Paleo Carrot Bread (Gluten Free, Nut Free)

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This paleo carrot bread is moist and tender with a sweet carrot flavor. It's made with cassava flour, fresh carrots, ripe bananas and sweetened with honey. This healthy carrot bread recipe is not only paleo, but gluten free, nut free and dairy free as well!

Healthy paleo carrot bread on wire cooling rack.

I love baking bread on the weekend to enjoy throughout the week. A slice of protein banana bread, tigernut flour bread or chocolate beet bread go well with eggs and bacon or sausage and fruit - meals my kids often get during the week.

This paleo carrot bread has been on rotation the last few months, as we've had a surplus of carrots. My kids enjoy a slice topped with almond butter or cream cheese. And I just love that it's made in a food processor (or blender) - so easy!

This carrot banana bread is moist and tender, but doesn't contain any oil. The ripe bananas give it a soft texture, add to the sweet flavor and keep the calories in check. In addition, this carrot loaf is made with a combination of cassava flour and tapioca starch; therefore gluten free, grain free and nut free!

Why You'll Love this Paleo Carrot Bread

paleo friendly - made with simple, wholesome ingredients
gluten free and grain free - made with a combination of cassava flour and tapioca starch
nut free - perfect for school lunches or anyone with nut allergies
healthy - made with raw carrots and low inflammatory ingredients like cassava flour, honey and ground spices
easy to make - blend ingredients in a food processor (or blender), pour into a loaf pan and bake!

Ingredients

The full recipe for this paleo carrot bread can be found in the recipe card below, but here's an overview of what you need:

raw carrots - fresh, raw carrots are used in this paleo carrot bread.
ripe bananas - I recommend yellow bananas with many brown speckles. You can either mash the bananas and measure them by volume, or weight them using a food scale.
eggs - you'll need 3 large eggs. I have not tested this recipe with an egg replacement, however egg replacements don't usually work well with cassava flour recipes. They tend to produce a gummy texture.
honey - to sweeten the loaf. You may swap the honey for maple syrup or simply omit the sweetener all together. I added the honey for flavor, as I felt the loaf was lacking without it.
vanilla extract - added for flavor.
cassava flour - this carrot loaf was formulated with cassava flour, which is a gluten free and grain free paleo baking flour. I have a ton of cassava flour recipes on my site. You can learn more about cassava flour in my cassava guide.
tapioca starch - this is added for texture purposes and I use it all the time in my grain free baking. Tapioca starch is not the same thing as cassava flour and the only substitute is arrowroot starch/flour.
baking powder - I like to make my own paleo baking powder, but any type will do.
baking soda - for the rise
salt - enhances the flavors
ground spices - I used cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg. Feel free to leave out the ginger or add in other spices like ground cloves or allspice.

Ingredients needed to make paleo carrot banana bread.

How to Make Carrot Bread

This carrot banana bread is made in a food processor or high powered blender. Here are the step by step instructions:

First, preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Line an 8" x 4" loaf pan with parchment paper and set aside.
In your food processor (or blender), pulverize the carrots so that they are in small bits.
Add in the wet ingredients and blend.
Add in the dry ingredients and blend until you get a smooth, consistent batter. You will need to stop a couple times to scrape down the sides.
Pour the batter into your lined loaf pan.

How to make carrot bread in a food processor.

Place the loaf in your preheated oven and bake at 350 degrees for 45-50 minutes.
After baking, cool the loaf in the pan for 10 minutes, then transfer it to a wire cooling rack.
Cool to room temperature before cutting.

Tips and Tricks

Measure Ingredients by Weight: for best results, I recommend measuring all bread ingredients by weight (when given) instead of volume. This will result in the most accurate measurements, ensuring success. I like to use a small kitchen scale for all of my baking.
Use ripe bananas: use bananas that are yellow with many brown speckles for best results and flavor.
Don't Skip the Tapioca Starch: tapioca starch is not the same thing as cassava flour. They have very different textures and baking properties. For best results, use tapioca starch (as stated in the recipe) or swap it with arrowroot starch.

Storage

Let the loaf cool completely, then slice it and store in an airtight container. It will last well in the fridge up to two weeks. For longer storage, slice the bread, wrap it in parchment and place it in a ziplock baggie. Keep in the freezer for up to one month.

FAQ

Is there a swap for banana?

I have not tested anything in place of the mashed banana, so cannot guarantee results with any other ingredient. However, applesauce or pumpkin puree are usually acceptable as a 1:1 swap for mashed banana. You can give either of those a try and report back in the comments.

What is cassava flour?

Cassava flour comes from from the cassava (or yuca) root. The cassava root is peeled, dried and ground to make cassava flour. If you want to learn more, check out my cassava flour guide.

Do I have to use cassava flour?

This recipe was formulated with cassava flour and I have not tested any other baking flours. That being said, a gluten free flour blend or all purpose flour should work as a 1:1 replacement (measured by weight).

Looking for more paleo baked goods using carrots? Check these out: