This healthier Greek Yogurt Banana Oat Bread is made without butter or oil, but so soft and tender that you’d never be able to tell! Naturally sweetened with plenty banana flavour, it makes a great healthier alternative to a traditional favourite!
Can I tell you a secret? It’s a big one. You ready?
Every day is a good day to eat banana bread.
No? You were expecting something different? Something more scandalous? I know. But I’ve been sitting here for 15 minutes getting distracted by Slither trying to come up with a way to start this post and nothing was coming to me, so I decided to just write out the first thing that came to mind and that was it.
But that’s okay because I figure you’re not here for fancy shmancy intros anyways (I hope). You’re here because you saw the title of this post and thought to yourself “ooooooo, banana OAT bread!” and that, my friends, is something I can most definitely deliver.
For how much I love it, I feel like I don’t have nearly enough banana bread recipes here on the ol’ blog. I mean, I have a bunch of different variations (chocolate, pumpkin, zucchini, etc.), but not enough straight up banana-y flavoured quick breads.
That’s why, when the fam asked for something they could have with their coffee, my brain beelined for the banana bread. Kind of.
That’s actually paraphrasing it nicely. The reality of the situation is that my mom kind of “subtly hinted” that I needed to make something especially for her by pointing out that I never make anything she can eat… which is kind of true.
You know how I mentioned that she has those salicylate sensitivities? Well, pretty much everything I make has either almonds, dates, honey, or coconut in it, aaaaaaand she can’t have any of those. I know. It’s pretty brutal.
But she can have flour, oats, bananas, maple syrup, and Greek yogurt, which is exactly what’s the kind of ingredients you’ll find in this loaf of Greek yogurt banana oat bread.
What I did was take the recipe for my Greek yogurt banana bread and tweak it a little bit to allow for the addition of oats. Oh, and to make everything in one bowl.
It’s just as soft and tender as the original despite the little bit of extra heartiness, and you’d never be able to tell that it’s made without any butter or oil. For sweetener, I opted to just use maple syrup to make it refined-sugar-free. Everyone found it to be sweet enough with just 6 Tbsp, but if you like your banana bread on the sweeter side, I included an option to add a little extra sugar.
You can also toss in some add-ins like chocolate chips, dried fruit, or nuts, but I’m a purist when it comes to banana bread and prefer it without any other flavours competing for tastebud love. I get that from my momma; and this bread’s for her.
And you guys. Happy eating!
I’d love to know if you make this recipe! Leave a comment and rating down below to let me know what you think, and subscribe to our mailing list to receive new recipes in your inbox!
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Greek Yogurt Banana Oat Bread
- Total Time: 50 mins
- Yield: 12 slices 1x
Ingredients
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup (115 g) plain 2% Greek yogurt
- 2 medium-size, ripe bananas, mashed (200 g or 1 cup)
- 6 Tbsp (90 ml) maple syrup
- (optional) 1/4 cup (50 g) brown sugar*
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup (60 g) quick oats
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 1/4 cup (150 g) white whole wheat flour
- Optional add-ins: 1/2 cup chocolate chips/dried fruit/nuts/etc.
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350ºF (176ºC), and lightly grease a 9 x 5 (23cm x 13cm) bread pan.
- In a large mixing bowl, lightly beat the eggs until the yolks break apart. Whisk in the yogurt, bananas, maple syrup, sugar (if using), and vanilla, mixing until smooth.
- Stir in the oats, baking soda, and cinnamon. Finally, spoon in the flour and gently stir it in until just combined. If you’re adding any mix-ins, fold them in now.
- Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan, spreading it out evenly. Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center 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
* We found this to be sweet enough with just the maple syrup, but you can also add extra sugar if you like your bread on the sweeter side.
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 40 mins
Looking for more healthy banana bread recipes? Try one of these!
Double Chocolate Greek Yogurt Banana Bread
Greek Yogurt Pumpkin Banana Bread
Double Chocolate Zucchini Banana Bread
Flourless Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
Flourless Chocolate Banana Bread
I never comment but I made this recipe three times today and each time it came out wonderfully. This is a no guilt bread for sure because they are just jam packed with goodness. I added an extra banana to two of the batches as well as a full cup of oats and it was perfect. I also added baking powder to ensure it rose correctly. Everything was light, fluffy and delicious. I even made muffins and mini loaves with two of the batches. Versatile and delicious, this will be a go to recipe from now on. Thanks!
