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! Optional but highly recommended cream cheese topping is included in the post.
Moist and fluffy Carrot Banana Muffins!
My one-year-old and I have fallen in love with this carrot banana muffin 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 it perfectly compliments the earthy-sweet flavor of the carrots. I didn't even need to add too much cinnamon. Just a hint.
The secret to a moist Carrot Banana Muffins
And here are the must-have ingredients to making your muffins moist and delicious!
- 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 - gives the best banana flavor. It's what I always recommend when baking with bananas.
- butter - melted butter not only adds flavor to cakes, but it also gives moisture to the muffins.
- brown sugar - is naturally moist thus makes 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.
Tips for making a successful carrot banana muffins
- 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.
About the optional cream cheese swirl topping
I happened to have 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. And I was right! It made the muffin even more special and so so good!
Complete instructions on how to make it is in the recipe card. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!
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
Yes, I've tested this with canola oil and it turned out good sans the butter flavor of course.
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.
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Watch the video on how to make it
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Carrot Banana Muffins
Ingredients
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.
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Elaine Tornito says
Hi, What is the bakeing time if I’m going to bake this as a loaf bread. Thank you 🙂
Mella says
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
Ritz says
Made these today and they were absolutely delicious! 😋
Mella says
That's awesome, Ritz! So happy to hear that!
-Mella