Low Calorie Banana Bread

OnoMeansDelicious's Note:

Please try this recipe and provide reviews! Adapted from America's Test Kitchen's "Best Light Recipe" Cookbook. I bring this bread into work all the time. No one can tell the difference between it and its full fat/full calorie mates. The best part is: it works with just about everything you have in your pantry or fridge. Well, assuming everyone keeps plain yogurt around! Enjoy!

• Total Time: 1 hrs 10 mins
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 55 mins

Ingredients:

Serves: 10

Yield: 1.0 loaf

• 2 cups all-purpose flour (or whole wheat, the book calls for 1 1/2 ap and 1/2 cup cake flour, but I never use the cake flour)
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar, divided
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons butter, softened
• 3 very ripe bananas, mashed
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 cup plain yogurt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Generously grease a 9" loaf pan with cooking spray or butter.
2. In a large bowl, combine flour, 1/4 c sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, mash bananas and mix in vanilla and yogurt. Set aside. (Sorry guys, you'll need a total of three bowls for this. It's worth it!).
4. With your stand mixer or in yet another bowl, beat together remaining sugar (1/2 cup) and softened butter for about 3 minutes until "light and fluffy". Add eggs, one at a time.
5. Turn the mixer to low and add a third of the banana mixture. Let mix until just combined. Add half of the dry ingredients. Continue alternating until all the ingredients are combined, scraping down sides if necessary. Try not to overmix.
6. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan and bake for about 55 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.The book claims using this recipe above each serving (1 loaf divided by 10 slices) is 240 calories. That's compared to a standard banana bread recipe at 320. I usually cut the slices in half again which makes each piece only 120 calories. Not bad for a morning or evening snack.

Reviews

[ExFatty]

Really good recipe! I made mine in a 12-muffin pan and baked for about 23 minutes and lowered the heat to 325F. I used Splenda instead of sugar, 1 egg and 2 egg whites instead of 2 whole eggs, 1/2 cup ww flour and 1 1/2 cups a/p flour, and my yogurt was vanilla greek yogurt. They turned out very moist and very tasty. It made 12 servings with each serving being 134 calories, 2.5 g fat, 18 mg cholesterol, 9g fiber and 5g protein. Pretty healthy for a nice, big muffin! :)

[Brenlynn23]

WOW!! I almost gave up on making banana bread, but this recipe is so amazing. The best part is it's low in calories. I used whole wheat flour, and vanilla yogurt. I have a convection oven so i lowered the oven temp to 325 and extended the time by 10 min. Really Great!!!

[PaulaG]

I agree that it is hard to believe that this has only 3 tablespoons of butter. It is moist and well textured. The directions were wonderful and I do believe that the method of mixing makes a big difference in the outcome. I used a 1/2 cup sugar and 1/4 Splenda for the sweetener. I did cheat and added 1/2 cup of chopped pecans. I plan to use part of this to make a dessert for tomorrows dinner guests. Thank you for posting a winning recipe. Made for *PAC Fall 2009*