Once again, I was looking at a bunch of spotty bananas in my house. I knew I wanted to make banana bread (because we all love it!), but I wanted to give it a spring twist. When I think of spring desserts, I immediately think of carrot cake. So I decided to combine those flavors to create these carrot and banana muffins. You’ll love them because they are flavorful, easy to prepare, and have WAY less fat than traditional muffins.
The Main Ingredients
One of the best parts about this recipe is its simple, no fuss ingredients. I’m willing to bet you have most, if not all, of them on hand to make these muffins.
Bananas
You’ll need 3 spotty bananas to enjoy this recipe. Bananas give moisture and oh so much flavor to the batter.
Carrots
You’ll need 85 grams of carrots for this recipe. Before they can be added to the batter, though, they’ll need to be grated. I began doing that, and then I remembered that I could just use my food processor. That was much faster, so I recommend that. Just pulse the carrots until they are very finely diced.
Greek Yogurt
There are a ton of banana and carrot bread recipes out there, but this one stood out of me. In it, it calls for a cup of mayo to help add moisture to the batter. I knew that the perfect macro-friendly swap for this would be Greek yogurt! It’s still creamy, but with no additional fat.
Other Ingredients
This recipe also calls for some other basic ingredients. For wet ingredients, you’ll need an egg (see the “make it egg-free” section for a substitute) and vanilla. The dry ingredients you’ll need to grab from your pantry include flour, granulated sugar, baking soda, and salt. To add some depth of flavor to these muffins, you’ll also need some cinnamon and nutmeg from your spice cabinet.
Make it Egg Free
This recipe calls for an egg, but if you are egg-free like I am, I’d recommend substituting it with a chia egg. To prepare one, simply add a tablespoon (~10 g) of chia seeds into a small dish. Add 3 tablespoons of water and give it a good stir. Allow to sit for five minutes, stir again, and then add it to the batter instead of an egg.
The Macros
The macros for one muffin (12 in each recipe) are rounded to 1F/30C/4P and 140 calories. To make this a more well-rounded meal, add some additional protein. Some suggestions are scrambled eggs or egg whites, Canadian bacon, turkey bacon, or even some greek yogurt and fruit. These make a perfect addition to your spring breakfasts and brunches!
More Banana Recipes On the Blog
Looking for more banana ideas? Check out these other recipes on the blog!
- Double Chocolate Banana Muffins
- Banana and Gingerbread Loaf
- Soft Baked Banana and Chocolate Protein Bars
Lighter Carrot and Banana Muffins
Ingredients
- 3 ripe bananas, mashed (mine were 264 grams)
- 85 g carrots, grated or finely shredded in the food processor (1/2 cup)
- 127 g non-fat Greek Yogurt (1/2 cup)
- 1 egg ( or, for egg free, add 1 tablespoons of chia seeds and 3 tablespoons of water. Stir and allow to sit for 5 minutes)
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 180 g all purpose flour ( 1 and 1/2 cups)
- 150 g granulated sugar (3/4 cup)
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Spray a muffin pan with cooking spray, or use muffin liners.
- In a medium bowl, combine mashed bananas, carrots, yogurt, egg (or chia egg), and vanilla until evenly combined.
- In a medium bowl, combine dry ingredients until completely combined.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until just combined.
- Divide evenly among 12 prepared muffin tins. Bake at 425 degrees for 5 minutes. Then, without taking the muffins out, turn down the heat to 350 degrees. Bake for an additional 15 or so minutes. The muffins should be golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center should come out mostly clean with a few moist crumbs. Remember, oven times may vary, so I recommend checking on them early!
- Allow to cool and enjoy!
