An easy, healthy recipe with NO refined sugar!
Every afternoon before the sun sinks too low, I lace up my old raspberry red running shoes and slip my keys into my pocket. I turn left at the end of the driveway, sticking to the sidewalk until it stops at the end of the street, before cutting straight through the park, past the playground, and popping out at another street on the other side. I continue strolling along until the bike path appears, turning right to loop back around and pause at the mailbox to collect the Safeway circular, Comcast bills, and free catalogs addressed to our house’s previous tenants.
Some might say I’m a creature of habit.
I usually dial my mom to talk while I walk. With my only other conversation companion during the day being a 15-pound Chihuahua, my extreme introverted self takes a vacation during those phone calls, and I babble on for nearly 20 minutes straight about the science of instant oats, my “penguin”-perfect date night, and setting aside enough “me” time for a lively sports-watching dinner, all while Mom’s patient ears turn numb.
But on the rare occasion where I feel particularly brave, I break out of my comfortable routine and turn right instead of left, tracing a route towards the other side of town that takes me past one of my favorite family’s houses, where I drop off containers of cookies, cake, and monkey bread. We chat in their kitchen, quickly losing track of time as we laugh, and I always leave feeling like a real person again. Not just one who talks to dogs.
Just like my predictable afternoon walking routine, I established one for breakfast too: I always start my day with a banana. I store my stash on the countertop next to the sink, replenishing it with a trip to TJ’s whenever it dwindles down to 3. (TJ’s normally stocks very green bananas…) As the perfectly tasty nutritious treat, I never thought I’d deviate from it…
Until a crazy idea flashed through my brain during my morning run. What about a banana cheesecake… For breakfast?
Modeled off my other breakfast cheesecakes, these individual-sized Banana Breakfast Cheesecakes are smooth and creamy—and still secretly skinny! Packed with protein and bursting with banana flavor, they’re naturally sweetened and contain NO refined sugar. With less than 200 calories, these luscious treats are the perfect healthy, guilt-free way to start your day!
The easy crust consists of just two ingredients: instant oats and unsweetened applesauce. Do not substitute regular old-fashioned oats; they’re thicker and cannot absorb liquid as quickly, which results in a tough crust. But good news: you can make your own instant oats! Add the same amount of old-fashioned oats (or gluten-free oats, if preferred) to a food processor and pulse 5-8 times until coarse. So simple!
I added ¼ cup of mashed banana to the creamy cheesecake filling. The banana actually plays 3 roles: (a) flavor {obviously!}, (b) binder {instead of an egg—so you can lick the spatula!}, and (c) sweetener. Brown speckly bananas contain more natural sugar than their green or plain yellow counterparts, so pick the spottiest one you can find! To round out the sweetness, I added a touch of honey too.
These low fat cheesecakes also require a little cornstarch. The cornstarch helps the filling thicken and set; without it, the cheesecakes would be too liquidy. Although many recipes call for flour, I opted for cornstarch instead to keep these cheesecakes gluten-free.
Bake the skinny cheesecakes for 19-22 minutes—no more! The centers should still jiggle a bit when you gently wiggle the pan. Because we leave the treats in the muffin cups, the warm pan continues to cook the centers as they cool; baking them longer would result in tough gummy cheesecakes. Nobody likes the taste of those!
Loaded with fruity flavor and a whopping 13.6 grams of protein, these creamy Banana Breakfast Cheesecakes still taste like a sinfully sweet treat. Each smooth bite easily slides down your throat, and their luxurious texture fooled my taste testers. Nobody believed they were a skinny, low fat morning meal!
After licking the fork (and plate) clean, I immediately started reevaluating my precious banana stash… So if you’re anything like me, get out of your breakfast rut and bake these for a healthy treat to start your day!
| Banana Breakfast Cheesecakes | | Print |
- ¼ cup instant (quick-cooking) oats
- 2 tbsp unsweetened applesauce
- 6 oz fat-free cream cheese, softened
- 1 tbsp honey
- ¼ cup mashed banana
- ½ tsp cornstarch
- ¼ tsp vanilla extract
- Preheat the oven to 300°F, and lightly coat 2 jumbo-sized muffin cups with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a small bowl, stir together the oats and applesauce. Divide the mixture in half, and press into the bottoms of the prepared muffin cups. Bake at 300°F for 8 minutes. Cool in the pan.
