Pineapple carrot cake is incredibly moist, full of spice flavor, and topped with smooth tangy cream cheese frosting. This simple from-scratch recipe comes together quickly and easily. It’s baked as a sheet cake, so there’s no fancy decorating required!
Tell Me About This Pineapple Carrot Cake
- Flavor: This cake has all the spiced flavors you’d expect from a classic carrot cake, but with a flavorful addition: crushed pineapple. This simple addition brightens up the cake’s flavor and reminds us of another reader favorite: hummingbird cake. While wonderful on its own, the sweet and tangy cream cheese frosting pairs beautifully with the cake’s warm spice flavor.
- Texture: This is a moist cake finished with a dense and silky blanket of cream cheese frosting.
- Ease: Baking this pineapple carrot cake as a sheet cake in a 9×13-inch pan makes it even more effortless. Just one layer of cake and one layer of frosting. Easy to frost, easier to cut, easiest to eat.
- Time: The batter comes together quickly, but the baked cake needs a considerable amount of cooling time before it’s frosted. If desired, you could place it in the refrigerator after about 45 minutes to speed things up.
Choosing the Right Ingredients: Pineapple
Carrot cake, with its wonderful texture and spiced flavor, is a cake classic BUT it can also be turned up about 800 notches with one notable ingredient: pineapple.
Crushed pineapple or chunks? We vote for crushed. Crushed pineapple acts more like a wet ingredient rather than an optional add-in. The result is a remarkably moist cake, which is a good thing! We didn’t want large pineapple chunks in the slices, because they could easily take away from the cake’s other flavors. However, it’s all a matter of personal preferences—you can use either crushed pineapple or chunks and still yield a delicious result. Use fresh or canned. (If you’re a fan of pineapple, try this pineapple upside-down cake recipe next!)
Let’s Decorate!
What you’ll love about sheet cakes is that there’s no fancy or intricate decorating required—a simple swipe of frosting does the trick. Today’s cream cheese frosting recipe is adapted from our spice cake, a reader favorite in the fall months. You could also use the brown butter cream cheese frosting from my zucchini cake recipe, or vanilla buttercream for a non-cream cheese option. For garnish, try adding extra walnuts, sprinkles, toasted coconut, a dash of cinnamon, or pineapple decor once frosted. Still simple, but beautiful to serve at special events like Easter brunch. See more Easter brunch recipes.
Make It a Layer Cake, Cupcakes, or Bundt Cake
Today’s pineapple carrot cake works as other size cakes and cupcakes, too:
- Layer Cake: Use this cake batter recipe, then bake and assemble following the directions from our regular carrot cake recipe. Use that frosting recipe because it makes a little bit more than today’s recipe—this way you’ll have enough frosting to spread between the layers and around the sides.
- Cupcakes: While I usually make these carrot cake cupcakes, you can absolutely turn this batter into cupcakes. Today’s recipe yields more batter, so you’ll have about 24-28 cupcakes. Line your muffin pan with liners and bake the cupcakes for about 19-22 minutes at the same temperature. Use a toothpick to check for doneness.
- Bundt Cake: Follow this cake batter recipe, pour into a greased 9.5- or 10-inch Bundt pan, and then bake for 55–70 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. This cake will take a while to bake because it is so thick and moist.
Similar Recipes
- Coconut Carrot Cake Cupcakes
- Hummingbird Cake and Hummingbird Bundt Cake
- Spice Cake
- Pineapple Coconut Cake
- Banana Cake
- 1 Layer Carrot Cake
Pineapple Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 55 minutes
- Total Time: 5 hours (includes cooling)
- Yield: serves 12-15
- Category: Cake
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Pineapple carrot cake with cream cheese frosting is super moist and bursting with spice flavor.
Ingredients
- 2 and 1/2 cups (312g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon EACH ground cloves, ground ginger, + ground nutmeg
- 1 cup canola (240ml) or vegetable oil*
- 1 and 1/4 cup (250g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1/3 cup (67g) granulated sugar
- 4 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups (260g) shredded carrots (about 4 large peeled carrots)
- 1 cup (8 ounces) crushed pineapple, drained*
- 1 cup (125g) chopped walnuts
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 8 ounces (226g) full-fat brick cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- 1/2 cup (8 Tbsp; 113g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 3 cups (360g) confectioners’ sugar, plus an extra 1/4 cup if needed
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C) and grease a 9×13-inch pan. I always use this glass pan.
- Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and other spices together in a large bowl. Set aside.
- Whisk the oil, brown sugar, granulated sugar, eggs, and vanilla extract together in a medium bowl. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and whisk until combined. Fold in the grated carrots, pineapple, and walnuts.
- Spread batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 45-55 minutes. Baking times vary, so keep an eye on yours. The cake is done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. If you find the top or edges of the cake is/are browning too quickly in the oven, loosely cover it with aluminum foil.
- Remove the cake from the oven and set on a wire rack. Allow to cool completely. After about 45 minutes, I usually place it in the refrigerator to speed things up.
- Make the frosting: In a large bowl using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle or whisk attachment, beat the cream cheese and butter together on high speed until smooth and creamy. Add 3 confectioners’ sugar, vanilla, and salt. Beat on low speed for 30 seconds, then switch to high speed and beat for 2 minutes. If you want the frosting a little thicker, add the extra 1/4 cup of confectioners sugar (I add it). Spread the frosting on the cooled cake. Refrigerate for 30 minutes before serving. This helps sets the frosting and makes cutting easier.
- Cover leftover cake tightly and store in the refrigerator for 5 days.
Notes
- Make Ahead Instructions: Prepare cake through step 5. Cover the cake tightly and refrigerate for up to 2 days or freeze up to 3 months. Bring to room temperature, make the frosting, frost, and serve. Frosted cake freezes well, up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, bring to room temperature or serve cold.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Glass Mixing Bowl | Whisk | 9×13-inch Baking Dish | Icing Spatula | Box Grater
- Oil: Instead of 1 cup of oil, try 1/2 cup (90g) unsweetened applesauce and 1/2 (120ml) cup oil. The cake is just as moist.
- Carrots: Don’t use pre-shredded carrots found in the produce aisle. They’re typically on the dry side. Rather, freshly grate 3 large carrots to yield approximately 2 moist cups of carrot shreds.
- Pineapple: I use canned crushed pineapple. You can also crush fresh pineapple to use in the cake batter. Crushed pineapple, as opposed to pineapple chunks, acts like a wet ingredient keeping this cake extra moist and tender. Keeping that in mind and if you want larger chunks of pineapple in your cake, you can use chunks instead.
- Layer Cake: Follow this sheet cake batter recipe, then follow the assembly/baking directions in my carrot cake recipe. Use the frosting recipe in the layer cake (makes a little more than this).
- Cupcakes: While I usually make these carrot cake cupcakes, you can absolutely turn this batter into cupcakes. Today’s recipe yields more batter, so you’ll have about 24-28 cupcakes. Line your muffin pan with liners and bake the cupcakes for about 19-22 minutes at the same temperature. Use a toothpick to check for doneness.
- Bundt Cake: Follow this sheet cake batter recipe, pour evenly into a greased 9.5- or 10-inch Bundt pan, then bake for 55-70 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. This cake will take awhile to bake because it is so moist and very thick. Cover the cake loosely with aluminum foil if you begin to see the top browning quickly. Once done, remove from the oven and allow to cool for 30 minutes inside the pan. Then invert the slightly cooled Bundt cake onto a wire rack and allow to cool completely.
Today’s recipe is adapted from my spice cake recipe—a deliciously spiced apple cake with cream cheese frosting!
Reader Comments and Reviews
Hi Sally,
Was just looking at the Cream cheese frosting recipe here and the carrot cake recipe, the butter seems to be the same (115 gms) although the cream cheese seems to be doubled in that recipe. Pls clarify, I am planning on making the pineapple and carrot cake and it said to use double the quantity , hence checked the carrot cake recipe but seem to be a bit confused with the butter.
Hi Naina! For taller layer cakes, we usually add a little milk, extra cream cheese, and extra confectioners’ sugar to produce more volume. Our carrot cake and red velvet cake recipes show this higher ratio of frosting – hope this helps!
Hi Trina, Was only a bit confused with the butter which is not doubled in the other recipe when the cream cheese is, how much butter would one use for 16 ounces cream cheese
This is identical to a recipe my mum made about 30 years ago so I decided to give it a try. It turned out perfect. I’m taking her some up tonight which, due to her age, she hasn’t baked in a long time. She will love it.
Hi Daniel, We are so glad you tried this and we hope your mom loves it!
This recipe is the best! I have made it several times in different forms and i always get compliments about it. The pineapple and nuts are so good.
Instead of walnuts i also use pecans, delicious!
