Carrot Cake Banana Bread
This gluten free carrot cake banana bread is moist, easy to make and bursting with delicious spices like cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger. It’s dairy free friendly and takes just 15 minutes to prep.
My gluten free banana bread and gluten free carrot cake are two of my favorite and most popular recipes, so I decided to combine the two with this gluten free carrot cake banana bread!
This recipe is moist, tender, so easy to make and perfect for a mid afternoon snack. I topped mine with a simple cream cheese frosting, but you can also leave it as is for a slightly healthier version or even try it with my gluten free caramel sauce.
It’s perfectly sweet, moist, fluffy from eggs and dairy free friendly. If you love this recipe, try my gluten free carrot cake muffins or gluten free scones next!
How to make carrot banana bread
Add the bananas to a blender and blend until smooth. You can mash them, but I prefer the texture with pureed banana. Measure out 1 1/2 cups worth.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together all wet ingredients until smooth. Whisk in the dry ingredients (aside from the carrot), making sure to spoon and level the flours, don’t scoop from the bag.
Fold in the carrot. Transfer to your prepared loaf pan and bake for 55-65 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool in the pan for about 20 minutes, then lift onto a wire rack to finish cooling.
Beat the room temperature cream cheese for about 30 seconds with an electric mixer. Beat in the sugar and then the vanilla until smooth. Add in a splash of milk as needed to thin.
Once the loaf has cooled completely, top with the frosting and some crushed walnuts. Slice and enjoy! Try my marbled banana bread or banana bread bars next.
Key ingredients
FLOUR. A mix of gluten free all purpose flour and oat flour will help create a really moist and tender texture that feels just like a classic loaf.
SUGAR. I like to use a mix of white and brown sugar to get the best flavor and texture. However, you are welcome to use all white, all brown or even coconut sugar for a refined sugar free option.
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EGGS. Two eggs will add a lot of moisture to the carrot banana bread as well as help it rise and provide structure. Super important with gluten free baking!
BUTTER. Butter will add a more rich flavor, but you can swap for oil if you prefer. If using oil, I suggest a plain/neutral flavored one like vegetable or refined avocado.
BANANA. About 3-4 large ripe bananas will add a rich banana flavor and provide natural sweetness to this laof.
CARROT. I like to freshly shred/grate the carrot because it has a better flavor, but store bought shredded carrot will work in a pinch! They just tend to be a bit drier in texture so keep that in mind.
SPICES. Cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cloves create that delicious carrot cake flavor. Same in my carrot cake cookies!
How to store and freeze
Once prepared, this gluten free carrot banana bread will keep for about 3-5 days on the counter. You can store it in the fridge for a bit longer (5-7 days) if you prefer.
I find that with any baked good that uses fruit, like bananas or apple sauce, it keeps better on the counter but not in an air tight container. I like to just leave it on a plate with a some foil on top, but leave a little air so it can breathe and doesn’t get mushy.
This loaf also freezes well! Let it cool completely, slice and place in a freezer safe ziplock bag and freeze for up to 2 months. Let thaw at room temp or reheat in the oven until warm through the center. Be sure to freeze without the frosting. Same goes for my gluten free carrot cake cupcakes!
Can I make it dairy free or vegan?
You can definitely make this recipe dairy free! Just swap the butter for a vegan butter or oil of choice and use a non-dairy milk such as almond or soy. For the frosting, I suggest Kite Hill plain cream cheese.
Unfortunately, I don’t recommend swapping out the eggs in this recipe because they’re so important in providing structure to the bread. You run the risk of having a really gummy loaf if you omit them.
More gluten free snack recipes you’ll love!
- Oat Flour Banana Bread
- Gluten Free Pumpkin Bread
- Almond Flour Blueberry Muffins
- Peanut Butter Banana Bread
- Gluten Free Zucchini Bread
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Gluten Free Carrot Cake Banana Bread
by: claire cary
Ingredients
Wet
- 1 ½ cups pureed banana about 3 large ripe bananas
- 2 eggs
- ¼ cup butter melted
- 2 tablespoons milk dairy or non-dairy
- ½ cup white sugar
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Dry
- 1 ½ cups gluten free all purpose baking flour
- ¾ cup oat flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ginger
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon cloves
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup freshly grated carrot
Frosting
- 4 ounces cream cheese room temperature
- 1 ½ cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Line a 9×5 loaf pan with parchment paper and set aside.
- Add the bananas to a blender and blend until smooth. You can mash them, but I prefer the texture with pureed banana. Measure out 1 1/2 cups worth.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together all wet ingredients until smooth.
- Whisk in the dry ingredients (aside from the carrot), making sure to spoon and level the flours, don’t scoop from the bag.
- Fold in the carrot.
- Transfer to your prepared loaf pan and bake for 55-65 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Let cool in the pan for about 20 minutes, then lift onto a wire rack to finish cooling.
- Beat the room temperature cream cheese for about 30 seconds with an electric mixer.
- Beat in the sugar and then the vanilla until smooth. Add in a splash of milk as needed to thin.
- Once the loaf has cooled completely, top with the frosting and some crushed walnuts.
- Slice and enjoy!
Notes
Comments
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If I’m making mini breads for my children’s teachers how long should I bake them for?? Thank you
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How big is the baking pan you’re using?
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Hi there Clarity,
Thanks for posting your recipes. Do you happen to have this recipe in grams please?
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There’s an option to switch to metric in the recipe card!
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This recipe looks really good. Question: can I use all gluten free flour, instead of part of it being oat flour? Thank you.
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That should be fine! Let us know how it turns out. Just swap the 3/4 cup oat flour for an additional 3/4 cup AP flour.
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Can regular flour be used and at the same amount as gluten free flour?
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Yes, regular all purpose flour should be fine!
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Hi! This looks so good! Could you make this with Einkorn flour instead of gluten-free flour?
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I don’t have any experience with einkorn flour as I am Celiac, but I believe it’s similar to all purpose flour so it should be fine. Let us know how it turns out!
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