greek yogurt maple banana bread pudding
Oh yes I did! You read that right: Greek Yogurt Maple Banana Bread Pudding. And it has walnuts on it too. It’s bananas! Literally.
Did you know that bread pudding is my favorite dessert on the entire planet? True. And it HAS to be served warm. No question.
In fact, I love bread pudding so so so much, that when it came time to choose what kind of wedding cake Jase and I were going to have at our wedding, I decided that I would rather have bread pudding. So we did. And yes it was warm. True story, it was actually so warm it burnt my mouth! On my wedding day. Ooopsie!
But I think that someone who isn’t as in love with bread pudding as I am would also agree that this dessert is the best. When it came out of the oven and I was taking these pictures, I had a hard time not eating it. And then as soon as I was done I was like oh my gosh I can’t wait to share this with everyone!
I hadn’t even cleaned up or anything, and Jason was working on the sugar house. He happened to come inside to grab something and I accosted him in the mudroom with a spoonful of WARM bread pudding, and I was like “Dude, you HAVE to try this!” And he did. And he was like “Oh my God!” And I was like “I know!!!!”
And then my daughters also tried it and they were like, “Mom, Wow!”
It’s that kind of a recipe, guys.
It is like Wow!
Okay, so enough with the gushy gushy, you get it. I know you want to make it now, so let’s talk cooks notes for a second.
How to Make Greek Yogurt Maple Banana Bread Pudding
1. The Banana: Mash one of the bananas and mix that into the custard mixture to make the whole thing taste more banana-ish. This also keeps it more moist and adds natural sweetness. My bananas were black in spots, but not over-ripe to the point where they were turning translucent on the insides. The other three bananas get sliced and layered inside and on top.
2. Greek Yogurt: I love the way the Greek yogurt tastes in the custard. The sourness is a really yummy balance to the maple and banana and keeps it from tasting too cloying. It is also a healthy high-protein way to extend the custard and keep the bread pudding moist without adding extra cream.
3. Lower Fat Dairy: I used low fat milk and just a quarter cup of half and half instead of heavy cream to make the custard. It still seems quite rich due to the thick Greek yogurt.
4. Maple Sweetened: I sweetened it up with maple syrup which plays off the nuts and bananas in a carmely mapley sweet way.
5. Lower Glycemic Bread: I used sourdough because again, the sourness helps to balance the sweetness of the maple and banana. Plus sourdough bread is lower glycemic than white bread, but doesn’t have the strong taste that whole-wheat bread has.
6. Unrefined Sugar and Nuts for Crunchy Texture Contrast: I added crunchy turbinado sugar on top and walnuts (one of maple’s BFFs.)
7. Technique: First mix the bread and custard in a bowl and let the custard totally soak into the bread. Then before layering it into the cast iron skillet, stir it again to mix in the pieces on the top that weren’t as moist. Next butter the skillet. This will prevent it from sticking, and adds yummy flavor. To assemble, add half of the bread and custard mix, top with slices of banana, then add the remaining bread and custard mix. To bake it, cover it so that it heats through without browning. Then remove the top, add on the crunchy turbinado sugar and walnuts and let the whole thing brown and puff.
8. To Serve: Before serving drizzle on more maple syrup if you like. And top with whipped cream if you’re feeling indulgent.
Oh, and don’t forget: Make sure to let it cool a bit before serving. You don’t want to burn your mouth like I did on my wedding day!
QUESTIONS:
Married folks: Did you have wedding cake at your wedding?
Have you been to a wedding where there was no cake?
Do you ever force tastes of food on unsuspecting people in your family when you are cooking and they are doing something else?
Printgreek yogurt banana maple bread pudding
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Total Time: 5 hours 45 minutes
- Yield: 10 servings 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: American
Description
Oh yes I did! You read that right: greek yogurt maple banana bread pudding. And it has walnuts on it. It’s bananas! Literally. And it’s my favorite dessert
Ingredients
- 4 ripe bananas
- 6 eggs
- 1 cup low-fat milk
- 1 cup low-fat vanilla Greek yogurt
- ¾ cup dark pure maple syrup, plus more for serving if desired
- ¼ cup half and half
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 pound sourdough bread, crusts removed and cubed
- 1 tablespoon softened unsalted butter
- ¼ cup chopped walnuts
- 1 tablespoon turbinado or coarse sanding sugar
- whipped cream and maple syrup for serving
Instructions
- Mash one banana in a large bowl. Add eggs, milk, Greek yogurt, ¾ cup maple syrup, half and half and vanilla and whisk to combine. Add bread and stir to combine. Cover and refrigerate 4 hours to 8 hours.