What do you prefer, dark or light brown sugar?
Hi Desiree! We love the flavor dark brown sugar brings to this carrot cake, but both are fantastic!
I made a two layer cake 7” round pan. Used Pamelas gluten free baking mix. Some minor adjustments: reduced the oil to 3/4 C, brown sugar to 1 C, 3 eggs. Baked 40 mins at 350. Moist and Delicious, everyone loved it!
Great recipe.
Let’s face it we don’t always need a whole 9×13 cake…
I split batter into 3 pans,
Each 6 inches in diameter.
Bake 35 minutes.
You eat one, freeze one and give one as a gift.
Cheers
3 cakes, what a great idea, thanks.
I add the grated zest of a large navel orange to add that citrus note.
Can I use a 8 x 8 inch square cake tin instead of 9 x 13 inch sheet pan? What is the baking time for such size? Thanks.
Hi Karen, our cake pan sizes and conversions guide will be helpful for scaling this recipe for an 8×8 pan. We’re unsure of the exact bake time, but keep a close eye on it and use a toothpick to test for doneness.
Make this all the time and love it
Can I substitute the normal flour for Gluten free flour?
Thanks
Hi Aimee, we haven’t tested this recipe with gluten-free flour, so we’re unsure of the results. Let us know if you give it a try!
We make it gluten free and it is great. Instead of gluten free flour we use gluten free pancake or waffle mix. It turns out beautifully without the grainy texture you can get with gluten free flour.
This is pretty good, but I think it’s sorely missing the flavor of citrus.
Id love to use a bundt pan to make this. I can and for up to 70 mins same temp correct?
See recipe notes for bundt pan instructions!
This cake is very good…10…I followed the recipe to the “T”…Instead of making a singe layer I made it as a Bundt cake…Very good cake…
Hi. Can the 1/3 cup of granulated sugar be eliminated? Thanks!
Hi Sheila! Sugar is used for moisture and texture in baked goods as well as taste. You can certainly try reducing the sugar, but the resulting texture will be different than intended.
Not sure yet……It stuck to the pan. I used a metal pan, greased it as directed, and I can’t get it out! loll
I’m sure it will taste good. We’ll get it out and piece it back together, but not sure why it did.
T32
Thanks a million for this recipe, Sally! I followed it to the tee.. and it was perfect. Tip- squeeze the juice out of the crushed pineapple before adding, and to keep it moist, before frosting, wrap the cooled cake with cling wrap . I also added half a cup of raisins.
Hi Sally,
What can I do/subtitue if I want to make this eggless? Thanks
Hi Khyati, we haven’t tried an egg-free version of this cake, but let us know if you give anything a try!
Hi Sally,
This recipe is great! Please can you give me any tips on making these I to cupcakes?
Thanks!
Hi Caryn, you can absolutely make these into cupcakes. Bake cupcakes for about 19-22 minutes at the same temperature. Use a toothpick to check for doneness. Enjoy!
Really great recipe though I omitted the granulated sugar. Tried it a few times and it turns out awesome every time. Everyone who tried it really loved it.
If I wanted to skip the pineapple all together, would I need to increase the amount of carrots or perhaps add yogurt/sour cream in order to keep the cake moist? If so, how much of either would I need to add? I was originally looking at the super moist carrot cake recipe; however, I don’t want to use a round cake pan – I need to make it in a square pan for easier serving/portability.
Thanks!
Hi Ana! You can use the batter from our Favorite Carrot Cake (layer cake) to bake a sheet cake. That recipe doesn’t have pineapple in the batter. See recipe notes for 9×13 baking instructions!
This cake is amazing! Did it as a layer cake with my granddaughters for my husband’s birthday! Because we had to use gluten-free flour for one of my granddaughters, I did not drain all the pineapple juice and added 1/4 cup of soir cream in the cake! Nit made it moist even with gluten-free flour!
As for the frosting, only used 2 cups of icing sugar and it was perfect for us!!
Exactly the recipe I have been looking for. Moist but not claggy, spicy and creamy.
Hi Sally,
I made this cake for my brother’s birthday… carrot cake is his favorite. Our dad used to make a carrot cake that we loved. I made your recipe and it was an amazing hit! By far, the best carrot cake we’ve had, moist, flavorful and totally delicious! We all agreed, with all due respect to dad, your recipe is the best! (Dad would have agreed!) This is now my go to carrot cake recipe. Thank you Sally!!
