I love a good slice of carrot loaf, especially with cream cheese icing and walnuts. It’s comforting, delicious, and nostalgic for most.  It can be challenging to create my favorite baked goods into Weight Watchers friendly treats because so much is packed into a dessert. Memories, nostalgia, and family time. But this carrot loaf with cream cheese frosting is so good! It hits the spot for that carrot cake craving. 

Carrot loaf with cream cheese frosting is a dense loaf, but that helps keep it moist. Remember, when baking with applesauce, yogurt, and even mashed banana, you are not going to have a fluffy loaf or muffin that you would when using butter and oils. It did take me a little time to get used to the texture of baked goods when changing up the ingredients and I know it might not be for everyone, but I’ve come to love it. And you will love how low it keeps your Weight Watchers points while you’re indulging in a sweet treat! You can make this loaf with or without the icing, but since it’s low in points either way, I suggest going for the whole thing. 

Three reasons why you need to make this recipe!

Nothing hits the spot like a slice of carrot cake does. 

It’s probably my favorite way of eating veggies! The natural sweetness of carrots adds flavor and moisture to this loaf, which pairs amazingly with the tart cream cheese. 

It’s a fun, healthy way to have the beloved carrot cake. 

If you want to tap into nostalgia with a piece of dessert, but don’t want to blow your Weight Watchers points for the day, eat this carrot loaf with cream cheese frosting rather than a “real” carrot cake slice. 

Carrot loaf keeps really well.

You can bake this on a Sunday and have dessert for a whole week. It keeps up to seven days in the fridge, and it’s easy to freeze as well. 

Ingredients you need to make Carrot Loaf With Cream Cheese Frosting: 

  • 2 eggs
  • 2 tablespoons brown sugar
  • ⅓ cup nonfat plain Greek yogurt
  • ½ cup unsweetened apple sauce
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1.5 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 2 cups shredded carrots

FOR THE ICING

  • ¼ cup softened, light cream cheese
  • ¼ cup icing sugar (confectionary sugar or white powdered sugar – they’re all the same)
  • ½ tablespoon light butter, softened
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract 
  • ¼ cup chopped walnuts (optional topping for carrot loaf)

How to make Carrot Loaf With Cream Cheese Frosting (step by step): 

  1. Preheat the oven to 375F, and spray a regular sized loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray.
  2. In a bowl, whisk together your eggs and brown sugar until it’s light and fluffy. 
  3. Stir in the yogurt, applesauce and vanilla extract. 
  4. Mix in the all purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, and spices.
  5. Fold in the carrots. 
  6. Pour the batter into the loaf pan and bake it in the oven for 45-50 minutes- until baked all the way through.
  7. Let it cool before removing it from the pan.
  8. To make the icing, mix the cream cheese, icing sugar, butter, and vanilla together until creamy. Spread the icing on the loaf then sprinkle with walnuts. Makes 10 slices.

Makes 10 slices. Nutrition info for 1 slice: Calories 155,  Fat 4 g, Saturated fat 1.1 g,  Carbs 23 g,  Fiber 1.4 g, Sugars 8.7 g, Sodium 204 mg, Protein 5 g. 

WW Points 

  • Eggs 0 points
  • Brown sugar 5 points
  • Nonfat plain Greek yogurt 0 points
  • Unsweetened apple sauce 0 points
  • Vanilla 0 points
  • Cinnamon  0 points
  • Nutmeg 0 points
  • All purpose flour 26 points
  • Baking powder 0 points
  • Baking soda 0 points
  • Shredded carrots 0 points

FOR THE ICING

  • Softened light cream cheese 6 points
  • Icing sugar (confectionary sugar, white powdered sugar) 9 points
  • Light butter 2 points 
  • Vanilla 0 points
  • Chopped walnuts 6 points

5 points per slice based on the WW app recipe creator, with or without the chopped walnuts. 

If you’re using an older version of WW, check out these points below. 

Freestyle smart points- (blue & purple) 4 (with icing and walnuts) using WW recipe builder * without icing and nuts 2FSP, with just icing 3FSP

Smart Points- (green) 5 using WW recipe builder 

Points plus- 3 using PP calculator

Different ways to change up this recipe: 

  • Icing and walnuts are optional. The loaf with no icing or nuts is 2SP per slice. Just icing is 3SP and icing and nuts is 4SP. 
  • This is a dense carrot loaf due to the ingredients used, it might sink slightly once it has cooled down. But that’s okay – it stays moist! 

Tips and Tricks for Making Carrot Loaf With Cream Cheese Frosting: 

  • I used a food processor to shred my carrots. If you do this, I suggest letting the carrots sit on a paper towel for a few minutes before mixing them into the batter, otherwise, they will add a ton of moisture, and that also can make the loaf sink or not bake well. 
  • Make the icing while the loaf is baking and then store it in the fridge until you’re ready to ice loaf. 
  • Store this carrot loaf in the fridge or freeze it once it’s cooled. I also recommended slicing before freezing so you can pull out individual slices as needed.

