This low carb carrot and cinnamon bread is super moist, with a mildly sweet flavor. If you like it sweeter, you can add some additional stevia but don’t overdo it because sugar substitutes are a lot sweeter than sugar and can tend to go bitter when overdone.
This cake/ loaf also has a wonderful slightly crunchy texture with the addition of some ground up almonds. And overall it makes a great dessert, or morning or afternoon tea.
Like most of our recipes it is very easy to make and comes in at just 3 grams net carbs per slice – making it perfectly blood sugar friendly!
We’ve also included the cooking class (it is one of the recipes in our Low Carb Breads Masterclass), so hope you enjoy it. 🙂
COOKING CLASS
Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel for future low carb diabetes friendly cooking classes.
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RECIPE
Low Carb Carrot & Cinnamon Bread Recipe
Ingredients
- 5 oz almonds - equiv. 3/4 cup - finely chopped
- 3.3 oz almond flour - equiv. 3/4 cup
- 3 egg
- 2 carrot - grated
- 1.5 oz butter - or coconut oil - melted
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 20-30 drops liquid stevia extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F/ 180°C (fan forced) or 375°F/ 190°C (conventional).
- To finely chop the almonds, add them into the food processor and blend until they are well chopped up. You want them fine but not like a flour, you still want them to give the loaf some texture.
- Add the rest of the ingredients and blend for 1 minute until well combined. You may need to scrape down the sides to make sure all the ingredients are included. And, don't over blend it, you still want some texture in the mix.
- Line a small loaf tin with parchment paper, leaving enough so it goes up the edges to cover the whole pan.
- Pour the mixture into the pan, using a spatula to spread it evenly over the pan and into the edges.
- Bake for 35-40 minutes, then remove from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes before removing the paper and cooling on a wire rack.
- Slice into pieces and enjoy.
Notes
- Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
- Serve warm or cold
- Serve as it is or topped with butter, cashew cream, or vanilla cream cheese.
Troubleshooting
Mixture seems too dry? After blending the mixture, it should be fairly thick but light and sticky. If it does seem dry, which may occur with different flours, add a little additional liquid. Cake seems slightly burned on the top or bottom? Your oven temp is a little too high, or it may have been left in your oven too long. Try adjusting the temperature or cooking time. Not sweet enough? Add a little more stevia and a teaspoon of vanilla extract to help bring out more sweetness. Be careful on the sweetener though, adding too much can sometimes make a loaf bitter. Tastes slightly bitter? Depending on the sweetener you use, if you add too much it can taste a little bitter to some people. Try using a different sweetener or adding less next time.Essential Cooking Equipment
Please share, pin, or tweet this recipe so others can enjoy it, too – thanks!
Emjay
I am also new to this site. What do you think of using dates to sweeten? I’m not a fan of the substitutes as they cause incredible gas. Monk fruit may be an option.
Dr Jedha
Hi Emjay, generally we don’t encourage dried fruits of any kind as these are very high in sugar and carbs. See more on dates here. If monk fruit is suitable, perhaps try that or allulose.
Jennifer Wilson
This is probably a really dumb question for most people, but I’m new to all this. You have information listed per serving. How many servings are there in the loaf of bread? This way I will know what size to cut the slices. Thank you
Malorie: Dietitian (MS, RD, CLT)
Hi Jennifer, not a dumb question at all! This recipe makes about 14 slices. Hope it turns out well for you.
Barbara
Almond loaf was the best
Will try cauliflower salad
Emily - Dietitian (MS, RD)
Glad you enjoyed!
Amir
Dear Jedha,
Thank you for your good recipe, As you know the Stevia’s sweetness is from combination some of 11 glycosides and every factory have itself processing of extraction with different doses of these glycosides. So they have different tastes. I tried many kinds of Stevia, the brand of STEVIRAN have the best taste ( without after taste, lowest bitter). If you want I can send you the samples for test. The sweetness of that is: each drop equal two grams of sugar.
Thank you
Mirna
Hi there,
On the recipe it says 20-30 drops of Stevia, but under the recipe notes it states The stevia used for this recipe is 2-3 drops = approximately 1 teaspoon sugar. Which should be used?
Thanks!
Jedha: Nutritionist (MNutr)
The note under the recipe refers to the sugar substitute conversion. Every sugar substitute you buy usually has a ‘per teaspoon’ equivalent, which it will state on the label. You need to look at the substitute you buy and do a bit of math if necessary, so you get the same equivalent.
marley
Hello, instead of finely chopped almonds, can I use almond meal, along with the almond flour? Will monkfruit substitute for Stevia. I am not a fan of stevia.
Emily - Dietitian (MS, RD)
I would imagine the almond meal is a fine substitution, just keep in mind your loaf won’t have as much “texture” to it since both almond meal and almond flour are ground pretty fine. (The chopped almonds give the loaf texture.) Monk fruit should be good too!
Tami
We can’t use nut flours due to food allergies. Any other choices?
