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Home » Recipes » Desserts » Healthy Carrot Cake Bread

Healthy Carrot Cake Bread

By Taesha Butler December 8, 2021 12 Comments

Servings10 slices
Prep Time15 mins
Cook Time50 mins
Jump to Recipe
5 from 15 votes

This Carrot Cake Bread is easy to make, perfectly moist, and loaded with those warm classic carrot cake flavors. Made with whole grains, lower in sugar, naturally sweetened, and made extra special with optional addition of raisins and walnuts. Its the perfect healthier sweet treat.

Carrot cake bread on a white plate with two slices cut from it. There is a white napkin and walnuts scattered around the plate.

Carrot Cake is my husband’s favorite and I have adapted it into a few easy everyday recipes like overnight oats, baked oatmeal, and even muffins. But it seemed like a TNN twist on this classic cake was long overdue and this Healthy Carrot Cake Bread seemed like the perfect thing for all the fall and winter baking we all have ahead of us.

Loaded with 2 cups of carrots, made with whole grains, lower in sugar than most carrot cake recipes, and naturally sweetened with applesauce and maple syrup or honey, this easy peasy carrot bread is out-of-this-world good. Perfectly tender and moist, it can easily be made gluten-free or egg-free and is sure to be a hit with all.

  • Wet ingredients for carrot cake bread in a bowl with a wooden spoon.

Frequently asked questions

I don’t have white whole wheat flour. What else can I use?

First, you can easily make your own white whole wheat flour. Simply combine 1 cup all-purpose flour and 1 cup of whole wheat flour and you are good to go for this carrot cake bread. You can also just use all-purpose flour. Whole wheat flour is also okay to use, but I found it made the heavier loaf than I like.

Can I just mix everything in one bowl?

I love a good one bowl baking recipe, but it can be tricky to not over mix the dry and wet ingredients when you just dump everything into one bowl. And over mixing can lead to heavy, dense carrot cake bread. No thank you. That is why I prefer to mix the wet ingredients and dry separately and then combining. That way, you don’t over stir trying to get everything incorporated into the batter.

Can this carrot cake bread be made as muffins?

I haven’t tried (yet!) but I am confident it can be. I’d line a 12-hold muffin tin with liners an portion the batter out. Bake at the same temp for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of a muffin comes out clean.

A loaf of carrot cake bread fresh from the oven.

Suggested adaptations

Don’t have white whole wheat flour? Use 1 cup of all-purpose flour and 1 cup of regular whole wheat flour. You can also use all all-purpose flour.

Make it gluten free. Use a cup-for-cup style gluten free flour blend to easilymake this carrot cake bread recipe gluten free.

No raisins? You can leave them out or use dried cranberries or any chopped dried fruit. Chocolate chips would also be a lovely addition to this healthy carrot cake bread.

Sub the walnuts with chopped pecans or omit the nuts to make this bread nut free.

Make this carrot cake bread egg-free by replacing the eggs with 2 flax eggs

A loaf of carrot cake bread on a white plate with two slices cut from it.

Top tips

Let it cool completely before cutting into. I know it is hard to wait, but baked goods are still cooking when they are removed from the oven. As they cool, they will firm up and finished setting. Cutting into this carrot cake bread before it is cool might result in a soggy middle.

Don’t over mix the batter. This carrot cake bread is so loaded with goodness that it is already pretty dense. Over mixing can lead to an extra dense loaf and that can be a kinda bummer.

Store it in the fridge. Since this carrot bread is so moist, the best way to keep it fresh is to store it in an air-tight container in the fridge. This will help prevent molding.

If you liked this carrot recipe, check out these other veggie-loaded recipes

  • Healthy Morning Glory Muffins
  • Carrot Cake Baked Oatmeal
  • Healthy Cranberry Orange Carrot Muffins
  • Apple Carrot Smoothie
  • Carrot Apple Slow Cooker Steel Cut Oatmeal
  • Healthy Apple Carrot Pancakes

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A slice of carrot cake bread on a plate with a bite taken out of it. There is another slice on a plate next to it as well as a measuring cup of walnuts.
Print Recipe
5 from 15 votes

Healthy Carrot Cake Bread

This Carrot Cake Bread is easy to make, perfectly moist, and loaded with those warm classic carrot cake flavors. Made with whole grains, lower in sugar, naturally sweetened, and made extra special with optional addition of raisins and walnuts. Its the perfect healthier sweet treat.
Prep Time15 mins
Cook Time50 mins
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Diet: Vegetarian
Keyword: applesauce, carrots, maple syrup, raisins, walnuts
Servings: 10 slices
Calories: 256kcal
Author: Taesha Butler

Equipment

  • loaf pan

Ingredients 

  • 2 cups grated carrots from 2 medium-sized peeled carrots
  • 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
  • 2 large eggs
  • ¼ cup avocado oil light olive oil or vegetable oil
  • 1/3 cup maple syrup or honey
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 2 teaspoons orange zest optional
  • 2 cups white whole wheat flour
  • 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoons ground ginger
  • ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • ½ cup raisins if very dry, soak in hot water for 10 min
  • ½ cup chopped walnuts divided.

