This Cottage Cheese Banana Bread is the ultimate soft, moist and delicious banana bread to make. It’s a gluten-free, made with almond flour and it is lower in sugar and higher in protein compared to your typical banana bread.
This just may be one of my favorite banana breads to date. And I am 100% positive it is because I added in the most underrated baking ingredient – cottage cheese – the batter!
Think of cottage cheese as the reason your banana bread is going to be moist and higher in protein than usual. It acts as the fat content here (no oil in this recipe) and it’s naturally a great source of protein.
This cottage cheese banana bread though is a great quick bread to make. No yeast is involved, no crazy steps or ingredients either. Just add everything to a bowl and mix! it is a quick bread to prep, the top gets crunchy on the edges yet the center is extra moist and it is gluten-free!
Tip: serve this banana bread with a smear of butter and jam on top for the ultimate sweet snack!
What ingredients are in this gluten-free cottage cheese banana bread:
- Bananas – ripe bananas are key here! The more “freckles” the banana has, the sweeter and more moist the banana bread will be
- Eggs – I haven’t tested with flax egg or egg substitute
- Cottage cheese – I usually use full-fat but low-fat could likely work too
- Maple syrup – adjust to taste if you want sweeter bread
- Vanilla extract – adds the best splash of flavor to the loaf
- Almond flour – I haven’t tested this with other flours. Gluten-free baking flour and all purpose flour are not 1:1 subs for almond flour though
- Cinnamon – love adding this spiced into my banana breads. I didn’t add nutmeg, but you certainly can
- Optional mix-in’s: walnuts, chocolate chips or blueberries are all great
How to make cottage cheese banana bread:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a bread pan with parchment paper and grease
- In a large bowl, mix together the bananas, eggs, cottage cheese, maple syrup and vanilla until smooth
- Mix in the almond flour, baking soda and cinnamon until fully combined (depending on the brand cottage cheese you use, it may be chunky – that is ok!)
- Pour batter into loaf pan and bake in oven for about 50 minutes, covering with foil after 30 minutes or so if the top is starting to brown a bit
- Remove from oven once cooked (I stick a toothpick in to test)
- Allow the bread to cool then slice and enjoy!
FAQS on making banana bread with cottage cheese:
- Why is there cottage cheese in this banana bread? It is SUCH an underrated ingredient to bake with. It adds moisture to the bread, protein and acts as the oil/fat for the recipe.
- Is this banana bread sweet? It isn’t too sweet. I only add a little maple syrup in addition to the ripe bananas. If you want sweeter, add in more maple syrup!
- Can I use another flour besides almond flour? I haven’t tested another flour for this but gluten-free flour and all purpose flour are not 1:1 subs for almond flour. So if you try to use another flour, please sub at your own risk!
- What is the best way to store this bread? Airtight container for 3 days, fridge for 5 days or in the freezer for 2 months.
A few other cottage cheese recipes to try:
Gluten-free Cottage Cheese Pancakes
Viral Cottage Cheese Ice Cream
PrintCottage Cheese Banana Bread
This Cottage Cheese Banana Bread is the ultimate soft, moist and delicious banana bread to make. It’s a gluten-free, made with almond flour and it is lower in sugar and higher in protein compared to your typical banana bread.
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Cook Time: 50 mins
- Total Time: 55 mins
Yield: 8–10 slices 1x
Ingredients
- 2 ripe bananas, mashed
- 3 eggs
- 1/2 cup cottage cheese
- 3 tablespoons maple syrup (adjust to taste if you want sweeter)
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 1/2 cups almond flour**
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- Optional mix-in’s: walnuts, chocolate chips or blueberries are all great
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a bread pan with parchment paper and grease
- In a large bowl, mix together the bananas, eggs, cottage cheese, maple syrup and vanilla until smooth
- Mix in the almond flour, baking soda and cinnamon until fully combined (depending on the brand cottage cheese you use, it may be chunky – that is ok!)
- Pour batter into loaf pan and bake in oven for about 50 minutes, covering with foil after 30 minutes or so if the top is starting to brown a bit
- Remove from oven once cooked (I stick a toothpick in to test)
- Allow the bread to cool then slice and enjoy!
Notes
*Store banana bread in airtight container for 3 days, 5 days in fridge or 2 months in freezer
**Gluten-free baking flour and all purpose flour are not 1:1 subs for almond flour
Alene
Going to definitely make this, after my lemon sorghum flour only quick bread is gone. http://Www.fromthelarder.co.uk/gluten-free-lemon-drizzle-cake. By the way, that one is divine!
Jodi
★★★★★
So easy and delicious!! Highly recommend. Followed recipe exactly
Rachel
YAY thank you jodi!
Amanda
How much all purpose flour would you use instead of almond flour?
Rachel
any time i have tested a sub it is listed above !
Jenn
★★★★★
Delicious! Making another batch today!
Rachel
so happy to hear!!
Jessica
★★★★★
I made this for my toddler to sneak a little more dairy into her diet and I am impressed with how delicious it turned out! It was super easy to make and I added walnuts and cacao chips as a little bonus. My daughter loves it but so do I! can’t wait to make more and try out some other little additions.
Rachel
aw thank you!
