Healthy Banana Carrot Muffins (Gluten Free, No Sugar)

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These healthy banana carrot muffins are moist and tender, but only sweetened with bananas and completely oil free. They're made with almond flour, loaded with freshly shredded carrots and flavored with warming spices like cinnamon and ginger. This banana carrot muffin recipe is gluten free, dairy free and paleo friendly.

With Easter coming up, I really wanted to create a healthy carrot muffin recipe, as carrots and Easter seem to go hand in hand. Thanks to a counter full of spotty bananas and fridge full of carrots, these banana carrot muffins came into existence.

I didn't think these muffins would be anything special, but the flavor and texture surprised me. These carrot muffins are moist and tender with a fluffy texture and delicious cinnamon banana flavor.

They store well in the fridge and can be enjoyed as a side to breakfast or a quick snack all week long. I'll definitely be making them for Easter brunch!

Why You'll Love these Banana Carrot Muffins

gluten free and grain free - made with almond flour
dairy free - no butter or milk is used in this recipe
amazing texture - think soft and fluffy but extremely moist and tender
nutritious - loaded with shredded carrots and only sweetened with bananas (no sugar added)
kid approved - the whole family gave these banana carrot muffins their approval

Banana carrot muffins on wire cooling rack.

Ingredients

Here's a list of what you'll need to make these banana and carrot muffins:

blanched almond flour - these carrot muffins are made with almond flour and I have not tested any other flours.
tapioca starch/flour - needed for texture purposes. The best substitutes would be arrowroot starch or potato starch.
baking powder
baking soda
salt
ground spices - cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg
ripe bananas - yellow with a few brown/black spots
eggs - I have not tested an egg substitute, but if you do let me know how the recipe turns out in the comment section below
shredded carrot - shredded with a cheese grater
vanilla extract

Ingredients in gluten free banana carrot muffins.

How to Make Muffins with Bananas and Carrots

For these muffins, you'll combine the dry ingredients, then the wet. Then mix the two together and pour the batter into a lined muffin tin. These muffins bake in under 30 minutes and store well in the fridge. Here are the step by step instructions:

First, preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Line a muffin tin with 12 silicone muffin liners.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. This includes the almond flour, tapioca starch, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients. This includes the mashed banana, eggs, grated carrot and vanilla.

Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture and stir with a spatula until combined.

Banana carrot muffin batter in mixing bowl.

Scoop the batter into your lined muffin tin, filling each slot nearly to the top. You should get 12 muffins.

Unbaked muffins in silicone lined muffin pan.

Place the muffins in your preheated oven and bake at 350 degrees F for 25-30 minutes. When done, the muffins with be fluffy with golden brown tops.

Take the muffins out of your oven and let them cool for 5 minutes in the pan, then transfer them to a wire cooling rack. Remove the silicone cups and cool to room temperature.

Storage

These gluten free carrot and banana muffins are best kept in an airtight container in the fridge and eaten within one week.

For longer storage, place them in bag in the freezer, up to one month. You can defrost them at room temperature for 30 minutes, or warm in the microwave or toaster oven.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you grate the carrots for these muffins?

The carrots were grated using a cheese grater.

Do I have to use tapioca starch?

Tapioca starch is needed for making fluffy, tender muffins. Without it, the texture will be off. You can swap the tapioca with arrowroot or potato starch if needed.

Can these muffins be made egg free?

I have not tested this recipe without eggs. If you do, then feel free to leave your results in the comment section below.

Holding a muffin with a bite out of it to show the moist and fluffy inside texture.

Tips and Tricks

Measure ingredients by weight: measuring the ingredients by weight (when given) will ensure the right ratio of ingredients and the perfect muffin texture.
Use ripe bananas: since this recipe is made without any added sugar, ripe bananas are best for flavor. I recommend bananas that are yellow with many brown/black spots.
Add mix-ins for more variation: you can make slight changes to these muffins by mixing in things like chopped nuts, shredded coconut, chocolate chips or dried fruit.
Use silicone muffin liners for baking the muffins: I recommend silicone muffin liners to make removal easy.

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