- In a medium bowl, cream together the cream cheese and honey until smooth. Mix in the banana, cornstarch, and vanilla. Spread the filling on top of the cool crusts. Bake at 300°F for 19-22 minutes, or until the centers still jiggle slightly when the pan is gently shaken. Cool to room temperature in the pan before covering with plastic wrap. Refrigerate at least 3 hours before serving.
{gluten-free, low fat, low calorie, high protein}
Hello! I love these as a way to mix up breakfast and get in a high protein meal (which is def the macro I’m the worst about) and I’m playing around w making a fall themed version. Have you experimented with swapping applesauce for the banana in these at all?
I’m so glad you’re enjoying these breakfast cheesecakes, Katie! I haven’t tried using applesauce in place of the mashed banana. My main hesitations are that {a} applesauce is a bit more watery compared to mashed banana, so you might want to use a little less (possibly 3 tablespoons instead) and {b} applesauce’s apple flavor isn’t nearly as pronounced as the banana flavor of mashed bananas, so you might end up with breakfast cheesecakes that just taste… plain. However, with that in mind, you could add spices to the filling and a couple of tablespoons of sautéed diced apple (like I did for these pancakes!), just to make sure the apple fully softens by the time the cheesecakes finish baking, to create that fall-themed apple flavor instead. 🙂
If you decide to try modifying this recipe, I’d love to hear how it turns out!
I’m allergic to cream cheese can you substitute ricotta cheese instead?
I truly appreciate your interest in this recipe of mine too, Leigh Ann! I haven’t tried substituting ricotta for the cream cheese, so I’m not personally sure and don’t want to lead you astray.
If you’d like to try experimenting on your own, I might recommend using more cornstarch to thicken the filling since ricotta tends to be softer compared to cream cheese.
I’d love to hear what you think of these breakfast cheesecakes if you end up trying them too! 🙂
I don’t do cream cheese….use tofu!
Thank you so much for sharing your tip, Marie! 😉
Hi! These sound so delicious and easy to make. I don’t have a jumbo muffin pan. Any suggestions? Maybe the recipe would make 3 in a regular size muffin pan? But then that would probably change the bake time. Not sure. Would appreciate any thoughts. Thanks!
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe, Kristen! If you don’t have jumbo-sized muffin cups, then you can use standard muffin cups instead. If using regular muffin cups, you can probably get around 4-6 regular-sized cheesecakes, depending on how thick you want the filling to be. I’d start checking them about 5-8 minutes earlier than the time required for a jumbo muffin tin. They bake pretty quickly, so just keep a watchful eye on them! 🙂
I’d love to hear what you think of these breakfast cheesecakes if you try making them!
Thanks for responding! I am for sure going to try these
My pleasure, Kristen! I’m really looking forward to hearing what you think of them! 🙂
Hi! I LOVE sharing my food ideas…..I am 70 years old…have been a vegetarian for 50
years…prefer plant-based vegan….but do cheat! I make incredible pancakes and
waffles using coconut water and oat milk…flax seeds, oats, buckwheat groats…
banana or pumpkin…sprinkle with psyllium to hold…so fabulous! Sorry that I
don’t measure…
Welcome, Marie! I bet your pancakes and waffles are delicious! We would love to hear if you ever decide to try one of our recipes! 😉
THANK YOU…why don’t you send me your very favorite…and I will
try? I love making waffles and pancakes hearty and healthy..
full of fiber and nutrition….I think they really help. many with
the bread thing! I am a colon therapist (give Gravity colonics)
and have had my private practice 45 years! Eating good
food a must…but sometimes cannot assimilate due to all
the ‘bad’ food we ate most of our lives…our systems and
colons get clogged up!
It’s nearly impossible for us to pick favorite recipes… It almost feels like like asking a parent to pick a favorite child! 😉
But if you love making waffles and pancakes, we can easily point you in the direct of those recipes of ours! You can find our healthy pancake recipes here and our healthy waffle recipes here. We’re excited to hear which ones you pick to make, Marie!
In a small bowl, stir together the oats and applesauce. Divide the mixture in half, and press into the bottoms of the prepared muffin cups. Bake at 300°F for 8 minutes. Cool in the pan. What do you do with the leftover half?
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe, DJ! After dividing the oat mixture in half, one half should be pressed into the bottom of the first muffin cup to make the crust for the first breakfast cheesecake, and the second half should be pressed into the bottom of the second muffin cup to make the crust for the second breakfast cheesecake. You shouldn’t have any oat mixture left over. I apologize for the confusion!
I’d love to hear what you think of these breakfast cheesecakes if you try making them!
