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
Cooling cake right now after baking ONLY 33 MINUTES.!
Reduced brown sugar to 1 cup.
Used 1/2 cup oil with 1/2 cup applesauce.
Made sure pineapple was drained VERY thoroughly.
Used pecans instead of walnuts.
Hi Sally, can I double this recibe?
We would make two batches instead of doubling for best results.
Hi Veronica, For the best results we recommend making two separate batches instead of doubling.
This cake is easy to make and absolutely delicious. My icing didn’t turn out quite right though, I had tiny lumps of butter in it, I think maybe the cream cheese wasn’t warm enough or I should have beaten the butter first. Also my icing came out a bit too liquid even with the extra icing sugar, but I am in the UK so not sure if cream cheese here is different to in the USA
Great recipe! It got rave reviews! Thank you!
Will olive oil work in this recipe?
Hi Cassie, that will work just fine, but the flavor may be a bit different.
I have made this recipe so many times. Everyone always enjoys it but unfortunately, I always feel the cake comes out too dark. I put the aluminum foil loosely over the pan half way through the baking time but the edges and the bottom still get too dark. I would say it’s slightly overdone. I have tried lowering the temperature to between 325 to 340. I watch it closely and start checking it at 40 minutes but still no luck.
My question is should I use a metal pan instead of the glass baking pan? Thank you!
Hi Jack, we’re happy to help troubleshoot. A metal pan will actually bake a bit quicker, although you can certainly try it. The benefit of using a glass pan is that you can better see when those edges/the bottom are starting to brown. Lowering the temperature can help, as can decreasing the bake time just a bit. Be sure to still use a toothpick to test for doneness. We’re glad this is still a favorite for you!
What a hit this carrot cake was for a birthday celebration! I reduced the calories and fat a bit by switching out 1/2 the oil, replacing it with applesauce, cutting the sugars in the batter by 50%, and eliminating the nuts in the batter. I would add the 1/4 extra powdered sugar for the glaze next time. Great recipe! Cake even tastes better the next day.
Love your carrot cake. Since I discovered your pineapple carrot cake it’s a big hit at my bridge club. It’s very easy to make and everyone is raving about it. I make it for my friend who is lactose intolerant I get the lactose free cream cheese. She’s delighted that she can enjoy carrot cake finally. Love your recipes it always turns out great
Can you make this recipe with coconut oil instead of vegetable oil as long as all ingredients are room temperature?
Hi Wanda, yes, you can use melted coconut oil instead.
This is the worst cake I have ever baked. Bland. Prep time of 30 minutes is way off. Cook time said 55 minutes. I baked it 45 minutes and it was overbaked. Looked nothing like the picture. Incredible disappointment.
Hi TMW, did you use a larger pan to produce a thinner cake? I can’t imagine, with all of these we ingredients, that the cake would be done so quickly. Sorry you found it bland; I wonder if something was accidentally left out. A wet ingredient perhaps, which is why it baked so quickly? Thanks for the feedback.
I made this last weekend for a church luncheon. This cake was a huge success!!! Due to dietary restrictions, I substituted flour for Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 baking flour and omitted nuts. Great recipe that I will use again and again!!!
We’re so glad it was a hit, Jeanne!
I’d love to use up some pineapple juice I have. Do you have a guess to whether it would work to substitute 1/3 cup juice for the 1 cup crushed pineapple? Thank you!
Hi Marie, I’m really not sure but it’s worth a try especially if you leave out the crushed pineapple. This recipe is pretty forgiving!
This recipe looks amazing and I can’t wait to make it. My coworker is allergic to nuts, any suggestions on a substitute or should I just omit?
Hi Melly, You can simply leave out the nuts. Enjoy!
I love your pineapple carrot cake recipe, and all of your recipes for that matter, without changing a thing. With that said, is it doable to cut the oil down to 1/2 cup and add 1/2 cup applesauce in its place?
Hi Jane, see recipe Notes – we recommend: 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.
Hi, could I bake this in a round tin? And would I need to change the cooking time please? I love the recipe, I accidentally forgot to add the pineapple the first time and I won’t make that mistake again! And I will leave the butter out of the frosting next time, I prefer less creamy and more tart
Hi Graham, this would be too mach batter for a single layer 8 or 9 inch round cake, but could be make into a layer cake – see Recipe Notes for details!
This is my go to recipe for carrot cake with pineapple and walnuts. The cake is so tender and moist. The icing is awesome. Thank you for sharing this!
My carrot cake fell sank in the middle. What might I have done wrong?
Hi Anna, when cakes sink in the middle, it usually means they are slightly under baked and could use an extra minute or two in the oven. How was the texture? You can use a toothpick to test for doneness and try extending the bake time if you wish to make this recipe again. Thank you for giving it a try!
