These carrot banana muffins are not only tasty but healthy too! They are made with carrot and banana, along with other yummy ingredients like vanilla and spices.
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Whether you are looking for new breakfast dessert ideas or something to pack in the kids’ lunch box, these are perfect. Served warm from the oven, they go great with your mid-morning coffee.
There isn’t much more to it than simply combining all the ingredients and baking them. This cinnamon roll coffee cake and these peach overnight oats are two other really easy recipes to enjoy at breakfast time.
Whether you are brand new to making homemade muffins, or you simply want to try a new flavor, these are amazing!
Main Ingredients
If you have some bananas to use up and want an alternative to banana bread, this is the perfect recipe to make with them. Homemade muffins are a true comfort food favorite! Let’s take a look at the key ingredients you’ll need:
- Cinnamon: For a warm spice flavor.
- Ground cloves: To complement the cinnamon.
- Nutmeg: To enhance the flavor of these muffins even more.
- Baking powder: For achieving the perfect texture.
- Vanilla: For a hint of aromatic flavor.
- Carrot: The natural sweetness of carrot makes it perfect for muffins.
- Banana: To add flavor as well as nutrients.
- Brown sugar: To round out the flavor and add sweetness.
Instructions Overview
Carrot banana muffins are a breeze to make. It doesn’t matter if you’ve never made muffins before because they’re easy-peasy! Once you have made them, you are sure to want to make them again. They’re so tasty they aren’t going to last long at all!
The first thing to do is of course gather all your ingredients and make sure you have everything to hand. Find a muffin tin with 10 cups and pop a paper liner in each one. Silicon liners would also work and they can be used over and over.
Sift the dry ingredients together, and then use a mixer to blend everything together perfectly. After that, it’s simply a matter of transferring the batter into the muffin cups and baking them! As you can already imagine, your kitchen is going to smell incredible while these are in the oven.
Common Questions
Use room temperature buttermilk and eggs for the best result. This creates a smooth batter that will trap air and expand during baking. If you rush and use chilled buttermilk and/or eggs, you won't get the air in the batter and these carrot banana muffins will come out dense.
Although I typically use all-purpose flour and get great muffins, some bakers prefer to use cake flour. Want to make your own cake flour? Remove 3 tablespoons of the all-purpose flour and add 3 tablespoons of cornstarch.
You can buy grated carrots or you can make your own. The last time I made these carrot banana muffins, I grated my own carrots. The best way is to put a box grater on a cutting board and scrape a peeled carrot's pointed end downwards against the larger holes until you only have an inch or so left. It goes without saying you should watch your fingers when doing this!
It takes about 2¾ medium carrots (between 5½ and 7¼ inches in length) to make a cup of grated carrots. It's easier to have a few to start with then peel them and then start grating, transferring the grated carrot into a 1-cup measure as you go. Press the grated carrot down lightly as you go. If your measurement is slightly off it really won't make any difference in these finished carrot banana muffins.
The key to making these last up to 4 days is to store them in a large Ziploc bag or covered container with a paper towel around them to absorb excess moisture.
You can freeze them, as long as you let them cool completely first. Freeze them in one layer on a baking sheet for half an hour. After that, you can transfer them into a freezer bag. Squeeze out the air to prevent freezer burn. They will keep for 2 or 3 months. Thaw them on the countertop when you’re ready.
Although these are perfectly delicious unfrosted, you can frost them if you want. The tangy flavor of a cream cheese frosting would pair well with the sweet flavors and warm spice accents in the muffins.
It’s always great to find a recipe that is good for you as well as sweet and satisfying! The main ingredients, carrots and bananas, offer various benefits. Bananas are a rich source of potassium, while carrots offer fiber and Vitamin K1. All that and they taste great too!
We use buttermilk or milk with vinegar as a substitute. For a dairy-free version, simply switch the buttermilk for half a cup of soy milk with half a tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar added.
That would be a big yes! Kids love sweet treats like cakes and muffins. They can even help mix the batter. Plus because these contain fruit and vegetables, they are a nice way to ensure the little ones get their 5-a-day.
Chopnotch Tips
- Don’t skip the sifting when preparing your dry ingredients. Sifting through a sieve gets rid of any lumps.
- Use a low speed when making the batter. It doesn’t take a lot of mixing and doesn’t need a high speed. Over-mixing can result in tough muffins, so as soon as the ingredients are combined, the batter is ready.
- Bake them until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. No toothpicks on hand? Then use a knife with a long thin blade instead.
You might want to make two batches of these since they freeze well and are sure to be in demand in your house!
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Recipe
How to Make
Carrot Banana Muffins
Ingredients
Dry ingredients
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
Wet ingredients
- 2 eggs
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- ½ cup buttermilk, or ½ cup milk with 1 tablespoon of vinegar
- 1 banana, medium-sized, mashed
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup carrot, grated
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F. After that, line muffin tin with 12 muffin liners.
- In a separate bowl, combine the all-purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and spices.
- Beat eggs with sugar, add vegetable oil, carrots, bananas, stir well.
- Now pour the wet mixture into the dry and beat everything well. Do not overmix.
- Put the dough into muffin liners. For fluffy muffin top, fill only ¾ and leave some space.
- Bake for 15 minutes and check the readiness with a toothpick.
- Serve and enjoy!
Notes
- Don’t skip the sifting when preparing your dry ingredients. Sifting through a sieve gets rid of any lumps.
- Use a low speed when making the batter. It doesn’t take a lot of mixing and doesn’t need a high speed. Over-mixing can result in tough muffins, so as soon as the ingredients are combined, the batter is ready.
- Cook them until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Not got a toothpick to hand? Then use a knife with a long thin blade instead.
