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Greek Yogurt Banana Bread

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Earlier this week, I shared a sugar cookie recipe made with Greek Yogurt. Here is yet another Greek yogurt recipe for you…

I’m a part of a mom’s group at my church. We meet once a month, and the purpose of the group is to encourage each other as we navigate through this huge, daunting task we call motherhood. We compare experiences we have with our kids, like who’s baby has what teeth at what age, and how so-and-so managed to potty-train her almost two-year old, and how much screen time do you think is too much?

Even though there is all this comparison going on, we work really hard to keep the culture of our group open to differences without judgement. When our kids act like stinkers, we extend grace to each other and recognize that these are not defining moments.

All kids are stinkers now and then, right?

Greek Yogurt Banana Bread - tastes identical to my usual banana bread recipe but has less fat and a little extra protein too

It’s really comforting to be surrounded by other women who understand what your daily life looks like. Other women who know that despite our best efforts, some toddlers just really want to play in the toilet!

Greek Yogurt Banana Bread - tastes identical to my usual banana bread recipe but has less fat and a little extra protein too

We also take turns bringing breakfast to share with each other. I love this part because I get to try out so many great new recipes all in one place. This month I brought banana bread and tried subbing Greek yogurt for the sour cream my usual recipe calls for. Total success– this is the banana bread recipe I grew up on and I could not detect any difference whatsoever.

Greek Yogurt Banana Bread - tastes identical to my usual banana bread recipe but has less fat and a little extra protein too

I actually made two batches to bring– one with nuts, and one with chocolate chips. I noted the changes in recipe below.

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Greek Yogurt Banana Bread
Author: 
Serves: 4 mini loaves
 
Ingredients:
  • 1/2 cup butter (1 stick) softened
  • 1 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 cup banana pulp mashed (about 3 ripe bananas)
  • 1/4 cup plain nonfat Greek yogurt
  • 1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup nuts (I use sliced almonds, and crush them up by squeezing the bag a few times)
For Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
  • Reduce sugar to 1 cup
  • Add 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
Directions:
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. In a large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed, cream together butter and sugar. Add eggs one at a time and mix well. Add vanilla extract, banana pulp, and Greek yogurt, mixing well after each ingredient.
  3. In a separate bowl, mix flour, baking soda and salt to combine.
  4. Gradually add flour to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined on low speed.
  5. Mix in nuts until well combined.
  6. Pour batter evenly into 4 well greased mini loaf pans and bake for 32-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean.
For Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
  1. After the dry ingredients are added to the wet ingredients, fold in chocolate chips.

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Comments

      • Hi I love your recipes and your bread is delicious just as it is! But I’m looking to make something a little more healthy for my grandchildren and my husband and I. Was just curious can I use applesauce instead of butter in the recipe? And if so how much applesauce do I need? 🙂

        Reply

        • I have definitely heard that you can substitute applesauce for oil or butter with a 1:1 ratio but I haven’t tried it with this recipe. Great question! Let me know how it works out if you try it.

          Reply

  2. Julie, this bread looks so yummy! I am a huge fan of banana bread, but I have not tried to make my own that wasn’t prepackaged. Are the bananas suppose to be ripe, or does it really matter in this bread?

    Reply

    • Hi Memorie- You are right, the bananas should be on the ripe side. I will clarify that in the recipe. If you want to help your bananas ripen faster, try putting them in a paper bag and fold over the top for a day or two. Hope you enjoy and thanks for you comment.

      Reply

  3. Thanks Julie!! I will do that tonight and let you know how the bread comes out…..I’m so excited! 🙂 BTW, I love your blog.

    Reply

  5. Julie, your banana bread looks wonderful. My mom made something very similar with sour cream and chocolate chip. I’ll have to try your version with Greek yogurt — it sounds delicious, and I’m sure I would feel just a little less guilty about cutting myself a big slice!

    Reply

    • Thanks Jamie, I was so surprised that I couldn’t tell the difference between my lightened recipe and my mom’s banana bread. Hope you get a chance to try it!

      Reply

  7. just made this! used 1/4 cup semi sweet chocolate chips and 1/4 cup white chocolate chips. simply delish! thanks for sharing (:

    Reply

  8. Hi! I have now made this recipe twice and I would like to know the measurements of your mini-loaf pans. I made this recipe at Thanksgiving at my mom’s–it made 4 mini-loaves and six muffins. Today, at my home, it yielded 12 muffins and one mini-loaf. I suspect that mini-loaf pans are not standard so I an curious what size you are using.

    Reply

  9. Hi – I love this recipe… and so do my kids and their teachers who we made it for as gifts for Christmas!! I don’t own mini loaf pans so have been using the disposable kind… not something I want to do long term so will find some to buy. In the meantime, do you have any suggestions on cooking time if I use a standard size loaf pan? Thanks!

