This healthy banana bread is not only incredibly delicious and easy to make, but is loaded with veggies! Banana Carrot bread is going to be the star of breakfast in your house. Or top it with a little cream cheese frosting and call it dessert! Naturally gluten free.
Jump to Recipe
My friends and family take their role in the TNN community pretty seriously.
They tell me when a recipe is a for sure home run and needs to get on the blog as soon as possible…and while I am at it, do I have any leftover they can nibble on while they wait for me to hit publish? They also tell me which recipes are “meh” that that you folks probably won’t be too inspired by or which ones need tweaking.
And they also tell me when I am dropping the veggie-loaded ball.
Like this this Banana Carrot Bread. Apparently, I have been owing this to all of you for a while. My apologizes.
You see, a few weeks ago, a dear friend texted me out of the blue.
“Hold on! You don’t have a banana bread recipe on your blog yet?? Girl, get on that. And throw some veggies in there, too! I’ll be waiting”
Well then. No need to read between the lines there. One of the unofficial spokespeople for the TNN community had spoken and a veggie-loaded banana bread was needed….STAT!
So, this Banana Carrot Bread is what I dreamed up for y’all. I simply love the way bananas and carrots are both naturally sweet and compliment one another in such a delicate way. Plus, they are both something many people can find in their grocery store year round, so this bread can be loved on all. year. long.
Why are carrots good for you?
Wondering why I tossed carrots into this healthy banana bread? Besides the fact that I feel like every recipe can be made a little better for you with the addition of some veggies, carrot are nutritional powerhouses disguised as root vegetables. Not just pretty to look at and great to munch on, but carrots are also a great source of several vitamins and minerals. Such as….
- beta-carotene (which is converted into vitamin A in the body)
- Biotin
- Vitamin K1
- Calcium
- Vitamin C
- Potassium
- Vitamin B6
Yeah, this banana carrot bread is totally the bee’s knees and the easiest way to get your family excited about carrots at breakfast!
Suggested adapations
- Bake it as muffins. Portion the batter out between 12 lined muffin tins and bake at the same temperature for 20 minutes. Let cool before enjoying.
- Skip the sweetener! If you are looking for a little less sugar in your life, either reduce the amount of maple syrup/honey you use or let the banana do all the sweetening and leave the honey/syrup all together! I do this often!
- Sub the carrots with grated zucchini. Just like with the grated carrot, make sure to squeeze out as much of the moisture as you can before adding it to the batter.
- Mix it all in your blender! Really want to simplify baking? Throw everything into your blender and blend batter until smooth before pouring it into the prepared loaf pan. This works best if you have a high-speed blender like a Vitamix, otherwise your blender might find the batter too taxing and leave the oats chunky.
Other veggie-loaded banana baked goods you are going to love.
Banana Carrot Bread
Equipment
- Blender
- loaf pan
Ingredients
- 1 cup grated carrots
- 2 medium bananas, very ripe + extra for topping if desired
- 2 large eggs
- 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
- 1/3 cup honey or maple syrup
- 1/2 tbsp pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
- 1 1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 2 cups rolled oats, uncooked Gluten Free option, use gluten free oats
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 2 tsp cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° F and line a loaf pan with parchment paper. Set aside
- Take grated carrots and place it in the middle of a clean dish towel or large paper towel. Wrap the carrots in the towel and squeeze out as much of the moisture as you can. Set aside.
- Place very ripe bananas in a medium bowl and mash until smooth.
- Add the wet ingredients to the bowl with the mashed bananas and stir to combine. Set aside for just a moment.
- Combine all dry ingredients in your blender and pulse until oats are finely chopped and resemble flour.
- Pour the dry ingredients into the bowl with the well and stir until the batter has a smooth consistency and even color
- Fold in drained carrots.
- Pour into prepared loaf pan
- Bake for 40-45 minutes.
- Cool in a pan for 30 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack
- Enjoy warm or allow to cool completely before storing in the fridge for up to 5 days or in a freezer for up to a month.
Nutrition
The nutritional information is provided as an estimate only and may vary based on the product type, servings and other factors. If you are following a diet, please consult with a professional nutritionist or your doctor. Stay healthy!
Can I substitute 2 cups of oat flour instead of blending the rolled oats?
Yes!
Will this work with regular milk if we don’t need a dairy free option?
Yes!
I made this for a work potluck and it was the first thing to disappear! Everyone loved it
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Hi! Can I sub a “flax egg” for the real eggs? And can I add more veggies, like zucchini with the carrots? Thanks!
I haven’t tried it but I bet it would work!
Hi Taesha! Big fan of ALL your recipes 🙂 It feels like I’ve made at least half of your whole blog by now! I keep having trouble with the texture of this one when i make in the blender though. I thought my bananas were just too large last time, but then it happened again. Is it where I’m throwing the carrots in whole in the blender possibly, so i thought either it’s from where 1)I’m not going through the process of shredding and getting excess water out with a paper towel or 2) doing two cups of baby carrots is not = to two cups of shredded and it’s throwing off my consistency? Any tips you can give are appreciated because I LOVE using the blender!
Is the texture too wet? Because if you aren’t shredding and draining it could totally be that! And I am so glad you are enjoying the recipes!
Substituted chocolate chips for the honey/maple. So good, we just made it again!
I am so glad!
This bread was so delicious! Great banana flavor. Gonna try it in a muffin pan
I am so glad you enjoyed it!
Hello! Would two cups almond flour sub evenly in this recipe? Can’t wait to bake this with my littles. Thank you!!
Hi Meghan! I haven’t tried this recipe with almond flour instead of oat. However, I know many people report that they find those two flours to swap out well in baked goods. If you try it out, let me know!
Another amazing recipe! We upped the carrots just a bit, and they were amazing. Made them as muffins because around here we make everything into muffins!
Sounds like my house! Muffins are always on repeat. I love how fats they cook and how easy they are to store. But I also love a good loaf recipe and I am so glad this a success AND with EXTRA veggies! So much winning!
What a wonderful recipe! We made a loaf last week and we are making a muffin version (with chocolate chips on top!) right now!
Yes! I love adding chocolate chips or raisins to this!
Like!! Thank you for publishing this awesome article.
Hi! Could I substitute the banana for apple purée? Or perhaps add the Apple so it has all 3 like ana ABC loaf?
I usually find applesauce and banana to be a successful swap in most baking recipes, so I bet it would work!
This is delicious. My 2 year old and I ate the entire loaf in 3 days. Love that it is a healthier version of traditional banana bread with the oat flour and added carrots. I will add nuts next time though. Otherwise, amazing!
Mmmmmm I love nuts in banana bread. Chocolate chips are lovely on top (or mixed in) too. So glad you enjoyed this recipe, April!
Oh. My. Gosh. I made these into muffins and they are AMAZING! I love to make a batch of your muffins on Mondays to set myself up for the week. This was my first time trying these ones and they are perfect!
Oh yay! I am so glad, Brittney! I love to make this as muffins too!