This is the best! Banana Bread With Greek Yogurt is bursting with flavor and made with tons of healthy ingredients. This recipe can be made with or without chocolate chips and/or nuts.
Looking for more healthy bread recipes? Check out this Healthy Zucchini Bread, this Healthy Pumpkin Bread, or this Healthy Applesauce Bread.
Banana Bread With Greek Yogurt
This simple and healthy banana bread recipe has quickly become one of my favorites. My kids and husband are obsessed with it and it’s received dozens of rave reviews. If you’re looking to make healthy banana bread muffins, be sure to check out these Flourless Banana Muffins or this Chocolate Banana Muffin recipe (both on the healthier side)!
While this banana bread does still have refined sugar, it swaps out tons of unhealthy ingredients typically found in banana bread for much healthier, wholesome ones. The sugar is minimal, compared to most banana bread recipes. The oats, Greek yogurt, egg, honey, banana (of course), coconut oil, white wheat flour, and cinnamon are all good-for-you ingredients you’ll find in this bread recipe!
What makes this healthy?*
- Oats: Rich in antioxidants and contain powerful soluble fiber.
- Greek Yogurt: High in protein and packed with probiotics, potassium, and calcium.
- Coconut Oil: High in healthy saturated fats which can boost fat burning and provide your brain and body with quick energy. Also raises HDL cholesterol (good cholesterol) in your blood, which is linked to reduced heart disease risk.
- Egg: Good source of protein, vitamins, and minerals.
- Bananas: Loaded with many essential nutrients and helps improve your digestive health.
- Cinnamon: One of the healthiest spices on the planet! It can lower blood sugar levels and reduce heart disease risk factors.
- White whole wheat flour: A healthy alternative to white flour. Read more here.
*While I have my background in Exercise and Wellness (B.S.), all the content in this post is for informational purposes only. Please consult a doctor or dietician for any specific dietary needs/questions.
How to make Banana Bread With Greek Yogurt
- This easy and healthy banana bread recipe is pretty straightforward — mix wet ingredients together, mix dry ingredients together, and then combine the two!
- My top tip for success: Use good quality ingredients! I love LouAna’s® coconut oil (make sure to measure AFTER it’s melted, not before), and Greek Gods® Honey Vanilla Yogurt. None of these products are sponsored on this website, but I have found them to make the BEST healthy Banana Bread! Do not try to use low-fat Greek yogurt or plain (non-Greek) yogurt in this bread. They won’t yield the same result.
- Banana ripeness matters!! The riper the banana, the sweeter the bread. Check out the ingredient picture (second photo in post) for the ripeness degree I like to use.
- To add chocolate chips or not: If you want to add dark chocolate chips, you’ll still keep this banana loaf on the healthier side — dark chocolate has healthy fats and plenty of antioxidants. You can also add chopped nuts to this healthy banana nut bread. Add 1/2 to 3/4 cup of either and mix them with dry ingredients first to get an even dispersion into the loaf.
- Don’t overmix: If you overmix the batter, you’ll end up with a dense loaf of banana bread. Mix until ingredients are just combined and then pop it in the oven! I like to grease the bread pan with nonstick spray and lightly dust with flour. That way, this healthy Banana Bread comes out like a breeze (let it cool 10 minutes before removing it from the pan).
Quick Tip
If you’re bananas aren’t overripe (as required in this recipe), you can speed along that process. Bake unpeeled bananas on a baking sheet for 15 minutes at 325 F. Turn the bananas halfway through the process so that the skins turn completely black. Let them cool, then remove the banana from the peel and mash it. These oven-ripened bananas have the same flavor and texture as naturally ripened fruit. You can also microwave underripe bananas, but the flavor will still taste like underripe bananas.
How to make oat flour
Oat flour adds more moisture than wheat flour, and it also adds in some extra flavor. That’s exactly what we want in this recipe! Making oat flour at home is easy; here’s how:
- Place the oats (you can use old-fashioned or quick oats) into the bowl of a food processor or small blender jar.
- Pulse the oats until they are ground into a powder-like consistency resembling flour.
- Depending on the speed and power of your food processor or blender, this takes 60 seconds or less.
- Stir the oats around if needed to ensure that all the oats have been finely ground. (See photo below)
- Make sure to measure your oat flour measurement for this recipe after it’s been turned to flour, and not in the whole-oat form.