    Reply

    • Hi Sue, so glad you love this recipe! If you are using a standard sized loaf pan, you would bake it at 350 for 55-60 minutes. Check the center of the loaf with a toothpick to make sure it comes out clean.

      Reply

  10. Your recipe is perfect. I made your recipe two days ago and it was a huge hit with my family. I am now making it for a family friend. What a lovely idea to make this with greek yogurt. Thank you so much.

    Reply

  11. I’ve made this bread twice now! It is so yummy and it is my new go-to-recipe for banana bread. Both times I skipped the nuts and chocolate chips- my guys like plain ol’ banana bread! I used nonfat vanilla Greek yogurt and 1 cup of sugar. Simply delicious! What type of Greek yogurt do you use, Julie? You are really quite gifted in your “Lovely Little Kitchen!”

    Reply

    • I like it plain too. I usually use Fage plain nonfat yogurt because that is what our Costco carries. Thank you for your kind words. Hope you and your family are well!

      Reply

  12. We had purchased a flat of Chobani Greek coconut yogurt, which only a few of the kids liked, and so I googled a yogurt-banana bread recipe…yours was the first up. Since I had only coconut-flavored yogurt to work with and only a partial stick of butter left, I substituted coconut oil for the butter (1:1) and added cinnamon to calm down any possible tropical overload. I’ll have to try this with butter again instead of the coconut oil (that was an accident I had to work with), but this is THE BEST banana bread I have ever tasted—and all 8 family members and three friends agreed. I have passed it on to a half a dozen people. The bread was light but substantial, and almost creamy tasting. And fresh from the oven it was crispy on the outside and soft inside. So. Perfect.

    Not a single loaf lasted 24 hours.

    Reply

    • Oh this makes my day! I’m so glad you were able to find substitutions that worked out so well for you. Thanks so much for taking the time to let me know!

      Reply

  13. I made these into muffins to bring to work tomorrow. Well I need to make another batch now! They were so good! I ate two and then my husband turned around and ate two. I made plain ones, chocolate chip, walnuts, and walnuts with chocolate chips. Thanks for the recipe!

    Reply

  14. I am known in my family for always making the best banana bread, I always do something different, but I always have help from recipes! I remember the first time I used sour cream because it was suggested, my family went crazy. Well, once I didn’t have sour cream, but I had strawberry greek yogurt, that was the best I’ve ever made, with Athena Greek Gods Greek Yogurt! Ever since, I always have to use greek yogurt, the taste is unbeatable!

    Found your recipe and it’s in the oven, smells awesome and my husband can hardly wait to taste. My biggest secret is to use 1/4 part almond extract 3/4 part vanilla, it gives an unbeatable flavor!

    Thanks for sharing this recipe!
    M

    Reply

  15. Just made these and they’re great. I think next time I might add some cinnamon just for fun. We did them in the extra large muffin tin so cooking time was about 25 minutes. Also for fun we added shredded coconut to the top.

    Reply

  16. I just made this with coconut oil instead of butter. It’s great, so glad I found this recipe! Thanks!

    Reply

    • Thank you Abby. I don’t calculate the calories for any of my recipes here on LLK, but there are free calorie calculators you can google and type in the ingredients listed. Hope this helps 🙂

      Reply

  18. Snow in March is miserable, so I decided warm banana bread was necessary. I don’t bake often, but am really intrigued by using Greek yogurt in baked goods. So, I googled a recipe and stumbled upon this one!

    I had to make a few substitutions because only CVS was open for ingredients – I used Egg Beaters in place of regular eggs, the Yoplait Greek 100 Vanilla yogurt, brown sugar and walnuts. I also used a regular loaf pan rather than mini loaf pans because that’s what I had.

    I was over excited and dumped everything in the bowl before reading the recipe, so I didn’t mix my dry ingredients, mix the wet ingredients, and then mix the two. I just mixed it all at once and dumped it into the loaf pan. It smelled so yummy baking, and I took it out around the 40 minute mark because it looked pretty browned, and I was scared of burning it. It felt like I waited an hour to cut it because it smelled so good, but I think it was more along the lines of 5 min.

    The bread was super moist, and a teeny crumbly (probably because it was still really hot). But, I didn’t care because WOW. I spread a tiny bit of butter on a slice (or 3) and they were absolutely fantastic. Best banana bread I’ve had. The only change I may make in the future is reducing the sugar a tiny bit if I use the sweetened yogurt. It still tastes incredible, but it’s a tad sweet. Definitely a keeper recipe! Thank you for posting 🙂

    Reply

    • Beth, I wish I could send you some warm weather from sunny Arizona! So glad you liked how your banana bread turned out. Thanks for your comment!

