Protein Banana Bread
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Published Oct 20, 2023, Updated Dec 15, 2024
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This high protein banana bread is perfectly moist, fluffy and super easy to make. It’s packed with 13 grams of protein per slice and makes for a great healthy snack or breakfast option to meal prep for the week.
I’m always trying to find ways to add more protein to my diet and this protein banana bread has been my latest obsession.
Not only is this whole loaf packed with 130 grams of protein (which is about 13 grams per slice), but it’s so quick and easy to whip up. We’re using a blend of oat flour and almond flour for this loaf, resulting in a perfectly soft and fluffy texture that is guaranteed to be hit!
If you’re looking for more banana bread recipes (without the added protein) you could try my healthy banana bread, oat flour banana bread, or chocolate banana bread recipe!
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Moist and fluffy – This banana bread has the perfect soft texture and melts in your mouth with every bite.
- Packed with protein – Each slice boasts 13 grams of protein, making it a satisfying option for breakfast, a post-workout snack, or even dessert.
- Quick and easy – Simple ingredients, minimal prep, and one bowl required.
- Gluten-free and oil-free – Plus, it’s refined sugar-free, so it’s a treat you can feel good about!
- Versatile and delicious – Enjoy it plain, slathered with nut butter, or even topped with yogurt and fresh fruit for a fun twist.
Ingredients Needed
- oat flour – you can make your own oat flour if you’d like or use store-bought. I like Bob’s Red Mill oat flour.
- almond flour – make sure you get almond flour and not almond meal! Bob’s Red Mill almond flour is what I typically buy.
- vanilla protein powder – the main source of protein in this protein banana bread. Your favorite brand of vanilla protein powder works, but Nuzest is one of my favorite brands. It’s plant-based and has a minimal, clean ingredient list. Plus, the vanilla flavor is delish. You can use my code eatingbirdfood for 15% off your order.
- ripe bananas – the star of the show adding moistness and natural sweetness. Make sure you’re using ripe bananas that have brown spots for the best results.
- Greek yogurt – the secret ingredient for a moist texture without the need of added oil. Plus, it adds some more protein to this loaf. I used full fat Greek yogurt, but 2% will also work. I don’t recommend using fat-free yogurt as it has added ingredients that can change the consistency of this banana bread.
- maple syrup – the perfect natural sweetener for this recipe! I love the flavor the maple syrup adds to this loaf. Make sure you’re using pure maple syrup and not pancake syrup as that’s loaded with corn syrup and additives.
- eggs – helps bind all the ingredients together and provide structure for the banana bread.
- chocolate chips – I really like Lily’s chocolate chips because they’re dairy-free, lower in sugar and still have a great flavor. I also like the Enjoy Life dark chocolate chips which are vegan + allergen-friendly.
Find the full ingredient list with measurements in the recipe card below.
Substitutions & Notes
- Chocolate protein banana bread: Want some extra chocolatey goodness? Swap the vanilla protein powder with chocolate protein powder!
- Flour: This recipe hasn’t been tested with different flour so I don’t recommend substituting the oat or almond flour with another flour.
- Protein powder: This loaf hasn’t been tested with anything besides protein powder, so I don’t know what a good substitute would be. If you’re looking for a chocolate chip banana bread recipe that doesn’t call for protein powder, I suggest making my almond flour banana bread or chocolate chip coconut flour banana bread instead.
- Eggs: I haven’t tried this loaf with an egg substitute like flax eggs, but if you end up trying it let me know in the comments below!
- Greek yogurt: To make this loaf dairy-free swap the Greek yogurt with a dairy-free yogurt of choice.
- Maple syrup: You can swap the maple syrup with honey or another liquid sweetener like agave or monk fruit maple syrup. I wouldn’t recommend subbing the maple for a dry sugar like coconut sugar or cane sugar as I haven’t tested it and that would likely affect the overall texture of this loaf.
- Chocolate: Feel free to skip the chocolate chips or substitute it with a different mix-in of choice like chopped nuts (pecans, walnuts or almonds would all work well) or dried fruit.
How to Make
Step 1: Preheat your oven to 350°F and prepare your loaf pan with parchment paper or cooking spray. In a medium bowl, mix the oat flour, almond flour, protein powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
Step 2: In a large bowl, whisk together Greek yogurt, maple syrup, mashed bananas, eggs, and vanilla extract until smooth.
Step 3: Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined. Gently fold in the chocolate chips.
Step 4: Pour the batter into your loaf pan, add extra chocolate chips if desired, and bake for 55-65 minutes, covering with foil if needed. Let the bread cool in the pan before transferring it to a wire rack to cool completely.
Recipe Tips
- Transfer to a cooling rack: Once done cooking let the bread cool for about 10 minutes in the pan and then remove to cool completely on a wire rack. Don’t leave the bread in the pan for too long because it’ll continue to bake and could dry out or start to condensate.
- Use ripe bananas: Make sure you’re using ripe bananas with brown spots on them for the mashed bananas that are being mixed into the batter. The older, browner and mushier, the better! Here are some different ways to quickly ripen bananas if your bananas aren’t ripe enough.
- Cover if needed: Make sure to check your bread around the 30-minute mark in case your loaf is browning quickly. If so, I recommend covering the bread with tin foil so it doesn’t get too brown.
- Test for doneness: To check if your banana bread is fully baked, insert a toothpick or a knife into the center of the loaf. If it comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs, your bread is ready. If there’s wet batter on the toothpick, bake for a few more minutes and check again.
How to Store
Store this banana bread in an airtight container on the counter for about 2-3 days or in the fridge for about 1 week.
