week for my kids lunches. For a party once I made two and stacked them into a huge layer cake. It is just perfect every time.
So glad to hear you enjoy this recipe! Thank you Cathy and thanks for the five star review.
This was so good! I am making this a second time for my daughter’s birthday, she loved it. I was going to make in 2 round cake pans, do I just adjust the time?
I haven’t tested this in the kitchen but I’m guessing 5 – 10 minutes less cooking time. Check about 15 minutes prior to the original recipe bake time and use your toothpick in the center to check if the cake is done baking. Let us know how it turned out and thank you for the 5 stars!
Hi..can I bake this,slab carrot cake in a glass casserole dish! And is the bake time different?
If you need to substitute a glass pan for a metal one, you will need to decrease the oven temperature by about 25 degrees to ensure that your baked good does not bake too quickly and burn.
Today was my daughter’s 15th birthday and she wanted a carrot cake. This is the first time I’ve made carrot cake and it was a hit, so was the frosting. I used 1 cup white and 1 cup of brown sugar and added a little vanilla extract to the batter. I also used pecans because I didn’t have walnuts. I grated three cups of carrots as directed. It was moist, not too sweet, and delicious. My family loved it. Thanks for the recipe.
Awww! I wish your daughter a very happy 15th birthday! Glad you enjoyed the cake!
I will definitely make this again. I actually baked in two 8×8 pans (entertained two nights in a row so I had a dessert for each night.) I added 2/3 cup unsweetened shredded coconut and used pecans instead of walnuts. Might add raisins next time. I made the cream cheese frosting following recipe exactly and it was phenomenal!
Yum! I really like the thinner pieces…I love carrot cake but a whole slice of a 3-layer can be too much. The only change I made was to add some raisins (we love them!) and to swap out the baking soda with baking powder as I was worried there weren’t enough acidic ingredients to prevent the taste of the soda coming out. Thank you!
Hi! Love your stuff!! I need the carrot cake recipe for 50 people. Full sheet cake? Can you give me the correct ratios for this large recipe?
Thank so much!!!!!!
TinaG
Hello Tina! If you go into the blog and scroll all the way down to the recipe, you will see the serving sizes with the word “yield” in front of it and it will tell you there.
My 2nd time using this recipe. I closely followed the directions. I added crushed pineapple and used some brown sugar with the white as suggested. This is now my new go to carrot cake! Very easy to make. The texture is great and moist. I used a 9×13 pan. This is a winner!!!
Can i use this recipe to make cup cakes?? If so how much batter in each cup cake and oven setting for how long??
What size pan fo you use
You’ll use a 10×15 inch sheet pan or jelly roll pan for this recipe. I hope you enjoy it!
This made a truly great carrot & truly easy carrot cake. I personally changed one cup oil to half oil/half – half&half & other minor adjustments.
I’m glad you enjoyed it, Lauren.
Great recipe easy& yummy
With a deliciously perfect crumb and texture, I’ll take three slices every time!
Glad to hear you love it so much!
My daughter’s birthday is coming up and she always asks for carrot cake. I’ll try your recipe this year, looks like it will feed all the party guests!
Enjoy!
I love a good sheet cake and this carrot sheet cake does not disappoint! It is the perfect amount of cinnamon, walnuts, and carrots! Thanks for the recipe
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Capri.
This looks awesome. If I don’t have a jelly roll pan, do you think it will work in an 8″x8″ if I cut the recipe by half? Thanks!
You could use a 9 inch square pan without having to half it but it would be thicker than a sheet cake. Make sure to use a toothpick to check for doneness.
Can I use a 12x18x2 sheet cake pan?
Sure but you may need to adjust time for baking and I haven’t cooked in that size for this recipe so I am not sure exactly of the difference. Good luck!
I made this carrot cake for dessert last night and it was incredible! The whole family loved it and I will definitely be making it again soon!
Thanks for the 5 stars, Jessica.
This recipe is a blast from my past! I saw it and had to make it and it’s fabulous! I love the cream cheese icing, too, it’s a must with carrot cake!
I’m glad you enjoyed it so much, Jenn. Thanks for the 5 star rating.
Can I bake this in a cake pan? I don’t have a “sheet” or jelly roll pan. How long would I bake it for? Thanks – can’t wait to try this!
This recipe would work in a 9 inch springform pan or 11×7 rectangular pan.
I DON’T need 24 servings,, so I’ll cut this recipe in half. This “E-Z Carrot Cake” sounds not only easy, but also tasty & healthy. so I’ll try it out soon. I’ll use Pecans instead of Walnuts, since I like the flavor much better.
Enjoy!