Healthy, grain-free, and dairy-free Banana Carrot Muffins are made with wholesome ingredients like almond flour, honey, bananas, carrots, dates, and nuts. This muffin recipe freezes beautifully and makes a perfect on-the-go breakfast or midday snack.  

What Makes This Recipe Great

A few years ago I posted a recipe for some delicious almond flour muffins with banana, chocolate, and chia seeds. I will for sure make a batch or two of those next week, but I will also be making these amazing banana-carrot-coconut muffins. I found these Carrot Banana Muffins in Andrew Weil’s True Food cookbook and made a few adjustments to make them even more healthful.  

These healthy muffins are a great cross between carrot cake and banana bread and have a subtle, natural sweetness and a delicious banana flavor. I actually make one batch as a 2-layer cake for my Passover seders and spread my vegan frosting in between. I’ll make another batch and freeze them for breakfasts and school lunches since I think these are the perfect size and can serve as a meal-in-a-muffin.

Ingredient Notes

• blanched almond flour: (not almond meal) I use Honeyville. This is our grain-free and gluten-free flour substitute. See notes below for tips. 

• baking soda

• sea salt

• ground cinnamon

• unsweetened shredded coconut

• large eggs: At room temperature.

• very ripe bananas

• raw honey or pure maple syrup

• unrefined coconut oil or unsalted butter

• pure vanilla extract

• apple cider vinegar or white vinegar

• dates: Pitted and chopped (or raisins or dried cherries).

• fresh carrots: I prefer using a box grater to make my grated carrots, but you can use pre-shredded carrots if preferred.  

• chopped walnuts or pecans

Step-by-Step Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners or silicone muffin liners.

In a large mixing bowl, mix together the dry ingredients: almond flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and coconut. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs, mashed banana, melted coconut oil, honey, vanilla, and vinegar together, making sure that the oil is well incorporated into the other ingredients.

Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ones. Fold in the dates, carrots, and walnuts. Divide the muffin batter among the muffin cups. You will fill the cups to the top since these muffins don’t rise very much.

Bake for 40 minutes, until golden brown or a toothpick/skewer inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. (Since there is no actual flour, the muffins will not rise significantly.) 

Cool in the pan or on a wire rack for 5 minutes, then turn out the muffins onto the rack and let cool to warm or room temperature.

Expert Tips

• If you don’t have overripe bananas, substitute ¾ cup unsweetened applesauce + an extra 2 Tablespoons raw honey
• This recipe calls for blanched almond flour, which is much finer and lighter than almond meal. Bob’s Red Mill “almond flour/meal” is not fine enough. You can use almond meal in this recipe, but the results will be heavier and coarser.

Storage Tips

To store muffins, let them cool completely after baking. Place them in an airtight container with a paper towel on the bottom and top to absorb moisture, and keep them at room temperature for up to 2 days. 

For longer storage, refrigerate the leftover muffins in an airtight container for up to 5 days. To freeze them, wrap each muffin in plastic wrap or aluminum foil, place them in a resealable freezer bag or airtight container, and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw frozen muffins in the refrigerator overnight or at room temperature for a few hours.

More Easy Muffin Recipes

Grain Free Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

Strawberry Jam Flaxseed Muffins

Gluten-Free Raisin Bran Muffins

Chocolate Banana Muffins

Blueberry Spelt Muffins

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