By Maria Lichty
Published on February 13, 2017
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This easy Chocolate Banana Bread is moist, tender, and a chocolate lovers dream! It is the BEST banana bread recipe.
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I am super excited to share this Chocolate Banana Bread recipe with you today. I have been testing the recipe for a few weeks and it is finally perfection. It is probably the best banana bread in the history of all banana breads…if you like chocolate. But who doesn’t like chocolate? If you don’t, I am not sure we can be friends. Just kidding, we can be friends because that means I can eat your slice of Chocolate Chocolate Chip Banana Bread:)
It has taken me a few weeks to get this recipe absolutely perfect because we keep running out of bananas. Our boys are little monkeys and I can’t keep enough bananas in the house to bake banana bread. Last week, I hid some bananas in the back of the pantry so the boys wouldn’t find them. The bananas turned brown and I used them to make this EPIC loaf of Chocolate Banana Bread. I nailed the cocoa banana bread recipe this time. It is absolutely perfect!
So what makes this banana breadso special?
- Well, first the chocolate, duh. Chocolate makes everything better. It is made with Dutch process cocoa and chocolate chips. I use Dutch process cocoa because the chocolate flavor is so intense. The bread has chocolate chips in the loaf and on top. YES!
- Next, the bananas. Obviously, it is banana bread. Overripe bananas are the key. If you have to hide bananas to get them to turn brown, do it. When I first made the recipe, I only used one cup of mashed bananas and the bread was good, but not great. I increased the bananas to 1 ½ cups mashed bananas and BINGO! It is the perfect banana/chocolate ratio. The bananas make the bread super moist and you can still taste the bananas. I like chocolate, but it is chocolate BANANA bread so I wanted to be able to taste the bananas too. 1 ½ cups mashed bananas is the magic number.
- This recipe also calls for melted unsalted butter AND oil. The butter gives the bread a nice flavor and the oil keeps the bread extra moist. The combo produces a tender crumb with great flavor.
- I used brown sugar and only brown sugar in this recipe because again, I wanted the bread to be super moist and brown sugar keeps baked goods more moist because of the molasses content. And I know, I have used the word moist a million times in this post and I am sorry, but the bread is really moist and I promise that is a really good thing.
- Another key ingredient is sea salt. I tried the recipe with regular salt and again, it was good, but not great. I used sea salt this last time and it was the kicker, literally. I loved getting little kicks of salt with the chocolate. Sweet and salty is my jam!
- Make sure you don’t overbake the bread. Take it out of the oven when a toothpick comes out clean or cleanish. If you hit a chocolate chip, there will be melted chocolate on the toothpick. Don’t let that fool you for the batter. You don’t want to overbake the loaf. You might need to test the bread in a few spots.
- Let the bread cool in the pan for 15 minutes and then let it cool on a wire rack until warm. Slice and enjoy every last crumb.
This Chocolate Chocolate Chip Banana Bread is the ultimate banana bread. It is SO rich and divine. And it is bread so it is totally acceptable to eat a slice for breakfast. Or you can eat a slice as a 3 p.m. for a chocolate pick me up. Or you can eat a slice after dinner for dessert. Or you can eat a slice topped with ice cream at midnight. It is the BEST banana bread and I think you should make a loaf TODAY. I hope you have brown bananas handy.
Oh, and if you want to really impress your sweetheart on Valentine’s Day, make a loaf of this Chocolate Banana Bread. It is chocolate heaven and better than store bought chocolates or flowers because it is baked with LOVE! And I promise it is easy to make. And if you are a peanut butter fan, check out my Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Bread. You will FLIP over this recipe!
If you like this Chocolate Banana Bread, you might also like:
- Best Banana Bread
- Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
- Chocolate Zucchini Bread
- Salted Caramel Cashew Banana Bread
- Buttermilk Banana Bread
- Zucchini Banana Bread
- Biscoff Banana Bread with Biscoff Cookie Streusel Topping
Quick Breads
Chocolate Banana Bread
The ULTIMATE banana bread! Chocolate lovers will instantly fall in love with this easy quick bread.
