Thank you. To each and every one of you reading this post, thank you. I have been absolutely blown away by the support and encouragement you have given me after I shared stories and videos from my 5 minutes on TV this past weekend.
From the countless comments on Instagram and Facebook to the Tweets and emails I’ve received from old and brand new followers… It’s made me feel like the luckiest girl alive to be able to follow my heart and turn my passion into my career.
Your interest and support is what keeps me going. Whether a simple like on Facebook, a repin on Pinterest, or a comment on my blog about how you tried and loved a recipe, you are the ones who have turned my dream into a reality. I want to give every one of you a hug—and a chocolate chip cookie too!
Or maybe a slice of banana bread while I go buy 100 pounds of chocolate chips…
Here in my crazy corner of California, we’ve entered the season of menopausal weather. It’s hot enough for frozen yogurt and shorts during the day, often pushing 80°F, but as soon as the sun sets, I grab my PJs and fuzzy slippers and burrow under blankets, dreaming of coffee and hot chocolate.
It’s the month where you wear every single article of clothing that you own, from swim suits to fur-lined boots, and none of your neighbors give you a strange look at all. They turn on their air conditioner during the day and heater at night too!
So with that in mind, you’ll probably understand why I crave ice cream desserts during the day while I work, but then start shivering just thinking about them after finishing a photo shoot while the sky turns a dusky rose. But even with my chattering teeth, I couldn’t get the idea of a banana split out of my head, so I decided to bake with that flavor combination and came up with Healthy Banana Split Banana Bread!
It starts with my favorite clean eating banana bread recipe as the base. It’s made with whole wheat flour, a hint of honey, and lots of mashed banana. Between the banana and Greek yogurt, the bread is incredibly moist and tender, so you only need a mere tablespoon of butter!
To represent the chocolate ice cream, I mixed miniature chocolate chips into the batter. When it comes to baking, I generally prefer minis over regular-sized chips because they melt more evenly. Plus you’re practically guaranteed a morsel of chocolate in every bite with them!
Because I ran out of my stash of strawberries in the freezer, I substituted leftover cherries from my pineapple upside down cake instead. I figured that since every banana split ends with a cherry on top, nobody would mind! (But if you want a true banana split taste, go with the strawberries.)
While the bread bakes and fills your kitchen with sweet smells, mix up the vanilla drizzle. It’s the last flavor in the ice cream trio! The glaze is a combination of Greek yogurt, agave, Truvia, and vanilla. The Truvia takes a little while to dissolve, so let the drizzle chill in the fridge while the banana bread cools. By the time the bread is as room temperature, the glaze should be ready to cover the top.
Tip: I generally use a plastic bag with an itty bitty corner snipped off to get those long lines crisscrossing the top. As you can see from the sides of the very first photo, I’m a pretty messy drizzler, but it always tastes good in the end!
Although I’m still slightly dreading the bone-chilling transition from fall to winter, at least I can say I’m ready to give up ice cream now that I have this Healthy Banana Split Banana Bread on my counter!
This bread is really tender from the mashed banana and Greek yogurt, and the rich chocolate chips are the perfect decadent touch. It’s best to drizzle the bread just before serving, but you can store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to four days.
- Preheat the oven to 325°F, and lightly coat an 8x4” pan with nonstick cooking spray.
- To prepare the bread, reserve 1 tablespoon of flour. Whisk together the remaining flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the butter, egg, and vanilla. Stir in the banana, yogurt, and honey. Add in the flour mixture, stirring just until incorporated. Fold in the chocolate chips. Toss the strawberries (or cherries) with the reserved flour, and carefully fold them in.
- Spread the batter into the prepared pan. Bake at 325°F for 35-45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
- While the bread bakes, prepare the drizzle. Stir together the yogurt, agave, Truvia, and vanilla. Chill until the bread has cooled and is ready to serve. Spoon the glaze into a zip-topped plastic bag, snip off one corner, and drizzle over the top of the banana bread.
