Enjoy dessert for breakfast with these low carb and keto-friendly carrot cake bars! No baking required, they need just one bowl and are topped with a delicious, thick frosting.
These healthy No Bake Carrot Cake Breakfast Bars are packed with protein and a well-rounded meal to kickstart your day! Thick, chewy and with a fudgy texture, these breakfast bars are naturally gluten free, vegan, dairy free, refined sugar free. Paleo, grain free, dairy free.
These healthy no bake carrot cake breakfast bars are an easy, quick and fuss-free breakfast, snack or even healthy dessert option!
They are also perfect frozen as individual portions, which are perfect for a grab-and-go breakfast!
Unlike traditional breakfast bars, these require no baking.
They also contain no butter, oil, flour, sugar, or grains, but you’d never be able to tell!
Why make these carrot cake breakfast bars?
Can we highlight the texture for just a second- Thick, chewy and depending on when you enjoy it, can be ridiculously fudgy or ‘just’ firm.
Taste-wise, they are JUST like your favorite carrot cake, but with a healthy twist. Naturally low carb and keto-friendly, they also fit the other main diets- Paleo, vegan AND gluten-free.
The frosting gives it that decadent flavor, minus the guilt and PERFECT for breakfast.
How to make raw carrot cake breakfast bars
The Ingredients
For the carrot cake base
- Coconut Flour- A low carb and grain free flour, using coconut flour yields a cake-y, dough-y texture, perfect for a carrot cake base!
- Granulated sweetener of choice- Adds sweetness, minus the calories and sugar! I used monk fruit sweetener, which is keto and low carb!
- Cinnamon- Adds some warm, spicy flavor!
- Grated Carrots- Finely shredded carrots or chopped carrots work. Carrots on their own are NOT keto approved, but the amount used here is so minimal, the carbs are negligible.
- Pumpkin puree- Unsweetened pumpkin puree adds moisture, color and replaces the need for any butter or starches.
- Sugar Free Maple Syrup- Provides sweetness, along with holding the bars together. If you don’t follow a ketogenic diet, you can use any syrup you like (e.g. agave, pure maple syrup).
- Almond Butter- Drippy, smooth almond butter with no added sugar.
- Vanilla extract- A must for anything cake related!
- Milk- To smooth out the batter. I used unsweetened almond milk, but any milk will do!
For the frosting-
- Cream cheese– Dairy free or traditional. If you follow a paleo diet, try this cream cheese substitute.
- Granulated sweetener- To add sweetness.
- cinnamon- Just because!
The Instructions
In a large mixing bowl, add your coconut flour and sweetener and mix well. In a microwave-safe bowl, add your syrup and almond butter and heat until warm, and whisk together, along with the vanilla extract. You’ll then want to add this to the dry ingredients and mix just until combined. Add your pumpkin puree, and shredded carrots, and mix until fully incorporated. Using a tablespoon, add your milk of choice until a thick and smooth batter remains.
Finally, transfer the batter into the lined pan and refrigerate until firm. After it has firmed up, frost the bars and slice them up.
Can I add protein powder to these breakfast bars?
Let’s talk frosting for a moment!
If you want a protein packed frosting (much less traditional tasting), go for the option using protein powder (I always use this vegan protein powder, this casein protein powder, and this paleo friendly protein powder).
For a cheat’s way, you can simply use a thickened coconut cream blended with a dash of cinnamon and sweetener.
Storing Carrot Cake Bars
Carrot cake breakfast bars should always be stored in the refrigerator, to avoid them spoiling. Place them on the plate (or keep them in the pan they are baked in!) and cover them completely.
They will keep fresh for at least 2 weeks.
To freeze- These carrot breakfast bars are freezer friendly, meaning they can be stored in the freezer. I recommend wrapping the bars individually, as they make it SO much easier to grab one for a quick, grab and go breakfast idea. Place bars in a ziplock bag, and write the date 6 months from the day they are made, as they keep for 6 months.
