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Healthy Chocolate Banana Bread with Yogurt made flourless with oats and lower sugar. A healthy, low calorie chocolate banana bread with protein!
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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 for women.
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.
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 is this banana bread with Greek yogurt and oats made higher in protein than other banana breads, it’s lower calorie as well! Yogurt is one of my favorite ways to add moisture to baked goods while boosting the protein content.
Protein is so important for keeping blood sugar stable!
If you loved this healthy chocolate banana bread recipe, check out some of my other recipes using ripe bananas such as this healthier banana oat bread, coconut flour banana bread and carrot cake banana bread next!
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
- Optional Additions: chopped pecans, walnuts, macadamia nuts, pistachios, slivered almonds, hazelnuts or cashews
Greek Yogurt Banana Bread
To make this chocolate banana bread lighter and healthier, we’re swapping oil for plain Greek yogurt (or a dairy-free option if you choose), using oats for higher fiber, and a smaller amount of added sugar and chocolate chips for a healthier
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 spray makes breads soggy whereas, parchment paper makes it easy to remove from the pan.
Next add your mashed 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. You can use a large bowl to fold in the chocolate chips or fold them in your blender or food processor.
Next transfer the batter to your prepared loaf pan and bake in a preheated oven 50-55 minutes, or until a toothpick can be inserted clean. Remove from the oven then let your yogurt banana bread sit in the pan for 1 hour before slicing and enjoying.
Store this healthy banana bread recipe in the refrigerator in an airtight container up to 10 days or in the freezer up to 60 days.
Do Bananas Have Too Much Sugar
I know I’ll get this question so I’ll answer it here.
The short answer is no bananas do not have too much sugar. Bananas are a healthy source of natural sugar, are balanced with nutrients and are actually a great source of fiber. Fiber balances blood sugar and is a slower to digest due to the fiber content.
What’s 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. as well as the calories. Your overall calorie intake and overall protein and fiber intake is much more important for health than focusing on single ingredients or foods like bananas.
How To Serve Chocolate Banana Bread with Yogurt
Now that you’ve baked your soft and moist banana bread with Greek yogurt, here’s a few ways to enjoy it! Whether you’re having it for breakfast, a quick on-the-go snack, or an easy dessert, here’s a few ideas for what to eat with banana bread!
- Pair it with high fiber and protein smoothie or pumpkin smoothie bowl for a snack or quick breakfast any time of year!
- Enjoy a slice of low carb pizza frittata, high protein oatmeal, or high protein breakfast quesadilla.
Banana Bread FAQs
Using yogurt in banana bread makes the bread moist, adds a boost of protein to the banana bread, and it replaces the oil making for a low-fat banana bread recipe.
Unsweetened applesauce can be substituted for sugar in banana bread along with zero calorie sweeteners like Truvia, Monkfruit and stevia.
Yes, you can eat banana bread and still lose weight and will make weight loss more enjoyable and sustainable for you. What is important for weight loss is eating in a calorie deficit and banana bread can definitely be fit into a calorie deficit. This low fat banana bread recipe has only 127 calories a slice making it easier to fit into a calorie deficit compared to traditional banana bread recipes that are higher calorie.
More Healthy Banana Bread Recipes
Low Calorie
Healthy Banana Oat Cookies
Breakfast
Healthy Banana Oat Pancakes
Snacks
Healthy Banana Mug Cake
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, or sugar of choice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups Gluten Free Rolled Oats, or regular 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.
Notes
- Storing – Store this healthy banana bread with yogurt up to 10 days in the refrigerator or in the freezer up to 60 days.
- Greek yogurt – Substitute a dairy-free version like coconut or almond yogurt.
- 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. Use this recipe for a coconut flour banana bread recipe.
- Coconut sugar – You can substitute maple syrup or maple sugar. Monk fruit or another zero calorie sweetener like Truvia can also be used.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Absolutely delicious! I made it on the spur of the moment so I didn’t quite have all the ingredients. I only had one and a half bananas so I substituted 3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce. I use Stevia Splenda regular oats and cacao powder. Next time I’m going to make it exactly like yours. A new favorite! Thank you for a wonderful 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!