Vanilla Greek Yogurt & Olive Oil Pound Cake

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Love a delish pound cake?  Would you like to indulge, but find a healthier version? I’ve got a great, great option for you!  How about giving this Vanilla Greek Yogurt & Olive Oil Pound Cake a try?  It’s lightened up and delicious with yummy vanilla flavor!!!

Slices of Vanilla Greek Yogurt & Olive Oil Pound Cake is wonderful alone, but also can be served with fruits, whipped cream, dusted with powdered sugar, covered in dessert sauces, used in trifles, grilled french toast style and more!

More yogurt dessert ideas? Check out these 20 Dessert Recipes Using Greek Yogurt!

Vanilla Greek Yogurt & Olive Oil Pound Cake

Where Did Pound Cake Originate From?

Pound cake originated in Europe in the first half of the 18th century. Originally, the recipe called for one pound each of flour, sugar, butter, and eggs (10 eggs equals a pound!) before written recipes.

Easy to remember, right?  Notice they didn’t use leaveners, like baking soda and baking powder and with the Fab 4, this had to be a very dense, very rich, high calorie delicious pound cake, back in the day, don’t you think?

Vanilla Greek Yogurt & Olive Oil Pound Cake

What Makes This Greek Yogurt Pound Cake So Irresistible? 

It’s so moist and delicate, and it’s deliciously flavored with vanilla!  That’s what makes it irresistible!

Vanilla Greek yogurt, combined with eggs, sugar, flour, and leaveners, give it a slightly subtle, tangy vibe with that fragrant vanilla aroma wafting under your nose. Mmmmmm…Yes!

We used Oikos® Triple Zero Greek Yogurt in the recipe.  It has zero added sugar, zero artificial sweeteners, and zero fat—plus 15g of protein per 5.3oz. cup. Feel free to use whatever yogurt brand you love, if this isn’t available to you or

I also added vanilla bean paste, because I’m addicted to the way it makes food taste.  However, the Vanilla Greek Yogurt already has vanilla in it, but I wanted to boost up the vanilla flavor by using the vanilla bean paste.

The extra-virgin olive oil gives it a mildly, fruity essence.  Together, it all harmonizes happily like a beautiful vanilla pound cake dream.  This pound cake loaf is not heavy, but healthy, lightened up…and totally yummy!!

I absolutely love using olive oil and Greek Yogurt together when baking. Plus, it’s nice knowing it’s going to make my desserts more healthy.  I would also suggest using a really good extra virgin olive oil.  If you use a low-quality oil, the flavor of the oil could overpower the rest of the pound cake and leave a noticeable aftertaste.

Olive oil is a very good way to cut saturated fat. It’s loaded with monounsaturated fat, which will promote “good cholesterol.”  Yay!!

Vanilla Greek Yogurt & Olive Oil Pound Cake

Vanilla Greek Yogurt & Olive Oil Pound Cake

Ingredients You Need

  • all-purpose flour, I used Bob’s Red Mill
  • salt
  • baking soda
  • baking powder
  • vanilla or plain non-fat Greek yogurt (I used Dannon® Oikos® Triple Zero Greek Yogurt – Vanilla)
  • extra virgin olive oil, or any oil of choice or melted butter, cooled
  • granulated sugar
  • eggs
  • vanilla extract, I use Nielsen-Massey
  • vanilla bean paste, I use Nielsen-Massey

How to Make Vanilla Greek Yogurt & Olive Oil Pound Cake

  1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Generously spray a 9×5 inch loaf pan with nonstick spray.
  2. In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder, set aside.
  3. In a large bowl, beat together using a whisk, the Greek yogurt, sugar and olive oil together, then add the eggs one a time, whisking in each egg one at a time. Add vanilla if you want.
  4. When the mixture is well blended, gently whisk in the dry ingredients.
  5. Scrape it into the pan and smooth the top.
  6. Bake the cake for 50 to 55 minutes, or until it is golden and starts to come away from the sides of the pan; a knife inserted into the center of the cake will come out clean or touching the top of the cake to make sure it’s done. If your fingerprint leaves an indentation, it needs to bake more
  7. Cool on a rack for 5 minutes, then run a knife between the cake and the sides of the pan.

