The best Greek Banana Bread!

This year I've met more amazing women entrepreneurs, one of the best parts of this Zelos adventure, and a couple of weeks ago, I introduced you to one of them, Ntina from Meltemi yogurt. I love that Ntina imports her yogurt cultures from Greece, but her thick, creamy yogurt is made in the USA, a real Greek-American treat! The texture is wonderful and the rich flavor is just a tiny bit salty, without that excess sugar you find in so many yogurts here in the States, and of course it's rich in cultures for good gut health, so what's not to love?!

When we found out about this healthy treat, Eleftheria, our Marketing Director and Zelos's newest team member (and the one who shared that amazing Black Forest Cake recipe a couple of months ago!) decided to use this new Greek yogurt in her favorite banana bread recipe. I'm a big quick bread fan and love giving them a Greek touch so I just had to try hers, too. I've shared a spiced banana bread recipe and a spiced apple bread recipe before, but I was really intrigued by Eleftheria's experiment because she's a fellow foodie and health-conscious vegetarian and has brought a fresh new energy to our kitchen experiments.

Eleftheria uses oat flour, stevia and honey glazing, so of course I had to try this recipe with our thick, raw Cretan honey from Tragano Greek Organics. Still, I have to admit that I was wondering about the flavor because I usually spice up my quick breads. To be honest, this was a refreshing discovery. The oat flour, olive oil & yogurt gave a fantastic texture and the flavors felt wholesome and natural. A drizzle of fragrant Greek honey and I had a fantastic breakfast treat! My husband kept eating it his afternoon snack and coffee breaks and I thought this could be a nice, easy dish for my next brunch (hint, hint, Mother's Day is coming up!). 

I also have to say that every time I make this recipe, I think of the three of us women in business and how we each built on each others strengths...and isn't that what life is all about?! I hope you enjoy this easy recipe and share your own pictures with us, tagging @ZelosGreekArtisan on your favorite social media platform!

Ingredients for Greek banana bread

just under 1/2 cup of extra virgin olive oil to get a touch of earthy flavor and soft & fluffy texture

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

5 tbsp stevia

2 very, very ripe bananas

250 g oat flour

1 pinch of salt

½ tsp baking soda

½ tsp baking powder

3 tbsp Greek yogurt 5%, we used Meltemi and highly recommend it. Whatever you use, just make sure it's a true Greek yogurt, not an imitation!

3-4 tbsp Tragano Greek Organics Cretan Honey for the glazing

How to make a Greek banana bread

Preheat your oven to 350F°. 

Grease a 9x5x2.5 inch loaf pan with cooking spray or a bit of the olive oil.

Place the eggs, bananas, olive oil, vanilla extract, yogurt, and stevia in a food processor and blend for 2-3 minutes.

Whisk together all your dry ingredients (the oat flour, baking powder, baking soda, and a pinch of salt) and fold into the wet batter until it's just combined. You don't want to overmix!

Scrape the batter into your greased loaf pan and smooth the top or shake until even.

Bake for about 50-55 minutes, until a toothpick or knife inserted into the center of the bread comes out clean.

When the bread is done, brush it with some warm honey, then let it cool for an hour before serving.

Extra tip(s):

For a really nice dessert, drizzle a generous spoonful of the Tragano Greek Organics Cretan Honey over the whole bread while it's still hot.

Enjoy this healthy Banana Bread with a cup of Sparoza's Shaman Tea - there's an easy chai latte recipe in the tin that you can make hot or cold! 

Buy the Zelos products for a Greek banana bread