You know how much I love healthy carrot recipes for Easter, but I also love simple muffins with bananas, like my 3-Ingredient Banana Muffins or Oat Flour Banana Muffins. That’s why I created this new muffin recipe. It’s a combination of two of my favorite flavors: carrot cake and banana muffins. To create this recipe I inspired myself from my previous eggless banana muffin recipe, in which I added carrots. I tweaked the recipe a little because it is never as simple as adding carrots to a banana muffin recipe to get the right texture. My first attempt at making this recipe used maple syrup, but the texture of the crumb was dry and dense. So, I retested the recipe a few times until I found the perfect combination of ingredients that delivers moist banana muffins with all the flavor of a regular carrot cake recipe. I hope you will enjoy them as much as we do!
Why I Love These Muffins
Vegan – it means they are egg-free and dairy-free Refined sugar-free and low-sugar Super easy to make – the batter takes 10 minutes to prepare. Perfect to meal prep healthy breakfast
Ingredients and Substitutions
All-Purpose Flour – You can also use white spelt flour or white whole wheat flour. These three flour options work very well. However, the recipe won’t work with almond flour or coconut flour. I didn’t test the recipe with all-purpose gluten-free flour, so I can’t guarantee the results. Old-Fashioned Rolled Oats – This is optional but it adds texture and fiber. You can swap it for more flour instead. Baking Powder – This adds a lovely fluffy texture to the banana carrot muffins. Cinnamon – Anything carrots taste better with a pinch of cinnamon! You can also try pumpkin spices instead for a lovely fall flavor. Salt – This is optional but balances the sweetness very well. Mashed Bananas – You can use yellow or ripe bananas but the riper the bananas, the sweeter the muffins. I recommend mashing the bananas and measuring the amount in measuring cups for precision. Almond Milk – You can pick any plant-based milk like oat milk, soy milk, or cashew milk. The only one I’d avoid in this recipe is coconut milk as it would flavor the recipe too much. Coconut Sugar or brown sugar – both are the best crystal sweeteners to add a lovely nutty caramel sweet flavor to your carrot muffins. However, you can swap for white sugar if that’s all you have at home. I don’t recommend skipping the sugar. The texture of the muffins would not be as fluffy. Vanilla Extract – for flavor Light Olive Oil – You can also use melted coconut oil, or canola oil. I didn’t try an oil-free option for this muffin recipe. But, you might want to experiment with dairy-free yogurt, or applesauce instead of oil. Shredded Carrots – I peel and trim carrots and use a food processor with the smaller grating tool. But you can also cut the carrots into slices and pulse them into pieces in a food processor like in my vegan carrot cake recipe. Chopped Pecans – optional but delicious. Also, nuts can be a choking hazard for small kids, so skip the nuts for kids under 1 year old. You can replace them with chocolate chips or skip them.
How To Make Banana Carrot Muffins
Expert Tips
Use ultra-ripe bananas – This increases the moisture in the muffins and their sweetness. The crumb will be very moist and the banana flavor more intense. Add chocolate chips – fold in 1/2 cup of dairy-free dark chocolate chips. This tastes amazing. Add crunch with nuts and seeds – fold in 1/2 cup of chopped pecans, walnuts, or sunflower seeds. These add a nice crunch and omega-3 fatty acids to the muffins. Grease muffin paper liners a lot – Banana muffins stick to the paper way more. Make sure you use a good amount of cooking oil spray in the muffin liners. Drizzle royal icing on top for a boost of sweetness – Use my vegan royal icing recipe on top of the cooled banana carrot muffins.
Storage Instructions
You can store the muffins in an airtight muffin box in the fridge for up to 5 days. You can also freeze the muffins and thaw them at room temperature the day before eating.
More Banana Recipes
Ripe banana recipes are very convenient for using leftover bananas sitting on the kitchen counter. It’s also a great way to naturally sweeten baby recipes without adding sugar. Below I listed my favorite ripe banana recipes for you to try.