Cottage Cheese Banana Bread

A close up image of sliced banana bread on a serving board.

Cottage Cheese Banana Bread

Course: Breakfast, Snack

Cuisine: American

Diet: Vegetarian

Prep Time: 5

Cook Time: 45

Total Time: 50

Servings: slices

Calories: 202kcal

Author: Shruthi Baskaran-Makanju

My cottage cheese banana bread is moist, protein-rich, and ready in under an hour — just 7 ingredients, maximum flavor.

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Ingredients

3 medium ripe bananas mashed (about 1¼ cups)
½ cup whole-milk cottage cheese
2 large eggs
⅓ cup maple syrup
1½ cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
1 medium ripe banana halved lengthwise (optional, for topping)

Instructions

Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat oven to 350°F. Grease or line a 9x5-inch loaf pan with parchment paper.
In a blender or food processor, combine mashed bananas, cottage cheese, eggs, and maple syrup. Blend until smooth and creamy, about 30 seconds to 1 minute.
Transfer mixture to a large bowl. Add flour, baking powder, and salt. Gently fold with a rubber spatula until no dry streaks remain. Do not overmix.

Fold the dry ingredients in no more than 15-16 strokes. Stop when just combined even if a few small streaks remain — they'll disappear as the batter rests. Overmixing develops gluten and produces a dense, chewy crumb.

Pour batter into the prepared loaf pan and smooth the top. If using, lay banana halves cut side up on top.
Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 45–50 minutes. Tent with foil after 30 minutes if top browns too quickly.

No thermometer? The bread is done when the center springs back when lightly pressed, the edges have pulled away from the pan sides, and a toothpick comes out with no wet batter — dry crumbs are fine, any stickiness means more time. High-moisture batters like this one often need the full 50 minutes.

Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack and cool completely before slicing.

Notes

Use very ripe bananas with lots of brown spots for the best flavor and natural sweetness
Blending the wet ingredients creates a smooth batter with no visible cottage cheese curds
Spoon flour into the measuring cup and level with a knife — do not scoop directly from the bag or you'll pack in significantly more flour than the recipe needs.
The cottage cheese adds moisture that can fool a toothpick. If possible, check internal temperature — the bread is done at 200-205°F. An instant-read thermometer inserted in the center is the most reliable method.

Storage: Wrap tightly and store at room temperature up to 2 days, or refrigerate up to 5 days. Freeze up to 3 months (wrap in plastic and foil).

Reheating: Toast slices in a toaster or warm in a 300°F oven for 5-10 minutes.

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