Low-Calorie Vegan Recipes
Tahini pasta, lettuce wraps, cauliflower bowls, vegan brownies, and gluten-free vegan shells — plant-based meals that stay light.
★ Dessert
DessertVegan Carrot Cake w/ Cream Cheese Frosting
with gold flakes and flowers. :)
Elise NikolaisenIngredients
- 4 Ounces Frosting - Vegan Cream Cheese
- 1 1/2 tablespoons Frosting - Vegan Butter
- 2 Cups Frosting - Powdered Sugar
- 1/8 teaspoon Frosting - Vanilla
- 2 1/4 cups Cake - Flour
- 3 teaspoons Cake - Baking Powder
- 1 teaspoon Cake - Baking Soda
- 3 teaspoon Cake - Cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon Cake - Nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon Cake - Sea Salt
- 1/2 cup Cake - Applesauce
- 1/2 cup Cake - Almond Milk
- 2 teaspoon Cake - Vanilla
- 1 cup Cake - Cane Sugar
- 1/2 cup Cake - Canola Oil
- 2 cups Cake - Grated Carrots
Instructions
- 1Frosting - 1) In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and butter with an electric mixer until smooth.
- 2Frosting - 2) Add the vanilla and powdered sugar and mix until smooth. If you prefer a stiffer frosting, beat in additional powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, until it reaches your desired consistency.
- 3Frosting - 3) Make sure the cake is COMPLETELY cooled and then spread frosting evenly. Top with gold and flowers.
- 4Cake - 1) Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease a 9x13 baking pan. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.
- 5Cake - 2) In a separate bowl, whisk together the applesauce, almond milk, vanilla, sugar and oil. Mix the dry ingredients into the bowl with the wet ingredients. Fold in the carrots and stir until just combined.
- 6Cake - 3) Bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let cake cool completely before frosting.
- 7Enjoy + share with me what you think. :)
P.S. We update the recipes on this page every few days. If you want to cook this recipe over and over again, we'd love it if you downloaded Pepper 🤝.
More to try
Low-Calorie Vegan
Lunch
Dessert
Low-Calorie Vegan
Dessert
Dessert
Low-Calorie Vegan
Dinner
Appetizer
Find more recipes like this
Join 1M+ cooks discovering, organizing, and sharing their recipes on Pepper
Open in Pepper →Why Vegan Cooking Doesn't Have to Be Calorie-Dense
Vegan food gets a calorie reputation because of cashew cream, coconut oil, vegan cheese, and avocado-on-everything. Strip those back and a vegan bowl is one of the lowest-calorie meals you can build — vegetables, legumes, whole grains, herb-led dressings.
Lean on tahini, miso, and citrus instead of vegan butter and cashew cream. A bean-and-vegetable bowl with a tahini-lemon drizzle is 350-450 calories with 18g of protein and a full plate of food.
The low-calorie vegan formulas most returned to on Pepper prove that plant-based eating sticks easiest when the bowl stays satisfying.
Quick Tips
- 1
Tahini is the new cashew cream
2 tablespoons thinned with lemon and water = creamy dressing for 180 calories instead of 400.
- 2
Beans go in everything
Half a can of beans in any bowl adds 7g of fiber and 7g of protein for 100 calories. Cheap fullness.
- 3
Limit vegan cheese
Most are 90+ calories per slice with no protein. Use as a finisher, not a base.
- 4
Roast vegetables in batches
Sheet pan of brassicas + squash on Sunday = lower-calorie meal base for the whole week.
Never lose a recipe again
Save everything. Stay organized. Share with friends.
