When I was a kid, a neighbor and close friend shared a sour cream banana bread recipe with my mom. It was chewy, hearty, sweet, and just a little tangy, and if allowed I would’ve eaten the entire loaf every time it came out of the oven. The sour cream banana bread is one of the recipes I make to remind me of my childhood home, but it needed a 21st century update.
This new version of the banana bread is gluten-free, higher in protein, higher in fat, and lower in sugar than the original, but it’s just as delicious. Actually, I think it’s better. Over the course of this winter, I’ve tweaked versions of the recipe three times, and based on Ella’s reaction, I suspect banana muffins and bread will continue to be a legacy family treat.
The recipe works well in muffin or loaf form, but I prefer the muffins for portability and portion control. Once baked, the muffins and bread freeze beautifully. This is another reason I prefer the muffins — after enjoying them hot and fresh, you can put most of them away in the freezer, pulling one or two out when you desire. If you opt to make a loaf this recipe will fill one large 9″ x 5″ bread pan. Or you can double the recipe and make one batch of muffins and one loaf. A fun way to make the top of the banana bread prettier is to place a long core slice of a banana across the top of the loaf half-way through the baking process (if you put the banana slice on top before partially baking, it will sink).
A few notes on ingredients (with Amazon affiliate links, from which I make a small fee if you purchase):
- Bob’s Red Mill makes the best all-purpose gluten-free baking flour I’ve tried, so I use that in all of my gf baking.
- I use Great Lakes plain collagen protein powder.
- Using raw honey as a sweetener helps keep the muffins moist.
- Bittersweet chocolate chips are the perfect compliment to the tangy plain yogurt and keep the overall sugar content of this treat relatively low.
Enjoy!
- ½ C. salted butter, softened
- ½ C. raw honey
- 1½C. over-ripe bananas (3-4 medium), smashed & pureed.
- 2 whole eggs + 1 egg yolk
- ½ C. whole milk plain greek-style yogurt
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 2 C. gluten-free flour
- ¼ C. protein powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ C. bittersweet chocolate chips
- Pre-heat oven to 325°F.
- Put butter and honey into a large mixing bowl and cream together with a mixer or whisk.
- In a separate small bowl, add bananas and mash with a fork, whisk, or mixer until pureed.
- Add pureed bananas and eggs to the bowl with the butter and honey and mix together until creamed.
- Add yogurt and vanilla to the bowl and incorporate completely.
- In a separate bowl mix together the gluten-free flour, protein powder, baking soda, and salt, stir until uniformly distributed.
- With a mixer or spoon slowly pour and stir in the flour blend into the wet ingredient bowl until all of the flour blend has been incorporated.
- Mix in the chocolate chips.
- If using a muffin tin, place muffin liners into the tin and fill each liner ¾ full with batter. Bake muffins at 325°F for 35-40 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool.
- If using a bread loaf, line the pan with parchment paper and fill the pan to ¾ full. Bake bread at 325°F for about 1 hour or until golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool.