My Chocolate Banana Bread has a soft, chocolatey crumb, studded with gooey morsels of chocolate chips and plenty of banana flavor in every bite. It stays moist for days! Call it breakfast, bread, or even dessert- this double chocolate loaf is a chocolate lover’s dream.
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Helpful Reader Review
“Wow, this is the best banana bread ever! Everyone absolutely loved it and couldn’t stop talking about how delicious it was. Perfectly moist, full of flavor, and just the right amount of sweetness, truly a crowd favorite!” – Scharleen ★★★★★
Chocolate Banana Bread Video
This Chocolate Banana Bread recipe comes straight from my Cookbook. It is soft, extra chocolatey, and stays moist for days. You will be surprised at how moist this fudgey Chocolate Banana Bread is, thanks to the ripe bananas. Watch my video tutorial and see how easy it is to make.
Easy Chocolate Banana Bread Recipe
This is my daughter’s favorite banana bread – she says it tastes like Fudgy Brownies and my classic Banana Bread. It checks all the right boxes: moist with a tender crumb, packed with plenty of chocolate, easy to make, and freezer-friendly.
This has to be the richest, most decadent (and yet perfectly acceptable for breakfast) loaf I’ve baked. The best part is that it will stay nice and moist for a few days, but let’s be serious, we both know it won’t last that long!
If you are a fan of quick and easy sweet bread recipes that could be mistaken for a cake, like my Blueberry Bread, Zucchini Bread, and Orange Cranberry Bread, this Chocolate Banana Bread is a must-try!
Ingredients for Double Chocolate Banana Bread
Overripe Bananas are the key to making great banana bread since the bananas lend natural sweetness and moisture to the bread. See my tips below to ripen bananas faster.
- Pantry Staples: All-purpose flour, sugar, Vanilla Extract, baking soda, salt. Be sure to see Measure Ingredients Correctly.
- Bananas – very ripe brown bananas are easier to mash and make a sweeter banana bread
- Butter – unsalted and softened at room temperature
- Large Eggs – at room temperature, to bind the batter together
- Cocoa Powder – natural unsweetened cocoa powder, such as Hershey’s (not Dutch-process cocoa)
- Chocolate Chips – semisweet is our go-to, but you can swap with milk chocolate or dark chocolate. If you want to get creative, try adding chopped walnuts or pecans, peanut butter swirls, butterscotch chips, or white chocolate chips
How to Quickly Ripen Bananas
Here’s how to quickly ripen your bananas for baking:
- To Ripen Bananas in a Paper Bag: fold the top closed and let it sit at room temperature for 24 hours. Add an apple to the bag to make it go faster.
- Ripen Bananas in the Oven – Place yellow bananas on a foil-lined baking sheet and bake at 300°F for 30 minutes or until softened and blackened on the outside. Cool before handling.
- Freeze overripe bananas for later – Peel overripe bananas, place in a freezer bag, and freeze up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge before using.
Helpful Reader Review
“Delicious! I followed the recipe exactly. I didn’t have enough super ripe bananas so used the trick of cooking the bananas in the oven! The entire family loved it.” – Diane ★★★★★
How to Make Chocolate Banana Bread
This Chocolate Banana Bread recipe couldn’t be easier and is ready to bake in just 15 minutes!
- Prepare – Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a loaf pan and line it with parchment paper.
- Mix the wet Ingredients – In the bowl of a stand mixer or bowl with an electric mixer, cream together the butter and sugar. Add the eggs and mix just to combine, and then mix in the mashed bananas and vanilla until blended.
- Sift the dry ingredients – In a second large mixing bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt, and then add the mixed dry ingredients into the wet mixing on medium-low speed until just incorporated. The batter will be a little lumpy (don’t over-mix).
- Fold in 3⁄4 cup of the chocolate chips, spread the batter into the loaf pan, and sprinkle the remaining 1⁄4 cup of the chocolate chips over the top.
- Bake for 55 to 65 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean (careful not to mistake uncooked batter for melted chocolate), and then let the bread rest in the pan for 10 minutes. Run a knife around the edges, pull up on the parchment paper, and then transfer the loaf to a wire rack to cool.
Pro Tip:
It’s easy to bake this chocolate banana bread in a different pan, like a bundt cake, mini loaf pan, or even large muffin pans, but just be sure to adjust the cooking time, since they may cook faster.
This Double Chocolate Banana Bread recipe is dreamy. Those gooey morsels of chocolate are completely irresistible. Every bite is fudgy and moist, and always a crowd pleaser, so cut a slice or wrap up a loaf to share.
Chocolate Banana Bread Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 very ripe bananas, mashed with a fork (about 1 3/4 cups)
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 2 large eggs, lightly beaten, at room temperature
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup all-purpose flour, or gluten-free flour
- 1/3 cup natural unsweetened cocoa powder, such as Hershey’s
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips, divided into 3/4 cup and 1/4 cup
Instructions
- Prepare – Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9.25 x 5.25 x 2.75-inch loaf pan and line it with a sheet of parchment paper. There should be at least two inches of overhang on the sides to help you lift out the loaf once it’s done baking.
- Mix the wet ingredients – In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a large bowl with a hand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar. Add the lightly beaten eggs and mix just to combine. Mix in the bananas and vanilla until blended.
- Sift the dry ingredients – In a second large bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix on medium-low speed until just incorporated. The batter will be a little lumpy, and that’s ok. Do not over-mix or your loaf will be tough.
