Cottage 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.

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:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a bread pan with parchment paper and grease
2. In a large bowl, mix together the bananas, eggs, cottage cheese, maple syrup and vanilla until smooth
3. 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!)
4. 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
5. Remove from oven once cooked (I stick a toothpick in to test)
6. 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

Cottage Cheese Banana Pudding

2-ingredient Egg Bites

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