Whole grain Protein Banana Bread made with oats instead of flour! This moist, delicious banana bread comes with a boost of protein for a healthier snack.
After making my Blueberry Protein Muffins, I couldn’t help but revisit the topic to make a high-protein banana bread recipe.
Just think: Classic comforting banana bread with a protein kicker to help you meet your daily protein intake goals while also enjoying a sweet treat?
Sign me up each and every time.
If you aren’t as concerned about your protein intake, make The Best Gluten-Free Banana Bread, which is exactly as it sounds!
Let’s discuss the simple ingredients for protein banana bread.
Ingredients for Protein Banana Bread:
Oats: Taking the place of regular all-purpose flour, we use whole grain oats as the base of this high-protein banana bread.
You can use quick oats, instant oats, rolled oats, or old fashioned oats. To make gluten-free protein banana bread, use certified gluten-free oats. I use gluten-free sprouted oats.
Protein Powder: One of our sources of protein here. Pick your favorite protein powder! I use unflavored unsweetened goat whey protein, but choose a protein powder you know you love. You will likely be able to taste it.
Vanilla protein powder, chocolate protein powder and peanut butter flavor works great. While this ingredient is optional, it adds extra protein in a big way.
Granulated Sweetener: While ripe mashed bananas add a great deal of natural sweetness to the bread, I like adding more sweetener.
You can play with the amount depending on your personal preference for sweetness.
Use regular cane sugar, coconut sugar, brown sugar, or sugar-free sweetener like monk fruit sweetener. I like going with a sugar-free sweetener for less added sugar.
Baking Powder: The leavening agent here. Baking powder helps bread rise and become nice and fluffy.
Ground Cinnamon and Sea Salt: Ground cinnamon adds warm flavor and sea salt enhances the overall flavor of the bread. Be sure to include both!
Ripe Bananas: The star of the show here, we need overripe bananas to make the best banana bread.
Be sure to choose spotty brown bananas that have plenty of brown spots, an indicator they will be very sweet and moist.
Eggs and Egg Whites: A couple eggs and some additional egg whites help the bread rise and also add protein.
Avocado Oil: The fat source that’s responsible for the moist crumb. I like using avocado oil because it is high in omega 3 healthy fats and it has neutral flavor.
Melted coconut oil, olive oil, and melted butter will also work.
Pure Vanilla Extract: A splash of vanilla adds warm flavor for a delightful treat.
Looking for ways you can modify the recipe? Here are some options.
Recipe Adaptations:
- If you have store bought or homemade oat flour, replace the oats with 1 3/4 cups of oat flour.
- I don’t have a great vegan alternative for this bread since there are so many animal products. You can make it dairy-free, however, by using dairy-free yogurt and vegan protein powder like hemp protein, pea protein, or plant-based protein of choice.
- Mix 2/3 cup of semisweet chocolate chips, dark chocolate chips or sugar-free chocolate chips in with the batter.
- Swap the protein powder out for 1/2 cup of additional oats.
- Use cottage cheese instead of plain Greek yogurt.
- Looking to use a different flour? You can replace the oats with 1 2/3 cup of gluten-free all-purpose flour or cassava flour. Do note that the texture might vary.
Now that we’ve covered the basic ingredients for protein banana bread, let’s bake a loaf!
How to Make Protein Banana Bread:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line a 9” x 5” loaf pan with parchment paper.
Blend the oats in a high-powered blender for 60 seconds, or until a flour forms.
Add in the protein powder, granulated sweetener, baking powder, cinnamon and sea salt and blend for another few seconds, until the dry ingredients are combined.
Mash the bananas in a large mixing bowl until they are creamy. Add in the eggs, egg whites, avocado oil and pure vanilla extract and mix until all of the wet ingredients are well combined.
Pour the flour mixture into the mixing bowl with the wet mixture and mix until a thick batter forms.
Pour batter into the prepared loaf pan and spread it into an even layer. If you’d like, sprinkle the top of the bread with chocolate chips.
Cover the loaf pan with aluminum foil and tint the foil so that the bread has room to rise. the bread will rise substantially.
Place a baking sheet underneath the loaf pan just in case some of the batter spills over. As long as you are using a 9″ x 5″ pan, there shouldn’t be any overflow.
Bake on the center rack of the preheated oven for 40 minutes. Remove the foil from the bread pan and continue baking for another 10 to 20 minutes, or until the bread tests clean.
A great way of testing whether or not quick breads are fully baked is by taking their internal temperature using a digital thermometer. To do so, insert a thermometer into the center of the loaf and wait until the numbers stop moving.