To thaw- Thaw carrot cake bars at room temperature (day of!) or in the fridge overnight (to eat the next day).
More delicious breakfast recipes
- Keto Overnight Oatmeal
- Blueberry Breakfast Cake
- Lemon Poppy Seed Breakfast Cake
- Keto Breakfast Cookies
- Keto Breakfast Muffins
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Healthy No Bake Carrot Cake Breakfast Bars
Ingredients
For the bars
- 2 cups coconut flour
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 tablespoon Cinnamon
- 1/4 cup granulated sweetener of choice
- 1/4 cup pumpkin puree
- 2 tablespoon grated carrots
- 1/4 cup sugar free maple syrup See post for substitutions
- 1/2 cup almond butter can sub for any nut or seed butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup milk of choice *
For the high protein frosting
- 2 scoops vanilla protein powder see tested recommendations under 'shop'
- 1-2 tablespoon granulated sweetener of choice optional
- 1-2 tablespoon cashew butter optional
- 1-2 tablespoon Milk of choice to form batter
For the coconut butter frosting
- 1/2 cup coconut butter melted
- 2 tablespoon coconut oil melted
- 1 teaspoon maple syrup
For the cream cheese frosting
- 1 8 oz cream cheese of choice 250 grams, softened
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 tablespoon granulated sweetener of choice **
Instructions
- Line a 8 x 8 baking dish or loaf pan with parchment paper or aluminium foil and set aside- For thicker bars, use a loaf pan.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, protein powder, cinnamon, sea salt, granulated sweetener of choice and mix well. Add in the pumpkin puree and shredded carrots.
- In a microwave safe bowl or stovetop, melt your almond butter with maple syrup. Whisk in the vanilla extract and pour into the dry mixture. Mix very well until fully incorporated.
- For a more soft and fudgy carrot cake bar, add milk of choice until a relatively thick batter is formed. For a firm and chewy bar, add milk of choice only if needed to desired thickness. Transfer to lined baking tray and press firmly in place.
- Refrigerate for at least 10 minutes, or until firm. Once firm, add frosting of choice and refrigerate for another 30 minutes to firm up before slicing.
To make frosting/s
- Combine all ingredients and mix well until a thick frosting is formed. Cover the carrot cake bars and refrigerate for a further 10-15 minutes, for frosting to firm up. For a thick cream cheese frosting, use the full 8 oz tub. For a thinner frosting, use 1/2 to 3/4.
Notes
** Adjust accordingly- For a sweeter frosting, feel free to add more.
Breakfast bars are best kept refrigerated. They are also freezer friendly too.
Nutrition
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Hahaha, I was laughing so much while reading this!? To be honest, I think I’m probably that friend. Like, someone will be talking about an amazing holiday where they went on a boat ride across the sea and saw whales leaping out of the sea, and I’ll be thinking “Are whales fish or not? I suppose they are mammals…but they look like big fish. They also eat fish…maybe there’s a secret feud between whales and fish!”?
But I keep those thoughts to myself…it’s probably for the best.
Carrot cake is my FAVOURITE type of cake, so I’ll definitely be making these delicious bars!
Whoa, sorry for the long comment. We’ll blame the whales. Actually, maybe whales are taking over the world…you do often say ‘Fail Whale’ in your posts, right? They are integrating themselves into everything!?
I’ll be quiet now. Excuse me while I go and make these carrot cake breakfast bars…..
Hahaha hope you enjoy, Katrina!
If I ate Rice to Riches for breakfast, soft serve for lunch and a momofuku milk bar for dinner, I’d be going over my dairy intake? That’s three servings, right? Calcium!
LOL, no but when I’m eating carrot cake, I don’t want to be doing math and nutrition. My eyes lit up when I saw the title of this post on my feed this morning!!
Dude, we need to discuss my dairy consumption. Guess what I found out? The tofu I eat daily is CALCIUM FORTIFIED!!!