Olive Oil Substitution

  • If you don’t want to use olive oil,  you can use butter and I have it in the directions in the recipe below. But I urge you to try the olive oil version!
  • Of course, you can always substitute with canola, vegetable or avocado oil if you don’t have olive oil.  It will still be amazing!

Vanilla Greek Yogurt & Olive Oil Pound Cake

Storing & Freezing Vanilla Yogurt & Olive Oil Pound Cake

You can keep the cake at room temperature for at least 4 days, longer in the fridge up to a week or freeze it for up to 2 months completed wrapped in saran wrap & foil.

Love Greek Yogurt Healthier Recipes?

Vanilla Greek Yogurt & Olive Oil Pound Cake

Vanilla Greek Yogurt & Olive Oil Pound Cake

Kim Lange
Love pound cake?  Would you like to indulge, but would like to find a healthier version? How about giving this Vanilla Greek Yogurt & Olive Oil Pound Cake a try?  It's lightened up and delicious!!!
4.08 from 213 votes
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 48 minutes
Course Breakfast, Dessert, Snack
Cuisine American
Servings 8 Servings
Calories

Ingredients
  

  • 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour I used Bob's Red Mill
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 cup vanilla or plain non-fat Greek yogurt (I used Dannon® Oikos® Triple Zero Greek Yogurt – Vanilla)
  • ½ cup extra virgin olive oil or any oil of choice or melted butter, cooled
  • 1 ¼ cup granulated sugar
  • 3 large eggs
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract I use Nielsen-Massey
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste, optional I use Nielsen-Massey

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 350ºF. Generously spray a 9x5 inch loaf pan with nonstick spray.
  • In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder, set aside.
  • In a large bowl, beat together using a whisk, the Greek yogurt, sugar and olive oil together, then add the eggs one a time, whisking in each egg one at a time. Add vanilla if you want.
  • When the mixture is well blended, gently whisk in the dry ingredients.
  • Scrape it into the pan and smooth the top.
  • Bake the cake for 50 to 55 minutes, or until it is golden and starts to come away from the sides of the pan; a knife inserted into the center of the cake will come out clean or touching the top of the cake to make sure it's done. If your fingerprint leaves an indentation, it needs to bake more
  • Cool on a rack for 5 minutes, then run a knife between the cake and the sides of the pan.

Notes

Storing: You can keep the cake at room temperature for at least 4 days or freeze it for up to 2 months
 
Keyword Greek yogurt, olive oil, pound cake
Tried This Recipe?Let us know how it was by commenting below!

68 Comments

  1. I followed the recipe as close as I could, had to leave out vanilla bean paste because I didn’t have that on hand. Also, I used my homemade plain yogurt. With my oven, the cake baked for about 1 hour. Cake came out perfectly moist, light, with a slightly crisp outside crust. Next time, I’ll cut the sugar down to one cup. This is a great base recipe, in which I’ll be excited to try different flavor variations in the future.

  2. Hi Barbara, I know you would need less almond flour, (1 cup flour = 3/4 cup almond flour ratio measurement) but as far as the rest, I would say just try it and see how it works for you and I would probably use 2 teaspoons of baking powder, unless you have something else you would want to substitute. Not sure about the honey, texture-se, but you could use monkfruit sugar. Baking time less, but for more info maybe refer to Can You Use Almond Flour in Place of Regular Flour? Hope this helps some?

  3. Can i substitue almond flour (for regular flour) and honey (instead of sugar)? Would I have to increase the baking powder due to the substitutes?

  4. Cake turned out just like regular pound cake! Light and golden, not at all heavy. Flavor was excellent and perfect texture. So happy to find this recipe! Thanks!!!
    Note: I added only 2/3 cup sugar, used 1 cup all-purpose, 1/2 cup white whole wheat flour because of dietary restrictions. Also used sea salt and 1 tsp. Rum flavoring as another comment suggested.

  5. Thank you so much for this great recipe! I loved how you could use oil instead of butter. I just made the cake this afternoon and already had a big slice. It was delicious, very moist. I am curious, if I wanted to give it a lemon flavor, how much lemon zest and lemon juice could be used? Also, would the amount of baking soda and baking powder need to be changed?

