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One of the most loved recipes on the site is our banana bread, and one thing people seem to like to do to change it up is to add chocolate chips to it. That’s sort of a no-brainer, right?
Dear banana bread lovers, putting chocolate chips in your banana bread is like having your bananas and chocolate go on a date. Lovely and sweet, yet still separate and distinct. After a while both want something more—a merging of wills, a commitment!
Well, if chocolate and banana were to marry, this would be the result—a richly chocolate banana bread, infused with cocoa, speckled with chocolate chips, with warm hints of butter, vanilla, and allspice.
- Wondering how to freeze, store and thaw your banana bread? Click here for all the ins and outs on how to keep your banana bread at its best!
How to make the best chocolate banana bread
From the editors of Simply Recipes
Chocolate Banana Bread Recipe
Use very ripe or over-ripe bananas. The peels should be at least half browned, and the bananas inside squishy and browning.
Do not use Dutch processed cocoa for this recipe, only natural unsweetened.
Melted coconut oil can be used in place of the butter. The flavor will change a little and you may get a hint of coconut in the result.
There is only 1 egg and 1 teaspoon of baking soda in this recipe for leavening, so make sure your baking soda is still good! (See more info on baking soda and baking powder.)
Ingredients
- 3 large ripe bananas (easily mashable)
- 1/3 cup melted butter
- 3/4 cup brown sugar (packed, light or dark)
- 1 teaspoon salt (1/2 a teaspoon if using salted butter)
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1/4 cup natural unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Special equipment:
Method
1 Prepare pan and preheat oven: Butter or spray with cooking spray the inside of a 5x9-inch loaf pan. Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C) with a rack in the middle.
2 Purée bananas: Using a blender, food processor, or a fork, purée the peeled ripe bananas until smooth. You should have 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 cups of banana purée.
3 Mix wet ingredients and sugar: Place the banana purée into a large mixing bowl. Stir the melted butter. Stir in the brown sugar and salt. Whisk to break up any clumps of brown sugar. Stir in the beaten egg and vanilla extract.
4 Mix dry ingredients: In a separate bowl, vigorously whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and allspice.
5 Add the flour mixture to the banana mixture and stir until just incorporated.
Stir in the chocolate chips.
6 Bake: Pour batter into a buttered loaf pan. Place in a 350°F (175°C) oven and bake for 1 hour.
Note that because of the chocolate chips that melt in the bread as it cooks, it's hard to check for doneness using a tester that you insert.
One way to test is to gently push the center top of the chocolate banana bread down with your finger. If it feels relatively firm and bounces back when you release your finger, that's a good sign that it's done.
7 Let cool: Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes in the pan.
Gently remove the loaf from the pan and place on a rack to cool completely.
Slice with a serrated bread knife to serve.
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Elise Bauer is the founder of Simply Recipes. Elise launched Simply Recipes in 2003 as a way to keep track of her family's recipes, and along the way grew it into one of the most popular cooking websites in the world. Elise is dedicated to helping home cooks be successful in the kitchen. Elise is a graduate of Stanford University, and lives in Sacramento, California.
Chocolate Banana Bread
Omg! AHHH-mazing! Took another’s persons suggestion And made them into “muffins” minus the Cupcake/muffin liners so they ended up being like little cakes. Had the oven on for a previous recipe so I only baked them for 20 min and when I pulled them out they were perfect. I used 100% dark cocoa powder instead of the unsweetened And larger dark chocolate chip morsels mixed with a few milk chocolate and these are some of the best “muffins” I’ve ever had. Will DEFINITELY made this again.
xxxxxyyyyy
I liked this recipe very much. I didn’t care for the taste of the allspice, so next time, I will not add it. I also thought the bread needed a bit more moisture–so I plan to add a 1/4 cup of vegetable oil next time.
xxxxxyyyyy
Love it and so do all my neighbours! This is my go to recipe for a feel good, tastes great treat or gift. Easy to make with no fuss and it turns out great every time.
xxxxxyyyyy
How to make this recipe without egg.
Hi VK,
We have a few options for you.
1) Use a flax egg.
2) Use 3 tablespoons liquid from a can of chickpeas per egg. This is known as aquafaba. Read more about it here.
Happy baking!
Thanks. That’s a great substitute.
Great recipe and so easy too! It’s light and fluffy, really good. Had no allspice so put cinnamon and added about 1/3 C of sliced fresh mint since we have a lot of mint in the garden this summer. Also made muffins instead of a loaf pan and was done in 18 mins in my oven. Yumm!!
xxxxxyyyyy
Hi RS, what an interesting addition with mint! So glad that worked out well for you! BTW, if you find yourself out of allspice, you can substitute with ground cloves, about half as much. They have similar flavor profiles.