      Reply

  19. Such a nice bread. Thank you for sharing this recipe.

    I am a cook who works with what is on hand. I had only 2 ripe bananas, along with chocolate chips, I decided not to reduce the sugar. I added a cup of shredded coconut and from there on, I followed the recipe. The balance of ingredients where nice, you taste banana but not overly. The yogurt kept my bread moist and the coconut made it exotic. I baked my bread in one pan, it was glass so I reduced the oven temperature and let it bake slowly.

    My new boyfriend loves it!

    Reply

  20. hi! i really want to try making this recipe but i dont have greek yogurt available now. Is it okay if i substitute 1/4 cup of plain yogurt instead?

    Reply

  21. I made these for my wife, and guess what? I’ve made them five times since. Yeah, they’re THAT good 🙂

    Reply

  22. Like so many above. Had to tweek ever so slightly for what I already had in the house. I dont have the mini loaf pans, and so im using two regular sizes. Going on 30 min baking time in the convection oven. I also used vanilla Greek, bc its what I had. My kids are already hitting me up as to when it will be ready 🙂
    Love the suggestions of your readers using coconut oil and even strawberry Greek, that will be our next round.
    Thanks so much for sharing.

    Reply

  23. Awesome. I’m now a baker, which is incredible. And even if I double the recipe and make variations and sometime screw up tablespoons with teaspoons, somehow it still tastes relish. I even used motor oil instead of coconut oil, and pebbles instead of chocolate chips, and it still tasted fabulous. JK : )

    Reply

  24. Just had my first bite of this after cooling. Oh my goodness!!! Best banana bread I have ever had…BY FAR! I subbed whole wheat flour and you would never know–it’s so moist and flavorful! I used a 9×5 pan and it took about 28 min to cook. I guarantee this bread won’t last long in this house. This will be on the rotation often. Thank you for sharing your recipe 🙂

    Reply

  26. Just made this banana bread and it turned out wonderful! I followed the recipe as it was written. Would love to learn how to make this in a gluten free version using coconut or almond flour. I do not have mini loaf pans, so I used a regular loaf pan and cooked the bread for about 50-55 mins at 350 degrees.

    Reply

  27. I thought this recipe yielded a really delicious banana bread, but mine ended up raw all in the middle. The middle was warm but not baked at all. I used a silicone loaf pan… I’ve never had a problem with anything else I’ve baked in it. Any suggestions?

    Reply

    • Hi Melissa, I know everyone’s ovens run a little bit differently so I think they best way to know if your bread is done is to poke the center with a toothpick to see if it comes out without any wet batter sticking to it. I have never baked in a silicone pan before so I’m not sure if that is a factor but it definitely could be.

      Reply

  30. I just made this plain in a full loaf pan, and it is so very delicious! You put in a comment above it would take just 55-60 minutes, but mine was ready in about 40-45. It has a lovely chewy crust on the outside and is buttery moist inside. I have full fat yogurt, so that probably made it extra moist.

    I (somehow) ran out of regular salt earlier, and only have large sea salt. I used about twice as much to account for air gaps, and there are a few bits that made it through, giving the cake a tiny pleasant salt pop occasionally. Bookmarked as my go-to banana bread!

    Reply

  31. I just love this recipe, it’s the best I’ve ever tried. The texture is so soft and moist. Thank u for the very best banana loaf.

    Reply

  32. I just made this recipe with chocolate chips into 18 muffins for my residents at a care home I work at. They all loved them. will keep this reccipe

    Reply

  33. I found this recipe on Pinterest. Have made it twice, one with chocolate chips & one plain, and it’s awesome!! My choc chips all sunk to the bottom… Any tips for getting them to stay put?? 🙂

    Reply

      • I have found that the best way to keep chocolate chips throughout your entire bread is to put them in flour and shake the excess flour off and then put them into the batter!

        Reply

  34. I have just made this in my hooded barbecue. Far too warm here to heat the kitchen up with a hot oven.
    I used passionfruit flavoured yogurt (as that was what we had in the fridge) and swapped the nuts for shredded coconut to keep it nut-free. Turned out great! The passionfruit was barely detectable and the coconut bought with it an interesting texture.
    Thanks for sharing on your blog. It encourages me to be a little creative and try new ideas.

    Reply

  35. I love ,love this banana bread recipe !!! I sprinkled a bit of brown sugar on top and it’s absolutely delicious. Thanks you for my new twist on a great classic 🙂

    Reply

  36. I can’t express how perfect this banana bread is! I used wholewheat flour, less than a cup of maple syrup instead of the sugar and refined coconut oil instead of butter with added pecans and Lindt dark chocolate. Perfect crumb and flavour – I’ve made it twice in a week!

    Reply

  37. going to try this today! i’m a new baker so i’m wondering how far up i should fill the mini loaf disposable pans? i made healthy muffins last week and i only filled them 1/2 way and they didn’t rise over the papers….is there a general rule of thumb when baking? or does it matter when it comes to ingredients? :-\

    Reply

    • Hi! Every recipe will have a slightly different rise, but I would suggest filling your mini loaf pans about two thirds full. Thanks for your question!