For longer storage, you can store this banana bread in the freezer for up to 3 months! You can freeze the full loaf or individual slices for easy serving when you’re ready to thaw and enjoy. To thaw, place bread in the fridge overnight, at room temperature or defrost in the microwave or toaster oven.
Frequently Asked Questions
I recommend using a plant-based protein powder with minimal ingredients. I used Nuzest vanilla protein powder but I also love the Sun Warrior Vanilla Warrior Blend protein powder. Both don’t have a chalky taste and the ingredient list is minimal. You really can’t taste the protein powder in this banana bread at all and they have a great texture!
This loaf makes 10 slices and one slice of banana bread has about 13 grams of protein. The amount of protein will of course depend on the type of protein powder and yogurt you use as well as how big or small your slices are. If you want to add even more protein to this recipe swap the chocolate chips for chopped nuts instead.
More Protein Recipes to Try
- Protein Muffins
- Protein Waffles
- No Bake Protein Balls – 4 Ways
- Protein Cake
- Blueberry Protein Muffins
- Protein Pudding (3 Ways)
- PB&J Protein Yogurt Bowl
- Protein Cookie Dough
- Protein Cinnamon Rolls
Be sure to check out more high protein breakfast recipes as well as the full collection of quick bread recipes on EBF!
If you enjoyed this recipe, please consider leaving a ⭐ star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below.
Protein Banana Bread
Ingredients
- 1 cup oat flour
- 1 cup almond flour
- ½ cup vanilla protein powder, I used Nuzest
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ cup full fat Greek yogurt
- ½ cup maple syrup
- 1 cup mashed ripe bananas, 3 medium bananas
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ⅔ cup chocolate chips, plus more for topping
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F and line a loaf pan with parchment or spray with cooking spray.
- In a large mixing bowl, mix together the dry ingredients: oat flour, almond flour, protein powder, baking soda, baking powder and sea salt.
- In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients: Greek yogurt, maple syrup, bananas, eggs and vanilla extract.
- Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and stir until just combined.
- Fold in chocolate chips.
- Pour the batter into prepared loaf pan. Top with additional chocolate chips.
- Bake for 55-65 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out mostly clean. It’s okay if it doesn’t come out fully clean as the bread will continue to bake in pan. Check at 30 minutes and cover with tin foil to help the top from browning too much, if needed.
Notes
- Storage: Store banana bread in an airtight container for 2-3 days at room temperature or up to 1 week in the fridge. For longer storage, freeze for up to 3 months, either as a whole loaf or in individual slices. Thaw in the fridge, at room temperature, or quickly defrost in the microwave or toaster oven.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Um, speechless here. I am blown away at how good this recipe is! My picky teens loved it as did I! I ran out of vanilla protein powder so used chocolate protein as well. So so delicious. My kids said it tastes just like my normal banana bread recipe, which normally has 1 cup of white sugar, white flour & a cup of melted butter! So good – thank you for this recipe!!
Woo!! That makes me happy to hear, Christine. So glad this recipe was a hit! Thanks for coming back to leave a review. It means the world to me.
This was so good! I used aloha vanilla plant based protein powder and lilys dark chocolate chips to get it lower in sugar, was very good 🙂 i love the high amount of protein, ate a slice with pb on top!
Yay! So glad you loved this recipe, Jazmyne. Thanks for making it and for coming back to leave a review. I so appreciate it!
I just made this today after making your oat flour banana bread every week since the recipe came out. I wanted to try a higher protein option and I must say they taste similar but I think this one might be better. I used Sun Warrior vanilla protein powder and I didn’t have any yogurt on hand so I used sour cream! I think it really made the difference. So good!
Oh yay!! This makes me so happy to hear. Thanks for giving this recipe a try and I’m so glad you love it. Thanks for coming back to leave a review. I SO appreciate it!
Love it! I make this for the kids to bring as part of their lunch. I’ve made it as muffins too.
Yay!! So glad this recipe is a hit. And good to know it worked as muffins too. How long did you bake the muffins for? Thank you for coming back to leave a review. I so appreciate it!
I love your recipes and I really want to try this one. Can you use whey protein in this recipe?
Hi Deanna – I would recommend plant based protein powder for best results for this banana bread. Enjoy!
Hi! Love your site! Can you substitute the almond flour with regular flour?
Hi Lisa – This recipe hasn’t been tested with different flour so I don’t recommend substituting the oat or almond flour with another flour. So sorry!
Come out perfect everytime! Do you store on counter or fridge?
Amazing! I am so glad you are loving this banana bread, Amanda. You can store this banana bread in an airtight container on the counter for about 2-3 days or in the fridge for about 1 week. Thank you for sharing your review + star rating, I really appreciate it!
This is becoming a weekly staple for our house! Making one this morning and also halved the recipe to make some muffins to share with friends! I use HU chocolate gems and smash them up a bit. Thanks for an amazing recipe!
YAY! This makes me so happy to hear, Amy. I am so glad you are loving this recipe and it is a hit. Thanks for sharing your review + star rating, I really appreciate it!
Absolutely delicious & so easy. I used nonfat Greek yogurt because that’s what I had and it turned out great. Other than that, I followed the recipe exactly.
WOO! I am so glad this recipe turned out great for you, Julie. Thank you for taking the time to share your review & star rating, it means so much to me!
Came out delicious! Followed the recipe EXACTLY. I’m so happy to have finally found a healthy treat that I can eat whenever and that tastes good! I
WOO! This makes me so happy to hear. I am glad this recipe turned out amazing for you and you are loving this banana bread. Thanks for taking the time to share your review + star rating, I appreciate it!