Carrot Banana Bread
Moist banana bread meets carrot cake in this carrot banana bread mashup. In addition to grated carrot we’ll add classic carrot cake spices like cinnamon, ginger and cloves. It’s everything you love about banana bread but add a carrot cake twist!
As much as I love basic banana bread, I find it very hard to get myself to make it. I just love a twist: hazelnut banana bread, apple banana bread, pumpkin banana bread! And since carrot cake season is here, I thought: carrot banana bread!
This recipe takes inspiration from my hazelnut banana bread, Yumna’s Carrot Banana Bread, and KAB’s carrot cake.
Recipe Ingredients
Bananas: Two medium sized overripe bananas, if you are weighing it’ll be about 200g total (without the peel). Use them when they are browned (but not black) all over.
Carrot: I shred my carrots using a cheese grater.
Spices: I use a mix of cinnamon (always in my banana bread anyway), clove and ginger. Leave one or both of the latter out if you like and increase any of the amounts to your taste.
Flour: All purpose flour, if you are using measuring cups be sure to sprinkle the flour into the cup then level it gently so you aren’t overpacking it. See below question about gluten-free.
Oil: Any flavorless oil like grapeseed, canola, vegetable or avocado oil. If you were desperate to use butter, melt it.
Greek Yogurt or Sour Cream: This adds to the softness of the bread.
How to make Carrot Banana Bread
First, prep the loaf pan (oil & flour) and preheat the oven.
Shred the carrots (I use a cheese grater) and mash the bananas with a fork.
Then, whisk the eggs with the sugar until light and fluffy, add the spices and salt while doing so
Add the shredded carrots and mashed banana and whisk it in. I like to leave it here for 10 minutes, so that the carrots soften.
While whisking, add the oil and whisk to combine.
Lastly, add the flour & baking soda: whisk to *just* combine (don’t overdo it or it will toughen and the bread won’t be soft).
Then pour into the pan and bake.
Can I make this carrot banana bread gluten-free?
Most people gluten-free my recipes by using a 1-to-1 flour swap like King Arthur or Bob’s, if you are doing that just use the same amount of flour I have listed.
But personally I love oat flour, so if you have it I’d swap oat flour for the all purpose, but add another 2 tablespoons of it (oat flour is lighter) and let the batter sit in the pan on the counter for about 20 minutes before you bake it.
Can I make it dairy free?
Yep. Use a dairy free plain or vanilla yogurt in place of the sour cream.
What should I top the bread with?
I’m a little bit of a banana bread purist so I like it best warm from the oven spread with salted butter.
But like, with this carrot twist I am loving the idea of topping it with a cream cheese buttercream. In fact if you bake it in a square pan instead, that would be a delicious way to serve it as a banana carrot ‘cake’ topped with cream cheese frosting.
Carrot Banana Bread Recipe
Carrot Banana Bread
Ingredients
- 200g or 2 medium sized ripe bananas
- 145g or 1 cup shredded carrot
- 200g or 1 cup brown sugar dark or light
- 2 large eggs
- 100g or ½ cup canola or flavorless oil
- 220g or 1 ¾ cups all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp each ground cloves and ground ginger
- ½ fine sea salt
- 60g or ¼ cup greek yogurt (plain) or sour cream
- 1 cup coarsely chopped pecans or walnuts optional
Method
- Grease & flour a standard size loaf pan. Lay and tuck a sheet of parchment paper into it to be a sling to help you take out the bread once it’s done baking.
- Grate the carrot & mash the banana with a fork.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs and sugar until light and fluffy.
- Add the mashed bananas and carrot and whisk to combine then add the oil and whisk.
- Add the flour, spices, salt, baking soda and whisk. Once it's about halfway combined, add the yogurt and whisk until well mixed. If using, fold the nuts into the batter.
- Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and set aside.
- Preheat the oven to 350 F. Once it’s ready, set the bread in the oven.
- Bake for about 50-70 minutes, if your loaf pan is on the large side it may bake quicker (check it at 45) if it’s small it might take the full hour. My 8.5x4.5 took 60 minutes total. When a cake tester comes out clean from the center it’s done.
- Let it cool in the pan for a few minutes then use the sling to take it out and cool on a cooling rack.
- This bread isn't a high riser but it will be moist! Banana breads get better with time so while absolutely delicious warm, it’ll also be soft and even more moist the next day.
Notes
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Delicious and so moist! Substituted mayo for the yogurt because of a dairy allergy without any issues. Will be making this again!
This came out great and my picky toddler housed 2 pieces this morning like he had never eaten before. I added some vanilla and subbed the spices for 2 tbsp of pumpkin pie spice (that’s what I had on hand) and it was perfect. Great toasted with cream cheese!
Stumbled upon this recipe while I was looking for a way to use up extra carrot and I am so impressed with the outcome that I think it might be my new go-to banana bread recipe. Whipping the eggs with the sugar seems especially genius. Usually recipes call to cream butter with sugar and I never like the texture of the final product. I used olive oil because I actually like the flavor of it added to baked goods, and subbed about 1/2 cup of the regular flour for almond flour for a little added moisture.
can I substitute the banana for apple sauce?
I’ve probably made this at least six times, and it’s perfect every single time. I’ve made it with gluten-free flour instead of regular, still great. I’ve subbed melted butter for oil, still great. It’s just perfect!
love this recipe! can we substitute sugar with honey for a toddler friendly version? and how much quantity?
Hi Constantina, honey is much sweeter and contains more liquid. Swapping it in would be a bit tricky and I can’t say exactly how to do it without trying it myself.
It was good! I will bake it again for xmas gifts.
