Healthy Snack Cake (zucchini cake with cinnamon, apples, and carrots)

I love this healthy snack cake! It’s a healthy, wholesome cake that works for breakfast, snacks, and even in lunchboxes. My son eats it after school and I feel good knowing he’s having a filling snack that tastes good. This cake has healthy elements like zucchini, carrots and apples in it, and it’s a one bowl recipe that’s super easy to make. I like to drizzle some homemade vanilla frosting over it to make it pretty. 

Snack Cake Recipe

Is anybody else’s child ravenous when they get home from school? My son has an after school snack plate every day. I try to feed him as many wholesome, healthy ingredients as I can. He is, of course, 5 years old and wants cake. So, I came up with this easy and healthy snack cake.

I used a simple zucchini cake recipe but increased the protein content by adding in yogurt, and reduced the sugar (because lord knows we don’t need more sugar). I also added in some apples for sweetness, along with some carrots and plenty of cinnamon. I was so happy with how it came out! Loads of flavor, the house smelled delicious, and my son gets a snack after school for the next few days. Win win. 

Why you’ll love this recipe:

• It’s wholesome. You can feel good feeding this to your family, knowing it tastes great, is low sugar, and has vegetables hidden in it! 
• Soft, moist, cakey texture. The added zucchini, apples and carrots give this so much moisture. It feels almost, decadent!
• Freezes great. Slice it up into individual slices and freeze. Remove from freezer about 90 minutes before enjoying and you have a homemade slice of healthy cake without the effort. 
• Kid approved. My son will eat 3 slices of this in one sitting.

Making Zucchini Cake with Carrots and Apples

This is a super easy one bowl recipe, which makes it even more appealing in my book. The less dishes, the better!

• Start by mixing the dry ingredients, then add in the wet ingredients, and mix until fully incorporated.
• Shred, squeeze and drain the zucchini and the carrots in a paper towel or cheese cloth before adding to the batter. Make sure to get excess water out. 
• Add in the produce (apples, carrots and zucchini) and once fully combined, pour into a greased cake pan.
  • I like to also add in a handful of dried cranberries to the batter. You can also use raisins! 
• Bake for about 30-35 minutes, and the cake will be golden brown.
  • TIP :I always recommend doing the toothpick check just to be sure, it’s a foolproof method to make sure your cake is done! 

Variations: Add ins, toppings, and substitutions

This recipe is super customizable! Here’s some ideas on how else you can make it.

• This is a great recipe to use up fruit with. If you want to replace the apples, you could use pineapple, figs, dates, blueberries, strawberries, or pears.
  • I tend to like pears, pineapple and dates in this cake, it goes super well with the cinnamon. 
• As far as toppings go, I love a simple homemade icing drizzled on top. It adds a little sweetness. Use 1/2 cup powdered sugar, and add 1 tsp of milk at a time until you reach a texture you like.
• Add in 1/2 cup of chopped walnuts if you want some healthy fat added in, alog with some texture
• Want more sweetness? Add in 1/4 cup of dark chocolate chips.

After School Snack Recipes

If you like this recipe for after school snacks, here’s some more that I love! These are recipes my son eats after school, and for me, I especially love the celery protein snacks for a quick pick me up and also for meal prep. 

• Pumpkin Snack Cake
• Yogurt Cake
• Ham and Cheese Pinwheels
• Broccoli Cheddar Pinwheels 
• Celery Protein Snacks

Zucchini Recipes

I love using up zucchini from my garden! We have some zucchini recipes I love sharing with our readers that work really well year round, but especially at the tail end of summer to use up all of that excess zucchini bounty.

• Easy Chicken Zucchini Skillet
• Zucchini Lasagna
• Zucchini Enchiladas
• Taco Stuffed Zucchini Boats
• Savory Zucchini Bread
• Lemon Zucchini Bread
• Zucchini Muffins

Did you make this recipe? I want to see! Tag us @laughingspatula on Instagram.

Hope you enjoy this one as much as we do! – Kathi and Rachel

Snack Cake with Zucchini, Apples and Carrots

An easy recipe that features a delicious cinnamon infused cake, along with

No ratings yet

Print Pin Rate

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes minutes

Servings: 8 servings

Author: Kathi & Rachel

Equipment

• 1 9x9 inch baking dish
• Grater

Ingredients

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 3 tsp cinnamon
• 1 cup Greek yogurt (plain, or flavored)
• 1 cup applesauce
• 2 tsp vanilla extract

Mix Ins

• 2 cups shredded zucchini
• 1/2 cup shredded carrots
• 1 apple (cut into cubes)
• 3 tbsp dried cranberries or raisins (optional)

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees fahrenheit. Prepare a 9x9 inch pan with nonstick spray and set aside.
• Shred zucchini and carrots. Place in paper towel and squeeze over sink to remove excess moisture. Chop apple. Set aside.
• Combine dry ingredients (flour/sugar/baking soda/baking powder/cinnamon/salt) in bowl. Whisk to combine.
• Add yogurt and applesauce to dry mixture. Whisk to combine until fully incorporated.
• Add zucchini, carrots and cubed apples to cake batter. Stir to combine until fully incorporated.
• Add batter to prepared 9x9 inch pan. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into cake comes out clean.
• Allow to fully cool before serving. Enjoy!

Nutrition

Calories: 239kcal | Carbohydrates: 53g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 0.1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.05g | Trans Fat: 0.001g | Cholesterol: 1mg | Sodium: 583mg | Potassium: 240mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 26g | Vitamin A: 1423IU | Vitamin C: 7mg | Calcium: 56mg | Iron: 2mg