Get ready for a brunch game-changer! I'm a huge fan of sheet pan pancakes – they're incredibly easy, utterly delicious, and perfect for feeding a crowd (no flipping!). This Sheet Pan Carrot Cake Pancake recipe takes that convenience and infuses it with all the comforting flavors of carrot cake, complete with crunchy walnuts and a dreamy sweet cream cheese topping. It's like a healthy carrot cake, but in perfectly-portioned pancake form! They were inspired by my Healthy and Light Carrot Cake recipe, and my Pumpkin Pie Sheet Pan Pancakes.
This Carrot Cake Pancake recipe is popular around Easter and makes a great Easter brunch, Mother's Day brunch, or Saturday morning breakfast and is great any time of the year! They pair well with Air Fryer turkey sausage and this Old Fashioned Fruit Salad. They are the ultimate combination of healthy and indulgent!
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Looking for more Sheet Pan Pancakes? Try my Chocolate Chip Sheet Pan Pancakes or my Sheet Pan Sugar Cookie Pancakes for a sweet treat. They are especially popular with kids and great for sleepover breakfasts! And if you're in the mood for something unique, try these Sheet Pan Rum and Raisin Pancakes!
I broke my own rule of only testing a recipe 3X and made this Carrot Cake Pancakes with Cream Cheese Frosting recipe 4X before I perfected it. But it was well worth that effort because I knew it was going to be amazing, and that kept me motivated!
And even as I'm writing this post, I can't stop thinking about making it again! Here's what my son's friends had to say:
🍒Testers Review
My teenage son had friends over and I left them these pancakes to try. He texted me and said," My friends love the carrot cake pancakes!" :
"You absolute cooking queen!" from my friends." ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
🥘Ingredient Notes
You will need the following ingredients for this carrot cake pancakes:
- Walnuts. Adding walnuts to the batter gives these pancakes great texture and a welcome crunch!
- Unsweetened applesauce. Unsweetened applesauce replaces some of the fat in these carrot cake pancakes, making them lighter and healthier.
- Baking soda and baking powder. I use both leaveners in this carrot cake pancake recipe for maximum fluffiness!
- Crushed pineapple. Pineapple is a fruit that tenderizes, as the enzymes found in pineapple break down proteins, resulting in a moister pancake with a tender texture. Pineapple also gives these pancakes a little bit of a tangy flavor. I use it in my Healthy Carrot Bread for the same reason.
- Fresh carrots. I recommend using fresh carrots and finely shredding them for the best texture!
- Milk and vinegar. Low-fat milk mixed with vinegar is a great substitute for buttermilk, which creates a more tender, moist, thick, and fluffy pancake. I use 1% milk.
- Unsalted butter. I like to use unsalted butter so I can control the salt in my recipes. The salt content in salted butter varies from brand to brand.
- Light cream cheese. I use light cream cheese to reduce the fat and calories.
- Powdered sugar. This is also known as icing sugar or confectioners' sugar.
*Please see recipe card for full list of ingredients and quantities
📖Variations & Substitutions
- Cream cheese - you can use regular, light, or fat-free cream cheese.
- Flour - you can use ½ whole wheat flour and ½ AP flour.
- Dairy-free - you can use oat milk, coconut milk, or almond milk instead of regular milk.
- Carrots- although fresh are best, you can use the pre-shredded carrots from the grocery store or your own pre-shredded and frozen carrots. Just make sure to defrost them completely, drain and measure after you defrost and drain.
- Walnuts- you can substitute pecans.
🔪How to Make Carrot Cake Pancakes
With sheet pan pancakes you can always count on every pancake being the perfect pancake! They are all evenly cooked and evenly browned fluffy pancakes, and there's no flipping required!
PREP: Preheat oven to 400 degrees F/204 degrees C. Coat a 9x13 sheet pan/baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray, ensuring to cover the sides and corners (or you can line a baking sheet with parchment paper.)
In a small bowl, add vinegar to milk and set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg
In a separate medium bowl, whisk in the carrots eggs, applesauce, pineapple, and vanilla extract.
*Make sure the pineapple has every bit of liquid squeezed out.
Mix wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix until incorporated and smooth.
