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Yoghurt orange banana bread

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I don’t know about you, but for me even the name of banana bread always reminds me of a calm and peaceful scene, maybe in a coffee or in the comfort of your own kitchen…and maybe in a flavor you haven’t tried before, like this yoghurt orange banana bread! It is little more fudgy in texture, but the orange adds a refreshing hint and the cream cheese glaze is the perfect finish. Oh, and it’s vegan and can be made nut free!

Overhead shot of the yoghurt orange banana read. the bread is lying on a piece of white parchment paper on a white marbled surface. It is decorated with slices of an orange, granola, fresh orange peels and flowers. The picture is framed by green sprigs and there are sliced oranges in the upper left corner as well as in the lower right corner. A a jar filled with milk is visible in the upper right corner.

Banana bread never gets old!

I think I can speak on behalf of many if I say that banana bread played a huge role in our life during lockdown in April 2020. But lets be honest, with or without lockdown- a good loaf of banana bread is always welcome in our kitchen. What I find so great about these “basic” recipes is that everyone can add their little twist and turn them into something of their own creativity! And I think this yoghurt and orange banana bread was definitely a good creative outlet.

Citrus fruits and banana bread?

I have always had a favor for sweet treats where some kind of citrus fruit was involved. Tiny me was buying the key lime pie flavoured yoghurts whenever we went to the US, I was the biggest fan of sour candies and I loved the combination of poppyseeds and lemons in muffins or cakes. However, oranges always had an “elegant” or “festive” note in my opinion. They go really well together with more things than their citrus friends as they are not too sour and taste rather sweet.

When I bought a sachet of oranges, that was on offer I thought it would be worth a try to bake some banana bread with them. Said, done and the result is this vegan yoghurt and orange banana bread!

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Ingredients for the yoghurt orange banana bread

Close up shot of the yoghurt orange banana bread from the front. You can see the sliced oranges, granola and flowers on top of the glazed banana bread. The bread is lying on a white piece of parchment paper on a white marbled surface.

At first, the list for the yoghurt orange banana bread might look like quite a handful, but I promise, the ingredients are mostly pretty basic ones:

  • BANANAS: are obviously a pretty substantial ingredient, because baking a banana bread without the bananas would be…impossible?
  • VEGAN/ PLANT BASED YOGHURT: creates the fudgy texture and makes sure our banana bread will not turn out too dry! I used a soy variety, but any type of natural yoghurt will work.
  • GROUND FLAXSEEDS: are a great substitute for eggs (as binders). Once you mix them with some water and let them stand on the countertop for a few minutes, they will form a gel.
  • ORANGE JUICE: to add a more “freshness” to the overall flavor of the dough. Plus we will also need a bit for the glaze!
  • ORANGE ZEST: this is how we create the orange flavor in this yoghurt orange banana bread. Its best to use the zest of an organic orange if possible!
  • COCONUT FLOUR: naturally has a slightly sweeter taste. The coconut flavor will not be too strong in this recipe, although a hint of it goes very well with the other flavors.
  • FLOUR: Any wheat or spelt flour will work: regular, wholegrain, etc..
  • BAKING POWDER& SODA: are here for letting our banana bread rise beautifully and avoiding it from coming out too flat!
  • SUGAR: to achieve the right amount of sweetness. As the bananas are already quite sweet, we will not need to add a lot.
  • VEGAN/ PLANT BASED CREAM CHEESE: for the glaze of the yoghurt orange banana bread.
  • MAPLE SYRUP: helps to liquify the glaze and adds sweetness of course. If you don’t mind a little “maple” flavor, a darker grade is good. Otherwise, opt for a maple syrup that’s lighter in color.
  • PINCH OF SALT: enhances the sweetness. We will add it to both, the banana bread and the glaze.

Simple steps from start to finish

The best thing about this yoghurt banana bread is it doesn’t require too much time and effort to make it! From start to finish, the instructions are pretty simple:

  1. Preheat the oven, prepare a baking tin and mix all the ingredients together in a bowl.
  2. Bake the banana bread.
  3. Let it cool. Mix together all the ingredients for the glaze, drizzle it over the cooled yoghurt orange banana bread and ENJOY!

See? It really couldn’t be simpler. And you really can hardly make any mistakes!

