Healthy Zucchini Banana Bread
This breakfast loaf is a hybrid of two of my favorite quick breads: zucchini and banana! With its tender texture and cozy spices, it always disappears incredibly quickly at my house. Leftovers will keep for a week, if stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container or tightly wrapped in plastic wrap.
Ingredients
- 2 cups (240g) whole wheat flour or gluten-free* flour (measured like this)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 1 ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ tbsp (7g) unsalted butter or coconut oil, melted and cooled slightly
- 2 large egg whites, room temperature
- 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ cup (60g) plain nonfat Greek yogurt
- ¾ cup (200g) mashed banana (about 2 medium – and see Notes!)
- 2 tbsp (30mL) honey
- ¼ cup (60mL) nonfat milk
- 1 ½ cups (160g) freshly grated zucchini, patted dry (see Notes!)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a 9x5” baking pan with foil, and lightly coat with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the butter, eggs, and vanilla. Mix in the mashed Greek yogurt, stirring until no large lumps remain. Mix in the mashed banana and honey. Alternate between adding the flour mixture and milk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture, and stirring just until incorporated. (For best results, add the flour mixture in 3 equal parts.) Fold in the zucchini.
- Spread the batter into the prepared pan. Bake at 350°F for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes before carefully lifting out the loaf by the foil and transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
For the gluten-free flour, use as follows: 1 cup (120g) millet flour, ½ cup (60g) tapioca flour, ½ cup (60g) brown rice flour, and 1 ½ teaspoons xanthan gum. Many store-bought gluten-free flour blends (like this one!) will also work, if measured like this.
White whole wheat flour, whole wheat pastry flour, or all-purpose flour may be substituted for the whole wheat flour.
Be very careful and measure the flour with this method or a kitchen scale. (← That’s the one I own and love!) Too much will make your banana bread dry.
For the best results, use the ripest, darkest, most spottiest bananas you can find! The ones that are purely brown or with more brown color than yellow are ideal. They have a stronger and sweeter banana flavor than pure yellow bananas. Measure the bananas by cups or grams, not by “two medium bananas.” Not all “medium” bananas are the same size!
The mashed banana and Greek yogurt combined need to measure 1 cup. If you have slightly more than ¾ cup mashed banana, then reduce the Greek yogurt by the same amount, and vice versa.
Pure maple syrup or agave may be substituted for the honey.
Any milk may be substituted for the nonfat milk.
Measure the zucchini before patting it dry. You must pat it dry to remove the excess moisture because that excess moisture will cause the muffins to collapse while cooling. To pat the zucchini dry, lay a double-thick layer of paper towels onto a cutting board, and arrange the freshly shredded zucchini on top. Place another double-thick layer of paper towels on the zucchini, and gently press down until the top towel turns wet.
To see how this banana bread is made, watch my video here. (It’s a video of a similar banana bread recipe!)
{gluten-free, clean eating, low fat, low calorie}
DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?I'd love to hear what you think of it in a comment below! If you take a picture, tag @amys.healthy.baking on Instagram or use the hashtag #amyshealthybaking.