• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

An Oregon Cottage logo

  • Recipes
    • Best Desserts
    • Easy Salads
    • Easy Side Dishes
    • Homemade Breads
    • Homemade Soups
    • Pantry Basics Recipes
    • Simple Dinner Recipes
    • Simple Slow Cooker Recipes
    • Simple Snacks
  • Canning & Preserving
    • Canning Recipes
    • Dehydrator Recipes
    • Freezing Produce
    • Fermented Food Recipes
  • Gardening
    • Yard & Garden Tour
    • Vegetable Garden
    • Flowers, Beds & Borders
    • Gardening Tips
    • Ultimate Vegetable & Fruit Guides
  • DIY & Remodeling
    • 1900 Farmhouse
    • 1982 Ranch-turned-Cottage
    • Easy Handmade Gifts
  • Shop
    • Flexible Planner, Cookbooks, Ebooks & More
    • An Oregon Cottage's Amazon Shop
    • Shopping and Gift Guides
menu icon
go to homepage
search icon
Homepage link
  • Home
  • Recipes
  • Organic Gardening
  • DIY & Remodeling
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • YouTube
  • ×

    Get my newsletters + access to a library full of printables!

    Home » Whole Food Recipes » Homemade Breads

    October 18, 2018 | By Jami

    Spiced Carrot Bread Recipe (Maple Sweetened, Whole Wheat)

    Jump to Recipe

    This easy, quick carrot bread recipe is like a lightened up version of carrot cake that you can feel good about eating for snacks or breakfast. It's made with whole wheat flour, spiced with cinnamon, ginger, and allspice, and sweetened only with maple syrup. Even the optional cream-cheese glaze is sweetened only with maple syrup, making this a real food treat you can feel great about serving anytime.

    This is another healthy, anyone-can-make bread recipe to add to your best bread recipes collection!

    Spiced Carrot Bread Recipe

    Some links in this article are affiliate links and if you click on them I will receive a small commission at no cost to you.

    While many of us make zucchini bread all the time (especially when you have recipes like this honey sweetened double chocolate loaf and this orange zucchini bread to name a few), carrot bread is a little less well known. Or maybe I should say less often made.

    Maybe it's because there isn't a season for carrots like there is for zucchini. While you can get zucchini all year around now, there's still a definite season for it - that time of year we're inundated with it and are just trying to figure out how to use it all up.

    That's never a thing with carrots (or at least for most of us). Carrots are just always around. Which actually is why it's a good idea to have a great carrot bread recipe - you can make it anytime you want.

    And with this whole wheat, maple sweetened version you will want to, I promise. It's moist and tender and the maple not only lightly sweetens the bread, but gives it a depth of flavor you just can't get from cane sugar.

    Spiced Carrot Bread Recipe-slices

    Okay, you may be thinking, "how is this different from carrot cake?"

    Well, it's not as rich for starters. There's only 1/4 cup of added fat in the whole recipe, compared to a cup or more in cakes. And of course it's a lot less sweet with just 1/2 cup of maple syrup. Maybe there are whole wheat carrot cakes, but that's another thing that separates this from typical cakes. So the texture is moist and dense, like a great quick bread.

    You can glaze it or not - it's up to you. When you do glaze it, it does seem more like carrot cake to me, but I think that's a good thing because this is a pretty healthy recipe and if it reminds you of cake, then - yay!

    Spiced Carrot Bread Recipe

    Spiced Carrot Bread Recipe ingredients

    Sometimes I think we see bread as too complicated to make. But as you can see from the simple pantry ingredients above, quick breads are as easy to make as cookies. Maybe even easier since you just add the dough all at once to a pan and let it cook instead of shaping and baking multiple batches of cookies. The hands-on time is pretty minimal.

    For this spiced carrot bread recipe you will need:

    Ingredients:

    • Whole Wheat Flour (Whole Wheat White Flour or Whole Wheat Pastry Flour also work)
    • Grated Carrots
    • Pure Maple Syrup
    • Egg
    • Butter
    • Greek Yogurt (or sour cream)
    • Baking Powder, Soda, and Salt
    • Cinnamon, Ground Ginger, Allspice
    • Chopped Walnuts or Pecans (optional)
    • Cream Cheese for optional glaze

    Tools & Equipment:

    • 8x4" Loaf Pan
    • Silicone Pastry Brush
    • Large Mixing Bowl & Wooden Spoon (I use my favorite Kitchenaid Mixer just because I use it for everything, but a bowl and spoon work fine for quick breads.)
    • Small Bowl or 1-Cup Glass Measure
    • Spatula
    • Metal Cooling Rack
    • Waxed Paper
    • Serrated Bread Knife (this is the one I use and LOVE)

    Spiced Carrot Bread Recipe dry ingredients in mixer

    I love showing the simple steps to making quick breads because it literally is just a matter of mixing the dry ingredients together, mixing the wet ingredients in a separate bowl (I like to use a glass measuring cup to make it easy to pour), and then combining the two.

