This banana bread recipe puts a unique twist on traditional banana bread – it features applesauce and yogurt! The applesauce adds extra moisture and is used as a replacement for oil, cutting fat and calories. The addition of Greek yogurt also adds moisture to the bread while helping it rise and creating that old-fashioned banana bread flavor. Gluten-free.
If you have over-ripe bananas on the counter or stashed in the freezer, you were meant to bake a loaf of banana bread! Use the over-ripe bananas to create Banana Bread Recipe For Kids, Healthy Banana Muffins or this recipe below.
Banana bread is always best enjoyed fresh from the oven, but can easily be frozen in individual ziplock bags for grab-and-go snacks or packed for lunch. A slice of frozen banana bread makes for the ultimate ice pack in your child’s lunchbox.
Gather the equipment and ingredients to get started then follow the simple instructions.
Equipment
- 1 large loaf pan or 2 small loaf pans
- medium mixing bowl
- large mixing bowl
- small bowl
- fork
- stir spoon
- measuring cups and spoons
- oven mitts
- nonstick cooking spray
Ingredients
- 1 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose gluten-free flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 medium overripe bananas, mashed
How To Make
Follow the step-by-step instructions to make banana bread with yogurt and applesauce, checking out our favorite mix-ins to add to this banana bread recipe before baking!
Preheat the oven
Preheat the oven to 400°F. Spray the loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray.
Combine wet ingredients
Combine the Greek yogurt, brown sugar, granulated sugar, applesauce, eggs, and vanilla in a large bowl. Then, set-aside.
Combine the dry ingredients
In a medium-sized bowl combine the flour, baking soda, and salt.
Stir the wet and dry ingredients together, then add banana
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until they just start to come together. Add the mashed banana and gently stir.
This is the time to add any of your favorite banana bread mix-ins. Chocolate chips, shredded coconut, dried cherries, raisins, chopped apricots, walnuts or pecans are all great options to stir into the batter with the mashed banana.
Bake
Bake for 10 minutes at 400°F then turn the oven down to 350°F and continue cooking for about 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean.
The initial high baking temperature helps the bread to rise while creating the crust. Lowering the temperature then bakes the inside without burning the top creating a moist inside and crunchy outside.
Frequently Asked Questions
The Greek yogurt can be swapped for whole, 2% or nonfat yogurt or 1 cup sour cream if desired.
Banana bread will be dense if the batter has been over mixed. Stir the ingredients until just mixed then pour straight into the loaf pan. If your kiddos are helping in the kitchen, give them a specific number to stir as a kid-friendly way to prevent over stirring.
Store in the fridge wrapped in foil or plastic wrap and placed in a ziplock bag for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Turn into muffins by pouring the batter into a muffin tin. Then, bake at 400°F for 8 minutes, turning down to 350°F and baking for an additional 7 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the muffins comes out clean.
Healthy Banana Recipes
- Air Fryer Banana Chips
- Easy S’mores Banana Boats
- Spinach Muffins with Banana and Blueberries
- Banana Zucchini Bread
- Healthy Banana Muffins
- Banana Date Smoothie
- Peanut Butter Overnight Oatmeal
CKC Features both Gluten-Free Guidance and Kids Cooking Instructions: If you’re new to eating gluten-free we understand it’s overwhelming trying to figure out which foods may contain gluten and which ones don’t. All of our gluten-free recipes marked with this symbol ✅ represent foods that need to be checked for gluten or cross-contamination.
The ⭐️ symbol in the recipe below denotes the steps in which kid cooks may need a helper (depending on age). If there is no ⭐️ symbol, that step (or recipe) doesn’t require a helper.
Banana Bread with Applesauce and Yogurt
Equipment
- 9 x 5 inch loaf pan or 2 small loaf pans
- large mixing bowl
- fork
- nonstick cooking spray ✅
Ingredients
- 1 cup plain full fat Greek yogurt
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract ✅
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose gluten-free flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda ✅
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 medium overripe bananas, mashed
Instructions
- Preheat the oven. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Spray the loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray.
- Combine wet ingredients. Combine the yogurt, brown sugar, granulated sugar, applesauce, eggs, and vanilla in a large bowl.1 cup plain full fat Greek yogurt, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/2 cup granulated sugar, 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce, 2 large eggs, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- Combine the dry ingredients. In a medium-sized bowl combine the flour, baking soda, and salt.1 1/2 cups all-purpose gluten-free flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon salt
- Stir the wet and dry ingredients together, then add banana. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until they just start to come together. Add the mashed banana and gently stir. Do not over stir or the bread will become dense.3 medium overripe bananas, mashed
- ⭐️Bake. Bake for 10 minutes at 400°F then turn the oven down to 350°F and continue cooking for about 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean.
