Chocolate Banana Bread is your favorite banana bread recipe made into a chocolate lover’s dream. You will love this delicious quick bread recipe.
My Chocolate Chip Banana Bread has been a huge winner on Simple Joy for years now. And for good reason! It is easy to make, and just so amazingly delicious.
Every once in a while I will get a comment asking if that delicious chocolate chip bread can be made fully chocolate. I thought it was about time that I made all your chocolate dreams come true. So here, my friends, is the result of your wishes.
This Chocolate Banana Bread is still just as moist as the original and just as delicious as my original banana bread, but with a deep and rich chocolatey flavor that you will fall in love with. My family couldn’t get enough of this delicious bread recipe.
The Best Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Recipe
How to Make Chocolate Banana Bread
This banana chocolate chip bread recipe comes together in a few simple steps. For the full recipe including all measurements and ingredients, scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
- Combine dry ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Mix wet ingredients. In a medium bowl, stir together the bananas, cooled butter, eggs, sour cream, sugar, and vanilla.
- Fold wet ingredients into dry ingredients. Mix until just combined–don’t overmix. Fold in the chocolate chips.
- Bake the bread in a bread pan. After it comes out of the oven, allow it cool in the pan for 10 minutes before transferring it to a cooling rack. Let it cool for 35 more minutes before slicing.
The Best Bread Pan
Replacing Flour with Cocoa Powder
A key to this double chocolate chip banana bread recipe is replacing some of the flour with cocoa powder. Most banana bread recipes call for two cups of flour. This recipe replaces 1/3 cup of that flour with 1/3 cup of cocoa powder which results in a double chocolate banana bread that tastes like cake!
Bananas For Banana Bread
You will want to use very ripe bananas for this recipe. That does not mean that the whole skin needs to be brown, but it needs to be decently speckled with brown dots (see the photo below). There are two reasons for this. First, ripe bananas are very soft and mushy which allows them to mix in well with the batter. Secondly, the sweetness of a banana changes as it ripens. The more ripe it is, the more sugar it releases and the sweeter it tastes, meaning you need less sugar in your recipe.
While you can ripen your bananas in the oven to make them more brown, this will not make them sweeter. Fake ripening in the oven will give your bananas the correct consistency but will make for less-sweet bread.
It is better to let those bananas fully ripen naturally. Then peel them and freeze them. When you are ready to make your banana bread, let them fully thaw, and use them (and any liquid that goes with them) in this recipe.
Tips and Tricks
These tips and tricks will help make your double chocolate banana bread turn out perfectly. I already told you about my favorite bread pan, now let’s talk about the actual ingredients.
- Measure your flour properly. This is very important in all baking recipes. First, make sure to whisk the flour in the bag or container it’s stored in. Then scoop it into the measuring cup using a spoon and level it off with the flat edge of a spatula. If you scoop right from the flour container you will get too much.
- Make sure that your melted butter has cooled. If you use hot butter right out of the microwave, you run the risk of your eggs starting to cook when they get mixed in the batter. We want to avoid that.
- Use room-temperature eggs and sour cream. This makes them thinner which will mix into the batter better, allowing the bread to rise more. To speed this along, fill a bowl with lukewarm water and put the eggs in there for a few minutes.
- Make sure that you are using baking soda and NOT baking powder. They are not the same and are not interchangeable.
- Use baking soda that is still fresh. Baking soda needs to be switched out every six months or so. Test it by adding a little to some vinegar. It should bubble immediately, and if not, replace it.
- Use a toothpick to test the bread towards the end. Do not insert it directly in the middle of the bread, but slightly off to the side. You want the toothpick to come out with just a few crumbs. If you wait until the top comes out clean, you will risk the bread being overbaked and the edges of the bread being dry.
Make it pretty!
To get the appearance like in my photos, drop some chocolate chips on top of the loaf before putting it in the oven. I mean, the more chocolate the better, right?
