Protein Banana Bread
This post may contain affiliate links. See my disclosure policy.
This protein banana bread is moist and fluffy, and it’s made in just one bowl. Each slice packs in 25 grams of protein!
I consider myself an expert on adding protein to baked goods and desserts, and this protein banana bread has been a long time coming. I actually intended to add it to my first cookbook (high-protein desserts, figure), but it wasn’t ready before publishing, so it didn’t make the cut. Since then, I tested this countless times to make sure it looks and tastes like banana bread, but with the addition of protein powder. Even my picky family can’t tell the difference!
Each serving packs 25 grams of protein thanks to the protein powder, enriched flour (higher protein), and almond flour. My partner and I love a warm slice with peanut butter after the gym, but we’ve definitely sneaked them as a last-minute breakfast (they tick all the food groups!).
What readers are saying
★★★★★ – “SO MOIST LOVE IT. I did the tip of adding more protein powder and less flour work perfectly. I love that I can change the protein powder flavor! I also added semi-sweet chocolate chips cause … yum! Love this recipe.” – Gina
Key Ingredients
Here are the main ingredients in my high-protein banana bread. The full list with measurements is in the recipe card.
- Ripe bananas. Overripe bananas are a must- they make the bread extra moist and sweet.
- Vinegar. White or apple cider. This reacts with the self-rising flour, giving the bread some rise and fluffiness.
- Self-rising flour. Skip the expensive pre-made blends and make your own (it’s just all-purpose flour, salt, and baking powder). I tested this recipe with oat flour and found the loaf to be a little too dry for my liking.
- Almond flour. I tested this with blanched almond flour and almond meal, and found that almond flour made a more tender and fluffy loaf.
- Protein powder. I like using vanilla-flavored protein powder, but unflavored works too. I tested this with casein, pea, and brown rice, and they all baked just fine. In terms of brands, I swear by Optimum Nutrition, Dymatize, and Growing Naturals. I really don’t recommend whey protein powder, as it tends to dry out baked goods.
- Sugar or alternative. White, brown, coconut sugar, or sugar-free options, like a brown sugar substitute. I did test it with liquid sweeteners (honey or maple syrup), and it worked fine. Just reduce the amount by half.
How to make protein banana bread
Step 1- In a large bowl, combine the wet ingredients. Next, add the dry ingredients and mix until a smooth batter remains.
Step 2- Transfer the batter to a greased loaf pan and bake for 45-50 minutes or until a skewer comes out mostly clean from the middle.
Arman’s recipe tips
- Do not overbake the banana bread, as it will continue to bake as it cools down. Once a toothpick comes out mostly clean, it’s ready to be removed from the oven. A few moist crumbs are fine.
- If your banana bread browns too quickly, cover the top with tin foil after 15-20 minutes. This might not happen to you; it depends on the brand of protein powder and how your oven bakes. My oven doesn’t need it, but my sister, parents, and tons of my friends who regularly bake this do.
- Make banana protein muffins. Bake it in muffin liners and reduce the cooking time to 18 minutes.
- Feel free to fold through fun mix-ins to change up the texture. Try walnuts, pecans, dark chocolate chips, peanut butter, nut butter, white chocolate chips, or even dried fruit.
Frequently asked questions
No, I don’t recommend it. I tested nearly every kind on the market (whey, casein, brown rice, pea, and blends) and found most worked, except for whey. Whey dries out the baked goods and tends to make the batter sticky. Please don’t say I didn’t warn you!
Like traditional banana bread, if you overmix the batter, you push air into the mixture, which, in turn, yields a dense, rubbery loaf. The key is to mix everything until just combined. If there are a few pockets of flour, don’t stress.
Yes, you can. My initial trials didn’t use protein powder, so I could judge the bake time and texture. If you don’t want to use protein powder, replace it with equal amounts of self-rising flour.
Protein Banana Bread
Video
Ingredients
- 2 medium bananas mashed
- 1 cup milk I used unsweetened almond milk
- 1 tablespoon vinegar apple cider or white
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups self rising flour * See notes
- 1/2 cup almond flour
- 1/4 cup protein powder ** See notes
- 1/2 cup brown sugar substitute or any sweetener of choice
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180C/350F. Line a loaf pan with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, add the mashed bananas, milk, vinegar, and vanilla extract and mix until combined. Gently add the self rising flour, almond flour, protein powder, sugar of choice, and mix until smooth.
- Transfer the batter to the lined pan and bake for 45-55 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out mostly clean from the center.
- Remove the bread from the oven and let it cool completely, before removing from the pan and slicing.
Notes
- Protein content: I used a protein flour, which brought each slice of banana bread to 25 grams of protein per slice.
- Protein powder: I had success with casein, brown rice protein powder, and pea protein powder.
- TO STORE: Leftovers should always be stored in the refrigerator, covered. The banana bread will keep well for up to one week.
- TO FREEZE: Place slices in a ziplock bag and store them in the freezer for up to 6 months.