Hi! I’m trying to make this recipe for my baby and would like to use regular cream cheese instead of non-fat. Would it still work? Do I still need cornstarch? Thanks!!
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe, Charlene! Yes, you can use regular cream cheese. You’ll still need the cornstarch; it helps the cheesecakes fully set. 🙂 I’d love to hear what you think of these breakfast cheesecakes if you try making them!
I have tried it and it was amazing. My 11 month old inhaled it! I put a few slices of strawberries as topping. I’d like to make the recipe into a 6 inch cake for her 1 year birthday. Would it be possible to know the adjusted recipe amount and baking time? Thanks in advance!
I’m so glad she enjoyed it, Charlene! I’m truly honored that you’d consider making this recipe to celebrate such a special occasion too. Happy first birthday to your daughter!! ♡ I haven’t personally tried scaling up the recipe and baking it in a 6″-round pan, so I’m honestly not sure and don’t want to lead you astray. If you do end up trying that, I’d love to hear how it goes! 🙂
Hi Charlene, did you end up try this recipe in 6 inch baking pan? I’m thinking to make for my son too. Would love to hear your experience
We really appreciate your interest in these breakfast cheesecakes, Judi! We still haven’t tried a 6-inch pan with this recipe. However, I also wanted to let you know that we have lots of other healthy cheesecake recipes that are designed for a full-sized cake, so maybe one of those would work! If you’re looking for a dessert and open to something other than cheesecake, you might be interested in our flourless chocolate cake which is baked in a 6-inch pan! I’d love to hear if you decide to try any of these recipes! 😉
Hi Amy,
I’m anxious to try these, they sound wonderful. Any suggestions on where to find the fat free cream cheese? Or the brand— as you know, these days with supply chain issues, the fat free products are the first to go! Any suggestions will be much appreciated.
Thanks so much.
Joyce
I truly appreciate your interest in my recipe, Joyce! It’s so true… It seems like the fat-free products are the first to go and last to return! I’ve had some difficulties finding it as well, but when I did a Google search, it looks as if Kroger, Ralph’s, and Food 4 Less sometimes stock fat-free cream cheese. I can’t personally vouch that any of those stores near you will have it, but perhaps it’d at least be worth checking? Otherwise, Neufchâtel cream cheese should work in this recipe too!
I’d love to hear what you think of these breakfast cheesecakes if you do end up trying them! 🙂
These sound amazing!!! I’d love to make a larger batch for the whole family! Maybe mini muffin tins? Any advice on how long to bake in mini muffin tins?
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe, Alli! You’re so thoughtful to want to make these for your family. They’re really lucky to have you!
I haven’t personally tried making mini cheesecakes, but I think that should be okay. The baking temperature should remain the same, but the baking time should be shorter. I just can’t personally vouch for what it’ll be! 😉 Follow the visual guideline in Step 3, where the cheesecakes will be done when the centers still jiggle slightly when the pan is gently shaken. (The crust may take a bit less time to finish baking too!)
I’d love to hear what you think of these breakfast cheesecakes if you end up making them!
These are a great for a change in breakfast for the kids, and I think will be going into our list of morning meals. Hope everything is going well.
I’m so glad your kids enjoyed these, Kyle! That’s such a huge compliment, if you think they’ll go into your list of breakfast options. Thank you for taking the time to let me know!
I did a double-take when I saw your name too… Time flies!! It feels like not that long ago that we were sitting around the giant DC tables eating dinners and late-night meals. 🙂 I hope you and your family are also doing well!
Would you be able to use Non Fat Greek yogurt in place of the Cream Cheese?
I’m honored that you’d like to try this recipe Christie! I don’t recommend using Greek yogurt in place of the cream cheese. It has a different consistency (not nearly as stiff, with a lot more moisture!), so your breakfast cheesecakes wouldn’t set properly. However, Neufchâtel cream cheese and Greek yogurt cream cheese (it’s different than Greek yogurt!) would both work! 🙂 I’d love to hear what you think if you try making these breakfast cheesecakes!
Hi Amy – I am 68 and wish I would have found you and your delicious healthy recipes – I am 85% vegetarian (leaving room for salmon etc) but LOVE your recipes!
Oh and I forgot the stars for rating and I would rate this with 100 stars if I could
Oh my goodness — you’re too sweet, Debbie!! Thank you so much for your kind comments and review. I’m incredibly honored! ♡ It means so much that you love my recipes and would take the time to let me know. You’re a true gem and such a beautiful soul!