Notes: For the gluten-free flour, I used as follows: ¾ cup (90g) millet flour, ¼ cup (35g) brown rice flour, ¼ cup (30g) tapioca flour, and 1 teaspoon (3g) xanthan gum.
If you have a little more or less mashed banana, that’s okay! Simply adjust the amount of Greek yogurt. When added together, the mashed banana and Greek yogurt should equal ¾ cup.
{gluten-free, clean eating, low fat, low calorie}
Banana splits are the best! I love how you put the flavors into a bread. It looks out of this world delicious!
Thanks Jen! Definitely had more than my fair share of the bread already. 😉
I love this banana bread I change the berries from strawberries and blueberries but it is always yummy and .y family leave no crumbs. I also make and love your carrot ? cake super moist and delicious I have made a few different cookies to I don’t quite how to put my picture of mine on for you to see but they all came out beautifully yummy and we love them. It’s hard to find baking recipe’s made with health in mind. I was looking for clean eating and grateful I found you ?☮☮☮.
I’m so glad you’re enjoying my recipes Melissa! It means so much to me that you’ve tried that many — I’m honored!! 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you try next!
You’ve earned every one of those comment and shares!! This bread is GORGEOUS, I love the first photo with the clean white background. I can’t get enough bread these days, it must be the colder weather!
Thank you so much Brittany!! I really appreciate it. 🙂 And yes, fall + winter = MAJOR bread cravings. It’s all I want to eat, much to the dismay of the veggies sitting in my fridge!
YUM!!! I bet this will be good with some fat free reddi whip or cool whip!!! 🙂
Thanks Erin! I was definitely tempted to eat it with my Greek yogurt whipped cream too. Great minds think alike! 😉
Blog followers (and friends!!) are the best ever. 🙂 I love this bread too, it’s so needed!
SO true Dorothy, and you have been one of the best blog friends I could’ve ever asked for! You’re always there for me, leaving comments, pinning my recipes, and cheering me on. I wouldn’t be where I am today without you! 🙂 And thanks to your “How to Freeze” post, I actually still have some of this bread in my freezer, so come on over!!
Amy, this is abso-freakin-lutely genius! I have seen a LOT of banana bread recipes but never banana split. I’m falling something hard for this bread. 🙂 Quick breads are my kryptonite but add in cherries and chocolate chips? Amazing. Pinning!
Thank you for the sweet comment and pin Mary Frances! If you didn’t live all the way across the country — in the snow (BRRRRR!!! how do you survive and stay sane with those temps??) — I’d say come on over and we’ll have a slice! I still have some saved in my freezer! 😉
I’m so proud of you Amy! You deserve every ounce of your success, and I feel privileged to call you a friend! I’m loving this banana split banana bread also! What a genius idea!
Thank you SO much Justine!! Your sweet words mean the world to me, and I’m so happy to have “met” you in this crazy blogging world! 🙂
I just have made it and it’s fantastic. I added cherries.
It has one tiny problem: the aftertaste is a bit bitter. Is it because of the honey? Or perhaps there’s too much baking powder? 2 tsp seems quite a lot…
But overall it’s a great recipe. Thank you!
I’m glad you enjoyed the banana bread Agnes! I haven’t had any bitter flavor issues before, so that’s really strange… You did use baking powder instead of baking soda, correct? And how ripe were your bananas? I could imagine if they were mainly yellow instead of very spotty and dark, that would make the loaf taste not quite so sweet…
The bananas I used were half brown – just the right stage for baking. Maybe it’s time to get myself a good quality baking powder.
Anyway, the recipe is perfect and one of my favorites. The banana bread is so so so good! Thank you for your ideas!
It’s my pleasure Agnes! The quality of your baking powder could definitely be the culprit. I always use Clabber Girl in my baking recipes. 🙂 I’m excited to hear what recipe you try next!