I made this recipe yesterday for my Ladies Bible Study. Unfortunately, it went to the birds, not my ladies. My bread was dense and not sweet. It wasn’t fluffy and I make quick breads often, especially banana breads. For me, this is not a keeper. I believe I will stay with my tried and true.
For some reason, the bread didn’t rise for me. Did the dough need to be highly aerated? Is the baking soda quantity right?
Love it! I came across this recipe because I was looking for a healthier lighter banana bread. This recipe is perfect – have made it multiple times. Thankyou!
I think I found this recipe about a year ago,and it is my go-to whenever we have extra bananas. Definitely the best banana bread I’ve ever had! I’ve made it with and without the extra sugar (it doesn’t need it!) I do find it takes a bit longer than 40 minutes to fully bake, but it could just be my oven. Thanks for this recipe, well done.
I’ve followed this recipe most of the times. Love it, thank you!
Delicious recipe! I used 1/2 cup of brown sugar instead of maple syrup and it worked well. I also added chocolate chips and walnuts – perfect combo!
This baked up beautifully gluten-free with Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 flour (measured by weight) in muffin tins. Definitely making this again!
I was sceptical about this recipe but so glad I tried it. I didn’t have plain greek yoghurt so used my slightly sweetened greek yoghurt, emitted the sugar and used plain white flour as that is the only type I have. Made into muffins, took 16min in the oven and made about a dozen. Thank you for this recipe will certainly be making this again.
I make this frequently and it’s always delicious.
Very successful! I used only spelt flour and added a little bit more! Didn’t have maple syrup so I used brown sugar! Everyone loved it!
What I love about this recipe is that no oil is required! Thank you!
Can I use rolled oats instead of quick oats?
Yes that should be fine, Melissa!
I ran of Greek yogurt can I use normal yogurt instead?? Am really excited to try this recipe
Yes regular yogurt should be fine!
Hi! Will nonfat yogurt work? Thanks!
Oh my god I’m literally in love with it!!!
This will be my new go to banana bread recipe. I made it exactly as written (no extra sugar, added walnuts) and it was sweet enough and beautifully moist and flavourful. Thanks for sharing. 10 stars!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Angel! Thank you for taking the time to let me know 🙂
I made this twice and it turned out great! I did have to substitute the whole wheat flour for a mixture of barley and all purpose (60g+90g respectively), but it worked very well. I also ran short on maple syrup the second time so I used 2tbsp maple syrup, 3tbsp thick honey and 1tbsp water + some brown sugar and it was delish!! I’ve had problems with dense and soggy banana bread in the past so when this came out fluffy and perfectly moist I was super glad 🙂
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Sandra! Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a review and sharing your modifications 🙂
The bread came out great. I didn’t add the sugar. I added chopped walnuts. I will make again.
I love this recipe. I’ve made it 2x now and both times I swapped out maple syrup for honey and used 1c oats 1c white flour. Super moist and not overly sweet. It’s delicious on it’s own but I recommend spreading a little Greek cream cheese on top if you have some. I think next time I’ll try making muffins. Keep you posted!
Can all purpose four or cake flour be used instead?
Yes that should be fine, Lin!
Can I use plain flour instead of wholemeal flour
Yes that should be fine!
ai ran out of baking soda ☹️. Could I still make it without this ingredient? Thanks for the recipe.
As long as you have baking powder it should be fine! But you’ll have to use a little more… something like 2 tsp of powder. If you don’t have that either, the bread just might not rise very well.
Could I make it with just oat flour and would it be the same amount?
I don’t think so, Julekha. Oat flour is a lot denser so it would change the texture of the loaf quite a bit.
Turned out amazing! How long does this last on the counter or do you refrigerate it?
I’m so glad you like it, Zhi! It should be fine for about 5 days on the counter. After that I would toss it in the fridge or freeze it.
Won’t last 5 days in our house
Possible to twist into keto version – use almond flour or coconut flour instead ?
Thank you
I made this with spelt flour and it works out great – thank you
At-home isolation + lots of time to fill + ugh spring snow = SO. MUCH. BAKING. And my carb addiction will NEVER go away at this point. I’ll be making this just as soon as I get it printed off. 🙂 THANK YOU from eastern WA!
Texture was great! Love swaping I’m Greek yogurt! I added brewers yeast because I am nursing and I did roles vs quick oats and reg flower. I also added coco powder which I think took away from the banana flavor but it covers up the brewers yeast flavor 😀. Next time w brewers yeast I will either include chocolate chips to up the sweetness in each bit or maybe try my shaklee chocolate protein powder. Oh also make mine in donut pans (about 10mins to cook) and put in the freezer go eat one by one w coffee in the AM.
