This healthier Greek Yogurt Banana Bread is made without butter or oil, but so soft and tender that you’d never be able to tell! Naturally sweetened and loaded with banana flavour, it makes a great healthier alternative to a traditional favourite!
I realized an embarrassing thing the other day. Well, two embarrassing things.
The first was that I somehow managed to miss a few patches when I was shaving my right leg. Which wouldn’t have been horrible had I not had someone else point it out to me two days after the fact. Awkward.
The second was that, for how much I adore it, I don’t really have any banana bread recipes here on Spoons. I mean, I do, but I basically posted them as recipes in passing without really giving them the kind of attention they deserved. So it’s time to rectify that mistake…
Banana bread is one of two three sweet treats that hold a special place in my heart — the other two being chocolate chip oatmeal cookies and Black Forest cake. And if you’re wondering what those three things could possibly have in common, the answer is: almost nothing other than the fact that they’re delicious and basically epitomize my childhood. Well, the homemade baked goodie portion of my childhood, anyways.
I’ve been baking for pretty much as long as I can remember, and almost all of those early baking memories involve hanging out in the kitchen and “helping” Mom make one of the aforementioned treats, with cookies being the most common, Black Forest happening for every.single special occasion, and the elusive banana bread making an appearance on the off-chance that we had some ripe bananas lying around… which wasn’t really that often.
I actually remember not believing my mom when she said that we couldn’t make banana bread because the bananas weren’t ripe enough. My little 7 year-old self saw yellow bananas on the counter and couldn’t understand what more my mom wanted from them. Bananas were bananas… weren’t they? It wasn’t until many years later when I realized that there actually was a huge difference in not only the sweetness, but the texture that properly ripe bananas add to whatever you throw them in. Not to mention the increased health benefits.
Anywho, maybe it’s because it was such a rare occurrence, or maybe it’s because it’s just plain delicious, but banana bread secured one of the coveted top 3 spots in my heart, and it continues to hold that spot to this day. Which makes the fact that I couldn’t even remember the last time I had a slice of it that much more embarrassing…
But like I said… it’s been rectified.
I originally posted a slightly modified version of this recipe a couple years ago, but it pretty much got lost in the archives since I wasn’t serious about food blogging at that point, and had no idea about photography, SEO, social media promotion, etc… which is a shame because it’s really kind of amazing. And by “really kind of amazing” I mean it’s easily my favourite recipe for healthy banana bread.
Soft, tender, subtly sweet, and loaded with banana flavour, you’d never be able to tell that this banana bread is made without butter or oil. Instead, it’s got Greek yogurt to keep it moist, with an extra egg and some coconut sugar to help out.
The recipe calls for 1/2 cup, but you’d be fine cutting that down to 1/3 cup if you like your breads a little less sweet. And this is especially true if you were planning on tossing in some chocolate chips. I like my banana bread without any add-ins, so I passed on the chocolate (I know, I know) and played around with the sweetness instead. Both versions were delicious — it really depends on how sweet you like it!
Happy eating!
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Greek Yogurt Banana Bread
- Total Time: 50 mins
- Yield: 12 slices 1x
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups (180 g) all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 2 large eggs
- 2 medium-sized ripe bananas (200 g or 1 cup mashed)
- 1/2 cup (115 g) plain or vanilla Greek yogurt
- 1/4 cup (60 ml) maple syrup
- 1/4 cup (50 g) brown sugar
- Optional add-ins: 1/2 cup chocolate chips/raisins/nuts
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350ºF (176ºC), and lightly grease a 9 x 5 (23cm x 13cm) loaf pan.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- In a smaller mixing bowl, lightly beat the eggs until the yolks break apart. Whisk in the mashed bananas, yogurt, maple syrup, and sugar (if using), mixing until smooth.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, mixing gently until just combined. Do not overmix. If you’re adding any mix-ins, fold them in now.
- Pour the batter into the loaf pan, spreading it out evenly, and bake for 40-45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.
- Remove the bread from the oven and let it cool in the pan for about 10 minutes before transferring it to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Notes
* You can also use coconut sugar.
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 40 mins
Recipe was edited in March 2020 but reverted to original by popular demand.
Looking for more healthy banana recipes? Try one of these!
Banana Oat Greek Yogurt Muffins
Flourless Banana Bread Muffins
Strawberry Banana Oat Bars
Flourless Vegan Banana Muffins
Flourless Chocolate Banana Bread
I love Greek yogurt banana bread, I usually have this bread after play Traffic Jam 3D car driving game.
To those of you trying this recipe for the first time—DON’T expect it to come out like your regular banana bread! Instead, enjoy it for what it is. For me it turned out kind of eggy and a little dense, but I still really enjoyed it!