Turned out amazing! I ended up making a frosting with 2 scoops of vanilla protein powder, 1tsp of vanilla, 1/2tsp salt, 1tbsp milk of choice, 1/2c vanilla Greek yogurt and then 1/2c cream cheese and YUM! Excellent way to reach my protein goals for the day while having a sweet treat. I’d love to know the calories for the entire cake MINUS the frosting in the recipe if available so I can track my dessert better!
Made this for Easter! It was the best carrot cake and the directions were super easy to follow! Even the icing was fantastic.
The taste on this cake is absolutely delicious. But I have a question about the texture. It crumbled when I was cutting it. I followed the recipe exactly with the addition of some raisins, and I baked it in two 9” pans. What could I have done wrong that made it so crumbly when I cut it? Also, I had iced it the day before serving, kept it in the refrigerator, and removed it about 20 minutes before cutting. I noticed there was not as much frosting in between the layers as I would have liked. When I was frosting it, it kept coming out from the pressure of the top cake. I followed your cream cheese frosting recipe, but I’m thinking it is too soft an icing to stay firm and thick inbetween layers. Any suggestions? Btw, everybody loved the cake and didn’t care about the crumbling!
Hi Mary Jean, if the cake was crumbly, it sounds like it may have been over baked a bit. Reducing the bake time by just a minute or two for next time should help. You can also try adding more confectioners’ sugar to the cream cheese frosting, which will help thicken it a bit. We’re glad you still enjoyed the cake!
Mmmmmmm we love this recipe. I always halve the recipe and make it in an 8 inch square pan. It only takes about 25-30 minutes to bake. I grate the carrots with the fine side of a box grater and zip the pineapple in my smoothie blender. The result is a consistent cake with no bits of carrot or pineapple to be seen. I also skip the nuts as I never seem to have any. I do enjoy a chunkier carrot cake with raisins or nuts or coconut too, but like this one like that. Was a great Easter dessert today
I’m sorry I made this recipe exactly and it was so heavy and moist it was even hard to cut. When it finished baking I stuck in a
toothpick and it came out clean. I don’t understand what happened.
Hi Cindy, did the cake seem too dense? If so, it’s possible the batter was overmixed a bit. Here are more of our best tips for how to prevent dry and dense cakes. Thank you for giving this one a try!
Best tasting carrot cake! Second time I’ve made it and it tastes great. Instructions are easy to follow and instructions very helpful.
I made this for my daughter’s birthday using King Arthur Measure for Measure gluten free flour and it was delicious. In fact, I’m making it again for Easter!
Can you use gluten free flour?
Hi Patty, we haven’t tested it, so we’re unsure of the results using a 1:1 gluten free flour blend. Let us know if you do give it a try.
Yes!
I made this recipe yesterday and it was very good. However, I may have over baked a bit so I noted to check the cake at 40 mins next time. I do have one question,,,,,is there a way to have more pineapple in this recipe without hurting the texture?
Thank you, Kim
Hi Kim, thank you for trying this recipe! For added pineapple flavor, try removing 1 egg and replacing with an extra 1/2 cup of crushed pineapple. You could certainly add 1/2 cup of pineapple without changing anything, but we fear the cake would be too wet. So that’s why we recommend skipping an egg.
Thank you for replying.
I love this recipe. I have found carrot cake with too much coconut too many raisins too many nuts, but this is very well balanced. Really really love it. I have been wanting carrot cake for my birthday since last year. Finally this year. Putting the extra cupcakes in the freezer for about a week. I will have them frosted when I put them in the freezer, but will defrost them in the refrigerator overnight. Wonderful excellent fantastic thank you.
How about freezing – can we freeze WITH the icing on or only without? And once iced, can it remain out of the fridge for 24 hours before being served? Thank you!!
Hi Itrath, see recipe Notes for freezing instructions. After decorating anything with buttercream or cream cheese frosting, it’s fine for 1 day at room temperature. After that, we would refrigerate it. But, use your best judgment and whatever you are comfortable with- we’ve never had any problems leaving frosted desserts at room temperature for a day.
My cake seems a bit sweet. Is that just me? Did I do something wrong?
I also thought it was too sweet( & I luv sweet!) I initially halved the recipe ( to make a loaf) but had to increase batter by 1/4 of recipe, but omitted extra sugars. So basically made 3/4 of recipe, 1/2 sugars. Still came out great! Maybe next time I can 1/2 recipe,1/3 sugars.For frosting, I also cut down sugar to 1 1/2c & was perfect sweetness (for me). Just whip it for few minutes til white & fluffy.
Great recipe. I didn’t have any oil on hand so I melted 2 sticks of butter instead. The only difference I see is that your batter spreads a little. Mine was thicker. I set timer for 45 min. But will check at 40. Hopefully I didn’t mess it up. First time making this. Am I crazy ? But I always taste my batter to be sure of right sweetness and spice. This one tasted perfect. Will post how it turned out with butter. Fingers crossed