We generally host a small and low-key Thanksgiving consisting of my parents, my brother, my grandma that lives across town, and me. Even with that small number of people, my dad still cooks for a crowd—especially when it comes to the herbed sausage stuffing!—and we end up with a fridge jam-packed with leftovers.
But this year, both my brother and my stomachs felt slightly under the weather, so it seemed rather silly to prepare a meal that could easily serve twelve with just three people eating the dishes! We downsized the turkey, cranberry salad, homemade wheat rolls, green beans, and pecan pie (we turned those into mini pies, if you saw that on my @AmyBakesHealthy Snapchat!)…
But we still cooked the full-sized maple sweet potato casserole and stuffing. Never get between Dad or Grandma and their stuffing!
After the feast ended and we nibbled on pieces of pie in front of the classic “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” animated movie, we packed up leftovers for Grandma. We sent her home with all of the turkey and a few portions of everything else, which left very little for us. Finally, a Thanksgiving meal that didn’t take over every square inch of space in the fridge!
With just a few slices of pie that were bound to disappear in the next 24 hours, I figured my family wouldn’t mind if I started on holiday baking the day after Thanksgiving. Surprisingly enough, my favorite way to kick off the season isn’t with cookies or candy…
It’s with this Classic Gingerbread with Maple Glaze! There’s something magical and incredibly irresistible about the warm, spicy flavor of gingerbread, and those qualities really shine in this easy recipe. It’s the perfect treat for curling up in front of the fire or pairing with a hot cup of coffee—and I definitely did both!
This healthier recipe begins with whole wheat flour. Yes, just plain ol’ regular whole wheat flour! Some people believe that 100% whole wheat baked goods always turn out dry or bland, but not this one. There’s plenty of moisture from the other ingredients to keep the loaf tasting as tender as cake!
The spices are the true stars of the show! Ginger is the most important (it’s impossible to make gingerbread without it!), and you’ll use a full 2 tablespoons to give the loaf its rich, spicy taste. You’ll also sprinkle in cinnamon, plus a hint of nutmeg and cloves. I tried the bread both with and without the latter two, and they add a much fuller, rounder flavor. Please don’t skip them!
The loaf only contains 1 tablespoon of butter and egg whites, so the rest of its tender texture comes from my favorite ingredient in healthier baking: Greek yogurt! It’s thick and creamy, and it provides the same moisture as extra butter or oil for a fraction of the calories. It also gives the loaf a little protein boost!
The loaf is sweetened with molasses and pure maple syrup. Molasses is a thick, dark brown liquid with a consistency similar to honey. It’s fairly inexpensive, and you can find it on the baking aisle near the other liquid sweeteners. It provides the iconic rich, warm background flavor profile of gingerbread, so don’t substitute anything for it! You can bake these muffins, or these other muffins, or these scones, or this granola with the rest!
Make sure you buy the good stuff when it comes to maple syrup! Avoid pancake or sugar-free syrups; both of those include corn syrup or artificial ingredients, which we’re trying to avoid in this healthier recipe. The only ingredient on the bottle should be “pure maple syrup.”
And now for the finishing touch… The maple glaze! It’s truly optional, so if you prefer a classic plain gingerbread loaf (like most of my family), feel free to skip it. However, some of my taste testers really enjoyed the extra sweetness it provided!
The glaze is very simple. It consists of Greek yogurt, maple syrup, and vanilla crème stevia. Stevia is a plant-based, no-calorie sweetener that’s clean eating friendly, and it’s very concentrated. A little goes a long way! This is the kind I buy, which comes in a small bottle with an eyedropper, and you can find it at many health-oriented grocery stores, as well as online. You can also use it to make all of these recipes, too!
Even with all of the Thanksgiving leftovers, this gingerbread disappeared amazingly quickly. I caught my mom sneaking a slice nearly every time I walked in the kitchen! Then again, I was guilty of the same thing too, so…
This recipe is definitely becoming a weekly routine during the holidays at our house!
| Clean Classic Gingerbread with Maple Glaze | | Print |
- for the gingerbread
- 2 cups (240g) whole wheat or gluten-free* flour (measured correctly)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 2 tbsp (11g) ground ginger
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
- ¼ tsp ground cloves
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 tbsp (14g) unsalted butter or coconut oil, melted and cooled slightly
- 2 large egg whites, room temperature
- 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
- ¾ cup (180g) plain nonfat Greek yogurt
- ¼ cup (60mL) molasses
- ¼ cup (60mL) pure maple syrup
- 6 tbsp (90mL) nonfat milk
- for the glaze
- 2 tbsp (30g) plain nonfat Greek yogurt
- 1 ½ tsp pure maple syrup
- ¼ tsp vanilla crème stevia, or to taste
- Preheat the oven to 325°F, and lightly coat a 9x5” loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray.
- To prepare the gingerbread, whisk together the flour and next 7 ingredients (through salt) in a medium bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the butter, egg whites, and vanilla. Stir in the yogurt, mixing until no large lumps remain. Stir in the molasses and maple syrup. Alternate between adding the flour mixture and milk to the yogurt mixture, beginning and ending with the flour mixture, and stirring just until incorporated. (For best results, add the flour in 3 equal parts.)
