Banana bread is one of the most widely enjoyed baked goods; a thick slice always hits the spot. The secret ingredients to take your banana bread to the next level are actually ingredients that make the treat better for you. This high protein banana bread has Greek yogurt, buttermilk, oat flour, and almond flour for a boost in healthy fats, protein, and fiber, which help to keep your blood sugar balanced and keep you full for longer. Yogurt adds fat and protein, which ensure the bread will turn out perfectly moist, while the oat and almond flour give the bread a slightly chewy texture and more complex flavor compared to using only white flour. Between the taste and the nutrition, this banana bread could not be more satisfying.
How to Make Protein Banana Bread
Making this baked good is basically a matter of throwing your dry ingredients in a bowl, mixing the wet ingredients in another, and folding everything together. This recipe follows the classic technique to make it, but adds a few tricks to really make it something special. To add protein to banana bread, I like to use oat and almond flour, Greek or regular yogurt, buttermilk, and eggs. The buttermilk and the yogurt also add fat and moisture that make this banana bread so soft and tender. I use many of these ingredients for the same reasons in my best ever sourdough discard pancakes recipe!
Bake Notes
- Because of how moist it is, this bread will be very soft when it comes out and slightly sticky on the sides if you choose to coat the pan with sugar. It will set up and harden as it cools, but it should be left for at least a few hours to cool out of the loaf pan before you cut into it.
- If you don’t have buttermilk, you can either use regular milk or just use more yogurt (the 1/3 cup it calls for plus 1/4 cup in place of the buttermilk).
- If you don’t have yogurt, you can try using sour cream, mascarpone, or even mayo. (I’ve only tested with mascarpone, but the others should work. I encourage you to experiment.)
Easy Higher Protein Banana Bread
- Total Time: 1.5 hours
- Yield: 8–10 servings 1x
Description
With oat flour, almond flour, and Greek yogurt, this banana bread higher protein than your average slice. It’s also the softest banana bread you’ll ever make.
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 2/3 cup oat flour
- 1/4 cup almond flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/3 c granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 4 ripe bananas + 1 for the top
- 1/4 cup buttermilk
- 1/3 cup yogurt
- 1/4 cup butter, melted
- 1 tsp vanilla
- Butter, for greasing the pan
- 1/2 cup demerara sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350. Grease a loaf pan with butter, covering the entire surface area of the inside of the pan (all sides, up to the top, and the bottom).
- Dump the demerara sugar into the loaf pan. Pick up the pan and tilt it around, tapping the sides as you go, to coax the sugar to the edges of the pan. It should stick to the butter so the pan ends up being coated in sugar. Dump out the excess sugar and set aside to use later.
- In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, oat flour, almond flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.
- In a large bowl, mash 4 bananas very well until only small lumps remain. Add the granulated and brown sugars and whisk to combine.
- Add the buttermilk, yogurt, melted butter, and vanilla. Whisk to combine.
- Add 1/3 of the dry ingredient mixture to the wet ingredient mixture and fold it together gently with a spatula. Repeat with the remaining 2/3 of the dry ingredients. Mix until the batter is just combined and no spots of flour remain, but don’t overmix.
- Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan.
- Slice the remaining banana in half lengthwise and place the halves cut side up on top of the batter. Sprinkle the batter with the leftover demerara sugar, coating the entire surface.
- Bake for 70-85 minutes, until the top is set and not gummy or wet. A toothpick inserted into the center should come out (mostly) clean. (There will always be wet spots of banana in banana bread, so the toothpick test is not always foolproof with this baked good).
- Let it cool in the pan for 20 minutes. Run a knife around the edges of the bread to loosen it, and then turn it out of the pan. Place it on a wire rack to cool for at least 2 hours before slicing into it.
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 1 hour