This moist and delicious grain-free almond flour Carrot Cake Banana Bread is sweetened almost entirely with bananas and is packed with carrot cake goodies like shredded coconut, nuts, and shredded carrots!
If you’re a banana bread lover and a carrot cake lover, you’re going to go bonkers over this hybrid!
You can look at this simple almond flour carrot cake banana bread recipe in one of two ways. A banana bread enhanced with carrot cake ingredients, or a healthier version of carrot cake that has been sweetened with banana.
Both are valid and true!
Made with wholesome ingredients like almond flour, eggs, ripe bananas, grated carrots, nuts, and more. This healthy banana carrot loaf is full of natural sweetness and is secretly good for you too!
Each slice contains a nice dose of proteins, healthy fats, and fiber with better for you ingredients.
Enjoy it on a daily basis for a healthy treat or save it for a special occasion! If you prefer baking with oats or oat flour instead of almond flour, make my Healthy Carrot Cake Bread recipe, which calls for oats instead of flour.
Ingredients for Carrot Cake Banana Bread:
Almond Flour: Taking the place of all purpose flour or whole wheat flour, we use almond flour as the base of this banana carrot bread.
Almond flour produces a light and fluffy texture and a moist crumb.
It adds protein, fiber, and healthy fats to this delicious recipe for a perfect breakfast!
Ripe Bananas: The majority of the sweetness in this banana bread carrot cake comes from ripe bananas. Be sure to choose bananas with plenty of brown spots for the best results.
Eggs: A couple of large eggs helps the batter rise into a lovely fluffy texture. I don’t recommend replacing the eggs with an egg replacer like flax egg, as almond flour recipes need the eggs because they don’t contain starch.
Pure Maple Syrup: To boost the sweetness a touch, we need a little pure maple syrup. You can also use coconut sugar or brown sugar if you’d prefer.
Pure Vanilla Extract: Here to add warm flavor to this homemade banana bread, we need a splash of vanilla extract.
Unsweetened Shredded Coconut, Carrots, Raisins and Walnuts or Pecans: These are the carrot cake goodies that add classic carrot cake flavor to our banana bread!
Baking Powder: The leavening agent here. Baking powder allows the batter to rise into the moist crumb texture.
Ground Cinnamon: Warm spices like ground cinnamon, nutmeg, and ground ginger bring warm flavors that spice up this moist carrot cake.
How to Make Carrot Cake Banana Bread:
This grain-free, refined sugar-free, dairy-free carrot cake banana bread recipe is a cinch to make, and we have two options for preparation.
First, preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, and line a 9″ x 5″ loaf pan with parchment paper.
Option 1: Simply blend the banana bread base in a blender then stir in the carrot cake elements (carrots, raisins, shredded coconut). Send it off into the ol’ oven for some baking.
Option 2: Prepare the quick bread batter in a mixing bowl.
To do so, mash the overripe bananas in a large mixing bowl, then mix the remaining wet ingredients with the mashed bananas. Do this by hand or with an electric mixer.
In a separate bowl, combine the almond flour, cinnamon, baking powder, and sea salt. Stir the dry ingredients into the large bowl with the wet ingredients until everything is well combined.
Then, stir in the grated carrots, shredded coconut, chopped nuts, and raisins.
Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and sprinkle the top of the bread with more chopped walnuts or pecans if you’d like. Bake for 55 to 60 minutes, or until the loaf is golden brown on top and fully baked.
A great way of testing whether or not a quick bred recipe is fully cooked is to insert a digital thermometer into the center of the bread. If it is 190 degrees Fahrenheit or higher, it is ready!
Allow the bread to cool to room temperature before slicing and serving. If you slice the bread while it is sill warm, the slices don’t come out as clean.
I recommend enjoying a thick slice with some butter on top alongside a mug of coffee or tea!
Much like regular banana bread, this carrot banana bread recipe tastes even better after it has had a chance to sit. For this reason, don’t feel shy about baking it up ahead of time, because it tastes amazing the next day!
Storage Tips:
1. Room Temperature: Wrap the bread pan with plastic wrap and store on the counter for up to 3 days.
2. Refrigerator: Transfer the remaining bread to a large zip lock bag or an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 1 week.
3. Freezer: Store leftovers in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe:
The texture of this bread is otherworldly! Soft, light, and airy, with bits of crunch running throughout, this carrot banana bread is loaded with all of my favorite things.
A riff off my classic Paleo Banana Bread recipe, this loaf combines the comforting element of your much-coveted banana bread with the tasty features of carrot cake.
The banana bread is sweetened mostly with bananas, yielding a lower-carb naturally sweet treat perfect for breakfast, snack or dessert.
Because this carrot loaf is made with wholesome ingredients and not much added sugar, it comes with health benefits like protein, healthy fats, and fiber.
A great choice to honor your sweet tooth using better for you ingredients!
If you’re anything like me, you’ll love warming up a thick slice of this bread with some melted butter and a drizzle of almond butter and/or pure maple syrup.
Each bite is super comforting, and the bread itself is very filling, making it ideal for tiding you over between meals.
The way I see it, is this carrot cake approach to banana bread can be your new overall approach to banana bread if you are so inclined. It’s a beautiful change-up from the ush and is an absolute crowd pleaser.
In addition, if you’re super into quickbread recipes, check out these reader favorites!