  6. Amazing! Great to hear Splenda worked. Have you ever tried Lankanto? I always have great results with it and love telling people about it. Thank you so much for trying it and letting others know your experience Lauren! xo

  7. I turned this sugar free by using Splenda instead of regular sugar. It turned out great! The yogurt and olive oil really helped cover up the tang of Splenda in baked goods. Highly recommend!!

  8. I haven’t tried it, but it may pick up some of the applesauce flavor, but I think it would be fine. You could also try Bob’s egg replacer or flax eggs as well. If you try it, let us know! Thank you Leslie!

  9. Hi Kim:

    I noticed that you also make vegan versions of pound cake. Could I get away with substituting unsweetened applesauce for the eggs in this recipe without losing the flavor?

    Thanks.
    Leslie
    @sundayswithnorah

  10. I can’t bake but I tried this and it was fantastic. I love the use of olive oil and yogurt. I want to make a chocolate version of this. Do I just need to add cocoa powder? (How much?)

  11. Absolutely delicious! I rarely comment on food blogs but I really liked this recipe.

  12. I want to make this tomorrow but I will use butter instead of olive oil. Why are the measurements for olive oil and butter different? 1/2 cup olive oil but only 1/4 cup butter? Is this correct?

  13. Holy smokes this was fantastic! I almost never comment on food blogs but I had to tip my hat off to you. My hubby was singing my praises all night. The Cake was almost gone in one sitting lol.

  14. I would like to make this cake. It looks delicious. Can I add chocolate morsels? Would 1/2 cup be enough?

  15. I have full fat Greek yogurt. Should i still use the olive oil as well? The same amounts? Thanks!

  16. I’m so happy you tried it Maret and enjoyed it with the olive oil! Thank you for sharing your experience and what brand you used for others. You are so kind!!xo

  17. Delicious! I’ve been missing pound cake since I decided my recipes were too unhealthy to make! And I’ve been wanting to try baked goods with olive oil, but couldn’t get up the nerve. The sound of this “healthy” pound cake finally made me take the plunge. So glad I did. It is as you described, moist with a little tang. I don’t have vanilla paste, so I added the vanilla extract. For those who are wondering on a brand of olive oil, I used California Olive Ranch (Destination Series) Extra Virgin olive oil.

  18. I think it may have needed to bake more Jim. Applesauce is heavier so I would try to bake it 5-8 more minutes and I use fingertip and lightly touch the top of the bread to check for doneness. If it stays indented it’s not done. Glad it still tasted great though! Thanks so much for trying it! xo

  19. I tried this recipe but substituted Apple Sauce for the sugar. It looked great when I pulled it out of the oven but then lost all of its rise and collapsed while cooling, what did I do wrong? PS: It still tasted great!

  20. Tried this recipe and it turned out great! Very moist. I don’t eat too sweet so I halved the sugar content and it turned out great! I also added 1 tablespoon of rum to enhance the flavor. Thanks!

  21. Awesome Wendy! Great to know about reducing the sugar for those who want to. Thank you so much for your kind review. 🙂

  22. I just made this and served it with whipped cream and berries. Delicious!
    I reduced the sugar to 1 cup and it’s plenty sweet.

  23. You could, but I would double the recipe for a 10 inch bundt pan. Otherwise the cake won’t be very tall and of course the time would vary. Hope that helps?

  24. I just made this last night. It smelled awesome while baking. It was so moist and full of flavor.

  25. I have to say, this looks like the perfect cake to eat at breakfast with a warm coffee. I love having leftover cake in the mornings, it just makes my day!. It really looks awesome. Great job!

  26. I love pound cake and this looks delicious, Kim! Greek Yogurt is not only more healthy, but I love the great moisture and texture it adds to baked goods! Thanks for the recipe, Kim!

  27. I love the lightened version and I actually think it tastes better than the full fat version, but that’s just me! Tea time for sure would be good as well! Thank you Deepika! xo

  28. I love pound cakes!! They are so rich and decadent! Perfect as a teatime treat! But I don’t make them often only because they are so high on sugar and butter! I would love to try this lightened version with olive oil! Looks lovely!

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