I loved this combo with carrot + banana! I subbed vanilla kefir + cottage cheese in lieu of 1/4c greek yogurt! Warm and inviting! You will not be disappointed!
Easy recipe and not over complicated. Tasted delicious 🤤
Carrot and banana..? I was sceptical at first, but definitely do not regret making it! So easy to make and worth the wait of the oven time.
hehe, glad you took the chance and so happy you liked it!
I would rate the bread itself as 5, but took away a star because of the very very odd order that ingredients are listed. (Why are they not in order as used, so we don’t have to keep searching the entire list?)
I made two loaves for my mom, my son and I and they were finished within 3 days. It’s the best banana bread I have ever tasted. Quick, simple, moist and absolutely delicious. I’ll definitely be making this every week.
Never reviewed a recipe before but this one was so good I had to come back. Super moist and simple. Definitely the best banana bread I’ve ever had, and I’ve had a lot of banana breads.
I just got it out of the oven. 45 mins. 9×5 pan. It definitely is a high riser in my convection at 350. Not sure how to send a pic. Didn’t use parchment
This is by far the best Carrot/banana loaf I have ever made; having added pecan nuts and a handful of raisins it was just the right degree of sweetness, and the consistency was just right. I used a topping made from full cream cheese, plain yogurt to make it soft for spreading, two teaspoons of honey and a teaspoon of vanilla essence so avoiding the sweetness of icing sugar.
I just made this with butter instead of oil .. and bicarbonate of soda and omg it’s fantastic !!
This will be the only Carrot Banana Bread Recipe I will be making! It is rich, moist, and amazing flavors! I added 1/4 C chopped walnuts and 1/4 C chopped raisins and it was delightfully delicious!! Mahalo from Maui, Hawaii!!!
mahalo! Love the walnut and raisin additions!
Delicious! Texture and moisture level were great, mine baked for about an hour. I accidentally added a teaspoon of nutmeg in addition to the listed spices and it was yummy! I did 1/3 cup pecans, 1/3 cup walnuts, and 1/3 cup white chocolate chips because I had them on hand. We enjoy our slices with butter and honey drizzled on top.
What a lovely recipe! I had plenty of carrots and some over ripe bananas. I googled “banana and carrot cake” and yours looked good. I like the addition of spices and I appreciate how you carefully explained the steps. As someone who doesn’t like overly sweet foods, I thoroughly enjoyed this loaf and so did my teenage boys! They commented that it wasn’t oily like most banana bread. It was a delicious afternoon treat that didn’t make us feel guilty afterwards! It will definitely be going in our favourite recipe folder! Thanks for this great recipe!
I’m honored it got both your and the kids’ approval!
Such an awesome 👌 recipe, my favourite go to when bananas are super ripe …. delicious!
I spent some time making this. I used ingredients that for me, were not cheap. And as someone else has noted, unless you use self raising flour OR add baking powder (not just baking soda) then this cake turns out to be a stodgy, almost solid mass! Very disappointed in the result and will not make it again, obviously.
I’m really sorry it didn’t work out =( The thing is, baking soda has around 4x the power that baking powder does: 1/4 tsp baking soda is roughly equivalent to 1 teaspoon baking powder. So, we already have quite a bit of leavening in this recipe and adding more would ruin it (it can cause it to deflate or you’d have a metallic taste). Another note on leavening, I built this recipe (as I do most of my banana bread recipes) off of a very popular banana bread recipe by Flour Bakery, which also has 1 teaspoon baking soda and doesn’t have a high rise. This is the nature of the recipe itself, designed to be a dense, moist bread – definitely not a light or fluffy cake.
This is an amazing banana bread recipe. 10/10 and very healthy. My whole family enjoys this recipe.
Very moist and flavorful!
Because my pantry was running low, the “flour” was a mixture of white flour, almond flour and hemp seeds. Substituted my homemade Greek yogurt for the sour cream. Unlike some of the sweet breads I’ve baked, this one tasted fantastic without having to
first sit overnight.
Should be SR flour not Baker’s Flour. Mine came out heavy without baking powder.
Used 1/2 cup rye flour and 1 & 1/4 c flour. Added a tsp of cardamon. Delicious and very easy recipe!!
yummy!
Amazing recipe, took no time to prep and so good.
I made this with bananas and carrot pulp and also with 1/4 c buttermilk instead of sour cream. My husband prefers pecans. It’s a wonderful, tasty bread.
it’s a straightforward, not-too-sweet moist bit of deliciousness you would be proud to offer guests or devour at home!
I feel that it comes out even better with olive oil. Something about that slight bitterness adds a deeper note and compliments the sweetness. It’s not as intense as you might imagine, because cooking mellows the olive oil’s flavor
Made it as per the recipe and it was wonderful – moist and tasty. Then made it with wholemeal flour with a little oat flour to lighten; omitted the sugar altogether but added a small apple, grated and 1/2 teaspoon of mixed spice. Unbelievble – tasty and but still moist and light. Reason for my adjustment was my friend was recently diagnosed type 2 diabetic. She now makes her own knowing it’s a safe treat now and again. Thank you so much for this great recipe xx
Can you replace sour cream with buttermilk?
it has more liquid and less fat so it would alter the texture, if you happen to have yogurt I’d use that
Easy and wonderful test
Absolutely delicious!!! Best banana bread I’ve ever had – and I’ve had a lot lol! Comes together so easily and bakes nice and thoroughly – not too gooey or crispy anywhere. I added some cardamom and nutmeg because I’m a spice fiend lol and topped it with some cream cheese frosting as Sam suggested. But it’s also gorgeous on its own!