I love carrot cake and I love banana bread so it made sense to combine the two in a dairy-free, naturally-sweetened quick bread! This carrot cake banana bread is so easy to make and also happens to be delicious. Some carrot cake breads are essentially carrot cake, and while I love carrot cake I wanted to provide a carrot cake bread that could also be enjoyed for breakfast. If you are looking for traditional carrot cake, my recipe found here can’t be beat!
A lot of banana breads and carrot cake banana breads use a full cup of granulated sugar. While I love sugar as much as the next person, I try to reserve it for desserts like cake, brownies, cookies, and cupcakes. If I want to enjoy a baked good for breakfast, I like the option of having it naturally-sweetened. Two very ripe bananas will help with the sweetness in this recipe, as well as pure maple syrup. You can also substitute honey if you don’t have pure maple syrup, but I think the subtle maple flavor compliments the carrot cake flavor in a really delicious way!
Just like in my carrot cake recipe, I use a little bit of almond extract as well as vanilla extract in this Easter recipe. I find that almond extract elevates desserts and I add it frequently to all my baked goods. Cinnamon and nutmeg also remind you of carrot cake. I don’t use chopped walnuts or raisins in this bread as carrot cake can sometimes have, but you can certainly add them if you want to! I recommend adding no more than a cup combined of raisins and chopped walnuts to make sure the bread still holds its shape when sliced.
It’s important to note how I shred the carrots for this recipe. You can peel your carrots and use a box grater to shred them. But I find that the easiest way to shred them and get great results is to use a food processor. I use the shredding attachment for the food processor, then put the carrot shreds in the body of the food processor with the regular blade to pulse and get the pieces just a little bit smaller. You only need one or two pulses to get these results because you are not looking for carrot puree! This process gives you the perfect sized pieces of carrot for the recipe.
Whether you make this for an Easter dessert or Easter brunch, it truly is a delicious Easter recipe and one that you can enjoy anytime you have ripe bananas.
- 2 very ripe bananas
- ½ cup avocado oil
- 2 eggs
- ½ tsp. almond extract
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- ½ cup pure maple syrup (or sub honey)
- ¼ cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- ½ tsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- ¼ tsp. nutmeg
- 1 cup shredded carrots*
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and spray a loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, mash the bananas. Add oil, eggs, almond extract, vanilla extract, maple syrup, and almond milk. Whisk until very smooth.
- In a separate bowl, mix together flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined.
- Add the carrots and fold to combine.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 50-60 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Let cool in pan for 10-15 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Enjoy!
Like what you see? Pin it here!
[…] me start by saying that I did not always love carrot cake. I would eat it if I was somewhere where it was served because I’ve never in my life turned […]