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Single Serve Chocolate Protein Banana Bread

Single Serve Chocolate Protein Banana Bread in a baking dish.
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5 from 1 review

This healthy Single Serve Chocolate Protein Banana Bread is easy to make and has 19.6 grams of protein and just 274 calories! It’s made with oat flour, almond flour and chocolate protein powder, free of refined sugars, and has a moist and fluffy texture like a scrumptious chocolate banana cake!

Ingredients

Scale
  • Cooking Oil Spray, to grease baking dish
  • 1 TBSP / 8 grams Oat Flour (store-bought recommended – note 1)
  • 2 TBSP / 14 grams blanched Almond Flour (not almond meal)
  • scoop / 10 grams Chocolate Protein Powder (I used a whey-casein blend by PEScience – note 2)
  • 1.5 TBSP / 9 grams Unsweetened Cocoa Powder (Dutch Process preferred – note 3)
  • ⅛ teaspoons Fine Sea Salt
  • ¼ TSP Baking Powder
  • ⅛ TSP Baking Soda
  • ½ medium / 60 grams Banana, ripe and spotty (raw weight) – mashed
  • 2 TBSP / 30 grams liquid Egg Whites (or use egg whites from 1 large egg)
  • 1 TBSP / 15 grams Nonfat Plain Greek Style Yogurt (or plain Greek yogurt or other thick plain yogurt)
  • 1 TBSP + 1 TSP / 20ml Unsweetened Almond Milk (I like unsweetened vanilla almond milk)
  • ½ TBSP Brown Sugar Replacement (or light brown sugar, I used Swerve Brown Sugarnote 4)
  • ½ TBSP / 5 grams Semisweet Chocolate Chips (or chocolate chunks), or more to taste
  • To Serve (optional): Drizzle of peanut butter, spoonful of yogurt, fresh fruit or berries, low-calorie ice cream

Instructions

  1. Prep: Preheat oven to 180°C / 350°F. Lightly grease a mini loaf pan or 8 ounce ramekin or other small oven-safe baking dish with cooking oil spray.
  2. Combine the dry ingredients: Combine the oat flour, almond flour, chocolate protein powder, unsweetened cocoa powder, salt, baking powder and baking soda in a medium mixing bowl. Mix well to combine.
  3. Combine the wet ingredients: In another bowl, mash the banana using a fork until smooth. Then whisk in the liquid egg whites, Greek yogurt, unsweetened almond milk, and brown sugar replacement until combined well. (It’s okay if there are still a few yogurt lumps.)
  4. Combine the dry with wet ingredients: Add the dry ingredients to the bowl with the wet ingredients and mix until well combined.
  5. Assemble: Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish and refrigerate for 5-10 minutes to let the batter set (optional – note 5). Top with the chocolate chips.
  6. Bake: Bake for 18-22 minutes on the middle rack until risen and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean (21 minutes usually works best for me).
  7. Cool: Transfer to a cooling rack and allow to cool for 5 minutes in the baking dish.
  8. Serve: Enjoy on its own or serve with a drizzle the peanut butter, yogurt and fresh berries on top if desired!

Equipment

Notes

  1. Oat Flour. I recommend using store-bought oat flour as it’s finely ground and yields a softer, and fluffy banana bread. Homemade oat flour made by blending old fashioned rolled oats in a high-speed blender or food processor can be used too. The texture will be slightly denser as homemade blended oats are not as finely ground as store-bought oat flour.
  2. Chocolate Protein Powder. I used PEScience Chocolate Cupcake Protein Powder, a whey-casein protein powder. You can use any type of chocolate protein powder (whey, casein or plant-based). Note that plant-based protein/vegan powders will absorb more liquid than whey-based protein so you may need to add more milk if the batter is too thick. For this chocolate protein banana bread recipe, a whey-casein or plant-based protein powder will work best. A pure whey protein powder will yield a slightly dryer texture but is still fine to use.
  3. Unsweetened Cocoa Powder. I recommend using a Dutch process unsweetened cocoa powder as it has a richer chocolatey flavor! Unsweetened natural cocoa powder such as Hershey’s will work too.
  4. Brown Sugar Replacement. I used Swerve Brown Sugar, an erythritol and allulose based sugar-free sweetener. You can use regular light brown sugar, coconut sugar, granulated white sugar, or other sweetener of choice. I haven’t tested this recipe with liquid sweeteners such as honey and maple syrup but they will work. You may just need to bake for an extra minute or two. Half to 1 tablespoon should be plenty enough but you can adjust the amount to taste.
  5. Assembling and refrigerating: I recommend refrigerating the batter in the baking dish for 5-10 minutes before topping with the chocolate chips. The oat flour will absorb some of the liquid so that the batter is more firm and the chocolate chips won’t sink during baking.
  6. Storing and reheating. After baking, allow the banana bread to cool for 5 minutes in the baking dish. Then carefully invert onto a cooling rack and allow to cool completely. Once cooled, wrap the banana bread in cling wrap to preserve moistness and store in an airtight sealed container in the fridge for 3-5 days. Alternatively, you can place without wrapping in cling film in an airtight sealed container and store in the fridge but note that water dropletss from the cover may drip down onto the banana bread. Reheat for 20-30 seconds on high in the microwave until warm throughout before eating.
  7. To freeze. Cool completely then wrap in cling film and a sheet of aluminum foil for extra protection. Place in freezer-friendly sealable bag or airtight container and freeze for up to three months. Thaw overnight in the fridge. Reheat in the microwave on high for 30 seconds or until warm throughout.
  8. See the ‘Variations’ section in the post to customize this healthy protein banana bread for specific dietary needs, flavor preferences, and more tips.

Nutrition