      Reply

  39. hi ! im so excited to try this today! my son LOVES banana bread ! i do not have mini loaf pans, only normal size. so would one recipe make one loaf ? have you do it ? did the cooking time change ? and did it effect the outcome? thanks in advance !

    Reply

    • Hi Chelsey! If you would like to make this in a standard size loaf pan, it will make one loaf. Bake at 350 degrees for about 1 hour. The top will need to get brown for the inside to cook, so don’t worry about that. Before you take it out, insert a toothpick an inch down into the center, and if it comes out with only loose crumbs, but no batter, it is done! My boys love banana bread too! Enjoy!

      Reply

      • Thanks ! i made it last night and tripled the recipe ! made 3 standard sized loaves. gave it to family and everyone LOVE LOVE LOVED IT !! took about 50mins to cook but tasted sooooo good ! i love this one and will be going into my recipe folder !! thank you for sharing !!

        Reply

  40. Hi Julie,

    I was just wondering if I could bake 2 loafs at the same time at the same baking temperature and same time that you would bake for one loaf.

    Or, do I need to bake each loaf separately?

    Reply

    • I think it would be fine to do two loaves at the same time. Just make sure they are done before you take them out by inserting a toothpick into the center. If it comes out clean, or with just a few dry crumbs attached, they are done!

      Reply

  41. Thanks for the recipe. I used it as written except cut the sugar to 2/3 cup, and it was plenty sweet, so much so that I might cut it back a bit more next time. I also changed 1/2 cup of flour to wholemeal. Still turned out delicious. Had to skip the nuts in order to put it in lunchboxes, but adding nuts would, I’m sure, make it even better.

    Reply

  42. hi Julie! recently stumbled on your blog when I was looking for a banana bread recipe that used greek yogurt & found yours. I can finally stop looking as this is the BEST banana bread recipe I have come across. I added choc chips & the kids loved it. It lasted all of a day! It was very reminiscent of Starbucks banana choc chip cak they used to have before they switched over to La Boulangerie products and I missed it for some time, now I can make my own…to go along with a nice cup of coffee!
    Thanks!!!

    Reply

  43. Just finished making this recipe and my husband loved that it was moist and had chocolate chips in it! He was surprised when I told him it had Greek yogurt. Will definitely make it again, thanks for the recipe!

    Reply

  44. I definately don’t consider myself a great baker (I grew up using box mixes for everything) but my two toddlers LOVE banana bread! I would like to start making it myself instead of buying it so I know exactly what I’m feeding my boys. So I’m searching for a great banana bread recipe. I planning on subbing out with Greek yogurt instead of sour cream so I’m super happy I stumbled across your recipe. Just had a couple questions, in the recipe does it call for white or brown sugar, and is sea salt ok or do I need to use iodized salt?
    Thank you for the recipe and for answering

    Reply

    • Hey Jen, that’s great that your toddlers love banana bread and that you are being intentional about what you make for them. This recipe calls for granulated sugar, and the salt is regular iodized table salt. You could probably use sea salt, but usually those are larger grains and they measure differently. Just to let you know, I recently updated this recipe to be even healthier, using white whole wheat flour and coconut oil. Check it out here: http://lovelylittlekitchen.com/healthier-banana-bread/

      Hope you and your littles enjoy!

      Reply

  45. Thank you for sharing a VERY good recipe. I have been trying to transform overripe bananas into banana bread for 20 years, and while many of my attempts turned out okay, none of my tries were ever what I would consider delicous. I made your recipe exactly as listed and it was wonderful.

    Reply

  46. Wow! This one is a keeper. I used Stevia-fructose instead of sugar and the result was amazing. Thank you!!! My family loved it. Regards from Mexico City

    Reply

    • Sorry, I don’t provide nutritional information for my recipes because I just don’t have the expertise to give you reliable numbers.

      Reply

  50. I’ve made this recipe about 20 times now and everyone asks me for it! I especially love the chocolate chip version! Always so moist and sweet. Thanks for the recipe.

    Reply

  51. I have been trying so hard to find a perfect banana bread recipe because I am super picky and this is finally it ! It came out amazing; the texture and flavors were spot on. I made it into one bread with 1 cup of chocolate chips and 1 c of chopped walnuts and it was a hit. This has definitely become my go to recipe.

    Reply

  52. This has been my go-to banana bread for years! We all love it!!! How would you incorporate Zucchini in this this?? I hope you answer! 🙂

    Reply

  54. My three year old daughter and I make these pretty much every weekend! She LOVES her “muffin bread.” I add chia seeds to sneak in a little extra nutrition. Thank you for the wonderful recipe !

    Reply

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