4.74 from 1241 votes
Prep Time 10 minutes mins
Cook Time 50 minutes mins
Total Time 1 hour hr
Cuisine American
Servings 1 loaf
Equipment
9 x 5 Loaf Pan (This Le Crueset one is so pretty!)
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup Dutch process cocoa
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 3 large brown bananas (1 ½ cups mashed)
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
- 1/4 cup canola vegetable oil, or melted coconut oil
- 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips, divided
Instructions
Heat your oven to 350°F. Grease a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan with nonstick cooking sprayand set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and sea salt. Set aside.
In a large bowl, mash the ripe bananas with a fork. Add the melted butter and oil and stir until combined. Stir in the brown sugar, egg, and vanilla extract. Stir until smooth.
Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, don't overmix. Stir in¾ cup of the chocolate chips.
Pour batter into prepared pan. Sprinkle the remaining ¼ cup of chocolate chips over the top of the bread. Bake for 50-65 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the breadcomes out mostly clean, you might have some melted chocolate chips on the toothpick and that is fine. You just don't want a lot of gooey batter. Check at 50 minutes, just to be safe. Oven times vary.
Remove the pan from the oven and set on a wire cooling rack. Let the bread cool in the pan for 15 minutes.Run a knife around the edges of the bread and carefully remove from the pan. Let the bread cool on the wire cooling rack until slightly warm. Cut into slices and serve.
Note-the bread will keep on the counter, wrapped in plastic wrap, for up to 4 days. This bread also freezes well. To freeze, cool the bread completely and wrap in plastic wrap and aluminum foil. Freeze for up to 1 month. Defrost before slicing.
Have you tried this recipe?
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Home » Recipes » Quick Breads
Maria
I'm Maria and my husband is Josh. We share a love of cooking, baking, and entertaining. We enjoy creating recipes that are simple, fresh, and family friendly. We love sitting around the table with good food, good conversation, and good friends and family! Our kitchen is always open!
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Thank you for the wonderful recipe. I just made it today and it was so good. Moist, chocolatey and full of banana flavor. I’ll definitely be making this again.
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It’s the best banana bread!
I searched for years for a good banana bread recipe and then a friend posted this to FB. Of course – CHOCOLATE has been the missing ingredient! I have made this many times over the past few year with delicious results each time. I make them into muffins so they bake quicker. I just made a batch to take to my elderly parents and the house smells so good. I bake for 30 min when making as muffins. Thank you for this recipe!
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It is the best banana bread:)
This bread is scrumptious.
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Delicious way to make banana bread. It’s our new favoriteReply
Yay!
Do you think changing the order of the ingredients would change the results of the recipe?I recommend following the recipe exactly.
Can’t wait to taste it.
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Excellent!!! My family really enjoyed.Reply
Our favorite!
Thank u for the amazing recipe. My son loved it.is it possible to.make it healthier by adding wwf instead of apf.can u share the method and tweak in ingredients I’m new to baking .thanks in advanceYou can use whole wheat flour, the texture will be a little denser.
Great Recipe with beautiful deep chocolate flavor!Reply
Thank you!
I’m wondering if making these as muffins in silicone muffin pan, would you adjust the temperature? I’m guessing the time will be less than a loaf would be. I just think muffins would be more convenient for my husband to take to work. Perhaps making a larger batch and putting them in the freezer individually wrapped to where he could put one in his lunchbox and it be thawed and ready for his afternoon snack.
Thanks for any insight on this.
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You can make muffins. Keep the temperature the same, but reduce the baking time to 18-24 minutes.
Baking in the oven right now. Making it to gift a neighbor.
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So sweet!
I made this today and it’s our favourite! My 9 year old said I make the best banana bread ever. Thank you for sharingReply
Yay! You are welcome!
Excellent recipe, my children absolutely adore the banana bread (plain or chocolate or chocolate chocolate chip). I even have friends asking to start selling as a side business, it’s so good.Reply
This bread is delicious and decadent, and is on repeat rotation at our house! My only request is that you please include weights for the ingredients, as it makes it so much easier to measure out everything and reduces the amount of messy dishes!Reply
Best banana bread EVER!!! So moist and delicious. It went so quickly!