Hi Dahlia, thank you so much for taking the time to report back. We’re thrilled this carrot cake was such a hit for your family, and best of all, that it brought back great memories of your dad. Thank you for sharing and for making this recipe!
Omg it was soooooo good !!! I cant thank you enough for sharing your recipe with us !!! It made it for my husband and few friends and they loved it !! Thank you so much!!!
Perfect cake ! The only thing I did different was to boil the shredded carrots because my grater makes huge shreds that don’t bake soft. Oh, and the frosting is to die for.
Want to make 1/2 sheet cake using this recipe…..do I double the recipe?
Hi Nana, Do you mean a larger sheet cake, such as 12×17 inch? Or a full sheet cake that’s larger? Use the batter as written– it will be enough for a thinner and larger sheet cake. The bake time will be shorter since the cake is thinner.
If I want to add coconut and raisins to this cake how do I go about that? Sorry, it sounds stupid but I’ve found recipes for carrot cake with all these ingredients plus the afore mentioned add ins and based on the reviews it all worked only because the bakers made serious modifications to their cakes.
Hi Andrea, yes you can add raisins and coconut! We recommend keeping the total amount of add-ins to 1 cup – so try 1/3 cup of each (walnuts, shredded coconut, and raisins). Enjoy!
This cake was amazing! Nice spicy warmth/depth to it w/ the combo of cinnamon, cloves, ginger and nutmeg and very moist. I may reduce the cloves down to a 1/4 tsp and bump up the cinnamon though – just for a softer note. I cooked mine in an metal pan and it took 35 minutes, and I also needed to use the foil on top as suggested as it was getting a bit too browned quickly.
Frosting was excellent too! I added a touch more vanilla and salt to balance it as I did need that extra 1/4 C of sugar for consistency.
This is definitely a keeper! No need to look for another recipe!
I think the spices and pineapple make this an exceptional cake. I topped it with nuts (as I usually do) and it is wonderful! As I have found ALL recipes from this site to be.
I have made this cake multiple times and everyone loves it! I gave them as gifts to families for Christmas last year and decorated with dried edible flowers. I was just wondering, have you made a vegan version of this cake? And if so, what replacements did you use for the eggs and cream cheese? Want to make one for a vegan friend so am interested, I saw somewhere unsweetened applesauce could be an egg replacement?
Thanks for the recipe! ❤️
Hi Jess, we’re so glad you love this cake. We haven’t tested a vegan version, but let us know if you try anything!
I was pretty disappointed that this recipe is not adequately tested when it comes to the frosting. The cake is good, but the frosting is a disaster. I made it exactly to the recipe, using a metric scale, with exact measurements, and I also chilled the frosting overnight in the fridge. I used full fat cream cheese. It was just a runny mess and didn’t look at all like the pictures or harden enough to spread. It was more like a sauce, and extremely sweet. Won’t be making the frosting again, probably a simple glaze would have been enough. I was expecting a rich, whipped frosting texture. Didn’t turn out like that at all. I also cut back on the sugar, and even with less sugar, it was still extremely sweet.
I just made the cake and it’s cooling I was kind of skeptical about all the sugar in the cake so I used only 1/2 cup of sugar, now I never got to the frosting part thanks for the heads up I think I will look for a less sugary recipe
Hi, I love this cake, bakes beautifully every time in a 9×13” pan
However, this time I wanted to bake it in a 12×17” sheet pan, what would the bake temperature and time pls?
Hi Fay, you can use this recipe for a 12×17 pan for a carrot sheet cake. Same bake temp, we’re unsure of the exactable time but it will be shorter since the cake is thinner. Enjoy!
I made this cake & frosting for the first time, and mine came out perfect. I think your measurements in your frosting were off or you missed putting in a ingredient. All I can say is Try it again.
This recipe just didn’t work for me. I used fresh crushed pineapple and the applesauce/oil combo, and it was just SO dense. The flavor was great, but it was too moist and didn’t rise much at all. The texture kind of reminded me of a traditional English pudding. Not really what I was going for.
Moist, flavorful! The second time I made this cake, I added an extra 1/4 teaspoon of baking powder for a higher cake. I made it in a 13×9 pan, cut it in half and the sliced each piece in half, making a 4 layer cake. Beautiful presentation, tasty tasty cake!!
I made them as cupcakes using the baking instructions from a comment on here. The flavor is good – not too much spice, like I had feared. But they are quite dry even though there’s pineapple in them