Banana and Carrot Muffins
These Banana and Carrot Muffins are made with three whole bananas, three whole carrots, and less sugar and butter than you’ll typically find in a muffin. They are fluffy and flavorful and topped with a sprinkle of crunchy sugar.
Servings: 12 muffins
Calories: 167kcal
Ingredients
- ¼ cup butter, softened
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1½ cups mashed bananas (about 3 medium bananas)
- 2 large eggs
- 1½ cups finely grated carrots (about 3 carrots)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour (225 grams)
- Turbinado sugar, for sprinkling optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F. Line a muffin tray with paper liners.
- To mash the bananas, add roughly 3 medium bananas in chunks to a 4-cup measuring pitcher and use a handheld beater to combine. Scrape down the sides of the picture and check to ensure that you have 1½ cups of mashed bananas.
- In a separate large bowl beat the butter and granulated sugar. Add the mashed bananas and combine.
- Add the eggs and combine.
- Add the finely grated carrots, vanilla extract, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves and combine.
- Add the flour and use a large spoon to mix in the flour by hand.
- Divide the batter between 12 standard sized muffin cups. Sprinkle the tops with turbinado sugar.
- Turn the oven temperature down to 350°F and immediately place the muffin tray in the oven. Bake for 22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of a muffin comes out clean.
Notes
- Bananas: Choosing bananas that are more ripe will give you a stronger banana flavor, but overripe bananas are not any sweeter than ripe bananas. See Ripe vs. Overripe in my Guide to Banana Bread.
- Carrots: I’ve made these muffins with both grated (large grate) and finely grated carrots. It is helpful to finely grate the carrots (they disperse and soften better). Do not use store-bought grated carrots. They are too thick and will not soften in the muffins.
- Turbinado Sugar: Sometimes called Sugar In The Raw, it can be found at most decent-sized grocery stores in the baking section. This type of sugar looks like larger granules of brown sugar. It's crunchy and great for topping muffins.
- Preheating the Oven to a high temperature of 425°F then dropping the temperature immediately to 350°F gives the muffins a high heat blast. This helps to create taller fluffier muffins.
- Mixing Flour With a Spoon: Incorporating the flour with a spoon helps to prevent overmixing, which results in a lighter and fluffier muffin.
Nutrition
Calories: 167kcal | Carbohydrates: 28g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 37mg | Sodium: 241mg | Potassium: 182mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 13g | Vitamin A: 2850IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 16mg | Iron: 1mg