Banana Bread With Greek Yogurt FAQs
How many calories are in this recipe?
One slice has 182 calories. While not super-low in calories, remember that most of the ingredients are real foods that are good for your body.
How long will banana bread last?
Banana Bread With Yogurt lasts 2-3 days at normal room temperature (wrapped tightly and stored in an airtight container). After 3-4 days, this bread is more prone to molding because of its moistness and the ingredients used.
Do I need to refrigerate this bread?
After being out at room temperature for a day, I recommend refrigerating it and warming individual slices in the microwave for 5-10 seconds. While it’s not necessary to refrigerate the bread, it will keep it fresher for longer.
Can I freeze this banana bread?
Yes! Freeze the freshest bread you have. If you just baked it, allow the bread to cool completely before freezing, to avoid soggy bread or mold.
To freeze: Freeze individual slices of bread, each one completely wrapped in plastic wrap and then stored in a large freezer-safe bag or container. Bread freezes safely for 3 months. Individual slices of this healthy Banana Bread defrost in under 10 minutes at room temperature and take slightly longer in the refrigerator.
More delicious baked goods
- Healthier flourless Applesauce Cake
- Healthy Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Flourless and Healthy Apple Muffins
- Flourless Healthy Pumpkin Muffins
- Lemon Zucchini Bread with Greek yogurt
Banana Bread with Greek Yogurt
Equipment
- Bread pan 8 x 4-inch
Ingredients
- 2 to 3 very ripe bananas 1 cup mashed banana
- 1/2 cup vanilla-flavored Greek yogurt
- 1 large egg
- 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 5 tablespoons coconut oil melted
- 2 heaping tablespoons honey
- 1/2 cup brown sugar lightly packed
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 cup all-purpose flour or white-whole wheat flour, see note 1
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1/3 cup oat flour blend old-fashioned or quick oats
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350℉. Grease and flour a bread pan; set aside. I use an 8x4-inch bread pan. Remove banana skins and mash bananas with a fork.
- In a large bowl, stir together mashed bananas, Greek yogurt, egg, vanilla, coconut oil (measure in melted form), honey, and brown sugar until well combined.
- From your 1 cup flour, remove 1 tablespoon and replace it with 1 tablespoon cornstarch (this makes a lighter, cake-like flour). Stir.
- In another bowl, stir together baking soda, salt, cinnamon, flour/cornstarch mixture, and oat flour (measure oat flour after blending the oats. To make oat flour, put old-fashioned or quick oats in a blender and pulse them until they resemble flour).
- Mix wet and dry ingredients together until just combined (overmixing will yield a dense bread).
- Pour into the prepared bread pan. If desired, sprinkle 1–2 tablespoons brown sugar on top of the bread for a nice crust. Bake 45–65 minutes or until a fork comes out clean when inserted into the center or the bread starts to pull away from the edges. If needed, tent bread with foil if the top is baking faster than the rest.
Video
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Made it twice but it doesn’t rise. What could be the problem?😓
Did you change the recipe at all? Is your baking soda fresh?
Can I sub almond flour for oat flour, I Can’t have oats
The two aren’t a perfect substitution unfortunately
This looks so yummy, and the ingredients are what I was going for. I was thinking about making muffins prior to stumbling upon this recipe … Could I do this as muffins instead, and if so, would you say liners or no?
Thanks!
I’d try this recipe instead 🙂 https://www.chelseasmessyapron.com/healthy-banana-oat-muffins/
Hi Chelsea, have you ever tried making this with a gluten free flour blend instead of white whole wheat flour?
I haven’t yet, sorry Lindsey!
I’m confused by the first ingredient. Is it supposed to be 2/3 cup banana? or 2 to 3 cups banana? And if so, 2-3 cups is a bit vague. The list says bananas, plural… then it says (~1). I’m interested to make it but want to understand the ingredients first! Thanks!
Thank you for bringing that to my attention; it looks like the recipe formatting got off a little. It’s fixed; enjoy! 🙂
Could plain regular (not Greek yogurt) work instead of the Greek yogurt or would that just be a runny mess? Thanks in advance!?
Unfortunately not; the Greek yogurt is a lot thicker and more substantial!
Made this banana bread today. It is abosoluely delicious!! Will definitely make it again. Thank you 🙂
So happy to hear this was a hit! Thanks for the comment Jayne! 🙂