Banana bread is fully baked once it reaches an internal temperature of 190 degrees Fahrenheit. The ideal temperature for the best results is between 190 and 205 degrees F.
Allow this protein-packed banana bread to cool to room temperature before slicing and serving.
I like eating a thick slice warm with melted butter and honey or peanut butter or almond butter spread on top.
How to Store Banana Bread:
For the first two days following baking, you can store banana bread at room temperature. Simply wrap the loaf pan tightly with plastic wrap and keep it on your counter. Beyond a couple of days, store banana bread in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
You can also freeze banana bread for longer storage! To do so, cut the remaining loaf into individual slices and store in a large zip lock bag or freezer bag.
When you’d like to heat up a slice, snag one from the freezer, place it on a plate, and microwave for 40 to 60 seconds, until warm.
Nutrition Facts:
When cut into 8 slices, each slice of banana bread contains 354 calories, 13 grams of fat and 20 grams of protein. Not too shabby for a slice of banana bread!
To put these numbers into perspective, I typically aim for 30-40 grams of protein per meal, so 20 g protein in a snack is a win for me! It’s a surefire way of getting enough protein throughout the day without getting sick of eating animal protein.
So that’s it!
The next time you’re craving a slice of traditional banana bread with benefits, whip up this high protein banana bread recipe.
This moist banana bread is the perfect healthy snack when you’re feeling like you could scarf a whole loaf of bread due to the high protein content.
Because protein and whole grains are so satiating, this protein powder banana bread has a high satiety factor.
If you love quick bread recipes like this, also check out these reader favorites.
More Healthy Quick Bread Recipes:
- Paleo Morning Glory Quick Bread
- Healthy Oatmeal Applesauce Bread
- Double Chocolate Oatmeal Zucchini Bread
- Healthy Oatmeal Carrot Cake Bread
- Almond Flour Lemon Poppy Seed Bread
- Coconut Flour Banana Bread
Spice up your banana bread with protein!
Protein Banana Bread
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 cups rolled oats
- 2/3 cup protein powder of choice
- 5 Tbsp sugar-free sweetener or brown sugar, or cane sugar
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon optional
- ½ tsp sea salt
- 4 large ripe bananas mashed (2 cups)*
- 5 ounces plain nonfat Greek yogurt
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup egg whites
- 5 Tbsp avocado oil
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line a 9” x 5” loaf pan with parchment paper.
- Blend the oats in a high-powered blender for 60 seconds, or until a flour forms. Add in the protein powder, granulated sweetener, baking powder, cinnamon and sea salt and blend for another few seconds, until the dry ingredients are combined.
- Mash the bananas in a large mixing bowl until they are creamy. Add in the eggs, egg whites, avocado oil and pure vanilla extract and mix until all of the wet ingredients are well combined.
- Pour the flour mixture into the mixing bowl with the wet mixture and mix until a thick batter forms.
- Pour batter into the prepared loaf pan and spread it into an even layer. If you’d like, sprinkle the top of the bread with chocolate chips.
- Cover the loaf pan with aluminum foil and tint the foil so that the bread has room to rise. Bake on the center rack of the preheated oven for 40 minutes. Remove the foil from the bread pan and continue baking for another 10 to 20 minutes, or until the bread tests clean. A great way of testing whether or not quick breads are fully baked is by taking their internal temperature using a digital thermometer. To do so, insert a thermometer into the center of the loaf and wait until the numbers stop moving. Banana bread is fully baked once it reaches an internal temperature of 190 degrees Fahrenheit. The ideal temperature for the best results is between 190 and 205 degrees F.
- Allow this protein-packed banana bread to cool to room temperature before slicing and serving. I like eating a thick slice warm with melted butter and honey or peanut butter or almond butter spread on top.
Notes
Nutrition
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Hi,
4 large ripe bananas, mashed (2 cups)*
Notes
*Be sure to measure out your mashed bananas. You will need 1.5 cups.
Is it 1,5 or 2 cups or anything in between?
Regards,
G
Hi Guy! My apologies for the confusion. Anywhere between 1.5 and 2 cups of mashed banana will work, although 2 cups is best. I’ll change the post to be clearer 🙂 Happy baking!!
Thank you!
Can I use collagen powder instead of protein powder?
Hi Manda! I wouldn’t replace all of the protein powder with collagen powder if it were me. The amino acids in collagen powder don’t form a complete protein so you wouldn’t be getting the same amount of protein. You could try doing 1/2 protein powder, 1/2 collagen if you aren’t as concerned about the protein content. Or if you’re just looking for a replacement for the protein powder altogether, you can simply omit it and add another 1/2 cup of oats. Let me know if you have any other questions! xo