Protein Banana Bread
Protein banana bread is a yummy, protein-packed breakfast treat perfect for starting your morning off right! This bread is super moist and fluffy with a deliciously tender crumb and tons of natural sweetness and bright banana flavor in each bite.
Servings: 1 loaf (10 slices)
Ingredients
- 1½ c white whole wheat flour
- ½ c vanilla plant-based/vegan protein powder *see notes
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- 2 c mashed bananas (about 5 medium bananas)
- ½ c pure maple syrup
- ⅓ c extra virgin olive oil
- 5.3 oz plain reduced fat or full fat Greek yogurt (about ⅔ cup)
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ c walnuts, chopped
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly mist a loaf pan with cooking spray.
- Mix dry ingredients: In a large bowl, combine the flour, protein powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Whisk together with a fork. Set aside.
- Install the whisk attachment on a stand mixer. Add the bananas to the bowl and whisk until pureed. You should yield about 2 cups of mashed banana (about 5 medium bananas).
- Add the olive oil, maple syrup, Greek yogurt, eggs, and vanilla extract and whisk together on medium speed.
- With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients slowly to the bowl. Be careful not to overmix (there can be a few lumps and white streaks in the batter). Fold in the walnuts.
- Spoon the batter into the bread pan, smoothing it out with the back of a spatula. Cook for 60 to 70 minutes. Loosely cover the bread with tin foil for the last 30 minutes of baking in order to prevent the top and sides from burning. After 60 minutes, check that the bread is done by inserting a knife or toothpick into the center of the loaf. It should come out clean.
- Remove the bread from the oven and cool completely in the pan on a wire rack before cutting. This bread will keep about 2 days at room temperature or 7 days in the refrigerator.
Notes
- We recommend using vegan or plant-based protein rather than whey protein. We have tried several whey proteins when baking and they do not perform as well as vegan varieties. We love Orgain Simple vanilla or My Protein vanilla pea protein powders.