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Home > Recipes > Muffins

Carrot Banana Muffins

Published: Jul 16, 2020 • Updated: Sep 17, 2022 by: Mella • 4 Comments

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Moist and soft carrot banana muffins! Easy to make, not too sweet, filled with fresh carrots, and delicious banana flavor. Even your toddler is going to love this! An optional but highly recommended cream cheese topping is included in the post.

Moist Carrot Banana Muffins
Jump to:
  • Moist and Fluffy Carrot Banana Muffins!
  • Ingredients
  • Tips for Success
  • Cream Cheese Swirl Topping
  • Variations
  • Storage and Shelf-life
  • Watch the video on how to make it
  • Complete Recipe
  • Comments

Moist and Fluffy Carrot Banana Muffins!

My one-year-old and I have fallen in love with this carrot muffins with banana again and again.  I have been making this every week and we still can't get over it!

It's incredibly moist and not too sweet. The banana is not overpowering and perfectly compliments the earthy-sweet flavor of the carrots. I didn't even need to add too much cinnamon. Just a hint. Best of all? It's easier to make than a whole carrot cake.

Carrot Banana Muffins photo

Ingredients

And here are the must-have ingredients to make your muffins moist and delicious!

grated carrots photo
  • finely grated carrots - use fresh carrots and grate using the small shred of your box grater. This makes it almost invisible, perfect for picky eaters!
  • overripe bananas - give the best banana flavor. It's what I always recommend when baking with bananas.
  • butter - melted butter not only adds flavor to cakes but also gives moisture to the muffins.
  • brown sugar -  is naturally moist thus making a softer crumb. In this recipe, I also added a small amount of white sugar to make the color of the muffin lighter. You can, of course, use all brown sugar if preferred.
  • sour cream - gives moisture to the muffin without thinning out the butter.
Carrot Banana Muffins recipe

Tips for Success

  • Use room temperature ingredients, this includes the eggs and sour cream. Bring them out of the refrigerator 45mins - 1 hour before you start baking. Room temperature ingredients make a smooth and uniform batter while cold ingredients do not blend together as easily which results in clumpy flat muffins.
  • Use cupcake liners, for a mess-free, easy-to-clean muffin pan.
  • Peel the carrots before grating and don't use store-bought "matchstick" carrots, they're not thin enough. Don't use blended carrots either, they're too watery.
  • Do not overmix the batter. Overmixing can result in a denser, chewy crumb.

Cream Cheese Swirl Topping

I had leftover cream cheese in the fridge from another recipe that needed to be used before going bad. So I thought it would be a wonderful addition to this recipe.

Instead of making a cream cheese frosting, the mixture drizzled on top of the batter. After baking, it taste like a carrot cheesecake in muffin form!

muffin batter with cream cheese

Complete instructions on how to make it in the recipe card. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

Variations

Add these ingredients to make your carrot banana muffins extra special:

  • Walnuts - add about ½ cup roughly chopped walnuts.
  • Raisins - add about ½ cup.
  • Nutmeg - ¼ teaspoon of this spice should be enough for every 1 recipe.

Storage and Shelf-life

Place in an air-tight container or cover with foil or plastic wrap to prevent drying out. These muffins should last 1 week in the fridge if properly stored.

Frequently asked questions

Can I use vegetable oil instead of butter?

Yes, I've tested this with canola oil and it turned out good sans the butter flavor of course.

What are good substitutes for sour cream?

Yogurt (plain/greek) and buttermilk (store-bought or homemade), are good substitutes for sour cream. There will be a slight difference in texture but nothing to fret about.
For homemade buttermilk: combine ⅓ cup full-fat fresh milk and 1 teaspoon vinegar or lemon. Let it sit for 10 minutes until it curdles.

