If you have ever seen Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker TJ Watt in action or even just looked at his stats, then you know that he is an extremely impressive football player. However, when he’s not on a mission to sack quarterback on Sundays — or compete against his brother JJ in a Peloton class or star in the new Dick’s Sporting Goods holiday commercial — Watt is a pretty simple guy.

He is vacationing with his wife Dani and the rest of his football family, including former Arizona Cardinals defensive end JJ and former Steelers fullback Derek. He enjoys grilling steaks and burgers. And he even cleans his own pool – although apparently at his own risk, as shown in a video from 2023 in which he falls in while using the net.

Even his diet is pretty simple. Watt has eaten the same oatmeal breakfast every day for years and orders a classic double deluxe burger with ketchup and cheese curds at his favorite fast food restaurant, Culver’s. He even admits to being “pretty boring” when it comes to his pre-game meal of chicken and rice.

When it comes to dessert, however, Watt’s taste is anything but boring.

Pittsburgh Steelers TJ Watts favorite dessert

While we know the Watt brothers enjoy an Old El Paso Cinnamon Toast Crunch taco shell filled with churro-spiced ice cream — which you can actually make yourself thanks to the kit at Walmart.com starting December 1 — this isn’t the only dessert TJ sinks his teeth into. When it comes to sweet treats, Watt relies on a recipe that combines two desserts in one: his wife Dani’s white chocolate chip carrot cake banana bread.

Dani, who is expecting her first child with the future Hall of Famer, shared her easy quick bread recipe in the cookbook Cooking with the Starrs. The book was created by Bart Starr’s family foundation, the Starr Children’s Fund, and features 32 recipes from the Starr family and other famous NFL football families – including TJ’s brother Derek’s wife Gabriella and Travis and Jason Kelce’s mother Donna.

The cookbook is available for $30 at the Packers’ Pro Shop and a portion of the proceeds benefit pediatric cancer research.

Dani’s recipe is a banana bread mashup with warm spices, shredded carrots, and decadent chocolate chips. Although it does contain some ingredients that make it a little healthier – like coconut sugar, oats (TJ loves his oatmeal), and optional protein powder that probably fits TJ’s diet – you can easily substitute these with your traditional baking ingredients.

Here’s how to make 2021 Defensive Player of the Year TJ Watt’s favorite dessert.

How to make TJ Watts Favorite Carrot Cake Banana Bread with White Chocolate Chips

Ingredients:

• 2-3 ripe, mashed bananas
• 1/3 cup coconut sugar
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1/2 cup milk of your choice
• 1 egg (or flax egg)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 3/4 cup gluten-free oat flour
• 3/4 cup gluten-free oatmeal
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 3/4 cup shredded organic carrots, lightly packed
• 1/2 to 1 cup white chocolate chips (I use white chocolate baking chips)
• 4-6 scoops of tasteless collagen peptides (optional)
• 1 scoop vanilla protein powder + 1/2 cup milk (optional)
• Walnuts or pecans

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Coat a loaf pan, 9×9 baking dish or muffin tin with oil.
3. In a large mixing bowl, combine mashed banana, coconut sugar, maple syrup, milk, egg and vanilla.
4. Add oat flour, oat flakes, baking powder, cinnamon and nutmeg until well mixed.
5. Fold in carrots, white chocolate chips and any other ingredients of your choice.
6. Pour into a baking dish or muffin tin of your choice.
7. Bake in the preheated oven for 40-45 minutes until cooked through (check with a toothpick).
8. Allow to cool for 15 minutes and enjoy hot, or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator overnight and enjoy cold!

This recipe was developed by Dani Watt and shared with permission from Cooking with the Starrs.