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I am so glad you loved it!
This was easy to make & excellent. So chocolatey and awesome. I substituted the oil with applesauce to save on calories and it makes baked goods so moist. (you could leave out the chocolate chips if you are trying to save on calories) Turned out perfect and I will definitely make again using my extra ripe bananas. Everyone loved it and wanted more.Reply
I looked through some of the comments , what Temp do you set the oven . And how long do you usually bake it for . I’m not the best cook/baker
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See Step 1 & Step 5.
NOMNOMNOMNOMSOOYUMMY!!!!!!!!Reply
Best chocolate banana bread ever! I am obsessed with the rich chocolate flavor. This recipe will be part of my collection.Reply
It really is the best!
I tried this recipe yesterday and it’s so good! Thank you so much for sharing!
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You are welcome!
Amazing recipe which I’ve been using for years now! Always a success.
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So glad you love it!
This is my go to recipe for when I’m craving chocolate, which is all the time! Any idea on how many calories? I can eat the whole thing but just making sure I control myself to find a good balance 🙂Reply
It’s the best!
I’ve made this over 50 times, not kidding. My kids love it! I make a few slight adjustments: Instead of 1/4c butter, I sub applesauce. And for the 1c of choc chips, I use 1/2c chocolate + 1/2c salted caramel chips. The little bit of saltiness is heaven!Reply
I am so happy you love this recipe! It’s my favorite too!
AmazingReply
This is good with peanut butter! I made it vegan.Reply
Yum!
I have made this recipe many times over the past few years. I absolutely love it. It’s my favorite banana bread recipe. Chocolatey but you can still taste the banana. Super moist. I have 2 loaves in the oven right now!Reply
It really is the best!
I made this and it’s absolutely divine and my favorite banana bread recipe. I used two banana and just less ingredients of al else but the egg. I also made a regular version without the chocolate chips and cocoa and will add walnuts and some spices. Hope that will turn out good! Thanks!!Reply
I am so glad you love the recipe!
This is so good and moist!! Have made it twice and will definitely use this again in the future. Love it.Reply
Yay! So glad you love the banana bread.
Totally yummy. Gave half to my neighbor and portioned my half in freezer. So good am trying it today in a divided brownie pan.
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So nice of you to share!
Absolutely delicious! They overcooked mine by a few minutes, but it was still moist.Reply
This is so tender and light, it’s closer to a cake than bread. I used coconut oil (not canola) and baked in muffin tins for 20 minutes. Perfection. Doubling the recipe yielded 26 muffins.Reply
I found this recipe this morning and just made a double batch into 6 mini loaves. I didn’t have any chocolate chips and I think this is a FABULOUS bread without the chips. Not overly sweet, VERY moist, super simple to make. I will be making this again and again and again, LOVE it.Reply
It’s my favorite. I am glad you loved it too!
can I make the dough ahead?
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Made for first time last night. Indeed so very moist, worthy of being dessert, which it has been for me, and a mid morning snack. So good, and will be my go-to for ripe bananasReply
Perfect morning snack!
Great recipe, we have made this bread countless times! Could I add fresh cherries to the bread or would that make the dough too wet? How much would you recommend? Would 1 cup be too much, would I have to add more flower as well?
Thank you for the delicious recipe!Reply
You can fold in 1 cup chopped cherries. That sounds good to me!
Fantastic recipe!Reply
Thanks!
I love this recipe. I’ve been using it for around two years now. Unfortunately, it ALWAYS falls. I have tried following the recipe exactly and experimenting a bit to see what’s wrong.
The only thing I do different consistently is subbing coconut oil. Would this be a reason for it to always fall? Have you baked it using the subs that you have recommended?Reply
Is your oven too hot? Maybe try reducing the temperature by 25 degrees.
Wonderful use this recipe all the time and my husband loves it!Reply
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