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Carrot Cake Banana Bread

Carrot cake banana bread combines mashed-ripe banana with shredded carrots, warming spices, and chopped walnuts for a spiced, golden loaf. Finished with a tangy cream cheese frosting, it slices like a two-in-one quick bread for breakfast or snack.
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 5 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes
Servings: 10 servings
Course: Breakfast, Snack
Cuisine: American
Calories: 355
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Carrot banana loaf
  • 2 ripe bananas Mash until smooth with a few small lumps.
  • 1 cup shredded carrots About 2 medium carrots, shredded.
  • 0.33 cup butter Melted; use unsalted or salted to taste.
  • 0.75 cup brown sugar Light or dark brown sugar works.
  • 2 large eggs Room temperature for easier mixing.
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1.5 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 0.5 tsp nutmeg
  • 0.25 tsp ginger
  • 0.25 tsp salt
  • 0.5 cup walnuts Chopped; optional but recommended.
Cream cheese frosting
  • 4 oz cream cheese Softened to spread easily.
  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 1 tbsp milk
  • 0.5 tsp vanilla

Equipment

  • 1 sheet pan

Method
 

Bake the loaf
  1. Preheat oven to 350°F and grease a 9x5 loaf pan.
  2. Whisk melted butter, brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla into mashed bananas, then stir in shredded carrots.
  3. Fold in all-purpose flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and salt until just combined.
  4. Fold in chopped walnuts until evenly distributed.
  5. Pour batter into the greased loaf pan and bake for 60–70 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean and the top is deeply golden.
Frost and serve
  1. Cool the loaf completely before frosting.
  2. Beat softened cream cheese, powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla until smooth.
  3. Spread the cream cheese frosting across the top of the cooled loaf.
  4. Serve chilled or at room temperature.

Notes

For clean slices, let the loaf cool fully (and chill 1–2 hours if you want a firmer crumb for frosting). Store covered in the refrigerator up to 5 days; freeze the unfrosted loaf up to 2 months (thaw overnight in the fridge) and frost after thawing. For a lighter option, swap half the butter for unsweetened applesauce while keeping the same bake time and check doneness with a toothpick.