Substitutions

Got a problem with the ingredients? No problemo, you can make substitutions for the following:

  • SUGAR – you can use any type of sugar you have on hand, but I would suggest to opt for brown sugar or coconut sugar. The recipe also works with granulated sweetener if that’s what you prefer.
  • MAPLE SYRUP – you can use another liquid sweetener such as (brown) rice syrup or (vegan) honey.
  • GROUND FLAXSEEDS– although I would really suggest using them as they have a finer texture, you could use chia seeds instead as well. To resemble the texture of the ground flaxseeds, you could ground them into a finer powder by blending them in a blender.
Yoghurt orange banana bread from the front. The banana bread is decorated with some vegan cream cheese glaze, slices of an orange, granola, flowers and fresh range peels. There is also a jar of milk in the upper right corner and some sliced oranges in the upper left corner ans well as in the lower right corner.

Tips for a successful yoghurt orange banana bread

Before we get started, let me quickly introduce you to my two top tips that are not really a secret, but important to achieve the ultimate banana bread:

  1. Make sure your bananas are VERY RIPE. The riper, the better. Spot any bananas that are more brown than yellow or are covered in brown speckles- these are the ones you want to get in your basket! Another trick would be to wrap your bananas in some foil and bake them in the preheated oven at 200°C for around 10-15 minutes: they will becomes super brown and mushy!
  2. For an even richer flavor, replace some of the yoghurt with any nut or seed butter! I would suggest almond or cashew butter or sunflower butter and tahini for a nut free version. If you don’t mind the coconut flavor, use full fat coconut yoghurt as yoghurt or opt for full fat coconut milk as milk to achieve a fudgier consistency.

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Overhead shot of the banana read. the bread is lying on a piece of white parchment paper on a white marbled surface. It is decorated with slices of an orange, granola, fresh orange peels and flowers. There are green sprigs lying on a beuge kitchen towel in the lower left cornerand there are sliced oranges in the upper left corner as well. The bread is sliced, two slices have already been cut off and are lying on the parchment paper.

And now, let’s get started, shall we?

If you need a quick recipe for a snack or dessert and want to try a new banana bread variation: get some oranges, yoghurt and start baking! As always I hope you enjoy this recipe. And if you do, please leave a comment and rating and tag me on instagram so I can see your creation!

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Yoghurt orange banana bread (vegan& nut free)

You can never go wrong with a loaf of banana bread! This one is infused with orange flavour, made with simple ingredients and tastes delicious for breakfast or as snack. It's vegan and nut free.
Course Breakfast, Dessert, Snack
Keyword breakfast, dessert, gluten free, oil free, snack, vegan
Servings 1 loaf (8-10 slices)

Ingredients

wet ingredients

  • 1 Cup (240g) plant yoghurt (I used an almond based one)*
  • 1 Cup (240g) banana mashed
  • 1 Tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 1/2 Tbsp freshly squeezed orange juice

dry ingredients

  • 2 heaped Tbsp (16g) flaxseeds
  • zest of 1 orange
  • 2 heaped Tbsp (30-40g) coconut sugar
  • 200 g flour **
  • 50 g coconut flour
  • 1 Tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 Tsp baking soda
  • 1/4 Tsp salt

glaze

  • 80 g (vegan) cream cheese
  • 2-3 Tbsp maple syrup
  • 2-3 Tbsp plant milk
  • 2-3 Tbsp orange juice
  • 1/3 Tsp orange zest
  • 1/2 orange finely sliced for decoration, optional
  • pinch of salt

Instructions

  • Mix flaxseeds with 3 Tbsp water and let sit for about 10 min.
  • Preheat oven to 180C.
  • In a bowl combine all the wet ingredients. Mix together the dry ingredients (except the orange half) in a sepparate bowl, then add the wet mixture and stir everything together until completely smooth.
  • Line a baking tin/ bread loaf tin with parchment paper and grease with a little oil/ vegan butter. Spread the batter envenly into the prepared form.
  • Bake everything in the oven for 40-50 minutes. Check every once in a while to make sure the top doesn't get burned and rotate it if necessary. When ready baked, remove the tin from the oven and let cool completely before flipping it over to release the banana bread.
  • Mix together all the ingredients for the glaze in a glas/jar. Drizzle over the banana bread, decorate with the orange if using, slice up and ENJOY!

Notes

*feel free to substitute a bit of the yoghurt (around 2 heaped Tbsp)for cashew-, almond (or vegan)butter to make it even more fudgy!
**Any wheat or spelt flour will work: regular, wholegrain, etc. I haven’t tried it with a store-bought gluten free flour mix or a homemade one, so I cannot assure you that it will turn out fine as well!

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