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Healthy Chocolate Banana Bread with greek yogurt! Made flourless with gluten free oats and low sugar, this is the perfect healthy low calorie treat! Gluten Free + Low Calorie
I was reminiscing about this low calorie banana bread the other day. It's one of my favorite treats and a great way to get extra fiber in my diet.
Fiber is so important for weight loss, weight management and health. I talk about this important carb and more in my weight loss training.
Trust me when I say this healthy chocolate banana bread is a game changer. Perfectly sweet, moist, creamy and rich with chocolate flavor!
As someone who keeps their pantry full of "the basics" when it comes to baking, I'm excited about this bread because it uses simple ingredients that you probably already have and bake with.
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Healthy Chocolate Banana Bread
This low calorie chocolate banana bread is made flourless with gluten free rolled oats and lower in added sugar.
Not only that it's made higher in protein than other banana breads thanks to Greek yogurt! Greek yogurt is one of my favorite sneaky ways to add moisture to baked goods while boosting the protein power.
Protein is so important for keeping blood sugar stable!
What You Need
- Bananas (very ripe!)
- Greek yogurt
- Eggs
- Coconut Sugar
- Vanilla Extract
- Gluten Free Rolled Oats
- Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
- Baking Powder + Baking Soda
- Salt
- Chocolate Chips
How To Lighten Up Healthy Chocolate Banana Bread
To make this chocolate banana bread lighter and healthier, we're swapping oil for Greek yogurt (or a dairy-free option if you choose), using oats for higher fiber, a smaller amount of added sugar and chocolate chips.
When you really begin paying attention to other recipes, you'll notice they go way overboard on the added sugar, chocolate chips, oil and flours. Those things can always be better balanced which is what this bread does!
How To Make Chocolate Banana Bread
Preheat your oven to 350 F then prepare a loaf pan with parchment paper. I highly recommend this over cooking spray. The cooking sprays make breads soggy whereas, parchment paper makes it easy to remove from the pan.
Next add your bananas, Greek yogurt, vanilla extract, eggs and coconut sugar to a food processor or high-speed blender. Blend until smooth then add the oats, unsweetened cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
Blend again until smooth then fold the chocolate chips in by hand. Transfer the batter to your prepared loaf pan and bake 50-55 minutes, or until a toothpick can be inserted clean.
Remove from the oven then let it sit in the pan for 1 hour before slicing and enjoying!
Do Bananas Have To Much Sugar
I know I'll get this question so I'll answer it here.
The short answer is no. Bananas are a healthy source of natural sugar and are balanced with nutrients and are actually a great source of fiber. Fiber balances the blood sugar spike.
What's really important when making recipes is to watch the amount of added sugar you use - coconut sugar, maple syrup, honey, maple sugar, monk fruit, stevia etc.
The added sugars are what cause long term health problems. Think of it this way, you can always eat and eat and eat sugar BUT you will never overeat bananas. Fruit is always a better substitute for sugar!
Substitutions
Greek yogurt - Substitute a dairy-free version like coconut or almond.
Gluten free oats - I haven't tested other flours, however, almond flour generally can be subbed for oats. I recommend spooning the almond flour into a measuring cup loosely. Do not pack or it will be too much flour.
Coconut sugar - Substitute maple syrup or maple sugar. Monk fruit could also be used, but use less as it is sweeter.
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Healthy Chocolate Banana Bread
Ingredients
- 2 eggs room temperature
- 1/2 cup Greek yogurt nonfat
- 2 tablespoons Greek yogurt nonfat
- 3 bananas very ripe
- 1/4 cup coconut sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups Gluten Free Rolled Oats
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/3 cup mini chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F. Prepare a 9-inch x 5-inch loaf pan with parchment paper.
- In a food processor or blender, combine the eggs, Greek yogurt, bananas, vanilla extract and coconut sugar until smooth 1-2 minutes.
- Add the oats, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt to the batter. Process another minute or so until the oats are broken down and combined with the wet ingredients.
- Test the batter at this point to ensure it meets your liking. I prefer less sugar in my baked goods, but if you like more you can add more coconut sugar if you like.
- Remove batter from the food process and stir in the chocolate chips reserving a few chiips for the top.
- Transfer the batter to the prepared loaf pan and sprinkle the remaining chips on top.
- Bake 50-55 minutes or until a toothpick can be removed clean from the center.
- Remove from the oven and cool in the pan 60 minutes before slicing.
- Store the bread up to 10 days in the refrigerator or in the freezer up to 60 days.
Notes
- Love banana bread? Try low fat banana bread and strawberry banana bread next time you bake!
- My Amazon shop has more products similar to those used for this recipe and that I recommend to my weight loss clients.
- If you love this recipe, check out my low calorie cookbook for more delicious recipes and weight loss tips!
Nutrition
What I Used For The Recipe
The second and third ingredient is greek yogourt. Is this a mistake?
Yes, that is accurate.
Recipe calls for unsweetened cocoa powder, and link goes to Unsweetened Cacao Powder. I would prefer the cacao, and wanted to make sure cacao is OK.
You can use cocoa powder and cacao interchangeably here. Thanks for letting me know the link is incorrect!
Can I sub white or brown sugar for the coconut sugar since i can't seem to find it? If so should i sub it 1:1 ?
You could. I don't consider those healthy options and I personally never use them so I cannot guarantee results. I would try substituting 1:1 and see how it works.
When do you add cocoa powder
Hi! I want to try this today but only have quick oats or oat flour, can either work?
Oat flour works as a substitute.
Can the coconut sugar be substituted for stevia?
Yes you could substitute it. I haven't tried it myself so I'm not sure of the taste, but you could definitely substitute it.
Made this tonight, it’s great!
OH M Geeee!!! This was Ahmazing and zero guilt. I went to dark chocolate heaven. I used blueberries instead on chocolate chips... This is about to be my go to. Best served chilled. Thank you so much...
Just scrumptious!
My banana started to get pretty tan... needed a recipe asap. Couldn't have been better. But it was: dark chocolate delight. Yum!