Carrot Banana Oat Muffins (Vegan, Gluten-Free)
These carrot banana muffins are a delicious way to sneak in some veggies and extra nutrients for breakfast. They’re hearty, moist, and 100% plant-based!
Who else loves including some veggies in their breakfast? I usually do this in savory style, whether it be a salad, miso soup, or a tofu/black bean & veggie scramble. But when I’m craving something sweet, I love sneaking veggies into my oatmeal and muffins. And as long as you don’t overdo it, you can’t even taste them! Carrots work especially well in these muffins since they don’t add much extra moisture (as zucchini would), and they’re a great long-lasting vegetable to keep in your fridge. I buy 5 pound bags and they last me a couple weeks 🙂 In fact, all these ingredients are pantry-friendly or long-lasting in the fridge!
INGREDIENTS
Don’t be intimidated by the amount of ingredients! You can easily swap out or omit the add-ins depending on what you have, and many of these ingredients are probably in your pantry (or fridge) already!
- Oat Flour ⟶ makes the muffins hearty and filling
- Almond Flour ⟶ makes the muffins moist and soft
- Tapioca Starch/Flour ⟶ makes the muffins tender so they don’t become gummy from the oat flour
- Bananas
- Maple Syrup
- Soy Milk
- SUB: another creamy non-dairy milk such as coconut milk or cashew milk
- Apple Cider Vinegar ⟶ reacts with the baking soda to make fluffy muffins
- SUB: white vinegar or lemon juice
- Cinnamon & Nutmeg ⟶ Feel free to omit one or the other depending on what you have. They are not essential but complement the flavors well.
- Vanilla Extract & Baking Powder ⟶ pantry baking staples!
- Carrots, Walnuts, & Raisins ⟶I love this combo but feel free to swap/add in other nuts, seeds, or dried fruit.
HOW TO STORE
Short Term Storage (2-4 days)
Muffins tend to become soggy over time, as their moisture migrates to the surface and evaporates, only to be trapped by the container and fall right back on the muffins. To prevent this from happening, line the bottom of your container or ziplock bag with a paper towel. Arrange the muffins on top but do not stack them. (You may need to use multiple containers.) Place another paper towel on top of the muffins, then cover the container. Store them at room temperature.
Long Term Storage (up to 3 months)
To store muffins longer than four days, place them in a freezer bag or wrap tightly in foil and store in the freezer up to 3 months. To reheat them, place a slightly damp paper towel on top and microwave for 30-45 seconds. Or, let them thaw at room temperature the day/night before eating.
Whichever storage method you use, make sure the muffins are completely cooled first.
CARROT BANANA MUFFIN BAKING TIPS & FAQ’S
Use a kitchen scale ⟶ This is the most accurate way to measure your ingredients and is how I measure all dry ingredients.
Using silicone baking cups? ⟶ You may have to adjust baking time and/or the number of muffins made. For the photos I just greased a muffin pan, but I do love baking with my silicone baking cups since it’s easy to remove the muffins after baking. However, they can vary in size and I’ve found mine to be smaller than my muffin pan, yet they require a few extra minutes to bake.
How do you know if your muffins are done? ⟶ The toothpick test! Insert a toothpick in the center of a muffin, making sure you poke all the way through. If the toothpick comes back out clean then your muffins are done. Otherwise, place them back in the oven for another 2 minutes and check again. Make sure to test a few different muffins.
How ripe should your bananas be? ⟶ Typically, banana bread recipes call for overripe, brown bananas as these are the sweetest and softest. However, I often use spotty, but not completely brown, bananas. Just make sure they’re soft and easy to mash.
How to quickly ripen bananas ⟶ If you want to make banana bread in a day or two but your bananas don’t look like they’ll be ready in time, place them in a closed paper bag. This will trap the ethylene gas that allows bananas to ripen. If you need your bananas ready that day, place them in an oven preheated to 300°F for 15-20 minutes, until the skins turn completely black (don’t worry, the inside won’t be black).
**Please note, these muffins are on the denser side as they are made primarily with oats. However, thanks to the addition of tapioca flour and almond flour, they’re not “gummy” like many oat-based muffins/breads can be. They’re a delicious hearty & filling muffin — perfect to start the day!
HELPFUL BAKING TOOLS
- Muffin Pan
- Cooling Rack
- Kitchen Scale ⟶ for accurate results, weigh the ingredients!
- NutriBullet ⟶ use the milling blade to make your own oat flour and ground chia seeds!
STILL HUNGRY?
Check out these other healthy plant-based muffins!
- Sesame Banana Oat Muffins (GF)
- Blueberry Orange Oat Muffins (GF)
- Fluffy Chocolate Muffins (Whole Grain)
- Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins (Whole Grain)
- Blueberry Muffins (Whole Grain)
- Chocolate Orange Muffins (Whole Grain)
I hope I’ve inspired you to bake these healthy carrot banana muffins! If you do try them out, don’t forget to tag me in your photos on instagram @ellielikes.cooking, leave a comment/rating down below, and let me know how you liked them! I love seeing all of your tasty recreations 🙂 Happy baking! ♡
*This recipe was updated 12/28/2020.
Carrot Banana Oat Muffins (Vegan, Gluten-Free)
Ingredients
- 1 cup (120g)
oat flour * - ¼ cup (30g)
tapioca starch/flour * - ½ cup (56g)
almond flour * - ¼ cup (20g) rolled oats
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ¾ tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
- 2 ripe bananas mashed (200g)
- 1 cup grated carrots
- 2 tbsp
maple syrup* - 6 tbsp soy milk
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ cup raisins
- ¼ cup chopped
walnuts*
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Set aside a lined or greased muffin tray.
- Whisk together oat flour, tapioca flour, almond flour, oats, baking powder, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
- In a separate bowl, mix together mashed bananas, grated carrots, maple syrup, soy milk, vinegar, and vanilla extract.
- Add flour mixture into wet ingredients and mix until combined. Fold in walnuts and raisins. Let the batter rest for 10-15 minutes.
- Scoop batter into muffin cups, filling all the way. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean.
- Cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer muffins to a cooling rack to cool completely.
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It is a great pleasure to read your posts and all the tips you include. In my opinion they are pretty important because gluten free baking should be taken seriously and every detail is important 🙂 Especially the storage! Because my cakes/cookies turn out soft the next day 🙂 So thanks for not leaving those out and explaining in detail. Just one question: why do we let the batter sit for 10-15 mins? For the oats to soak up some moisture? Just wondering because 1) I like the science/technical part of recipes and 2) Doesn’t it affect the rise of the muffins or the effect of the leavening agents? Thanks in advance!
So glad you like the tips! Baking in general can be finicky so I try to provide tips I pick up during recipe testing and research. I’m also a bit of a food science nerd haha. In regards to letting the batter sit, yes it allows the oats to soak up some moisture and soften, so the muffins aren’t so dense and they rise a bit better when the oats are softer. I guess I should specify double acting baking powder, though I think most are double acting by default these days. So the baking powder will react to the heat when you place them in the oven.
Me too! I knew you were a fellow food science nerd 🙂 And thanks for the explanation, I understand now. Yes I think most baking powders are double acting. I’ll let you know of the result when I bake it.