Vegan Carrot Cake Banana Muffins
These vegan carrot cake muffins are packed with wholesome ingredients like whole wheat flour, almond butter, carrots, and bananas.
Carrot cake meets banana bread in these vegan carrot cake banana muffins! I took my Best Healthy Banana Bread and gave it a carrot cake twist with shredded carrots, molasses, cinnamon, nutmeg, walnuts, and raisins. These are so good and packed with fiber, healthy fats, and plant-based protein, making them a nutritious addition to breakfast or snack time! You can also add a cream cheese filling to make them a little more indulgent. Either way they are delicious!
Vegan Carrot Cake Muffin FAQ
Can I make them gluten-free?
I haven’t tested a gluten-free version yet, but you can try replacing the whole wheat flour 1:1 with Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free 1-1 Baking Flour*. Or try the flour blend from my Best Healthy Gluten-Free Banana Bread (a mix of oat flour + light buckwheat flour). You can also try these Carrot Banana Oat Muffins.
What if I’m allergic to nuts?
You can replace the almond butter with a seed butter like sunflower seed butter or tahini. Note that sunflower seed butter is more neutral in flavor; tahini may impart a slight bitterness. If you want to use oil, I haven’t tested this but you can try replacing the nut butter with 1/4 cup of oil or melted vegan butter.
Tips for Success
Coarsely shred carrots ⟶ Shred carrots using the large holes of a grater. Don’t shred them finely or they will release extra moisture and your muffins may turn out dense and mushy.
Don’t over-mix ⟶ Fold the batter together just until there are no dry flour pockets left. Over-mixing will over-work the gluten in the flour (unless you’re using gluten-free flour) and make the muffins more dense and chewy as opposed to fluffy and tender.
Try These Other Healthy Muffins!
- Healthy Blueberry Muffins
- Whole Grain Pumpkin Muffins
- Oat Flour Sesame Banana Muffins
- Fluffy Chocolate Muffins
- Snickerdoodle Banana Muffins
- Chocolate Orange Muffins
If you try out these carrot cake banana muffins, don’t forget to leave a comment/rating down below and tag me in your photos on instagram @ellielikes.cooking. I love seeing all of your tasty recreations!
Vegan Carrot Cake Banana Muffins
Ingredients
- 300 grams bananas about 3
- 100 grams carrots
- 48 grams (¼ cup) granulated sugar
- ½ tbsp molasses
- 85 grams (⅓ cup) almond butter
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 3 tbsp soy milk
- 1 tbsp ground flax
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 190 grams whole wheat flour
- ¾ tsp cinnamon
- ¼ tsp nutmeg
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ¾ cup walnuts
- ¼ cup raisins
Cream Cheese Filling (Optional)
- 8 oz vegan cream cheese
- ½ cup powdered sugar
Instructions
Cream Cheese Filling
- Prepare the filling first if you are using it. With a hand mixer or stand mixer, beat vegan cream cheese and sugar in a bowl until fluffy and smooth. Place in the fridge while you prepare the muffins
Muffins
- Preheat oven to 375°F. Line a 12-cup muffin pan.
- Add bananas to a large mixing bowl and mash with a fork.
- Coarsely grate carrots on the large holes of a grater. Add to bananas.
- Add sugar, molasses, almond butter, vinegar, milk, ground flax, and vanilla extract. Mix until well combined.
- Add whole wheat flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Sift baking soda on top. Use a spatula to fold the batter together just until no dry flour pockets remain.
- Add walnuts and raisins and fold a couple times to distribute in the batter.
- Divide the batter among the muffin cups. If you want to add a cream cheese filling, fill the muffin cups up halfway, add a spoonful of cream cheese filling, and add the remaining batter on top.
- Bake 23-25 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean.
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I made a lot of modifications based on what I had but these still turned out great! I used 1/8 cup brown sugar instead of molasses, 1 tbsp whole chia seeds instead of ground flax, all purpose flour, 1/2 cup shredded coconut instead of raisins, almonds instead of walnuts, omitted cream cheese filling. They’re lightly sweetened, moist, and delicious. Quick and easy to prepare.