Then pour in milk into the batter and mix until just combined. Add chopped walnuts.
Pour the batter onto the prepared baking sheet and spread it evenly.
Tap the pan on the counter a couple of times to even out the batter and get rid of air bubbles.
Bake pancakes for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick or cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean and the pancakes are lightly browned on top and golden brown on the bottom. *Be sure to check at 15 minutes- 18 minutes was perfect for me!
Cool for 10 minutes (if you are frosting it).
Meanwhile, make the Sweet Cream Cheese Butter: Beat butter and cream cheese together with vanilla, then slowly add in powdered sugar. Beat until smooth.
Frost pancakes with sweet cream cheese butter, as you would a cake (using a butter knife).
Or simply serve the sweet cream cheese butter on the side with the pancakes.
Garnish with cinnamon, walnuts, pineapple rings, and grated carrot, if desired. *you can add more pineapple than I did (add one for each pancake, if you wish).
Serve hot or cold!
Expert Recipe Tips
- Drain Pineapple Thoroughly. Press the crushed pineapple through a fine sieve and pat dry with paper towels to remove excess moisture. This prevents the batter from becoming too wet and ensures a fluffy texture.
- Use Freshly Shredded Carrots. Freshly shredded carrots provide better moisture and flavor compared to pre-shredded store-bought carrots, which can be dry and tough.
- Toast the Walnuts. Lightly toasting the walnuts before adding them to the batter enhances their crunch and brings out a deeper, nuttier flavor.
- Use Room Temperature Ingredients. Let eggs, milk, and cream cheese reach room temperature before mixing. This helps ingredients blend more evenly and improves the final texture.
- Don’t Overmix the Batter. Mix until just combined to avoid dense pancakes. Overmixing can lead to tough, chewy pancakes instead of light and fluffy ones.
- Tap the Pan Before Baking. Tapping the sheet pan on the counter a few times before baking helps remove air bubbles and ensures even distribution of the batter.
🥗 What to serve with Sheet Pan Carrot Cake Pancakes
Sheet Pan Carrot Cake Pancakes pair well with these delicious Brunch Bites (shown) and a Raspberry Mimosa Mocktail!
These pancakes are also a great Mother's Day breakfast that Dads and kids can make together. And for another quick and kid-friendly savory breakfast idea, check out this Bagel Egg in a Hole.
🌡️Storage
Store these fluffy carrot cake pancakes in an airtight container separately from the sweet cream cheese butter in the fridge for up to 4 days.
The pancakes can be frozen for up to 3 months in an airtight container in a single layer, even after being frosted (do not stack them)! If you do plan to heat them up (they can be eaten cold, as well, like a carrot cake), I suggest you freeze the frosting separately.
However, I recommend adding the pineapple rings and grated carrot garnish AFTER it's defrosted. I tested freezing it with the pineapple rings, and it was fine (but the sweet cream cheese frosting was just a bit runnier from the pineapple juice).
👪 Serving Size
This sheet pan carrot pancake recipe makes 12 servings. However, you can half, double, or triple the recipe by clicking on the serving number and selecting the number of servings you'd like. The ingredient quantities will automatically adjust.
🔢WW Points
Because these pancakes don't contain oil or butter, this healthy carrot cake pancakes recipe is Weight Watchers friendly @ 4 WW points per pancake using non-fat milk (and without the sweet cream cheese butter). You can reduce the points in the pancakes by reducing the brown sugar. If you cut the brown sugar in half (to 2 tbsp), the pancakes are 3 ww points each.
The cream cheese butter is quite high (11 ww points per tablespoon) if you use light butter and fat-free cream cheese. The powdered sugar makes it very high in points, but you could use a substitute such as monk fruit. You'll only need ½ the amount of monk fruit (1.5 cups)
Alternatively, you can top these pancakes with a drizzle of maple syrup or a little light whipped cream. This also tastes amazing!
Top Tip
If you are in a hurry, you can buy pre-shredded carrots at the grocery store. Or use frozen carrots. I often buy a bag of carrots, then shred and freeze them in 2 cup portions. It makes it a lot quicker and easier to make my favorite carrot recipes! Just be sure to defrost and drain before measuring.