Instructions 

  • Preheat oven to 350℉. Line an 8X4 loaf pan in parchment paper or grease with oil.
  • In a large bowl, mix carrot, applesauce, eggs, oil, maple syrup, vanilla, and orange zest until well combined.
  • In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg. Dump the dry ingredients into the large bowl with the wet ingredients. Mix until just combined. Do not over mix.
  • Add in the raisins and walnuts, setting aside about 2 tablespoons of the walnuts for the top. Fold them in.
  • Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly. Sprinkle the top with the remaining walnuts, if using.
  • Bake until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 50 to 55 minutes. Allow to cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing. Allowing it to cool completely for best results.
  • Once cool completely, store in fridge for 4-5 days or in freezer for up to a month.

Nutrition

Calories: 256kcal | Carbohydrates: 37g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 37mg | Sodium: 325mg | Potassium: 255mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 4342IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 90mg | Iron: 1mg

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!

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Filed Under: Breakfast, Desserts, Vegetarian Tagged With: carrot

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Reader Interactions

    Leave a comment & rate this recipe Cancel reply

    Did you make this recipe? So good, right? It would mean the world to me if you left a comment and star rating so that more people can see how delicious veggie-loading can be. Plus, it helps me to see what recipes you are all loving so I can make more like them.

    Thanks for taking the time to share your feedback.

    Recipe Rating




    Comments

  1. Dottie

    December 13, 2021 at 6:32 pm

    5 stars
    This bread was beyond amazing. It took me three medium carrots to make and the orange zest shouldn’t be optional IMO since it’s so pleasant. It’s not the easiest to tell when it’s done since the middle is still somewhat moist when the outside needs to come out but it cooled perfectly. I can’t wait to make it again. Perfect written IMO and I appreciate the exhortation not to overmix!

    Reply
    • Taesha Butler

      December 13, 2021 at 9:19 pm

      I am so glad you enjoyed this, Dottie! Thank you for taking the time to leave a review and for such thoughtful feedback!

      Reply
  2. Karen F FitzGerald

    December 13, 2021 at 8:32 pm

    Can you use almond flour in this?

    Reply
    • Taesha Butler

      December 13, 2021 at 9:19 pm

      I haven’t tried but it might work. If you give it a go, please let us know how it turned out!

      Reply
  3. Janice

    January 9, 2022 at 12:59 am

    5 stars
    The bread was sooo good. It will be a staple in our house.

    Reply
    • Taesha Butler

      January 9, 2022 at 3:15 pm

      I am so glad you enjoyed it as much as we do, Janice! And thank you for taking the time to leave a review!

      Reply
  4. Erin

    January 17, 2022 at 3:21 pm

    5 stars
    I made this carrot cake bread on the weekend and it was super simple to make. Just for fun I added a cream cheese icing on to be more dessert like. The cake was super moist and had a lovely not too sweet flavour. I will definitely keep this carrot cake bread in my rotation.

    Reply
    • Taesha Butler

      January 17, 2022 at 4:41 pm

      I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Erin! I bet it was delicious with the icing!

      Reply
  5. TD

    July 19, 2022 at 4:59 am

    5 stars
    I made this Saturday and it came out really good. I made it gluten free with 1 cup Montana mix gluten free flour blend and 1 cup Flax and ancient grains flour.. I used 2 Tablespoons less applesauce and 1/2 cup honey/maple syrup mix. I even cooked it in a bundt pan on my gas bbq, indirect heat at about 350*. Took about an hour to cook but is nice and moist and rose well. Thank you for this recipe!!!

    Reply
    • Taesha Butler

      July 21, 2022 at 5:53 pm

      I am so glad it was a success, TD!

      Reply
  6. Miriam

    August 14, 2022 at 12:51 pm

    This recipe sounds amazing! I just have one question: can I leave the pole sauce out or substitute it with something else?

    Reply
    • Taesha Butler

      August 17, 2022 at 9:34 am

      I assume “pole sauce” was supposed to be applesauce 😉. You could use 1 cup mashed banana instead, but it would give the bread a noticeable banana flavor. Just an FYI!

      Reply

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Hi! I'm Taesha! I help busy people fall in love with healthy eating with my simple, family-friendly, veggie-loaded recipes. I believe vegetables can and SHOULD be delicious. Here, let me show you how!

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