Cream Cheese Cinnamon Protein Loaf (Printer View)

Fluffy banana loaf swirled with sweet cinnamon cream cheese filling, boosted with protein powder for a nourishing morning treat.

# What you'll need:

→ Loaf

01 - 3 medium ripe bananas, mashed
02 - 2 large eggs
03 - 1/3 cup Greek yogurt, plain nonfat or low-fat
04 - 1/2 cup milk of choice
05 - 1/3 cup maple syrup or honey
06 - 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
07 - 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
08 - 1/2 cup vanilla or unflavored protein powder
09 - 1 teaspoon baking powder
10 - 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
11 - 1/2 teaspoon salt
12 - 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

→ Cream Cheese Cinnamon Swirl

13 - 6 ounces cream cheese, softened
14 - 2 tablespoons Greek yogurt
15 - 1/4 cup granulated sugar or coconut sugar
16 - 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
17 - 1 egg yolk
18 - 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

# Method:

01 - Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 9x5-inch loaf pan with parchment paper and lightly grease.
02 - In a large bowl, whisk together mashed bananas, eggs, Greek yogurt, milk, maple syrup, and vanilla extract until smooth.
03 - In a separate bowl, combine flour, protein powder, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.
04 - Add dry ingredients to wet mixture and stir gently until just combined—avoid overmixing.
05 - In another bowl, beat together cream cheese, Greek yogurt, sugar, cinnamon, egg yolk, and vanilla extract until smooth and creamy.
06 - Pour half of the loaf batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly.
07 - Spoon half of the cream cheese mixture over the batter and gently swirl with a knife.
08 - Add the remaining loaf batter on top, then spoon and swirl the rest of the cream cheese mixture.
09 - Bake for 45 to 55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean with a few moist crumbs acceptable, but no raw batter.
10 - Cool in pan for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before slicing.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • It tastes indulgent enough for dessert but actually has 10g of protein per slice, so you don't feel weird eating it at breakfast.
  • The cream cheese swirl creates pockets of richness that make this feel special, not like you're eating a health food.
  • One loaf feeds you for days and actually stays moist without the dense, rubbery texture that high-protein baking sometimes brings.
02 -
  • Don't skip the cooling step in the pan—I learned this by trying to serve warm slices that basically fell apart, and it was humbling.
  • If your cream cheese swirl stays on top instead of marbling in, your batter was too thick or your cream cheese wasn't soft enough, so pay attention to both textures before you start layering.
03 -
  • Room-temperature ingredients blend together faster and create a more uniform batter, so pull your cream cheese and eggs out of the fridge 30 minutes before you start.
  • If you don't have a loaf pan, a round cake pan works fine—just reduce baking time to 35 to 40 minutes and check early.
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