If you love carrot cake flavors and are looking for a healthy breakfast the entire family will love, these Carrot Cake Pancakes are for you!
❔Recipe FAQs
Yes! You can bake the pancakes, let them cool, and store them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days or freeze them for up to 3 months.
Overmixing the batter can lead to dense pancakes. Mix until just combined and avoid excessive stirring. Also, ensure your baking soda and baking powder are fresh for optimal fluffiness and bake it immediately after mixing. Leaveners start to lose their potency the longer the batter sits.
Besides sweet cream cheese butter, you can top them with chopped nuts, extra shredded carrots, maple syrup, Greek yogurt, or a dusting of cinnamon and powdered sugar.
You may also like my Healthy Carrot Cake Muffins!
🥕More Carrot Cake Recipes
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📋 Sheet Pan Carrot Cake Pancake Recipe
Ingredients
- ⅔ cup milk
- ½ tablespoon white vinegar
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 3 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ⅓ cup unsweetened applesauce
- 18 ounce can of crushed pineapple *drained and every bit of liquid squeezed out (I squeeze it through a fine sieve)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups finely grated carrots shredded on smallest setting
- ⅓ cup chopped walnuts
- 2 large eggs
Sweet Cream Cheese Butter
- 1 cup unsalted butter
- 1 cup light cream cheese 8 oz
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Garnish
- chopped walnuts
- pineapple rings
- cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F/204 degrees C. Coat a 9x13 sheet pan/baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray ensuring to cover the sides and corners or you can line baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Add vinegar to milk and set aside.⅔ cup milk, ½ tablespoon white vinegar
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg¼ cup brown sugar, 2 cups all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 3 teaspoon baking powder, ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg, 1 ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- In a separate bowl, whisk in the carrots eggs, applesauce, pineapple and vanilla extract.*Make sure all the liquid is squeezed out of the pineapple⅓ cup unsweetened applesauce, 18 ounce can of crushed pineapple, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1 ½ cups finely grated carrots, 2 large eggs
- Mix wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix until incorporated and smooth.
- Then pour in milk into the batter and mix until combined. Add chopped walnuts⅓ cup chopped walnuts
- Pour batter onto the prepared baking sheet. Tap the pan on the counter a couple of times to even out the batter.
- Bake pancakes for 15- 20 minutes or until a cake tester or toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean and the pancakes are lightly browned on top and golden brown on the bottom.
- Optional: Make cream cheese frosting: Beat butter and cream cheese together with vanilla, then slowly add in powdered sugar. Beat until smooth.1 cup unsalted butter, 1 cup light cream cheese, 3 cups powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Frost with sweet cream cheese butter. Use a butter knife to swirl it on, frosting as you would a carrot cake. Or simply serve the sweet cream cheese butter on the side.
- Garnish with pineapple rings, sprinkles of cinnamon, walnuts and shredded carrots, if desired.Serve hot or cold.chopped walnuts, pineapple rings, cinnamon
Notes
-
- Drain Pineapple Thoroughly. Press the crushed pineapple through a fine sieve and pat dry with paper towels to remove excess moisture. This prevents the batter from becoming too wet and ensures a fluffy texture.
-
- Use Freshly Shredded Carrots. Freshly shredded carrots provide better moisture and flavor compared to pre-shredded store-bought carrots, which can be dry and tough.
-
- Toast the Walnuts. Lightly toasting the walnuts before adding them to the batter enhances their crunch and brings out a deeper, nuttier flavor.
-
- Use Room Temperature Ingredients. Let eggs, milk, and cream cheese reach room temperature before mixing. This helps ingredients blend more evenly and improves the final texture.
-
- Don’t Overmix the Batter. Mix until just combined to avoid dense pancakes. Overmixing can lead to tough, chewy pancakes instead of light and fluffy ones.
-
- Tap the Pan Before Baking. Tapping the sheet pan on the counter a few times before baking helps remove air bubbles and ensures even distribution of the batter.
Terri Gilson
My teenage son had friends over and I left them these pancakes to try. He texted me and said," My friends love the carrot cake pancakes!" :
"You absolute cooking queen"
my friends