Delectable Low-Sugar Carrot Bread

If there's one thing that we love around our house it's carrot bread. I hadn't made any for a pretty long time but with an excess of carrots in the veggie drawer, I decided that it would be great to make some fresh, warm and delicious bread. I'm ways looking for ways to reduce sugar in my baking and I solved this problem by using ripe bananas which added sweetness and also made the loaves super moist 💗

Here's what you'll need:

Wet ingredients:
1 1/2 ripe bananas, about 1 cup, mashed
1/2 cup olive oil
1 large egg + 1/4 cup egg whites
1/2 cup milk (I used whole milk)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups raw shredded carrot (I pulsed mine in the Vitamix to make small pieces perfect for bread)

Dry ingredients:
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 cup Flapjacked Buttermilk Protein Pancake Mix
1 1/3 cup bread flour
1 TBSP baking powder
3/4 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
1/4 cup raisins (optional)

Putting it all together:

First, preheat your oven to 350F, and grease and flour two loaf pans (or you can use PAM baking spray to save time :))

Next combine all of your dry ingredients together and set aside.

In a large bowl, mash your bananas then combine with the oil, milk, carrots, eggs, and vanilla extract... stir until well combined.

Gradually add in the dry ingredients (about 1/3 of the mixture at a time) folding with a spatula until everything is incorporated. Lastly add in 1/2 cup of the nuts (1/4 cup reserved for topping) and the raisins if using.

Divide the batter between your two loaf pans, then top with the remaining nuts. Bake in your preheated oven for 35 minutes, checking for doneness with a toothpick (I used glass pans which took a little longer, metal loaf pans may cook quicker). When it comes out clean, remove the loaves from the oven and allow to cool.

This is always the hardest part for me because I love to try the bread fresh out of the oven! And my husband will pick off a corner when I'm not looking so I have to keep an eye out and get my pictures before he "ruins" them haha!

This bread came out scrumptious, and being able to significantly reduce the sugar added was a big victory! Remember, the riper the bananas are the more sweetness they will add to your baking. Also, feel free to substitute a gluten free baking blend, though I haven't tried that yet! I hope you will enjoy this recipe as much as we did, I'll be making another batch very soon!