The texture reminded me of a French toast.
What an awesome recipe! I made mine in large muffin tins and used self raising bran flour instead. I also added a ‘naughty’ streusel topping. They are amazing, thank you!
Is this real? I’ve never seen a bread with yogurt in it. Really looking to taste one. But there is a question will the yogurt can spoil the taste if it rest for 2-3 hours or we took it for 1-2 days..?
Jeena from SAFYD
So simple, used yoghurt past its used by, used rice syrup instead of maple, bananas weren’t even overripe, and it still turned out fine. Loved that no butter or oil was needed.
Cab you use almond flour instead of all purpose?
Came out perfectly. I didn’t use the maple syrup. Instead I used 1 large Tb of soaked chias seed, 1/8 cup of coconut sugar and 1/8 cup of erythritol+monkfruit sweeter since my bf and I have lower sweetness preferences. I made sure to whip the egg and sugar first. I also added one cup of walnuts and half cup of dark chocolate baking chips. Otherwise followed the recipe as noted – and made sure not to over blend. My bf and Ioved this light and moist bread with our tea ate half the first night and polished it off the next day. Please keep this email up so others can find a healthy delicious treat.
Came out perfectly. I didn’t use the maple syrup, used instead I used 1/8 cup of coconut sugar and 1/8 cup of erythritol+monkfruit sweeter since my bf and I have lower sweetness preferences. I made sure to whip the egg and sugar first. I also added one cup of walnuts and half cup of dark chocolate baking chips. Otherwise followed the recipe as noted – and made sure not to over blend. My bf and Ioved this light and moist bread with our tea ate half the first night and polished it off the next day. Please keep this email up so others can find a healthy delicious treat.
Yum! I had two bananas going black and some Greek yogurt past the expiration. I thought this turned out great. I added some cardamom, 1/4 cup almond flour and a hint of almond extract and skipped the brown sugar. I wish I had more overripe bananas so I could make another loaf. The first one is half gone and it’s hasn’t completely cooled yet! I thought the texture was perfect.
I made it once and it was perfect but the second time it caved in. I don’t know what happened. My homemade yogurt is thick but maybe I should have strained it anyway? Also left out brown sugar .
I approached this recipe with trepidation due to some comments stating that the result was “rubbery” and disappointing. Yet the positive comments encouraged me to give it a try. I had a pot of Greek yogurt that needed to be used up as well as some super ripe bananas that were on their last leg. As an experienced baker I was able to immediately tell that 180g flour was not the correct conversion for 1 1/2 cups flour… So if following the imperial weight measurement you need 200g flour. To avoid the rubbery texture people were describing I made sure to beat the eggs and sugar together very well until light and fluffy before combing them with the rest of the wet ingredients. I added cinnamon, powdered ginger, and raisins to the mix. The cake was done in 42 minutes; it was well risen and springy to the touch. I drizzled a spoon of honey onto the hot cake just for fun. I can honestly say that for a cake with little sugar and no butter the result is fantastic. This is a healthy cake, so people can’t compare it to their favourite “other” banana bread. This is unique due to the ingredients it’s made of and I encourage everyone to try it – I’m glad that I did. Thank you.
This great advice! Like others mine came out rubbery. I’ll add in those extra steps, thank you. I substituted half the flour for oat flour, added in tasteless protein powder and used sugar free maple syrup. Great taste, even better when toasted!
This recipe was not good. Like the other commenter, mine came out super rubbery and awful. I bake quickbreads fairly frequently and this is by far the worst recipe I’ve made. It ended up baking completely unevenly because the mix was so dry. The bottom was burned by the time the middle was baked through. Don’t bother with this recipe.
I just made this recipe, and I put nestle semi sweet chocolate chips in there, and after it came out of the oven I put melted butter over the top. Let’s just say omg, I couldn’t even wait for it to cool down. I love this recipe.can’t wait to share it with my daughter, and I’m Celiac, so I used King Arthur’s gluten free one to one flour. I’m now going to make some muffins with this recipe cause I have some more bananas, then I will freeze them. Wish I could post my pictures.
Thanks for the recipe, and I’m not sure why the other people didn’t like this recipe
I’ve made this recipe twice now and it is, by far, my favorite recipe for banana bread. No oil and I omitted the sugar. I used two very large, very ripe bananas and both times is was perfect. I used an entire cup of plain greek yogurt and walnuts. Not sure what happened for others but perhaps they prefer a sweeter, more traditional (and less healthy) recipe.