YOU KNOW HOW MUCH I LOVE YOUR CARROT CAKE BREAD!!! I think this highly needs to get into the rotation 😉
🙂 Hope you enjoy, buddy!
Amazing! No-bake AND so healthy!
Thanks so much, Averie! 🙂
Made them this afternoon …it’s 20.50 now and half of it is gone…thanks to my 3 year old (not me 😉 . Delicious!!!
I tried the protein powder icing and it’s amazingly creamy! they still come out a bit crumbly when sliced but I might pop them in the freezer for a bit …Thanks Arman! Great recipe 🙂
😀 Thank you SO much for trying it out, Madja! This means so much 🙂
Great post, mate! I love me some carrot cake, so I could totally chow down on this one…heck, I might get my veggie quota for the next week if this was around my kitchen! But can we talk about the comedy show with unlimited pizza? That sounds like my heaven! Although I’m going to go out on a limb and guess that the pizza was pretty blah. Hopefully the comedy show made up for it…sure your friend wasn’t the comedian??
Haha, it was actually a pretty decent comedy show- This middle Eastern guy had the crowd in stitches!
Haha, I’ve used the same vegetable logic for zucchini bread too. And the Chloe memes, oh.my.gosh. This kid’s face, dying!!! Hmmm…I wonder how much money her parents made off of that? And I seriously can’t ever get over the fudginess of your recipes! Waking up to one of these bars will definitely make the 6 A.M. alarm clock easier this school year.
OH my gosh, she is my idol.
That Chloe face…. 😀 And I kind of try to engineer some sort of logic around eating vegetables in my baked goods. This carrot cake looks like no other carrot cake I have ever seen. The fudginess just = so much deliciousness in my head.
Thanks, Emily! Hope you try it out!
Oh gosh, the Chloe face is the best.
Well these bars sure welcome one with a very cheery GOOD MORNING! Beautiful and fudgy! Just found your site and am oogling all your recipes! Great stuff! Oh and I think I will make some of these here BARS for lunch!
🙂 Thanks so much, Alexa!
This may be a dumb question but what do you mean by “drippy” almond butter. I have seen one that is pretty thin but has added sugar and the self service grinds I can get at Whole Foods seem to be a bit more gritty. Do you have brand suggestions?
Hi Julie! Not a dumb question at all- Nut butters (depending on brand) can either be incredibly stiff, or more smooth and liquid like. The more processed it is, the more drippy they tend to be. Unfortunately, the grinder varieties are the least drippy. If you can make your own in the blender, a dash of coconut oil makes it so much more creamier! 🙂
Thanks for clarifying. I was wondering as well. I thought it might be an English term like the way they say larder for what we call a pantry . I have never made a no-bake dessert but this will be the first one I make because it sounds great.
Cheers, Rhonda! Ohhhh yes I can relate, I had to relearn my lingo when I moved from Australia to the US!
Usually when an ingredient is optional there is very little of it in a recipe; however, one cup of protein powder is a lot and you are saying it is optional? Won’t this adversely affect the consistency?
Just made my first batch of these – cream cheese, gluten free flower, granulated sugar for my husband and they are amazing!!
Making dairy free, sugar free, coconut flour version for my pcos (can’t have dairy, sugar or wheat) daughter – can’t wait to see how they turn out!!
😀 I’m so excited to hear your thoughts! 🙂
Can you replace the flour with Bob’s Redmill Quinoa flour?
I’ve never tried it with that, but let me know if you try it out 🙂
These look amazing! How long do you think they would safely keep in the fridge? Or in a properly chilled cooler? I’m hitting the road next month for a few days and wanted to bake some healthy treats to bring along for lunches and snacks. Do you think these would work? Thanks.
Hi Louise! Absolutely- What I usually do is freeze them in individual bars and on the day I want to eat them, just let them thaw in my bag and by the time I eat it, it’s softened 🙂