More Healthy Quick Bread Recipes:
- Paleo Cranberry Orange Banana Bread
- Paleo Maple Walnut Bread
- Gluten-Free Pumpkin Bread with Chai Glaze
- Paleo Almond Fig Bread
- Grain-Free Almond Butter Banana Bread
- Paleo Morning Glory Quick Bread
Get your loaf on!
Paleo Carrot Cake Banana Bread Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 large ripe bananas about 1.5 cups when mashed
- 2 large eggs
- 3 Tbsp (45ml) pure maple syrup
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups (8 oz) finely ground almond flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1 cup (5.6 oz) unsweetened shredded coconut plus more for sprinkling
- 1 large carrot grated (about 1 cup)
- 1/2 cup raisins
- 1/2 cup raw walnuts plus more for sprinkling on top
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line a 9″ x 5″ loaf pan with parchment paper.
- Add the first 8 ingredients (bananas through sea salt) to a blender and blend until completely smooth. Note: If you don't have a powerful blender, simply mash the bananas in a mixing bowl first, then mix all of the ingredients in the mixing bowl.
- Use a rubber spatula to fold the remaining four ingredients into the batter (shredded coconut through walnuts) until well-combined.
- Transfer the batter to the prepared loaf pan and smooth into an even layer. Sprinkle with additional shredded coconut and walnuts if desired. Cover the loaf pan with aluminum foil and bake on the center rack of the preheated oven for 45 minutes. Remove the foil from the loaf pan and bake for another 10 to 20 minutes, or until the bread tests clean. A great way of testing whether or not quick bread is fully cooked is by inserting a digital thermometer in the center of the bread. If the thermometer reads 190 degrees Fahrenheit or higher, the bread is cooked through.
- Allow bread to cool at least 1 hour before slicing and serving.
Nutrition
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Has anyone tried adding protein powder? I have plain, unsweetened, and I was thinking of substituting some almond flour to add in some protein.
Hi Mary Beth! I haven’t tried using protein powder to replace some of the almond flour yet, but I’m betting it can be done! The one thing to be aware of is varying brands of protein powder can be lightly more absorbant than almond flour, so you may need to add some liquid depending on how much you replace 🙂 Let us know how it turns out!!
Love this bread, thank you!!! First time I made it I had everything and it was perfect. Second time I made it I only had one cup of almond flour. Before looking up conversion, I added one full cup of coconut flour. Realized it was way too dry. Looked up the conversion, and realized I should have only added 1/4 cup coconut flour to replace 1 cup almond flour. I added 3 extra eggs and it turned out okay (it could have used 1 more egg or even better, one more banana). The flavor wasn’t as strong as the first perfect loaf. My recommendation is follow the recipe, and if you can’t, only sub 1/4 coconut flour for 1 cup almond flour! I’ll be making this again with all the right ingredients!!! Thank you! 🙂
Thanks so much for sharing your experience, Brooke! This is super helpful to others who want to try a coconut flour version 🙂 I haven’t tested the recipe using coconut flour but I imagine using 1/4 cup would turn out fantastic xo
I live at 7,000 feet elevation, would you recommend altitude adjustments?
Hi Mandy! You may need to bake the bread longer, so I would cover the loaf pan in foil and bake the first 40 minutes with it covered. After the first 40 minutes you can remove the foil if you’d like and continue baking. This will just prevent the top of the bread from becoming too dark. Baked goods are fully cooked once they reach an internal temperature of 190 degrees F – use a meat thermometer to test the temperature of the center of the bread. Keep it baking until you get that result.
I just baked this bread, and sadly it also didn’t bake through for me either. It’s dense and uncooked looking in the middle. I’ve put it back in the oven but it still doesn’t seem to cook in the centre and now I fear that it will loose it’s moisture. I used finely ground almond flour and followed the recipe. I think this is always going to be an issue/risk when using ‘cups’ instead of exact measurements when baking. Would it be possible to convert the measurements to metric (for us Europeans) or even imperial measurements instead of cups?
Hi Kim! I updated the recipe to hopefully help with the issue. It sounds to me like the bread didn’t bake long enough. Bake times can vary greatly depending on the oven so the best way of troubleshooting the exact bake time is to check the internal temperature of the bread using a thermometer. Nevertheless, I added the flour weight to the recipe and hopefully that will help as well 🙂 Let me know if you have any other questions!
Absolutely delicious just started gluten free, dairy free and first time baking this, it was a winner!
I didn’t have just almond flour just had to use a sub of almond/coconut flour blend and it turned out perfect. I used the same qty as the recipe.
Perfect with a cup of tea.
This is so helpful, thanks for sharing your substitution! I’m asked frequently about coconut flour substitutes so it’s good to know a blend works well 🙂 Glad you enjoy the bread! xo
This is by far the best banana bread ever! I have made it at least 20 times and everybody who eats wants to finish the whole loaf. Well done and thank you for sharing xx
WAHOO! I LOVE hearing that! So happy you enjoy it, and thanks so much for the sweet words! xoxox 😀
I usually make your paleo banana bread which is also delicious but today I made this using flax egg (egg sensitivity). It taste like dessert and it’s quick and easy to make with ingredients I seem to always have on hand. I freeze brown bananas by taking the peel off and cutting in chunks and putting in ice cube trays. When they are frozen I remove and put in freezer safe bags. The flax eggs didn’t create any weird texture and the bread isn’t too dense. Thank you for the inspiration.
This bread is AH-MAZING! And I can’t get over how healthy it is too! Thank you for this recipe!!
Wahoo! It’s one of my favorites too 🙂 I’m so thrilled you like it, Lindsay! xoxo