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Love carrot cake? Then you’ll love these Carrot Cake Brownies! This easy dessert combines two favorite treats in one: fudgy brownies with carrot cake! Chocolate meets spice in this delicious treat.
My husband, Mel, has a serious weak spot for anything carrot cake, so I’ve made it a mission in life to create as many different kinds of carrot cake desserts that I can. Today it’s carrot cake brownies – a mash-up of two favorite desserts that are oh-so-amazing!
Rich and Fudgy Carrot Cake Brownies
I took my zucchini brownies (the same ones I used as a base for the vegan brownies) and turned them into Spring’s newest favorite chocolate treat: carrot cake brownies!
It’s a rich chocolate brownie that is infused with the spice flavors of carrot cake: cinnamon and ground ginger. And carrots, of course.
Don’t be scared of the carrots in the brownies, really. They aren’t overwhelming. Think of a carrot cake – is all you taste the carrots?
The carrots in these brownies really give a little texture and a hint of carrot cake flavor. The cinnamon and ground ginger really go the extra mile. Paired with chocolate, it’s like magic.
As amazing as these are plain, I top them with a cream cheese drizzle because I can’t have carrot cake without cream cheese frosting. I love the drizzle because you get the cream cheese flavor, but the bars still look like brownies.
I love these brownies, but Mel LOVES them, and that’s the only endorsement I need. Make a batch for the brownie and carrot cake fans in your life – I think they’re going to love them.
Table of Contents
Ingredients
- Vegetable oil: I like using oil in these brownies – it keeps them fudgy!
- Sugar: I use both brown and granulated in this recipe
- Eggs: eggs help brownies get their fudginess
- Chocolate: These brownies use unsweetened cocoa powder (you can also use Dutch Process)
- Vanilla and Salt: typical brownie ingredients
- All-purpose flour: you don’t need much for brownies!
- Carrot Cake Ingredients: Cinnamon, ground ginger and shredded carrots make these into a fun springtime dessert.
How to Make Carrot Cake Brownies
1. Mix: Mix the oil, both kinds of sugar, and eggs in a large bowl. Mix in the cocoa powder, vanilla, cinnamon, salt, and ground ginger.
2. Stir: Slowly stir in the flour, and then stir in the grated carrots.
3. Bake: Pour the batter into a prepared baking pan. Bake the brownies for 25 to 28 minutes at 350°F. Cool them in the pan before adding the cream cheese drizzle.
Cream Cheese Drizzle
First, mix cream cheese and powdered sugar in a bowl with a mixer. Add the vanilla and one tablespoon of milk. If the drizzle is too thick, add up to one more tablespoon of milk to thin it.
Drizzle over the top of the cooled brownies before slicing and serving them.
Recipe Tips
- Don’t use pre-shredded carrots for this recipe. It’s so much better with freshly grated carrots – the pre-shredded kind are too thick and are often dried out. Trust me – it’s worth grating your own!
- When you measure the carrots, don’t pack them in the cup. You should measure a loosely packed heaping ½ cup for the best results.
- If you want to frost the brownies instead of doing a drizzle, just reduce the amount of milk to make a thicker icing for the brownies.
- Store them in an airtight container, and they will keep for several days at room temperature. Or you can freeze them for up to three months. If you love chocolate, carrot cake, and cream cheese icing, these brownies hit all the marks! It’s such an easy dessert bar to make and a fun twist on two classics. I hope you love them as much as we do!
More Brownie Recipes to Try
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Carrot Cake Brownies Recipe
Ingredients
For the brownies:
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- ⅓ cup (28g) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ cup (62g) all-purpose flour
- ½ cup (55g) shredded carrots (heaping cup, don't pack them)
For the glaze:
- 4 ounces cream cheese , room temperature
- ½ cup (57g) powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1-2 tablespoons milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 9×9” pan with foil and spray with cooking spray.
- Stir together oil, sugars, and eggs. Stir in cocoa, vanilla, cinnamon, salt and ground ginger. Slowly stir in flour. Stir in grated carrots.
- Pour into prepared pan and bake 25-28 minutes. Cool before frosting.
- To make frosting: Mix cream cheese and powdered sugar with a hand mixer. Add vanilla then add 1 tablespoon milk and mix until smooth adding up to 1 more tablespoon milk for desired consistency (whether you want to frost them vs drizzle as I did).
Recipe Notes
- Start with regular carrots and shred them yourself – don’t be tempted to start with pre-shredded carrots. Those are too thick and stiff for this recipe.
- Don’t pack your carrots, instead loosely add them to the cup. Using a heaping 1/2 cup is fine.
- I used 2 tablespoons milk in the frosting as more of a drizzle, use less for thicker frosting.
Recipe Nutrition
Chocolate meets spice in these delicious Carrot Cake Brownies. This is the perfect springtime treat for any brownie or carrot cake lover!
Its weird i made the brownies and i said they have carrots in them so nobody ate them?!!
Well, if they tasted good, they missed out!
I made this last night for my mom birthday, because she loves the texture of brownies and the taste of carrot cake. But these turned out awful. They’re pretty dense, and they don’t really taste like either brownies or carrot cake. I was really excited because you said your husband loved it so much, but no one in my family wants to eat it.
I’m sorry you didn’t like them Bri! I got a hint of spice with the chocolate brownie. They are very dense and fudgy…that’s how we love our brownies. I’d love to troubleshoot with you. Did you make any substitutions or changes? Were your carrots on the wet side or dry side?
These did not turn out for me at all. The batter was very thick and I could barely get it into the pan. They did not rise at all and just looked off. Not sure what happened. Maybe I needed to add some milk or a leavening agent. Thanks for the good idea though!
I’m sorry they didn’t turn out for you Lindsay! I remember my batter was very thick. The only thing I can think of is that your carrots may have been dryer than mine. In a pinch in the future, you can add an extra egg and it’ll make it a little thicker. I don’t usually use leavening in my brownies – I like them thin and fudgy!
This look wonderful! Yay for no raisins!!!!
LOL, thanks!
Ha…you found his weakness! 🙂 I think I need to take willpower lessons from him!
So do I!! 🙂
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