Similar recipes you’ll enjoy: 

5 from 2 votes

Carrot Loaf With Cream Cheese Frosting

By: Drizzle
Servings: 10
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 50 minutes
Total: 1 hour
4SP blue & purple, 5SP green/3PP

Ingredients 

  • 2 eggs
  • 2 Tbsp brown sugar
  • 1/3 cup non fat plain greek yogurt
  • 1/2 cup apple sauce
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp nutmeg
  • 1.5 cups flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 2 cup shredded carrots
  • FOR THE ICING
  • 1/4 cup softened light cream cheese
  • 1/4 cup icing sugar, confectionary sugar, white powdered sugar
  • 1/2 Tbsp light butter, soft
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla
  • Top loaf with 1/4 cup chopped walnuts *optional

Instructions 

  • Preheat the oven to 375F, and spray a regular sized loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray.
  • In a bowl, whisk together your eggs and brown sugar until it’s light and fluffy.
  • Stir in the yogurt, applesauce, and vanilla extract.
  • Mix in the all purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda and spices.
  • Fold in the carrots.
  • Pour the batter into the loaf pan and bake it in the oven for 45-50 minutes- until baked all the way through.
  • Let it cool before removing from the pan.
  • To make the icing, mix the cream cheese, icing sugar, butter, and vanilla together until creamy. Spread the icing on the loaf then sprinkle with walnuts. Makes 10 slices.

Notes

5 points per slice based on the WW app recipe creator, with or without the chopped walnuts. 
If you’re using an older version of WW, check out these points below. 
Freestyle smart points- (blue & purple) 4 (with icing and walnuts) using WW recipe builder * without icing and nuts 2FSP, with just icing 3FSP
Smart Points- (green) 5 using WW recipe builder 
Points plus- 3 using PP calculator

Nutrition

Serving: 1sliceCalories: 155kcalCarbohydrates: 24gProtein: 5gFat: 4gSaturated Fat: 1.1gSodium: 204mgFiber: 1.4gSugar: 8.7g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Baking
Tried this recipe?Mention @drizzlemeskinny or tag #drizzlemeskinny!

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About Drizzle Me Skinny

Kate founded DrizzleMeSkinny in 2014. Since then she has shared nearly 1000 weight watchers friendly recipes with DrizzleMeSkinny's over 500,000 social media followers.

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25 Comments

  1. This looks great! What a nice treat. Thanks for options on icing and/or nuts, and for the tip on freezing. I’ll make this soon and share my thoughts!

  2. I made this as muffins! Carrot cake with cream cheese icing is one of my favourite things in the world and this recipe totally hit the spot. I made it into 10 muffins….iced it with the icing and then froze them for when the craving strikes. Baked them for about 24 minutes. Perfection! Thanks so much!

  3. Well I’ve made the Egg Cups last night. Had two for breakfast… AMAZING!
    I just finished making the Carrot Cake, which my favourite cake. My home smells delicious!! Thanks for doing up these recipes. I really miss my desserts.

  4. I made the carrot cake loaf and the loaf itself had no flavor at all, I was so disappointed. The only tasty part was the frosting. I’m going to try it one more time and add stevia to the batter. I used unsweetened applesauce, was I supposed to use regular applesauce? This is your first recipe that I wasn’t happy with so I definitely want to give it another try.

    1. Hi Maggie, I’m sorry you did not enjoy it 🙁 no I always use unsweetened applesauce, It is not a sweet load and that only comes from the icing, maybe you can play around with it to get it to suit you better 🙂

    2. I’ve started using erythritol (confectioners style, not the granular, as it’s not great at dissolving and can be gritty). It’s ‘0’ points and it doesn’t take much. 🙂

  5. Excellent recipe. Love the fact that I can make this and enjoy it for 4 points!! I had the idea to add chopped pineapple and then completely forgot bc I was so focused on following the recipe. I think it would have made it even better!

    1. Haha, that sounds like something I would do 😉 so glad you enjoyed it and let me know if you try the pineapple 🙂

  6. oh man, I was so sad after eating a piece. I have to agree with Maggie..the bread didn’t have any flavor in my opinion. The frosting was very good though! I had even added an extra 1/2 tsp of cinnamon and a 1/4 tsp salt to the batter too. I think I’ll add extra 1/2 tsp nutmeg and and 2 tsp cinnamon total to the batter next time

  7. This loaf is amazing! Didn’t know how it would taste without the oil and the sugar,but you hit a home run with one! Yum! It made a big loaf too so 10 pieces were a good size.

  8. Hello, I cannot have dairy , I was wondering do u think it would taste okay if I didn’t use the yogurt? I could replace it with coconut or along yogurt but there are no fat versions that I have found yet. Thank you

    1. Hi Maureen, you’d need to replace it with something to make up for the loss, what about apple sauce?