Notes
Dairy-Free
Make dairy-free by choosing a dairy-free yogurt.Muffins
Turn into muffins by pouring the batter into a muffin tin. Then, bake at 400°F for 8 minutes, turning down to 350°F and baking for an additional 7 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the muffins comes out clean. CCK Features both Gluten-Free Guidance and Kids Cooking Instructions: If you’re new to eating gluten-free we understand it’s overwhelming trying to figure out which foods may contain gluten and which ones don’t. All of our gluten-free recipes marked with this symbol ✅ represent foods that need to be checked for gluten or cross-contamination. The ⭐️ symbol in the recipe below denotes the steps in which kid cooks may need a helper (depending on age). If there is no ⭐️ symbol, that step (or recipe) doesn’t require a helper.Nutrition
If you enjoyed these recipes make sure to leave a comment and a star rating below!
Then follow us on social media and tag #createkidsclub if you make the recipe. We love seeing what you come up with!
May says
The best!
DD says
Delicious recipe. Produced a lot of batter! I overloaded my loaf pan and made a bit of a mess in my oven so a suggestion would be to additionally make some muffins with the extra instead of keeping your fingers crossed that it won’t spill over.
Jodi Danen, RDN says
Hi Diana! Thanks for the feedback. I updated the post to specify using a large loaf pan or two small pans. My recipe turned out great in the pan I show in the post, but it must be larger than the one you used. Thanks so much!
DD says
AMAZING!!!! I’m making this recipe again, and noticed the update in your instructions. Thanks so much!
Jodi Danen, RDN says
I hope the updates were useful and I’m thrilled to hear you enjoy the recipe! 🙂
Rachel Lynn says
Suggestion: Give the measurements of the loaf pans you’ve mentioned, i.e. 9 in x 4 in.
Jodi Danen, RDN says
I added the measurement, thanks!
Annie B. says
This looks wonderful! I am planning to bake it with 2 and 3 year old children. Has anyone tried this recipe with no eggs and doubling the applesauce? Thank you for the recipe!
Briana says
I tried this recipe today. 10 minutes at 400 degrees and ended up baking for 1 hour and 20 minutes at 350 degrees, but the center did not bake. I followed the directions step by step, and used the correct size loaf pan. I was very bummed it didn’t bake through because it smelled absolutely delicious :/
Jodi Danen, RDN says
I’m sorry it didn’t cook through for you. It might be worth putting a thermometer in your oven to make sure it’s cooking at the proper temps. A lot of times our ovens actually cook at slightly different temps than they should. You could try making them as muffins – that might work better!
Jen says
completely burnt. SO disappointed! Made into muffins and wasted time and ingredients. Didn’t even cook as long as recipe stated.
Jodi Danen, RDN says
Hi Jen, I’m sorry to hear this. When baking muffins you typically only need to bake them for 20 minutes. This recipe cooks for 1 hr and 10 minutes so if you cooked them anywhere that long they would have burnt.
Barbara says
Had to cook it a little longer, but was delicious! I also added chocolate chips.
Mary says
Can this be made with almond flour.?
Thank you
Shauna says
I have to agree with the majority of the reviews. This was a total flop! I studied the reviews first so had high hopes, but this loaf went straight in the trash. I used the right size loaf pan (9 x 5), I have an oven thermometer and watched it diligently while baking. The bread burned before it could fully bake! I think this needs some tweaking for sure! I wouldn’t waste the ingredients.
Jodi Danen, RDN says
Sorry to hear that Shauna. This bread will be very dark on top. That is what makes it perfectly crunchy outside and moist inside. If it’s really getting burnt before being done, simply cover it with tin foil to avoid it getting any darker.
Angie says
Sadly this came out gummy and not good. It rose beautiful and then fell leaving it gummy. The toothpick came out clean.
Jodi Danen, RDN says
Hi Angie, I’m sorry to hear this. I’m wondering if it didn’t cook all the way through everywhere in the loaf. It does take a long time to cook. Also, did you use full-fat yogurt or fat-free? I’m going to update the recipe as I think this might be a problem as well. Thanks for sharing!
Tina says
I used almond flour and it turned out great. My husband’s comment, “Throw out any other banana bread recipe you have. This one is the one I want every time. “
Sandy says
I mad it as directed, but used 2 pans for fear of over flow. I also put chocolate chips in it . It turned out so good!! I was wanting to make it a chocolate banana bread but was sure it would work. Do you have any suggestions for that ?
Jodi Danen, RDN says
Hi Sandy! So happy to hear you enjoyed the bread! You can use 1/2 cup Dutch process cocoa to make it chocolate banana bread. There should be enough sugar in the recipe that you’d only need the chocolate.