These incredible banana carrot muffins are quick and easy to make, freeze great and are naturally dairy-free. They can also be made 100% whole grain.
Up today, we have some super easy muffins. They’re like banana muffins with some carrots and carrot cake spices – cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg – thrown in.
They have a great texture. They’re not too light and fluffy like a cupcake, but they’re not dense, either.
They’re a flavorful muffin to start your day right.
What oil to use
I, normally, like to use olive oil for baking, but when using extra-virgin olive oil in this recipe, you could clearly taste it. So I wouldn’t recommend it.
Or use light olive oil, which refers to the taste but not calories or fat.
Canola oil, vegetable oil or any other liquid that’s a neutral-tasting oil should work fine.
I tried them with coconut oil but found the muffins a bit too firm with that.
Ingredients
You don’t need anything fancy for these muffins! Just basic stuff.
- Mashed bananas
- Grated carrots
- Eggs
- Brown sugar or coconut sugar
- Oil
- Vanilla
- Baking Powder
- Salt
- Spices: cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg
What type of sugar
If you don’t want to use brown sugar, coconut sugar or raw sugar works great.
I haven’t tried any keto sweeteners so I have no idea if they’d work out.
Toppings
These banana carrot muffins are great as-is, but a sprinkling of oats on top makes them a bit prettier.
Chopped nuts are also great. I haven’t tried adding anything to the batter. I really wouldn’t recommend anything wet like chopped pineapple.
Egg sub?
I haven’t had much luck with egg subs in muffin recipes. So I have no idea if they’d work here or not.
If you try it out, please let us know in the comments!
Can you freeze them?
Yes, they freeze great! I put them in an airtight container for busy mornings.
I put one in the fridge the night before I want to eat it but you can also defrost them in the microwave at 30% power for about 60-90 seconds.
Whole wheat option
These muffins are great with whole wheat pastry flour. I think they’d be a bit too dense with regular whole wheat flour but do let us know if you give it a try.
I think white whole wheat flour would likely work, but I haven’t tried it so I can’t say for sure.
No gluten-free option?
For a gluten-free version, I tried making these with Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 Gluten-free Baking Flour. They were a bit dense, and I don’t think the result would be any better with other blends.
So I would recommend skipping this recipe if you’re gluten-free. I can offer you these Paleo Carrot Muffins or this Gluten-free Banana Bread. I, unfortunately, haven’t done a hybrid of the two.
This Healthy Carrot Banana Bread would be a great option! It’s even grain-free and looks fantastic.
If you try these muffins, I would love to see how they turn out. Please take a pic or write a comment and be sure to tag #fooddoodlesrecipes so that I can find them. Enjoy!
Banana Carrot Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 cup (100 grams) freshly grated carrots
- 1/2 cup (55 grams) chopped walnuts or a sprinkling of oats, optional
Wet Ingredients:
- 1 cup (250 grams) mashed bananas, from about 2 medium to large bananas
- 2 large (50 grams each, out of shell) eggs
- 2/3 cup (133 grams) brown sugar or coconut sugar
- 1/3 cup (80ml) oil
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Dry Ingredients:
- 2 cups (250 grams) all-purpose flour or whole wheat pastry flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger, optional
- 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg, optional
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 °F (175 °C). Line a muffin pan with 12 liners.
- In a large mixing bowl, mix together the wet ingredients until combined.
- In a medium mixing bowl, stir together the dry ingredients.
- Add the dry mix to the wet but don't over mix.
- Fold in the carrots.
- Fill each liner about 3/4 full with top with nuts or a sprinkling of oats, if desired.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of one comes out clean.
- Immediately turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
- Store cooled leftovers in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
Comments & Reviews
Kate says
Those carrot banana muffins are exactly up my street. Many thanks for sharing them. I will definitely love them. Just reading about them got me hungry.
Uma Srinivas says
banana and carrot will go great together! these muffins are perfect for breakfast with a cup of coffee!
Kushigalu says
Love the banana carrot combo. These muffins looks so perfect. My lil one would love these. Making this soon.
Lori | The Kitchen Whisperer says
Oh yum! I love carrots in my muffins as they add such a great sweetness! Your muffins look incredible and would go perfectly with my cup of tea right now! Thank you so much for sharing!
Jacqueline Debono says
Wow banana muffins and carrot cake in one! Yes please. These muffins look and sound so good and easy to make too! Pinning for later!
Amy Liu Dong says
This is one of my favorites muffin flavor because it’s easy to make and really delicious. I will be saving this recipe, thank you!
Jenny says
These muffins are perfect for breakfast. Easy to make, healthy lovely ingredients great flavor and texture. Will be making them again, everyone loved them.
Farrukh Aziz says
A warm and soft muffin to start your day! This is a really healthy option, and the best thing is that I can freeze them for later use!
Eva says
I am a sweet breakfast person, so I will never say no to a muffin with my coffee in the morning! Actually, I’m a croissant kind of person, but these carrot banana muffins seem a much healthier option. I’m happy to read that they freeze great because this is the best way to get a fresh muffin a day while doing the baking only once a week!