Grab-And-Go Vegan Carrot Bread
Satisfy your carrot cake craving with this delicious vegan carrot bread recipe! This grab-and-go breakfast bread is a mouthwatering and nutritious way to add some veggies to your morning meal. In addition to being a fast and easy breakfast, here are a few reasons why this morning loaf is a nutritional superstar:
It’s made with heart-healthy oats. There are many reasons why oats should be a part of your regular diet — among them, it’s an excellent source of (plant-based) protein, fiber, antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals.
It’s full of nutrient-rich flaxseeds. Flaxseeds are rich with omega-3 fats, fiber, and plant-based protein. It may also help lower blood pressure and improve cholesterol.
Carrots are a rockstar root veggie. Carrots are chock full of the antioxidant beta carotene, which your body converts to vision-boosting, immune-strengthening vitamin A.
Try this healthy, vegan carrot bread recipe from Denmark-based holistic nutritionist and certified nutritional practitioner, Sarah Britton.
Grab-And-Go Vegan Carrot Bread Recipe
Zest of 1 orange
½ cup / 125ml freshly squeezed orange juice (about 2 oranges)
2 Tbsp. ground flax seeds
2 medium carrots
1 ½ cup / 200g whole spelt flour
2 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. sea salt
1 Tbsp. ground cinnamon
2 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. ground cardamom
½ cup / 50g rolled oats
¼ cup / 60ml coconut oil, plus more for greasing
½ cup / 125ml pure maple syrup
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/3 cup / 40g pecans (or other nuts), roughly chopped
1/3 cup / 55g raisins (or other dried fruit), roughly chopped
Directions:
1. Lightly grease a loaf pan with coconut oil and set it aside. Preheat oven to 350°F / 180°C.
2. Zest the orange and set aside. Slice the orange in half and juice it, and juice the other orange until you have the ½ cup / 125ml of juice needed. Whisk the orange zest and ground flax into the orange juice and set aside.
3. Grate the carrots and set aside.
4. Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and cardamom together into a large mixing bowl. Fold in the rolled oats.
5. Melt the coconut oil over low heat in a small saucepan. Add the maple syrup and vanilla, and whisk to combine.
6. Pour the wet ingredients, including the orange-flax mixture, over the dried ingredients and fold to combine in as few strokes as possible. Fold in the grated carrots, pecans, and raisins. Make sure you don’t overwork the ingredients, because your end result will turn out chewy!
7. Pour the batter into the loaf pan and smooth out the top. Sprinkle with a few oats if desired (this is strictly aesthetic, so feel free to skip this step). Place in the oven and bake for about 45 minutes, checking it at the 40-minute mark. It’s finished when it passes the toothpick test! Let it cool slightly, remove from the loaf pan, and let it cool on a wire rack. Store leftovers in the fridge, wrapped tightly, for up to five days.
Tips:
Use unwaxed or organic citrus if you plan to zest the fruit. We definitely recommend zesting, as it will intensify the citrusy orange flavor! We also recommend using fresh-squeezed juice from the orange. You can use boxed orange juice, but that juice has been pasteurized, which kills a lot of nutrients.
This recipe uses ground flaxseed in place of an egg. Flaxseeds have the incredible ability to absorb water, creating a gel-like consistency that makes it an excellent egg substitute. Want to use flax eggs in other recipes? 1 Tbsp of flax + 3 Tbsp of water = 1 regular egg.
Try to use expeller-pressed coconut oil, which won’t give the bread an overwhelming flavor of coconut that you would normally get from virgin coconut oil. This allows the carrot and warming spices to come through.
Sifting the dry ingredients is important to remove lumps, aerate the flour, and mix the ingredients evenly.
Make sure you use pure maple syrup in this recipe. Grade B is preferred because it has a much richer flavor. Fun fact: Grade A is referred to as “fancy,” but the lower grades are actually better for you because they’re higher in minerals!
Not a pecan fan? Feel free to use cashews, walnuts, almonds, or hazelnuts. You can also swap out the raisins for your favorite dried fruit, like cranberries, dried figs, apricots, and prunes.
Turn it into dessert by icing the bread!
Recipe courtesy of Sarah Britton:
Sarah Britton (BFA, CNP) is a Holistic Nutritionist and Certified Nutritional Practitioner based in Copenhagen, Denmark. Sarah is the creative force behind My New Roots, the award-winning food blog which features original recipes that taste great, look beautiful and boast incredible health benefits. Following her philosophy of “making healthy choices every day” she has been creating recipes for her readers all over the world since 2007.
Winner of the 2014 Saveur “Best Food Blog – Special Diets Blog” Awards, Sarah currently teaches cooking classes, runs workshops on detoxification and cleansing, food as medicine, and nutrition fundamentals. She creates exclusive menu plans and recipes for various media and gives lectures and speaks in public forums such as TEDx.