The Best Carrot Cake from the Grocery Store, Ranked

Poor, poor carrot cake. It’s hard to be named after a vegetable in a world made for desserts. You just want someone to pick you off the shelf. Not the brownie. Not the tray of cupcakes. You. A cake made from carrots. 

That’s why this taste test is so important. It’s time to end carrot cake discrimination once and for all. The best carrot cakes could rival any sugary dessert of the same caliber, and I stand by that. More importantly: premade carrot cakes from the grocery store are surprisingly yummy, and they come in a wide variety of styles. Whether your perfect carrot cake is classic, sweet, funky, or elegant, the best store bought carrot cakes have something for everyone. 

How we chose the carrot cakes

The rumors are true: We’re based in California. So anytime we conduct taste tests, we focus on trying products that are widely available. Most of the ready-made carrot cakes on this list are from nationwide grocers like Walmart, Kroger, and Amazon. You’ll find regional grocery stores like Vons on here, too, but they’re owned by national conglomerates (Albertsons, in this case). And don’t worry, the next time we send a Sporked writer (me, probably me) to the East Coast, we’ll even the playing field and make sure to try carrot cakes at Publix and other regional grocers to see how they compare.

What we looked for in the best store bought carrot cakes

Maybe you like sweeter carrot cakes. Maybe you like carrot cakes so spicy, you start to question if you’re eating dessert or a chai latte. We’ve got recs for both ends of the spectrum, but all the best carrot cakes have at least a few things in common: First, the cake itself should be moist, tender, and sweet enough to tempt any and all critics of vegetable-inspired desserts. The cream cheese frosting should be tangy and generous—not an afterthought or a sad smear. Ideally, there’s a little crunch and chew from mix-ins like nuts, raisins, or even cranberries. When all those elements come together, you know you’re eating the best carrot cake money can buy. Let’s get into it.

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Best Gingery

Walmart Freshness Guaranteed Carrot Cake

Walmart

After the fiasco that was our Walmart bakery pies taste test (no, I’m never shutting up about that; Walmart, please fix your cardboard-tasting pie crust), Walmart’s Carrot Cake was such a pleasant surprise. It’s wonderfully spiced and gingery. Too gingery for some, but not me. I’m not like other girls. If a cake doesn’t fully clear out my sinuses in one bite, I want nothing to do with it. The texture is dense, moist, and fairly decadent. The cream cheese frosting lacks that distinct cream cheese tang, but hey, the sweetness balances all that ginger pretty nicely. Plus, $6 for a whole cake ain’t bad.

Credit: Merc / Walmart

Rating:

8/10

Sporks

Best Sweet

Kroger Bakery Fresh Carrot Cake

Kroger

Ralphs

The carrot cakes from Kroger and Walmart are two sides of the same coin. Next to one another, they look almost identical. Conspiratorially, we actually thought they might have been from the same factory, but nope! The flavors are totally opposite. Where Walmart tips an entire jar of ginger into the mix, Kroger’s Bakery Fresh Carrot Cake is extra sweet with a light hint of spice. Like Walmart, though, the cake body is very dense and moist, and the cream cheese frosting is more frosting than cream cheese. It’s easily the best store bought carrot cake for kids…or anyone equally dubious of carrot cake as a dessert. 

Credit: Merc / Ralphs

Rating:

8/10

Sporks

Best Balanced

Amazon Fresh Carrot Cake

Amazon

The carrot cake at Amazon Fresh is short and stout, shaped from one wide layer of cake and a generous topping of cream cheese frosting—and the frosting actually tastes like cream cheese this time, hallelujah. The cake body is fluffier and less concentrated, but you still get a decent kick of ginger, carrot-y sweetness, and chewy raisins and walnuts with every slice. If you’re looking for a lighter dessert that doesn’t inject straight sugar or spice into your taste buds, this is the best carrot cake to pick up.

Credit: Merc / Amazon

Rating:

8/10

Sporks

Runner Up

Vons Colossal Carrot Cake

Vons

Albertsons

To quote Mythical Chef Josh Scherer after he tried a forkful: “If you’re going to eat a carrot cake, eat a fucking carrot cake.” In less poetic terms, what he means is that this massive slab of carrot cake has a rustic, spicy, and strong carrot flavor. This is England’s popular wartime recipe, plain and simple. It tastes (and looks) like someone baked it in a cottage with roughly chopped fresh ingredients from the garden. With dark molasses, a fluffy cake body, and chunky cranberries and nuts, this really seems homemade—as all the best store bought carrot cakes should, in my opinion.

Credit: Merc / Vons

Rating:

9.5/10

Sporks

Best of the Best

Private Selection Carrot Layer Cake

Ralphs

Kroger

Elegance. Sophistication. Class. That’s what you get from Kroger’s “Private Selection” (see, it’s in the name) Carrot Layer Bar Cake. With several thin, neatly cut cake tiers layered with cream cheese frosting, this statuesque carrot cake is very occasion-worthy. Packed with cranberries, walnuts, carrot pieces, and pineapple, every bite brings an interesting texture and bright, nuanced, nicely spiced flavor. If you have a person in your life who just loves carrot cake (they exist, okay), buy this for their birthday. It’s the best carrot cake of the bunch, period.

Credit: Merc / Ralphs

Rating:

10/10

Sporks

Other store-bought carrot cakes we tried: Carlo’s Carrot Cake, Rubicon Carrot Cake, Ne-Mo’s Bakery Carrot Cake Square, Amazon Our Specialty Single Layer Spiced Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Icing, Whole Foods Market Carrot Cake Slice