Vlada
Hi 🙂 , If anybody needs the ingredients converted into grams like me ,here is the recipe :
2 ripe bananas, mashed: 220 grams
3 eggs: 150 grams
1/2 cup cottage cheese: 115 grams
3 tablespoons maple syrup: 63 grams
2 teaspoon vanilla extract: 10 grams
2 1/2 cups almond flour: 250 grams
1 teaspoon baking soda: 5 grams
2 teaspoons cinnamon: 4 grams
🙂 I’m looking forward to making this recipe tomorrow ! <3
Lori Cohen
Thank you Vlada! I find with baking being exact works so much better. Appreciate the conversion!
Serena
How much regular white or whole wheat flour would you add to replace the Almond flour? I don’t have Almond flour but want to try this recipe!
Rachel
usually almond flour isn’t a 1:1 sub as it absorbs more liquid. so i’d use about 1/4 cup less flour. keep me posted!
Danielle
So happy this recipe turned out so well for some many reviewers however my loaf was so dry it almost choked my husband and myself and I followed the recipe exactly. I wonder if it was my oven or elevation?
Rachel
it is definitely not a dry bread. in fact it is usually too moist.
Jess
I made it and didn’t have almond flour and only used 1 1/4 cup of flour and added chocolate chips. It’s DELICIOUS my boyfriend is obsessed. We’re always looking for healthier versions since it seems like everything is so bad for you anymore.
Rachel
yay!!!
Marisa
Thank you Jess! I was wondering about the AP flour sub too.
Jen
★★★★★
This bread is DELICIOUS! I followed the recipe exactly, and I made it into 12 muffins. I cooked for 30 minutes and then watched them closely after that and cooked to doneness. They did start to brown a little early like you mentioned in the recipe, so I covered them with foil. The recipe is perfect. The muffins were moist but not gooey, perfectly sweet, and they froze beautifully! Even my toddler loved them, and I’m about to make my second batch! Thank you for this recipe!
Rachel
YAY!!
Marcella
★★★★★
This is so delicious! Thank you! 💛 It got incredibly dark by the time it was baked through, even with the foil covering. Do you have an idea why that might have happened?
Thank you for all the incredible recipes.
Rachel
yay thank you so much! likely can happen if your rack in the oven is too high!
Cecilia
This is delicious, I had to use all purpose flour. I added 2 cups, didn’t rise much. So need to decrease flour?
Rachel
it’s not going to rise too much !
Jane
What is the breakdown of calories carbs and protein?
Rachel
feel free to input into online calculator
Cindy
★★★★★
Very moist & rich tasting. Used 1 tsp honey & 1 tsp maple syrup. Perfect amount of sweetness. Also add blueberries.
Rachel
thank you!
Debbi Zimmerman
Can you give the nutrition info especially sodium and calories.
Thanks!
Rachel
feel free to input into online recipe calorie counter 🙂
Lorelei
★★★★★
This was delicious. I was curious if the base ingredients could be used to make it with zucchini instead of bananas? I think it with some ingredient tweaks it would also make an amazing zucchini bread.
Rachel
hmmm it may be a bit watery! zucchini and bananas aren’t 1:1 sub but i’ll try to do a zucchini bread with cottage cheese and let you know!
Cheryl
★★★★★
I made this exactly how recipe states (adding in blueberries) and the bread came out spongy. Any insights as to what I did wrong? Thank you!
Rachel
it shouldn’t be if recipe was exact ! maybe your cottage cheese was different consistency? we used the whole foods organic one.
Fran Hewitt
It is in the oven. I used pecan flour!
Amanda
★★★★★
This recipe blew my mind! It is so good and can be used to create so many different versions! I added an extra half banana, 1 cup of blueberries, toasted chopped walnuts, and a few dark chocolate chunks as mix-ins. Thanks for a great base recipe!
Rachel
thank you so much! love to hear it
Teresa
★★★★★
Wow! So good! I used oat flour 1:1. Didn’t have any vanilla extract or cinnamon and it still tasted amazing. Can’t imagine how good this is going to taste next time I make it with those additions. This is now going to be a staple bread in my house!!
Rachel
yay thank you!
Kayla Melville
★★★★★
THIS RECIPE IS SO GOOD YALL I baked it for 50 minutes and it turned out super moist (a lil underbaked but it was a good consistency) and it was the perfect sweetness with a rich flavor. I added white chocolate chips too for extra sweetness.
Rachel
AW thank you!!!!
Lorelei Cassidy
★★★★★
What about cottage cheese pumpkin bread for fall?!
Rachel
SSOOOOO into this idea!
Dawn Bullock
I sprinkled a little cinnamon sugar on top. I made four mini loaves to have some to share. These are very good.
Rachel
woohoo!!!
Mackenzie
★★★★★
So delicious, couldn’t be easier, I loved the light fluffy texture and how healthy it is! Eating two slices for breakfast sets me up for a great day! I took a risk and made the entire batter in my blender (figuring, since there’s no gluten, it won’t negatively develop texture) and it was SO worth it! The batter came together in seconds, and it was so so delicious.
Rachel
thank you so much!!!
Carrie Pomerantz
★★★★★
Yum!
Rachel
yay!!
Sherry
★★★★
Good flavor, but as always when I bake with almond flour it is a very moist gooey bread.
Rachel
it does! add more almond flour as needed