Nutrition
More baking with protein powder
- Protein brownies
- Protein mug cake
- Protein cookies
- Protein muffins
- Protein donuts
- Protein cupcakes
- Or any of my recipes with protein powder
Originally published February 2022
This is a solid recipe! ❤️❤️❤️I’m coeliac, so I tried this with gluten free self raising flour(rice potato tapioca buckwheat blend), had no almond flour so used half a cup of ground sunflower&pumpkin seeds. I used whey protein and also added an egg and 1/2 cup Greek yoghurt to help out from a moisture point of view. Added a few little pieces of dark chocolate too and it’s delicious 😀
Oh good thinking on the ground sunflower/pumpkin seed mix- Sunflower seed flour is a 1:1 swap with almond flour, so that is great 🙂 I’m glad it worked well with whey, as it can be quite trippy, along with GF self-rising flour, so the addition of egg and yogurt would have helped 🙂
Can I substitute almond flour with normal flour?
Hi Agnes, you can swap the almond flour for all purpose flour, that should still be fine. Just keep an eye on the moisture level of your batter. If you find that it’s too thick you could add a tablespoon or 2 of Greek yogurt. Let us know how it turns out!
Can I substitute almond flour for oat flour? Thank you!
Hi Yahu, you can definitely give it a try! The moisture of the batter has been balanced for almond flour though so you might need to tweak that a little if you change the flour. Let us know how you go!
Absolutely love this recipe.
The flavor is incredible, I made mine in 8 mini loafs. Was looking for high protein foods. my bananas become over ripped so quickly, now I can make a healthier choice by making this banana bread.
Sharing this recipe with friends.
Thank you.
Thanks so much for the lovely feedback and review. I love the idea of baking them in mini loaves, that portions them so well.
Thank you, G!
I only had whey protein so in addition to the exact recipe, I added 1/4 cup of Greek yogurt, 1 egg, and 1 tsp of vanilla bean paste. Used 1/4 c of brown sugar since that’s all I had. And very slightly undercooked it to avoid the dry out… and it worked bc it continued to get to the right moistness. Wish I could upload pic. It was really good.
Hi Roxy- great thinking on adding Greek yogurt and egg to it to compensate for the whey protein. I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe 🙂
My kids loves this!!! Recipe on repeats 😍😍
Thanks so much, Nadia. I’m so glad they enjoy the recipe 🙂
I tried to make this the other day but it came out still very raw in the middle. The only difference was that I used the Muscle Nation Casein Custard protein. Otherwise I did follow the recipe to a T.
Could this have affected the outcome?
Hi Michael! Hmmm, I’ve used casein custard by muscle nation before, but not in baking- it’s really good in protein bars and puddings etc. I do know it’s a much thicker texture that casein (the “custard” part makes it even thicker), so I do think that’s why it’s still raw in the middle. I suggest tenting the loaf pan with foil and baking it a little longer until no longer raw. With that said, that particular protein powder will keep things softer/wetter.
Did you try using whole wheat flour? Any adjustments recommended? I often do 1/2 all purpose and 1/2 whole wheat with no adjustments to a recipe.
Hi Jen, I have before. I would just have some milk/water handy to thin it out if the batter is way too thick. No other adjustments are needed 🙂
I would love to try this what kind of protein flour did you use?
Hi Toni- I initially used vetta protein flour, but I’m currently developing my own which is even higher in protein and should be posted in the coming month or two 🙂 I’ll keep you posted!
Love this recipe and I’ve made it a few times! But I recently noticed something off with the protein math. When I calculated the macros using regular self-rising flour along with the other ingredients, I’m only getting around 9–12g of protein per slice at about 220 kcal
Then I went back and saw in the notes that you used a “protein flour” instead of regular self-rising flour, which makes way more sense! But there are so many protein flour options out there and I’m not sure which one to go with. Could you share which specific protein flour you used? A brand name or link would be super helpful so we can actually hit those macros
Thanks so much, sending love! ❤️
Hi Nameetta- I totally hear you. The protein flour I initially developed this recipe with was Vetta, which have actually changed their formula this year, which is lower than before. I’m in the process of developing a high protein flour recipe, which adds even more protein than listed. I’ll also be trying a few different protein flour brands so there’s options. I’ll shoot you an email when I do 🙂
I’m making extra-large muffins, where there are 6 XL muffins per tin instead of 12 medium-size muffins per tin. How should I adjust the temp and bake time? Thanks!
Hey Ashley, you should be able to keep the temperature the same but I would start checking the muffins at the 25 minute mark. When a toothpick comes out mostly clean, they should be ready to rest 🙂
If I wanted to add more banana to this (3 bananas instead of 2), what would you recommend adjusting? Flour content? Nothing?
Hi Jaclyn! In testing, I actually did a batch with 3 bananas, and the only difference is a little moister and the loaf took maybe 2 to 3 minutes more to bake. The difference wasn’t enough to require any adjustments to the dry ingredients 🙂
I made this today and it was delicious. I used almond milk and I added a little bit of a walnuts for some crunch. Will definitely make it again.
Love the addition of walnuts, Annette. I alternate between nuts and chocolate chips when I bake this! 🙂 Thanks for the lovely review and rating! 🙂