Gingerbread has always been one of my favorite Christmas time treats! I love the spicy flavors and the richness of the molasses. I knew I had to incorporate it into a macro-friendly recipe for my site. As fate would have it, when I began to brainstorm, I also had some too ripe bananas sitting on my counter. That’s when it hit me, I should make a banana bread spiced with gingerbread flavor. And that’s how this Banana and Gingerbread Loaf began!
Spicy
You can’t have gingerbread without some spice, and this bread sure has it! This bread gets hit with a teaspoon of cinnamon, a teaspoon of ginger, and half a teaspoon of ground cloves. These spices give the perfect bite without being too overpowering.
A little tip for you: Did you know you can grind your own spices? As I was preparing to make this recipe, I realized I only had whole cloves instead of ground cloves. So I dug out my coffee grinder and ground up the cloves in it. A food processor or high powered blender would also work. No need to run out to the store to get a new spice container!
Moist
Sorry, I just used the word moist. But there is no other word to describe how a loaf should be! To make traditional banana bread yummy, most recipes rely on fat in the form of butter or oil. This, of course, adds delicious flavor but also a ton of fat and calories.
Making a loaf taste good and moist without the help of butter or oil is no small feat. To help, I used the mashed bananas, non-fat yogurt, and molasses to provide plenty of moisture. The molasses also helps add a rich color to the banana bread and the deep flavor only molasses can give. The combo of these three ingredients helps the bread stay so yummy!
Easy
This bread is the definition of easy, just like many of my other quick bread recipes (see my zucchini bread and pumpkin bread for examples). You’ll need just one bowl and a handful of other pantry staples. The most unique item on this list is molasses, but it is readily found in a local grocery store’s baking section. Depending on how quickly your oven heats up, you’ll likely be able to prepare the batter in the time it takes to heat up your oven!
Macro Friendly
The Macros for 1/12 of a big loaf are rounded to 1F/30C/5P, or about 143 calories per slice. We love to eat this as a snack in the afternoon or to serve with breakfast with some additional protein. That way, it adds some more volume and more protein to help fuel your day.
Banana and Gingerbread Loaf
Ingredients
- 3 ripe bananas, mashed (~350 g)
- 90 g Non-fat Greek yogurt
- 75 g molasses (1/2 cup)
- 1/2 T vanilla
- 100 g brown sugar (1/2 cup)
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp ginger
- 1/2 tsp ground cloves
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 180 g Kodiak Cakes Buttermilk Mix (1 and 1/2 cup. You can also substitute regular flour, but add to the recipe 1 tsp of baking soda and 1/2 tsp of salt)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 10" loaf pan with cooking spray and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, mash the ripe bananas. Then add in molasses, yogurt, vanilla, and brown sugar. Stir until equally combined.
- Then add in baking powder, baking soda, spices, and salt. Stir until equally combined. Then add in flour and stir until just combined with other ingredients.
- Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 40-50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out mostly clean. Allow to cool in the pan. To serve, dust with powdered sugar, if desired.