    That's it - in about 10 minutes you can have the hands-on part of a quick bread done. Easy peasy.

    Spiced Carrot Bread Recipe-mixed dough

    I did want to show that the dough for this carrot bread recipe is really thick. Some quick bread dough is not, but that's what gives this bread it's moist and tender crumb.

    Spiced Carrot Bread Recipe-baked in pan

    Because the dough is thick, you'll have to spread it evenly in the loaf pan using a spatula, versus pouring the dough in.

    It will need to bake for about an hour, I start checking with a toothpick in the center at 55 minutes, and then setting for another 5 minutes if there is dough on the toothpick. My oven baked this in 60 minutes - yours may need less or more, so really use the toothpick or you may have doughy centers or too dry bread.

    Spiced Carrot Bread Recipe-glaze on rack

    Since it's carrot bread, what better glaze than cream cheese? And cream cheese combined with maple is a match made in heaven, I think. The glaze is totally optional, of course - this bread is good either way.

    In the glaze pictured in these photos, I used 3 tablespoons maple syrup to 3 ounces of cream cheese and it was a little too thin, (we don't want all the glaze on the wax paper, do we?). In the printable recipe (click on either top or bottom arrows for the full recipe), I decreased the syrup to only 2 tablespoons with a teaspoon or so added for thinning if needed, which is much better.

    Spiced Carrot Bread Recipe-slice

    I really think you will enjoy this bread - it's like a treat with the added health benefits of carrots, which also add their own sweetness.

    If you're lessening your added sugar intake like we are, you will find foods like this carrot bread recipe plenty sweet. All the other flavors come though stronger since they aren't covered up by sugar. We find we taste more and more flavors in our food the less sugar we eat - it's a really surprising thing that we are loving!

    Whole Wheat Maple Sweetened Carrot Bread Recipe

    Spiced Carrot Bread Recipe-slice
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    4.72 from 7 votes

    Spiced Carrot Bread Recipe (Maple Sweetened, Whole Wheat)

    An easy, quick carrot bread recipe made with whole wheat flour, spiced with cinnamon, ginger, and allspice, and sweetened only with maple syrup - perfect for breakfast, snacks and even a healthy dessert.
    Prep Time15 mins
    Cook Time1 hr
    Total Time1 hr 15 mins
    Course: Breads
    Cuisine: American
    Yield: 1 loaf
    Author: Jami Boys

    Ingredients

    • 2 cups whole wheat flour*
    • 2 teaspoons baking powder
    • 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
    • 1/2  teaspoon salt
    • 1  1/2  teaspoons cinnamon
    • 1/2  teaspoon powdered ginger
    • 1/4  teaspoon allspice
    • 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt or sour cream
    • 1/2 cup maple syrup
    • 1/4 cup butter melted (plus more for greasing)
    • 1 large egg
    • 2  1/2 cups shredded carrots
    • 1/2 to 2/3 cup chopped walnuts or pecans optional

    Optional Glaze:

    • 3 ounces cream cheese softened
    • 2 tablespoons maple syrup

    Instructions

    • Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8x4-inch loaf pan with softened butter using a pastry brush (or line the pan with parchment and grease only the ends).
    • Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl: flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and allspice.
    • In a small bowl or glass measuring cup stir together the wet ingredients with a fork: yogurt, maple syrup, butter, and egg. Pour this into the dry ingredients and mix just until the flour is combined. Fold in the carrots along with the nuts (if using) - the dough will be thick.
    • Spread the dough in the prepared pan, using a spatula to smooth the top evenly. Bake for 55 to 65 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
    • Cool in the pan for 10 minutes and then turn out onto a metal rack to cool completely.

    When cool, make optional glaze:

    • Combine softened cream cheese** and maple syrup with a whisk until smooth. If needed, use a bit more syrup to thin more, 1 teaspoon at a time.
    • Use a spoon to pour evenly over the loaf.
    • Refrigerate to set glaze.

    Notes

    *Regular, white whole wheat, and whole wheat pastry all work (whole wheat pastry will give you the lightest texture - the bread in the photos was made with regular whole wheat).
    **If your cream cheese isn't fully softened you will get lumps in your glaze that will be impossible to whisk out.
    Note on the nutrition amounts: the numbers were calculated on how the bread is illustrated in the photos - with the optional nuts and glaze.

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1Slice (of 12) | Calories: 231kcal | Carbohydrates: 31g | Protein: 5.3g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 4.3g | Cholesterol: 33mg | Sodium: 248mg | Fiber: 1.5g | Sugar: 11.7g
    Did you make this recipe?Mention @anoregoncottage or tag #anoregoncottage!