- Heat oven to 350ºF. Grease a 10.25-inch cast iron skillet with butter.
- Re-stir the bread mixture. Spread half of the bread mixture into the bottom of the skillet. Slice two bananas and spread over the bread layer. Top with the remaining bread mixture and any remaining batter from the bowl can be drizzled over the top. Spritz a square of parchment (roughly 10 by 10 inches) with cooking spray. Lay the parchment, spray side down over the bread pudding. Cover tightly over the edges with foil and transfer to the oven.
- Bake until steaming hot, and puffed in the center, 40 to 50 minutes. Remove parchment and foil and sprinkle with walnuts and turbinado sugar. Return to the oven and bake until the top is browned, 20 to 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool 10 to 30 minutes. Slice the remaining banana and serve on top of the warm bread pudding with, whipped cream and maple syrup if desired.
Nutrition
- Calories: 334
- Sugar: 30 g
- Sodium: 311 mg
- Fat: 7 g
- Saturated Fat: 2 g
- Carbohydrates: 60 g
- Fiber: 4 g
- Protein: 12 g
More Maple Desserts:
Maple Parsnip Morning Glory Coffee Cake
Healthy Maple Carrot Sheet Cake
Maple-Sweetened Healthy Apple Crisp
Oh my! I am seriously in love with this. Pinning and hoping to make asap! I’d like a redo from my wedding cake. Ha!
Thank you Allison. Lol, don’t feel bad. And honestly, I bet a lot of people don’t even really remember their wedding cake. There is so much going on that day.
This looks amazing!
Thank you Hannah!
This looks mouthwatering! Love the addition of walnuts in this. Yum!!
Thank you so much Vicci! And thank you for coming by today.
This Greek yogurt & banana bread pudding looks amazing and easy to make, too.
It really is simple to make. Just cut the bread, stir it all together and bake. Viola! Thank you so much for coming by. Have a great day!
This banana pudding certainly has the wow factor! I know my family would love it:-)
That’s what my girls thought for sure! They were wow’ed 😉 Thank you so much for coming by Camilla.
I’m just now discovering my love for bread pudding. For some reason it never seemed appetizing to me. I’m no longer dumb, and I really like this lightened up version. Even though I just discovered the awesomeness that is bread pudding, I haven’t made it that many times because it’s so heavy. I definitely want to try this!
I never tried it until I was in culinary school and they served it to us in the cafeteria (of all places) and I fell in love on the spot. I have been a devout fan since. IDK if you’ve ever had sticky toffee pudding (a British dessert) but again, terrible name, and it is marvelous.
Hi this looks amazing, but when do I add the strawberries
Hi Anne. That’s a typo. We just fixed it. The corrected version is up now. Hope you enjoy it!
The bread is already soaking!! I can’t wait!
Yay! That’s awesome Amy! Hope you like it!
Hi Katie,
I’m trying this recipe tonight. I don’t have a skillet. Do you think I can do it in a loaf shaped dutch oven?
https://www.petromax.de/en/px-produkte/loaf-pan-with-lid-k4/
Thanks,
Pedro.
I think you would be better off using something wider than that so that it cooks through. Like a brownie pan or casserole dish.
On my wedding day(both our2nd,37yrs.ago!), after the ceremony, we went in2 the next room2 take pics cutting the cake. Turns out that the other wedding party accidently had taken our cake & served it 2 their quests. So the pics i have of my husband & I cutting the cake actually isn’t our cake@all. It’s a stranger’s cake&we never got2cut a wedding cake. Also, married2times & never had a wedding shower. I’m still bummed about that one (or shall i say two)? Chuckles
perfect way to use bananas – we had a traditional wedding cake. our nephew married recently, they had doughnuts from their favorite shop – on a board with pegs. when you were ready, you grabbed one.
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Donuts on a peg board sounds so creative and fun! Love that. I’m glad you enjoyed this recipe. Thanks Nancy.
I’ve actually never had bread pudding, but this looks SO GOOD I can’t wait to try!!!
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I will be making this recipe over and over again… and I was shocked at how easy it was! Great recipe… thank you!
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