Watch the video on how to make it

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Complete Recipe

Moist Carrot Banana Muffins

Carrot Banana Muffins

Moist and fluffy carrot banana muffins!  Not too sweet, filled with fresh carrots, and delicious banana flavor. Even your toddler is going to love this! Optional but highly recommended cream cheese topping is included in the post.
prep 18 mins
cook 20 mins
5 from 1 vote
author: Mella
Servings 12 muffins
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Ingredients
 
Cups - Metric

Dry Ingredients

  • 1 ½ cup all-purpose flour
  • ¼ teaspoon cinnamon (optional)
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda

Wet Ingredients

  • ⅓ cup unsalted butter (melted)
  • ⅓ cup brown sugar
  • ¼ cup white sugar
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ⅓ cup sour cream
  • ½ cup overripe banana / 2 med bananas (mashed)
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 cups carrots (finely grated)

Cream Cheese Swirl (optional)

  • 100 grams cream cheese
  • 2 tablespoons granulated sugar (add more if preferred)
  • 1 egg yolk
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350F/180C. Line a muffin pan with paper liners. Peel and grate the carrots. Mash the bananas and set aside. Sift the dry ingredients together in a bowl. Stir until combined. Set aside.
  • In a bowl, combine butter, sugar, and salt. Beat until sugar is completely dissolved. Add eggs one at a time beating after each addition. Add vanilla, mashed banana, and sour cream. Continue beating for until combined. You all can do this by hand or with an electric mixer for convenience.
  • Add wet ingredients and grated carrots to the dry ingredients in two increments. Stir until just combined. Do this by hand using a whisk or a spatula to prevent overmixing. Fill prepared muffin tins ¾ full with batter. Tap the pan on the counter a few times to get rid of air bubbles.

Cream Cheese Swirl Topping (optional)

  • Using a handheld or electric mixer, beat the cream cheese in a medium bowl until smooth and creamy. Add in the sugar, egg yolk, and vanilla. Continue beating until combined.
  • Top each muffin with about 1 ½ tablespoon of cream cheese mixture and use a toothpick or wooden skewer to swirl into batter. If your cream cheese mixture is too thick, you can beat in the 1 tablespoon of milk to thin it out if needed.

Bake

  • Bake muffins for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let it cool completely before serving.

Recipe Notes and Tips:

  • Use room temperature ingredients, this includes the eggs and sour cream. Bring them out of the refrigerator 45mins – 1 hour before you start baking. 
  • Sour cream - can be substituted with yogurt (plain/greek) and buttermilk (store-bought or homemade), are good substitutes for sour cream. There will be a slight difference in texture but nothing to fret about.
  • For homemade buttermilk: combine ⅓ cup full-fat fresh milk and 1 teaspoon vinegar or lemon. Let it sit for 10 minutes until it curdles.
  • Storage and Shelf life: Place in an air-tight container or cover with foil or plastic wrap to prevent drying out. These muffins should last 1 week in the fridge if properly stored.
  • The cream cheese topping is not included in the calorie count.
Jump to Video
Course : Snack
Cuisine : American-Western
Keyword : muffin recipe for toddlers
Nutrition Facts
Carrot Banana Muffins
Amount per Serving
Calories
184
% Daily Value*
Fat
 
7
g
11
%
Saturated Fat
 
4
g
25
%
Cholesterol
 
48
mg
16
%
Sodium
 
258
mg
11
%
Potassium
 
147
mg
4
%
Carbohydrates
 
27
g
9
%
Fiber
 
1
g
4
%
Sugar
 
13
g
14
%
Protein
 
3
g
6
%
Vitamin A
 
3812
IU
76
%
Vitamin C
 
2
mg
2
%
Calcium
 
47
mg
5
%
Iron
 
1
mg
6
%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?I love hearing how you went with my recipes! Tag @rivertenkitchen or leave a comment below!

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Elaine Tornito says

    January 18, 2021 at 6:17 pm

    Hi, What is the bakeing time if I’m going to bake this as a loaf bread. Thank you 🙂

    Reply
    • Mella says

      January 19, 2021 at 7:27 pm

      It should take 50 minutes to 1 hour. I usually do the toothpick test at around 53 minutes to make sure it's not overbaked.
      - Mella

      Reply
  2. Ritz says

    November 06, 2020 at 5:09 pm

    5 stars

    5 stars

    5 stars
    Made these today and they were absolutely delicious! 😋

    Reply
    • Mella says

      November 08, 2020 at 1:30 am

      That's awesome, Ritz! So happy to hear that!
      -Mella

      Reply

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