Carrot cake banana bread (aka anything you’ve got vegan quick bread)

I looove a good banana bread, that’s three o’s y’all. A moist, slightly sweet dessert I can appropriately eat first thing in the morning? Heck yes. Bring in one of my all time favorite flavors, carrot cake, you’ve got a match made in a plant-based pantry. Maia Welbel’s awesome vegan carrot cake banana bread is a wonderful experiment in using whatever ingredients you have on hand to curb that sweet tooth. This bread is the epitome of improvisational baking, making approximate substitutions when your pantry is running low or supplies are limited. A good recipe provides a template for you to plug + play and encourages you to build on your technical know how. If you’re new to this method of baking this plant-based quickbread is a perfect place to get started.

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carrot cake banana bread Hawnuh Lee Closed Loop Cooking
carrot cake banana bread Hawnuh Lee Closed Loop Cooking

Carrot cake banana bread can easily become parsnip sweet potato bread if that’s the produce you have available. You can substitute out ingredients with similar textures and experiment with flavor. We’ve created a full list of ingredient swaps you can make in case you get stuck. I encourage you to get wild, try something unexpected, and don’t take yourself too seriously. A little nut or seed butter and a natural sweetener can go a long way pal. So pull out that loaf pan, get your oven preheated because we’ve got some quarantine vegan baking to jump into.

Did you try out any swaps for this recipe?? Let us know! #closedloopcooking

Stay hungry.

Carrot cake banana bread (aka anything you’ve got vegan quick bread)   by

This bread is the epitome of improvisational baking, making approximate substitutions when your pantry is running low or supplies are limited.

makes: 10 servings approx | prep time: 10 min | cook time: 45 min | total time: 55 min

Closed Loop Cooking Icon
carrot cake banana bread Hawnuh Lee Closed Loop Cooking

Ingredients

  • 2 ripe bananas (subs: squash puree, sweet potato puree, approx 1 cup)
  • 1 cup approx, grated carrots (about 3 - 4) (subs: parsnips)
  • 1/2 cup cashew butter (subs: any nut or seed butter)
  • 1/4 cup melted coconut oil (subs: any neutral flavored oil)
  • 1/4 cup maple syrup (subs: date syrup, coconut sugar, cane sugar - add 2 tablespoons of water if using a non-liquid sweetener)
  • 2 tbsp brown sugar (subs: more maple syrup or any of the above sweeteners)
  • 1/2 tsp salt (we use kosher)
  • 1/2 tsp cinammon (can omit)
  • 1 tsp vanilla (can omit)
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp apple cider vinegar (subs: white vinegar, red or white wine vinegar, rice vinegar, lemon, lime)
  • 1/2 cup oat flour (subs: almond flour, quinoa flour, spelt flour, ap flour, gf ap flour blend)
  • 1 1/2 cup spelt flour (subs: ap flour, gf ap flour blend)

To-Do's

  1. Preheat oven to 350º and oil a standard loaf pan.
  2. Peel bananas, place them in a large bowl, and mash with a fork until smooth.
  3. Rinse and grate carrots. Add them to the bananas.
  4. Add nut butter, oil, sweetener, salt, cinnamon, and vanilla. Mix everything together until evenly incorporated.
  5. Add baking soda and vinegar. Mix well. 
  6. Add oat flour and mix until no dry bits remain.
  7. Gradually pour in spelt flour and fold the batter gently, being careful not to overmix. You can top loaf with optional nuts or seeds for flair.
  8. Pour batter into loaf pan and bake for 40-55 minutes, or until a fork inserted into the center comes out with dry crumbs (baking time will vary depending on what substitutions you made).

Notes

All substitutions will yield varied results and flavor. Leave us a comment if you find a favorite (or least favorite!)

Rated [awcr_rating type="averageRating"]/5 based on 2 reviews

Comments

2 thoughts on “Carrot cake banana bread (aka anything you’ve got vegan quick bread)”

  1. Hi, My caregiver and I just made this. Looks wonderful. Request that you give amount of carrot in cups. Our carrots are enormous. We enjoyed the prep but it was way more than 5 min. Waiting for the taste test. Yum

    Reply

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