    Other Easy Quick Breads To Try:

    Applesauce Spice Bread slices

    Applesauce Spice Bread (Whole Wheat, Maple Sweetened, Dairy Free)

    Cranberry Bread Recipe slices

    Whole Wheat Orange Cranberry Bread

    WW Garlic Cheese Zucchini Bread slices

    Whole Wheat Garlic Cheese Zucchini Bread

    Want more lower sugar recipes? Sign up on the form below for AOC's newsletter and receive access to the Subscriber Library with our Lower Sugar Recipes eBook and lots more!

    Disclosure: affiliate links in this article will earn commission based on sales, but it doesn't change your price. Click here to read my full disclaimer and advertising disclosure.

    About Jami

    Since 2009 Jami Boys has been helping readers live a simple homemade life through whole food recipes, doable gardening, and easy DIY projects on An Oregon Cottage. From baking bread, to creating a floor from paper, to growing and preserving food, Jami shares the easiest ways to get things done. She's been featured in Cottages and Bungalows, Old House Journal, and First for Women magazines as well as numerous sites like Good Housekeeping, Huffington Post, and Apartment Therapy.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Robert says

      August 31, 2020 at 7:17 am

      5 stars
      I made this recipe exactly as specified and it came out great! Since measuring carrots by volume can be somewhat ambiguous, I went with 110 grams per cup (275g total). Also, one of the things that attracted me to this recipe were your photos, in which the little strands of carrot contrast so nicely within the bread matrix. With mine, the carrots virtually disappeared! Maybe they just melted in since they were sweet and tender, fresh from the garden? Anyhow, this is a good recipe that I will bake it again, not changes necessary. Thanks!

      Reply
      • Jami says

        August 31, 2020 at 9:42 am

        I'm so glad you liked this recipe, Robert - thank you so much for the review!

        Reply
    2. Carly says

      March 22, 2020 at 1:24 pm

      5 stars
      This recipe is fantastic! I did make a few changes. The dough was very dry and crumbly initially. I ended up doubling the greek yogurt and butter. I also added a few tsp of vanilla. With these changes, this was so moist and tasty. Thanks for the great recipe. I will make again.

      Reply
      • Jami says

        March 23, 2020 at 3:39 pm

        Glad that worked for you, Carly. Thanks for the review!

        Reply

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    Primary Sidebar

    Jami Boys headshot

    Hi, I'm Jami and I'm so glad you're here! My goal is to help you live a simple homemade life on your terms: cooking delicious real food, painless gardening, and making easy things that are totally worth your time. 

    Read More →

    Popular Posts

    • Roasted Cabbage Wedges with Onion Dijon Sauce
    • Easy Sourdough Artisan Bread Recipe (Ready in 1 Day)
    • Original Brown Paper Floor Tutorial: A DIY Alternative to Wood Floors
    • How To Freeze Green Beans The Easy Way Without Blanching
    • 5 Reasons To Grow Cucumbers On A Trellis (And Taking Up Less Space Isn't One Of Them)
    • Quick Honey Sweetened Homemade Ketchup Recipe

    ALL OUR CATEGORIES

    Jami Orgeon CottageHi, I'm Jami and I'm so glad you're here! My goal is to help you live a simple homemade life on your terms: cooking delicious real food, painless gardening, and making easy things that are totally worth your time. Read More...
    2021 Flexible Planner

    Popular Posts

    Easy Artisan Bread in an Enamel Pot

    Easy Artisan Bread Recipe

    DIY Roasted and Salted Almonds pin

    Perfectly Salted DIY Roasted Almonds (seriously the BEST)

    roasted cabbage wedges2_featuredroasted cabbage wedges_featured image

    Roasted Cabbage Wedges with Onion Dijon Sauce

    sourdough artisan bread slices

    Easy Sourdough Artisan Bread Recipe (Ready in 1 Day)

    How to make a French style bench from old chairs upcycling them into high-end looking furniture.

    How to Make A French-Style Bench From Old Chairs

    Three Ways to Freeze Corn - An Oregon Cottage

    How To Freeze Corn Three Ways: Blanched, Unblanched and Whole

    All Our Categories

    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • YouTube

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    About

    • Privacy Policy
    • Disclosure Policy

    Newsletter

    • Sign Up! for emails and updates

    Contact

    • Contact
    • Collaboration & Advertising

    Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Disclaimer: All Content Provided On An Oregon Cottage Is For Informational Purposes Only. The Owner Of This Blog Makes No Representations As To The Accuracy Or Completeness Of Any Information On This Site Or Found By Following Any Link On This Site.

    Copyright © 2022 An Oregon Cottage | No Content On This Site, Including Text And Photos, May Be Reused In Any Fashion Without Written Permission.