Emily - Dietitian (MS, RD)
Hi Tami- is coconut flour, seasame seed flour or ground flaxseed an option in your household? Unfortunately, this recipe will probably be very hard to replicate without the whole almonds and almond flour.
Here is an article we have previously written about the best flours to use, although again you are limited by many of our favorites. Use it as a guide for selecting other alternatives in future recipes!
Arlene
I am sorry, I have another question. Is vanilla bean powder safe to use? I got it when we were doing a Daniel Fast at church. It is just crushed vanilla beans and gives a lovely taste of vanilla with no sugar or alcohol.
Laura: Dietitian (MS, RD)
Vanilla bean powder is an acceptable sweetener Arlene as it contains minimal carbs in the amount you use for baking.
Michelle
If I want to use monk fruit , how much do I need to use ?
Malorie: Dietitian (MS, RD, CLT)
Hi Michelle,
It depends on what type of monk fruit you are using. What brand do you have?
Cathy
I don’t mind chopping the almonds by hand but I don’t own a food proceesor.. Can I use an electric mixer for the next step? Thanks
Emily - Dietitian (MS, RD)
Although I have never tried it, I think you will get great results using an electric mixer. Just make sure your almonds are finely chopped before adding to the batter, as the electric mixer will not chop them any finer.
Let us know how your loaf turns out!
Yolanda C Martinez
What’s a good diabetic chocolate frosting?? If there is one…
Jedha
You can make one Yolanda, that’s the best choice. Cream cheese, cocoa (a rich Dutch one), and sweetened with stevia. Nut butters mixed with cocoa and sweetener works. And the addition of vanilla extract and cinnamon works well too.
Yolanda Martinez
Thank you very much. I will try 👍🏼😃
GK
great recipe but can I use Almond meal instead of Almond flour?
Jedha
I think almond meal should work just as well as almond flour GK.
steph.
Jedha, sorry – I phrased my question badly. What I meant was could I leave out the Stevia altogether and use vanilla extract instead?
Jedha
Oh yes Steph you could try that, it will probably work just fine – vanilla has that natural sweetness.
steph.
Will do – thank you!
steph.
Hi, would it be OK to substitute Vanilla Extract for liquid Stevia?
Jedha
The loaf already contains stevia Steph so it would probably be over kill. You could add a touch more stevia, but too much will make it bitter. If you don’t like vanilla you could try excluding it.
soo
I understand that we need something sour or acidic to be used together with baking soda for release of carbon dioxide gas to create a less dense bread. But in your recipe , there isn’t any vinegar or sour ingredient used. Is that OK?
Jedha
This is a super moist carrot bread and perfect as it is Soo.
Marlene
What can be used in place of stevia, as I don’t like the taste or aftertaste of it, and it gives me an upset stomach. Thanks for replying.
Jedha
Sucralose is probably the next best choice. Read this for more info on sugar substitutes.
Alice
Hi, I would love to try this however my wife is not only a diabetic but has a heart condition as well so we are no salt, no sugar, no fat and low complex carbs. Do you think egg beaters will work? Also I am going to try whole what flour, so I will let you know how that turns out. Last but not least Stevia seems to be overly sweet and I found an agava nectar which is a slow glycemic sweetner with only 5 calories and my wife loves it so I will try that one and hope that the natural carrot flavor will enhance the tast.
Thank you for your newsletter. My wife is newly diagnosed once released from the hospital and this was all discovered when she had complications with pneumonia. I am going to join her in her eating lifestyle as it can only improve my health.
Thank you!!
Jedha
Why not just eat eggs Alice? They don’t contain anything harmful to heart conditions – if you’re worried about cholesterol in eggs, don’t be. The cholesterol in foods we eat does not equate to more cholesterol in your body – it’s a myth.
We’re a low carb diabetic friendly site here, so we don’t use whole wheat flour – it’s very high carb and high GI. High carb equals high blood glucose and that’s no good for diabetes or heart disease. As for agave, it is incredibly high in fructose, which is terrible for diabetics – don’t be fooled into thinking that just because it’s low glycemic it’s a good option – that’s not always the case.
Still, if you want to change the recipe that much, you might be better off looking for a different recipe because it kind of defeats the purpose.
You will find these helpful:
On flour: https://diabetesmealplans.com/4883/best-flour-to-use-if-youre-diabetic/
On fructose: https://diabetesmealplans.com/6579/
On cholesterol: https://diabetesmealplans.com/470/foods-high-in-bad-cholesterol/
Darlene Record
Can you use stevia powder, which I have. I have a very concentrated one, and one that is not so concentrated.
Which one should I use?? Got both of them from Trader Joes.
Jedha
Yes powder will work fine too. If you look on the label and find out how many scoops are one teaspoon equivalent that will help. The drops are 2-3 drops per teaspoon, so since there is 20 drops, that’s around 7-10 teaspoons. That should help you work out how much to use of either of them. 🙂