Flavorful and moist Protein Gingerbread Banana Bread with all the spices, but no oil, butter or sugar! This healthy ginger banana bread uses protein powder and monkfruit for sweetness, and a ton of Greek yogurt for that softness. A great holiday bake!
Oh my word! I was beyond impressed by the amount rich spiced flavor in this protein gingerbread loaf! One whiff after baking left me staring for a while.
And then the slicing into it to see that light and airy texture…
And then finally biting into it, let’s just say it had all the rich spiciness you expect from a gingerbread baked good, but no sugar or molasses needed.
Ingredients for Protein Gingerbread Banana Bread
This high protein gingerbread banana bread is made with healthy ingredients like whole wheat pastry flour, protein powder and non-fat greek yogurt, and has no oil, no butter, no sugar and no molasses either!
Here’s everything you need for this gingerbread recipe without molasses:
- Mashed Banana from completely ripe and browned bananas
- Whole wheat pastry flour which gives it the light texture, bit still keeps this recipe healthy because of the whole grain from the whole wheat
- Unflavored Protein Powder to replace some of the flour (and carbs) in the recipe for a slightly lower carb high protein banana bread. I used a whey-caesin blend from Quest Nutrition.
- Vanilla Protein Powder; This is the source of protein and sweetness in the protein powder banana bread since there’s no added sugar in this recipe. Quest again here.
- Coconut Flour
- Non-fat Greek Yogurt to add in moisture and have a no oil recipe
- Unsweetened Almond Milk
- Eggs
- Baking Powder
For all those spiced ginger bread flavors:
- Ground Ginger
- Ground Cinnamon
- Ground Cloves
- Ground Nutmeg
And for the healthy and sugar free molasses for this gingerbread recipe:
- 1:1 Zero Calorie Brown Sugar Substitute – I use Lakanto, to keep this pumpkin cinnamon roll recipe sugar free; (code HAYLSKITCHEN for a discount here too)
- Lemon Juice
- A bit of Water
Protein Powder Note:
I haven’t tried Whey protein, pea protein or other plant based ones, so I can’t say how those would work here.
Be sure to use a protein powder sweetened with stevia or monk fruit if you want a proper sugar free banana bread.
Can you store Ginger Protein Powder Banana Bread
This healthy ginger banana bread made with protein powder keeps really well and is great for a meal prep recipe.
Store gingerbread protein powder banana bread at room temperature for about 3 days in an airtight container.
To store in the fridge, place ginger banana bread in an airtight container and keep up to 1 week.
To freeze the healthy gingerbread banana bread, cut it into slices, wrap each slice in plastic wrap, and place them in a freezer-safe zipper bag; Freeze up to 3 months.
You can also store the whole gingerbread loaf itself – be sure to let it thaw before you slice.
Tips for the perfect Healthy Ginger Protein Banana Bread
This high protein ginger banana bread is really easy to make, but baking with protein powder can get tricky; Here’s some tips for the perfect protein powder gingerbread loaf!
- Use perfectly ripe bananas; These are easier to mash, and also add a lot of sweetness (so you don’t have to add as much protein powder and maple syrup to sweeten) and you get a healthy protein banana bread without sugar
- Blend the wet mix using a hand mixer to prevent any chunks of banana in the batter.
- Don’t over-mix the wet and dry mixture or the loaf will be too dense and gummy (because of the gluten from the whole wheat flour, and also the fact that protein powder can make a batter tough).
- Cover gingerbread protein banana loaf with foil tent after 40 mins of baking to prevent the top from browning and burning.
Alternatives for Healthy Gingerbread Banana Bread
For the perfect low fat but moist gingerbread banana bread, I would highly suggest using the ingredients and brands I recommended; I do have some alternatives you can try. I haven’t testing them all, so I can’t say how your loaf might turn out.
- Whole Wheat Pastry Flour: Use All purpose flour or 1:1 Gluten Free Baking Flour, with the same amount by weight not cups.
- Unflavored Protein Powder: More flour, but also reduce the milk to about 3 Tbsp.
- Greek Yogurt: Coconut Yogurt
- Almond Milk: Any other milk
- 1:1 Zero Calorie Brown Sugar Replacement: Regular brown sugar or coconut sugar (this won’t be sugar free though, and also higher in calories)
More High Protein Banana Bread Recipes:
- Matcha Protein Banana Bread
- Marbled Protein Banana Bread
- Double-Stuffed Healthy Protein Banana Bread (Oil Free)
- Best Ever Protein Powder & Yogurt Banana Bread
- 100 Calorie Chocolate Protein Banana Bread
More Healthy Ginger Desserts to Try
Protein Gingerbread Banana Bread
Ingredients
- 1 cup Mashed Banana, 240g, from 2 medium
- ¼ cup Unsweetened Applesauce, 60g
- ¼ cup Unsweetened Almond Milk, 60ml
- ⅓ cup Non-fat Greek Yogurt, about 75g, Room temperature
- 2 Eggs, Room Temperature
Molasses alternative:
- 2 Tbsp Zero Calorie 1:1 Brown Sugar Substitute, or regular, 24g
- 1 tsp Water
- ⅛ tsp Lemon Juice
Dry ingredients:
- 1 cup + 2 Tbsp Whole Wheat Pastry Flour, 135g, see post for subs
- ⅓ cup Unflavored Protein Powder, 30g, 1 scoop
- ⅓ cup Vanilla Protein Powder, 30g, 1 scoop
- ¼ cup Coconut Flour, 28g
- 2½ tsp Ginger Powder
- 1½ tsp Cinnamon
- ½ tsp Ground Clove
- ⅛ tsp Nutmeg
- 3 tsp Baking Powder
Icing:
- 2 tsp Cashew Butter, 10g
- 2 tsp Milk, 10ml
- ⅛ tsp Vanilla Extract
- Pinch of Sweetener
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F and line an 8½” x 4½” loaf pan with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, whisk together mashed banana, applesauce, almond milk, Greek yogurt and eggs(hand mixer recommended).
- In a small bowl, mix brown sugar alternative, water and lemon juice.Add to wet mixture and mix.
- In another bowl, whisk whole wheat flour, unflavored protein powder, vanilla protein powder, coconut flour, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and baking powder.
- Add dry mix to wet, and gently fold until just combined. DO NOT OVER-MIX or protein powder and gluten from wheat flour will make the bread dense.
- Transfer batter to baking pan.
- Bake for 55-60 minutes, covering with a foil tent after 40 minutes.A toothpick inserted into center should come out dry.
- Cool for 15 minutes, then lift out of pan using the lining. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely, about 40 minutes.
Icing:
- In a small bowl, stir cashew butter, milk, vanilla and sweetener.
- Spread over cooled loaf and slice.
Notes
- Nutrition details are calculated using products recommended below.
- See post for alternate ingredients, tips and storage options.
- Quest Nutrition Multi-purpose Mix Protein Powder
- Quest Nutrition Vanilla Milkshake Protein Powder
- Servings: 12 slices, ⅔” thick | Serving size: 1 slice
- Calories: 112kcal
- Fat: 2.2g | Saturated fat: 0.7g
- Carbohydrates: 17.9g | Fiber: 3.4g | Sugar: 3.7g
- Protein: 8g
I made the PROTEIN GINGERBREAD BANANA BREAD. I really like it and my husband liked it too. That says a lot. He is a bread kinda guy. Delicious.
Oh I feel honored and even more proud of this recipe now! Good words from the experts! Enjoy 🙂