one bowl carrot cake banana bread

This One Bowl Carrot Cake Banana Bread is made without butter or oil, but so tender and flavourful that you’d never be able to tell it’s healthy! Greek yogurt, bananas, and shredded carrots keep it moist, while a sweetened cream cheese frosting makes it feel extra decadent.

We’re doing some spring cleaning on the blog today! Or just cleaning since winter decided to make a second third appearance and dump a whole lot of snow on us. One day I’ll be able to go outside again. One day.

But not today! Today we’re hiding from the snow (read: self-isolating) and sprucing up old recipes… starting with this carrot cake banana bread from a couple of years ago. I figured it was a good recipe to bring back into the spotlight seeing as carrot-y things are perfect for spring and Easter is right around the corner. That and it’s just straight up delicious.

It’s funny because there was a time in my life where I wouldn’t even entertain the possibility of putting vegetables in my desserts. Carrot cake was a definite no-go. Chocolate zucchini anything was fine as long as you left out the zucchini part. And something like sweet potato brownies would have had me crying blasphemy until I got a real dessert.

But these days? I love a good carrot cake. And while I know today’s carrot cake banana bread isn’t exactly carrot cake, it’s got carrots and cream cheese frosting, so it’s sort of the same thing. I’d argue it’s even better because you get the best of both worlds – banana flavour, subtle spice, a suuuuuuuuuuuper tender crumb, and, of course, cream cheese frosting.

How To Make Carrot Cake Banana Bread

It’s super easy! All you need is one bowl and four basic steps:

• Mix the wet ingredients
• Slowly add in the dry ingredients (and carrots)
• Bake
• Frost

Not much more to it than that! But here are some tips to help you get the best carrot cake banana bread:

• Mix your wet ingredients well and make sure the oats, carrots, and spices are fully incorporated into the wet ingredients before you add the flour.
• Add the flour by spoonfuls and gently mix it into the batter. You want to avoid overmixing otherwise you’ll get a tougher loaf.
• I like to use bananas that are spotty but not completely black. Bananas that are too ripe can cause this loaf to be a little gummier.
• The recipe calls for maple syrup, but you can definitely use honey if that’s what you have on hand.
• The same thing goes for the quick oats – use regular oats if that’s what you have.
• I like to use Greek yogurt since it’s less liquid-y, but regular yogurt works as well. You can also use a vanilla flavoured one if you want more sweetness.
• All-purpose flour will work if you don’t have whole wheat pastry. You can also use a mix of 3/4 cup (90 g) all-purpose and 1/2 cup (60 g) of whole wheat.
• Wait until the loaf is completely cool before you frost it. If it’s still warm, the frosting will just melt right off it.
• Feel free to add raisins or nuts to the loaf, or sprinkle some chopped walnuts over the top!

Okay, But What’s It Like?

Tender, moist, and packed with flavour. The banana is definitely what shines through the most, but it’s complimented really nicely by the subtle spice that you find in carrot cake.

The bread itself is on the lighter side, as it’s naturally sweetened and made without any oil, but the addition of cream cheese frosting makes it feel extra decadent. The texture is going to be a little different than a quick bread made with oil, but it’s still nice and moist. Basically, it’s a really nice hybrid between banana bread and carrot cake.

Happy eating!

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Post originally published in March 2018. Text was updated but recipe remained unchanged.

Looking for more healthy banana bread recipes? Try one of these!

Greek Yogurt Banana Oat Bread
Healthy Banana Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
Flourless Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
Flourless Chocolate Banana Bread
Double Chocolate Greek Yogurt Banana Bread

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