- Spread the batter into the prepared pan. Bake at 325°F for 35-40 minutes or until the top feels firm to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool the loaf in the pan for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
- To prepare the glaze, stir together the yogurt, maple syrup, and stevia in a small bowl. Just before serving, drizzle the gingerbread loaf with the glaze.
Do not substitute anything for the molasses. It’s a dark, thick liquid with a consistency similar to honey, and it’s what gives gingerbread its iconic flavor and color. Molasses is inexpensive and can be found on the baking aisle near the other liquid sweeteners.
Any milk may be substituted in place of the nonfat milk.
Do not substitute any other liquid sweetener in place of the vanilla crème stevia. Liquid sweeteners will make the glaze too thin and runny to stick to the gingerbread loaf. If using a different granulated sweetener, you’ll need the equivalent of 1-2 tablespoons of sugar.
{gluten-free, clean eating, low fat, low calorie}
Hi Amy, is there something I can use instead of vanilla crème stevia? I don’t think I can get it where I live…
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Mira! I’ve actually covered this already in the Notes section underneath the Instructions. It can be easy to miss that section! I actually order my vanilla stevia online at the link I provided in the Ingredients. It’s the cheapest price I’ve found! 🙂 I’d love to hear what you think if you try this gingerbread!
I did make them and they are delicious! I made the muffins and may have baked them a tiny bit too long – will do less next time. I just discovered your blog and am excited to try everything! Cinnamon oatmeal cookies in the oven as we speak! Smells great 🙂
Oh my goodness, that means SO much to me that you’ve already made multiple of my muffins! I’m honored Mira! 🙂 I’m glad you enjoyed these, and I can’t wait to hear how the oatmeal cookies turned out too!
Can I make the gingerbread without eggs? I’m so glad you included this recipe! I was wanting to make gingerbread & I love how you use stevia or vanilla creme stevia in your recipes!!!
I’m so honored that you’d like to make this recipe of mine as well, Pam! Just like I mentioned in my previous comment to you (I’ve been away from the office for over a week, so I’m just now catching up on comments — I’m so sorry for the delay!), I highly recommend Ener-G! So you have the conversion info again, for my recipes, use 1 ½ teaspoons Ener-G + 2 tablespoons warm water for each egg white (and you’ll need an additional ½ tablespoon of butter or coconut oil {or Earth Balance, if you’re vegan!} for each egg yolk, although that doesn’t apply to this particular recipe either!). If you try making this gingerbread as well, I’d love to hear what you think of it too! 🙂
Hi Amy, can we replace maple syrup with honey for gingerbread load?
Yes, that’s fine! 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you think of this gingerbread Nadia!
This gingerbread is amazing! I used 2 tbsp flaxseed meal and 6 tbsp of water to substitute the eggs, which makes it even healthier. I only used 1/2 TBSP instead of 2 TBSP of the ginger. It has the right flavor for me with just a little of it. I also halved the batter and put it into two loaf pans. I baked it at 350 for 35 minutes. Last time, i cooked it in two pans and at the 325, but it took forever, like 45 minutes! I put the gingerbread in a cup with a scoop of coffee chocolate chip gelato, topped it with whipped cream, and it was amazing!
Thank you for the healthy recipe!! I was searching for greek yogurt recipes and stumbled across this one. I’ve made it twice so far!
I’m so glad you’re enjoying this gingerbread Hollie! That means so much to make that you’ve already baked it twice — what a huge compliment! Thank you for sharing that with me! 🙂
Hi Amy, im on a carb free diet and want to try this recipe with Almond Meal. Do you think it will work? Your recipes loo, great and cant wait o get in the kitchen.
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Danelle! Using almond meal typically results in a much denser loaf, but if you’re on a carb-free diet and can’t eat any other flour, then I suppose that’s probably be your best option for this recipe. 🙂 I’d love to hear what you think if you try this gingerbread!
Hi Amy,
I’ve baked this loaf twice now (gingerbread in springtime is perfectly fine too, nobody will tell me otherwise 😉 ), and I am a huge fan!! Both times everything just came together beautifully, the texture is great (soft, moist, just perfect) and I love the intense flavours. Thanks for this amazing recipe! It’s going to be a regular around here!
I’m so glad you loved this gingerbread Nyna! That means so much to me that you’ve already baked it twice and everyone else enjoys it too. I’m truly honored — thank you for sharing that with me! 🙂 And I’m right there with you — I’ll eat gingerbread any time of year! 😉
Instead of a loaf pan, I baked this in an 8×8 pan at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. It was perfect! Just wanted to share an alternative.
I’m so glad you enjoyed this gingerbread, Kate! Thank you for taking the time to share your recipe modification — I always love hearing what tweaks work! 🙂
Hi Amy! When you say ginger do you mean fresh grated ginger or ground ginger seasoning? Thank you!
I’m so sorry for my delayed response, Lisa! I took time off to be with my family during the holidays, and I’m just now able to catch up on blog-related things.
Ground ginger means dried ginger. In my recipes (and in general, for most recipe authors as well!), “ground” in front of a spice means dried. I’ll always specify if you need fresh ginger, candied ginger, etc!
I’d love to hear what you think of this gingerbread if you try making it! 🙂