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This Cottage Cheese Banana Bread is moist and flavorful without oil or butter. Made with cottage cheese, this low sugar dessert is high protein and low calorie. The perfect recipe for healthy breakfasts, snacks and desserts!
Have you ever thought of adding cottage cheese to banana bread? It’s a game changer, I promise. It adds moisture and flavor to the dessert while preventing it from drying out. The best thing is, cottage cheese will replace both oil and butter.
I came up with this recipe on the spur of the moment. After a series of viral cottage cheese recipes, I asked myself: “What else can I bake with cottage cheese?“. Cottage cheese brownies, cottage cheese flatbread and cottage cheese pizza, I tried them all already. But what about banana bread? This banana bread cottage cheese recipe’s quickly become a new favorite. Probably one of my favorite protein desserts to date.
Why you should make banana bread with cottage cheese
- Adding cottage cheese to banana bread makes it extra moist and delicious, without the need for oil or butter.
- Cottage cheese is a healthy, low calorie and macro-friendly source of protein for the diet.
- The cottage cheese replaces cooking fats like oil and butter, making this dessert low in fats and low in calories.
- This recipe is super simple, just stir the cheese into the batter without blending it in advance.
- You can customize this recipe to your own preferences because the taste of the cheese goes unperceived, and anything goes well with banana bread.
Ingredients and substitutes
- Cottage cheese. You can make the viral banana bread with low fat cottage cheese, full fat cottage cheese, or lactose-free cottage cheese. My recommendation is to use 4% small curd cottage cheese, I find that it has more taste and a much richer texture.
- Spotty ripe bananas. Ripe bananas are a must to make a sweet and moist banana bread with no oil and less sugar. Be sure to choose ripe bananas; those with dark spots all over the skin. The riper they are, the sweeter and softer your cottage cheese dessert will be.
- Egg. Choose a large whole egg for more nutrients and a better taste. When baking, eggs are essential in improving both textures and flavors. As a replacement you can use one flaxseed egg.
- Oat flour. I like replacing refined flours with oat flour. Besides being gluten-free, oat flour is a wholegrain flour with plenty of fibers and lots of nutrients.
- Almond flour. For a better taste, texture and nutritional profile, I recommend making cottage cheese banana bread with a mix of oat flour and almond flour. The almonds will give a nutty flavor and soft texture, while adding extra fibers and nutrients.
- Maple syrup. Maple syrup sweetens the cottage cheese banana bread in a healthier and more natural way, without the need for refined sugars.
- Vanilla extract, cinnamon and salt. Vanilla and cinnamon give this cottage cheese dessert the original banana bread flavor, while salt balances sweetness and brings out all the goodness.
Recipe variations
- Add more protein. Replace the almond flour with a protein powder of your choice, so that 1/2 cup almond flour becomes 1/2 cup protein powder. For a moist cottage cheese dessert bread I recommend vegan protein powder or casein. Whey protein may dry out when heated. Or check out my high protein banana bread recipe.
- Make it gluten-free. Prepare this recipe with certified gluten-free oat flour, almond flour is already GF. As an alternative you can also make cottage cheese banana bread with almond flour only.
- Go wild with mix-ins. For more taste and texture, stir into the batter your favorite mix-ins such as dark chocolate chips, chopped walnuts, pecans, raisins, pumpkin seeds, or a mix of everything you like.
- Try chocolate banana bread. Swap out the almond flour with unsweetened cocoa powder and fold through some good chocolate chips. Or check out my healthy chocolate banana bread recipe.
- Turn it into muffins. Follow the same recipe, but instead of baking it into a loaf pan, place the batter into muffin molds. Also, make sure to adjust the baking time because muffins cook quicker than banana bread.
How to make cottage cheese banana bread
First of all, get everything ready for baking. Heat your oven to 350°F (180°C) and fold a 20 cm (7.9 inches) loaf pan with parchment paper or grease it with oil. This will prevent our bread from sticking to the pan.
Next, make the banana bread batter. In a large bowl, mash the bananas then combine with cottage cheese, egg, maple syrup, ground cinnamon, vanilla extract and a pinch of salt. Stir well until you get a smooth mixture. Add into the wet mixture oat flour, almond flour – or more oat flour – and baking powder. Stir the ingredients together.
Time for baking. Transfer your cottage cheese banana bread batter to the prepared pan, then bake in hot oven for about 30 minutes. The bread is ready when a toothpick inserted into its center comes out clean.
Let cool and enjoy. Once it is ready, allow the dessert to cool for a couple of minutes over a wire rack. Enjoy a moist slice of cottage cheese banana bread with a drizzle of maple syrup, nut butter and a cup of coffee.
MattsfitChef Recommends
Enjoy on day two! As for any banana dessert, this cottage cheese banana bread tastes so much better after it has sit in the fridge overnight. The texture gets moister, while the good flavors become more pronounced. I know it may be hard to resist, but waiting will definitely pay off.
Storing and freezing
After baking, let the banana bread cool completely over a wire rack or a plate. Once it is cool, place leftovers in an airtight food container or ziplock bag.
- To store at room temperature. Keep leftovers in an airtight container, they will last for up to 3 days.
- To store in the fridge. If refrigerated in a food container, this dessert bread will stay fresh and moist for up to 4 days.
- To freeze. For a longer storage, freeze cottage cheese banana bread in zipper bags for a maximum of 3 months. Before serving, let it thaw in the fridge overnight and then bake in hot oven or heat in the microwave until warm.
Yes, you can replace 1/2 cup of almond flour with the same amount of protein powder. My recommendations are vanilla vegan protein powder and casein.
I have only tested this recipe with oat flour and almond flour. But I think that regular all purpose flour or whole-wheat flour will also work. Just keep in mind that you may need to adjust the batter with more flour or more milk if necessary. It should be smooth.
A slice of this cottage cheese banana bread provides approximately 131 calories and 5 grams of high quality protein from the cottage cheese. It’s definitely the perfect macro-friendly treat to enjoy whenever you crave something sweet but don’t want to break the diet!
More desserts with cottage cheese
- Cottage cheese brownies
- Chocolate cottage cheese ice cream
- Cottage cheese pancakes
- Cottage cheese cookie dough
Cottage Cheese Banana Bread
Ingredients
- 2 ripe bananas, about 200 grams (7 oz)
- 180 grams (⅔ cup) cottage cheese
- 1 large egg
- 80 ml (⅓ cup) maple syrup, or honey
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ⅙ tsp salt
- 150 grams (1 ½ cup) oat flour, or preferred flour
- 50 grams (½ cup) almond flour, or more oat flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350°F (180°C) and fold a 20 cm (7.9 inches) loaf pan with parchment paper or grease with oil.
- In a large bowl, mash the bananas then combine with cottage cheese, egg, maple syrup, ground cinnamon, vanilla extract and a pinch of salt. Stir well until you get a smooth mixture.
- Add into the wet mixture oat flour, almond flour (or more oat flour) and baking powder. Stir the ingredients together.You may need to adjust with little flour more if the batter is too liquid, or with a splash of milk if it is too dry. This depends on the size of the bananas used.
- Transfer your cottage cheese banana bread batter to the prepared pan, then bake in hot oven for about 30 minutes. The banana bread is ready when a toothpick inserted into its center comes out clean.
Yummy! I used monk fruit sweetener and flax egg and it came out to 92 calories each with 4grams of protein!
Hey Steph,
many thanks for your feedback! I am truly happy you liked my cottage cheese banana bread recipe. Low Calorie indeed, but as you said packed with protein and taste.
Have a great weekend,
Matteo