Love this recipe! I’ve been using it for years and have added a variety of add-ins as well! I’m so sorry for the extremely rude comments you received from others— I’m sure they must have done something wrong to have a poor outcome. My vote is that it stays on the internet forever! It’s delicious and yummy and enjoyable guilt-free! Thanks for such a great recipe. 🙂
Hi Amanda! Thank you for this amazing recipe, yeah the trick is always the folding in of the wet to dry ingredients but I learnt this well in school and this bread never failed even on my very first attempt! ✌🏻 I made this banana bread so “Brazi-milion” times and even gave this bread out to my friends whom all raves about how yummy and healthy it is 😉 I made them all without sugar and syrup but used super riped bananas and a dash of vanilla and cinnamon powder!
O yes forgot to mention walnuts and pecan nuts also works very well with this recipe 😜✌🏻
I made this as the recipe exists today. Cooked great, not overly sweet, unlike another recipe I tried with an entire cup of sugar. It came out moist and delicious. I will for sure make this again.
Just made this. Delicious. I used 3 bananas & no sugar + added walnuts. It cooked perfectly in 40 min & was moist. Big hot with hubby.
I did an internet search for a banana bread that was healthy and low in calories. This one came up. The ingredients were ones I had on hand. I use organic ingredients as much as possible, something I don’t think would make any difference in the results. When trying a recipe for the first time, my way to go is to do exactly what the recipe calls for. Otherwise, I can’t make a true assessment. Compared with other banana bread recipes I’ve used, this one is not extra sweet. Note: it doesn’t call for as many bananas as I’m used to using, and no white sugar. I have made it twice and both times it had a nice crust that develops around the whole loaf. Wondering if that could be from the maple syrup. Sometimes other breads have been “sweaty” on the bottom. This crust, to me, is a plus. The bread isn’t crumbly so I have sliced it thin and even toasted it. I did add nuts, —pecans the first time, and walnuts the second. They were chopped from whole nuts down to small pieces. The first bake I followed everything to the letter. The second time I (oops!) dumped the brown sugar in as a dry ingredient— no difference in how it turned out. (The directions say to put the brown sugar in with the wet ingredients) My experience is that “easy does it” when adding all together. I folded the wet into dry with my spatula, no stirring at all. I folded only 1-2 minutes. The bread was ready at 45 minutes and I took it out and popped it on a rack to cool right away. For me, this one is a “keeper” and disappears fast. I doubt regular yogurt would work. I used plain Greek yogurt per directions. The consistency between it and regular yogurt is important. If you strain regular yogurt, until it is like sour cream, it may work. Am mentioning this as some of the reviews said the bread was too moist. If I were to add anything before baking, I might try some fresh orange peel bits.
made this last night. Threw the whole thing out. It was probably the worst cake I’ve ever baked. Was like rubber and tasteless . Sorry to criticize but I want to save others from wasting their time.
I have to disagree with previous comment I bake for a Juicery and thought I would try this healthy alternative. It was moist – flavorful and added it to my “go to “banana bread list!
As with all breads, over mixing ingredients can be a disaster so I folded wet into dry softly. I added a few chocolate chips and a few whole pecans on top. Loved it!!!!
Marisa I had the same experience! Not sure where it went wrong but it came out super rubbery and not the normal banana bread texture at all.
Thank you for this recipe love lt 😊 will try with nuts next time
I came across this recipe today. I had a couple of over ripe bananas and some Greek yogurt that needed to be used. I LOVE this recipe! I did add cinnamon and vanilla which blended well with the maple syrup and banana flavor. 40 minutes cooking time and it was perfect! Also added a little powdered sugar on top for a little extra sweetness. I will definitely make this again.
Holy moly, this is the worst banana bread I’ve ever made. It is flavorless, gummy and dense. It wasn’t until after I pulled this from the oven that I started reading through a lot of the other reviews because while my toothpick came out clean right around 40 minutes, the top was not browned. Then I started seeing all of the comments about original recipe vs. modified. I just had a few bites and it is AWFUL. Literally the worst banana bread recipe I have ever tasted. I did everything correctly and know I did not overmix it, but even if I had, that doesn’t account for the lack of flavor in this.
I’m tossing this in the trash now. The poor ingredients deserved a better ending. I seriously feel like this recipe should be removed from the internet forever.
I had this exact same experience!! I’ve never seen a quickbread bake like this it was so strange.
Not sure how anyone thought this wasn’t a good recipe, I used vanilla Greek yogurt and around a 1/3 cup of coconut sugar, and added some walnuts. It is so good, I am always pleased when making a good healthy option taste amazing!! We loved it, thank you for coming up with this recipe! And to the person saying this recipe should be removed is just ridiculous, I love good banana bread and this was perfect!