Variations and Substitutions
While I wouldn’t consider banana bread a healthy food, here are a few things to try with this recipe to make it healthier:
- Use plain yogurt instead of sour cream. They can be used interchangeably, but I do not recommend eliminating it altogether.
- Swap the chocolate chips. You can take out the chocolate chips (or use half) and replace them with something else such as zucchini like in my Banana Zucchini Bread or nuts. You can also use unsweetened chocolate chips.
- Use gluten-free flour. I haven’t tested this myself, but I have had readers report good results when they replace the flour in this recipe with one-for-one gluten-free flour, such as Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour.
Storing Banana Bread
This chocolate banana bread recipe should be stored in an airtight container in a cool, dry place for up to one week. It does not need to be refrigerated. I have the best results when I don’t store the bread in the pan it was baked in.
Freezing Banana Bread With Chocolate Chips
This recipe is great for freezing and can be frozen as a whole loaf or in slices. To freeze it as a loaf, wrap it three times in foil or plastic wrap and then place it in a freezer bag. Store for up to three months in the freezer.
It can also be frozen as slices. Once cooled, slice the bread into 10 equal slices. Place the bread on a wax paper-lined tray and freeze it for about four hours. Transfer the slices to a freezer-safe bag and store them in the freezer for up to three months. When ready to eat, the slices will take about 30 minutes at room temperature to thaw.
Other Great Banana Bread Recipes
There are so many great variations on banana bread, the possibilities are endless. If you love this chocolate chip banana bread recipe, try these other variations!
If you make this chocolate banana bread with chocolate chips or any of my other recipes, please let me know what you think by leaving a comment!
Chocolate Banana Bread
Ingredients
- 1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour (192 grams)
- 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (28 grams)
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda (3.75 grams)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt (3 grams)
- 3 very ripe bananas mashed well (see note)
- 3/4 cup sugar (150 grams)
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter melted and cooled (85.05 grams)
- 2 large eggs at room temperature and lightly whisked
- 1/4 cup sour cream room temperature (or plain yogurt) (61.3 grams)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (4.2 grams)
- 1 cup milk chocolate chips (170 grams) unsweetened chocolate chips can also be used
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Spray a 9 by 5 inch loaf pan well with cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt.1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour, 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, 3/4 teaspoon baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon salt
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the bananas, cooled butter, eggs, sour cream, sugar, and vanilla.3/4 cup sugar, 6 tablespoons unsalted butter melted and cooled, 2 large eggs at room temperature and lightly whisked, 1/4 cup sour cream, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Gently fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Be careful not to overmix. Stir in the chocolate chips.1 cup milk chocolate chips
- Pour the bread batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 60 to 70 minutes or until a toothpick inserted slightly off-center in the bread comes out with just a few crumbs.
- Allow the bread to cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Then remove and allow to cool on a cooling rack for 35 minutes before slicing and enjoying.
Notes
Jennifer says
Curious-what would the baking directions be if made this into standard size muffins rather than a loaf of bread? My family tends to eat those better.
I would want to test it, but I would guess around 25 minutes.
Terry says
I’m so confused by the comments and questions. I’m on the page for chocolate banana bread, yet people are talking and asking about pudding? You also can’t reply to anyone. Above, in the box where it’s for the print version? It says bake for 55 minutes. In the directions, it says bake for 60-70 minutes. It should also be noted that everyone’s oven is different, so times will vary. This is based on what Karen said she needed to do. Perhaps she should check her ovens temperature also. My convection bake is off by 15°, regular bake is perfect. I can calibrate 1 setting, not all of them. Amazon has great oven thermometers. Every oven, imho, should have one.
My apologies Terry!! This was an old recipe that I trashed and completely redid without remembering to delete the old comments. It is updated now and the correct baking time is 60 to 70 minutes. I agree with you that every oven should have a thermometer. They are inexpensive and so helpful.