I’m so glad you liked it, Melissa! Thank you for taking the time to leave a review and share your modifications.
A word for non Americans: use use the metric measurements as tablespoons and cups are not the same. Also flour is “self raising” not plain (as I found out). My only substitute was kefir in place of yoghurt as that’s what I had on hand. For fan-forced ovens, 25 mins was more than enough (but I will confirm when I try it with the proper flour). Will def try this again as the flavour is lovely and not sweet at all (I used 60ml of maple syrup simply because I couldn’t figure out the mismatch between the spoon vs ml on my measuring cup and no additional sugar) but plenty sweet enough for me . Next time I’ll add some crushed walnuts for a bit more crunch.
Thank you so much for this! My baking is forever suffering from American recipe conversions XD
This was a good recipe. I did not have syrup so just added a1/2 cup brown sugar. I also added ground flax and zucchini about a cup and walnuts. Instead of making it into a bread I made muffins. Baked for 25 min in my stoneware muffin pan. Yield was 18. Very yummy and not overly sweet
I’m glad you liked the recipe, Melanie. Love the add-ins you put in 🙂
This is the best banana bread I have ever tasted or made. I always buy a few bananas just for baking purposes and I always wait until they are very ripe (brown and mushy) when I use them in my baking. I followed this recipe exact but I did not use the sugar. The bananas were ripe enough for the sweetness and oh my Goddess the bread did not even last a few hours, half was gone in 5 minutes in my house of 6. It was absolutely moist and delicious. I meal prep every Sunday and always bake healthy treats, so I had to make another loaf straight away… My mother and mother-in-law loved it with just a smidge of butter. I’ve now subscribed to ensure I never miss a recipe…
This recipe did not work for me. The bread didn’t cook on the inside and it was very dense. I also found it bland and that it did not have enough banana flavor. The only change I made to the recipe was using all purpose flour rather than the wheat flour.. not sure if that’s what ruined the recipe. I’ve made banana bread dozens of times so I also don’t think it was my method that ruined it.
I also followed this recipe and mine did not bake even after over an hour in the oven …
was impressed with the banana yogurt, oatmeal. a lot of taste.
I just made this!!! I love it!! Not overly sweet and so moist. Made it to pack in my son’s lunch. I’ve been looking for something a little healthier than store bought. Now my ripe bananas won’t go to waste. Thank you!!!
I made this loaf today and am absolutely thrilled with the result. I was very pleasantly surprised as normally healthier versions of baking don’t taste that great….this was soooo delicious. I used spelt and wholemeal flour instead of white wheatmeal flour as its all all I had in the pantry and I added walnuts to it. Baking time in the oven was a bit longer than 40 minutes, it took just less than an hour to bake. Thank you Amanda for a great recipe.
Next on my list to try is your flourless chocolate brownies 🙂
Do you think I could make these as muffins instead of a loaf?
Definitely! It should make 12 muffins, and the cook time would be around 20 minutes.
Made them today as muffin! Perfect! Thanks!
Hi great recipe but to those with salicylate intolerance leave out the cinnamon as it’s high Sal’s and I didn’t need to use the brown sugar the maple syrup added enough sweetness but thank you as it’s very hard to get safe recipes that taste so good 😊🌈
Tried your recipe this morning and very happy with the result! So yummy and soooofttttttt!!! Best banana bread recipe i’ve tried so far. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe
I’m so glad you like it, Rhea! Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a comment and let me know 😀
This is singularly the best banana bread recipe on the planet! I have tried loads and this is the winner by a long shot. I don’t add the maple syrup and my kids still can’t get enough of it… they literally ask for this every day! Thank you so much.
I’m so glad to hear that you and your family like it, Fe! Thanks so much for taking the time to let me know 😀
I made this tonight, and the only thing I changed was I substituted rolled oats for the quick oats as I didn’t have quick oats. It turned out amazing. I’ll definitely make again!
So glad you like it, Melanie! Thanks for taking the time to let me know 🙂
Made them as muffins this morning and came out great! Thank you!!
This is probably the tenth time I’ve made this. Instead of load, I bake it as muffins. I freeze them and use them whenever I need a quick grab n go breakfast. I do add another banana, because I like the strong banana flavour. They come out to be 135 calories each. (12 total)
Love the idea of turning this loaf into muffins, Yael! I’m glad you like them 🙂