I can’t tell you how long I’ve been wanting to bake something. It had to have been weeks. I kept saying I’d do it some evening, once Lucas is asleep but, quite honestly, once he goes to bed my desire to do much of anything besides veg out on the couch is slim.
So when I found myself with a little extra time while home sick yesterday…and then noticed the ripe bananas on the kitchen counter, I knew I finally had my opportunity.
Now you guys probably already know…I’ve made plenty of banana breads in my day. Most of them were what one might call “healthified,” and unfortunately, many of them occasionally tasted that way too.
So when I set out to make a new loaf of the good stuff, I knew I wanted something that wasn’t going to wind up spongy and overly “healthy,” but I also didn’t want one loaded up with a bunch of butter or oil either.
Lucky for me, I found my happy medium. And not only that, but I decided to get a little crazy and dusted the entire coating of the bread with a sprinkling of cinnamon and sugar.
The result? The most decadent of a slightly sweet and crunchy crust.
But okay…I’ll stop pretending like I’m actually good at coming up with fancy words to describe my foods. How’s this: the bread is freakin delicious. Go make it like, now.
Cinnamon-Sugar Crusted Banana Bread
Ingredients
- 1-1/2 cups mashed bananas about 3 medium
- 1 cup plain non-fat yogurt (I did not use Greek, but I’m sure that would be fine)
- 1/4 cup butter softened
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour or you could try a mix of 1/2 all purpose, 1/2 whole wheat
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- extra cinnamon and sugar for sprinkling/dusting
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9×5 loaf pan with cooking spray and dust with a light coating of white sugar and cinnamon.
- Combine bananas and yogurt in a small bowl and set aside.
- In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla and banana mixture. Combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt; stir into the banana mixture. Spread the batter evenly into the prepared loaf pan. Sprinkle top of batter with extra cinnamon and sugar.
- Bake for 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the bread comes out clean. Enjoy!
Brittany says
I’m pretty sure banana bread is theeee best! This looks amazing :D
Lauren says
Oh yum! So glad to see some of your amazing bread recipes back !
Linz @ Itz Linz says
YUM! banana bread is a weekly staple in our house when bananas get too ripe, so i’ll have to try this!!
Jamie @ Dishing Out Health says
This looks fantastic! I bet your house smelled amazing while this baby was baking. I love the idea of coating the crust with cinnamon-sugar. Need to make asap!
Courtney says
While the BABY was baking?!? Yikes!! lol ;)
*Edited to add: My husband just informed me it looked like I didn’t know what you were talking about. I certainly do…I was just having some fun. :-P
Abi@AbsofSteel says
yummm, this looks delicious! I like that it’s somewhere in between “healthified” and full fat. It’s usually hard to find recipes that aren’t one extreme or the other.
Lisa @ Life as Lisa Knows It says
mmmm, this looks delicious!! :-) Do you ship to NJ?? haha :-)
Tori L says
I’ve got some bananas on the edge of death, so I might just need to turn them into this beauty! YUM.
Jenn@Mark My Miles! says
Yum! This sounds perfect with a warm cup of coffee and cream!
Holly @ EatGreatBEGreat says
I LOVE banana bread and so does my husband! I’m loving this version and I bet the Greek yogurt really makes it super moist.
Chelsea @ A Fit LittleOne says
Oh this sounds so good!! Never thought to add cinnamon sugar to the top. And now I’m craving some of this delicious bread!!
Jamie @ Sometimes Healthy Living Blog says
Why is it that any dish tastes infinitely better when topped with cinnamon and sugar??
This looks mmmm so scrumptious and healthy, but not TOO healthy. And BTW, I think you do a lovely job of describing your food with big words :-)
Sara @ LovingOnTheRun says
I love banana bread and cinnamon/sugar crust!?!? Even better! Thanks for sharing this :)
Sam @ Better With Sprinkles says
I’ve been craving banana bread lately – this looks great! I love the idea of a cinnamon sugar crust!
Brigitt says
Yumm…banana bread is one of my all-time favorites, and this one looks absolutely delicious!
haley @Cupcakes and Sunshine says
OH wow oh wow! Banana bread is my favorite food group. Can not WAIT to try this one!
Shel@PeachyPalate says
A beauty!! Banana bread without any oil or sugar just doesn’t cut the mustard…perfect balance!
Amanda @ .running with spoons. says
I feel like it’s been forever since I’ve made banana bread, and you’ve seriously got me craving a loaf! And I couldn’t agree more about sometimes just needing the real stuff without any substitutions — this looks like the best of both worlds.
Chrissy @pinkpolishandrunningshoes says
Looks amazing! Just pinned it :)
Ali says
I love banana bread and with the cinnamon sugar crust, it looks even better.
Catherine @ foodiecology says
I love banana bread, but you’ve just come up with both a brilliant idea and a curse, because I have a feeling that banana bread will not be complete unless it’s crusted with cinnamon & sugar! :-) Can’t wait to make this!
Claire says
So, I saw this and immediately had to make it…or something like it :-) I didn’t have all the right ingredients so I MAJORLY improvised using 1/3 c. sugar only, two strawberry Greek yogurts (strawberry/banana combo was great), coconut flour/gluten-free flour, coconut milk, and frozen blueberries. Sprinkled the top with powdered sugar and cinnamon….it was DELICIOUS!!
Nala says
Oh this looks heavenly!! I can’t wait to try it. Banana Bread is great but with Cinnamon Sugar???? Even better!
Kim @FITsique says
This looks like my kind of banana bread! I think we often try to “healthify” too many things and sometimes its best to not worry about it and enjoy it!
Lauren @ Focused To Be Fit says
THAT CRUST! Oh man, that looks so delicious!
Lauren @ The Bikini Experiment says
Thanks for the recipe! I love banana bread.
Katie @ Talk Less, Say More says
I LOVE banana bread! Oh, it’s been FAR too long since I allowed myself to put on my baker’s hat…I think I’m overdue!
Nancy says
I haven’t made banana bread in months! Oh look at that, three brown spotted bananas sitting on my counter top. Think I’ll let them brown up a little more and make some tomorrow evening. :) :) It’s amazing right out of the oven with a smidge of margarine isn’t it!!
Heather says
That sounds so good! I am a fan of anything with cinnamon sugar on top – banana bread is no exception. I’ll have to try this as soon as I can wait for bananas to ripen enough :)
Ellie@Fit for the soul says
Hehehe, sometimes I try to explicitly describe a dish and it’s just indescribable! So yeap~just make it, period. Hah! This sounds amazing! I love banana bread the classical way, but I always welcome exceptions.
Katy says
I have been seriously craving banana bread recently! I will definitely need to give this recipe a try.
Jenn @ Happy Hour Miles says
I think I’m going to make this tonight! Thanks for sharing. :)
Leigha @ Minougirl says
YUM! I agree that you need a lil butter and sugar. What is life without the good stuff?! This looks so yummy! I’d add some chocolate chips and walnuts :)
Tiff @ Love Sweat & Beers says
Mmmm, sounds like a winner to me!
Kelly @ The Fit Skool says
This looks yummy! Thanks for the post, I can’t wait to try it :)
Heather @fitncookies says
I am a huge fan of banana bread! I could eat the entire loaf so fast. This one looks amazing with cinnamon and sugar! Can’t wait to try it!
Aqiyl Aniys says
I love banana bread and the cinnamon top is a welcome plus.