- Fold – Use a spatula to fold in 3⁄4 cup of the chocolate chips. Transfer the batter to the prepared loaf pan and sprinkle the remaining 1⁄4 cup of the chocolate chips over the top. Bake for 55 to 65 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center, comes out clean.
- Bake – Let the banana bread rest in the pan for 10 minutes, then gently lift the parchment paper to transfer the loaf to a cooling rack. Serve the banana bread at room temperature or when it is slightly warm to the touch.
Notes
- To Refrigerate: Wrap it in plastic wrap or an airtight container, and store it in the refrigerator for up to a week.
- To Freeze: Tightly wrap your chocolate banana bread in plastic wrap and then place it in an airtight container or zip-top bag to prevent freezer burn and freeze for up to 3 months. When you are ready to enjoy this tasty bread, unwrap it and let it sit on the counter at room temperature for a few hours or overnight in the fridge to thaw.
Nutrition Per Serving
Filed Under
More Banana Recipes
If you love this Chocolate Banana Bread, then you won’t want to miss these other delicious banana recipes. These are all tasty ways to use up leftover bananas.
- Banana Muffins
- Banana Pancakes
- Banana Pudding
- Strawberry Banana Smoothie
- Banana Bundt Cake
- Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
It’s excellent! Keeps nice for a few days. Doesn’t need butter or cream cheese, can have as breakfast or dessert 😋
Thank you so much for sharing that with me, Valeria!
Just received my cookbook yesterday. Today I made the Chocolate Banana Bread. It was wonderful! We had it for dessert tonight. Next time I will probably try it with nuts.
On a side note: ever since I ordered your cookbook, I have frantically been writing down your recipes. It’s kind of difficult for me because I had a stroke 10 years ago and it took my short-term memory and my handwriting has diminished. I was a professional baker/cake decorator for 50 years. Your recipes are not only delicious they are easy to make. Many thanks and prayers for you. I am so happy for this book!
Hello Deanna, I’m happy that you got your cookbook and that you’re already enjoying the recipe. Thanks a lot for sharing and I hope you’ll enjoy all of the recipes that you will try.
I made this and it didn’t last long in the tin. My family loved it!
So glad to hear that it was enjoyed!
Just made this recipe today, and it turned out perfect! Which is very rare for me when it comes to banana bread.
Thanks so much for the fab recipe. Going to refer to this whenever I need the perfect banana bread fix.
That’s wonderful, Carol! So glad to hear that.
Hi Natacha,
I’m wondering how much you mix the batter. When it came out of the oven it smelled amazing, but when I ate a slice, I was getting huge bites of banana, and then a bite with probably all the salt in the recipe, and then a huge bite of cocoa powder, etc.
I saw in the recipe it said not to over mix. 🤔
Hi Madeline. If you are sitting your dry ingredients together beforehand (see step 3), they should already be blended so you are not getting bites of cocoa powder, salt, etc. Don’t skip this step or it will be hard to get them evenly mixed together without over mixing your batter.
Watch my process in the video to see what my batter looks like after mixing. You may try smashing the bananas down really well too so they are not too chunky. I hope that helps.
I just did the oven method for my bananas at 300 for 30 min
They are cooling off but they look way more squishy and like soggy then yours
Is it still ok to use them or should I redo it at 20-25 min baking
Hi Lily! If they taste ok you should be fine to use them still.
I went ahead and made the bread. It came out so delicious
Thank you for another great recipe.
You’re so welcome. I’m glad you enjoyed it!
Thank you!
I made three changes
Halved the sugar and used brown, used 1/2 cup unsweetened organic applesauce instead of the butter and added coconut. It came out decadent!!
Plan to add chopped nuts next time. Thanks again.
Hi Laura, thank you for sharing. Nice to know that you enjoyed this recipe!
Hi Natasha,
I am pretty good at making banana bread, because my whole family loves it. I just want to Thank You for making me a Great Banana Bread Cook:) This Chocolate Banana Bread is out of this world, Thank You So Much-In My Book You Are Truly The Best!!!!
This is my New Banana Bread which I’m sure I’ll be making lots of time:)
Aw, thank you so much, Melinda! I’m so glad this recipe was a hit too!
Simply delicious! I used less sugar than called for and we all loved it. Thank you.
That’s wonderful, Nev!
Hi dear Natasha
Would you please tell me how your chocolate on the top of cake not burning 🔥 all that time?? It’s to much time, always did that but it’s burning 🥲🥲
I don’t have that issue. I would check to make sure your cake is not too close to the top heating element in the oven. It can burn if it’s too close or if your oven runs too hot. I use an In oven thermometer (affiliate link) to ensure my oven is the right temperature.
the recipe looks really tasty, my kids love banana bread. but quick question, do you have anything for this recipe with no eggs, anything we can substitute?
Hi! I’m sorry, I have not tested any egg substitutes to advise.
I have used soy flour in place of eggs with good results. Look online for substitution ratios.
Hi, in your chocolate banana bread recipe…is that 1/2 cup plus 8 tablespoons of butter.
It sounds very good …I want to make them.
Hi Elaine. Thanks for pointing that out. It’s 1/2 cup (which is 8 TBSP).
Hi Natasha! Love your recipes and videos :)) so easy to follow and delicious!
About this recipe, may I substitute the butter for oil? Is it 1:1?
Many thanks!
Christine (from Montreal) 🙂
Hi Christine! I haven’t tested it with oil. We prefer butter because it adds better flavor but I think it would be fine. It can affect the texture a bit.
Hi Christine.
I’ve had luck substituting butter with oil
I use 7 tbsp of oil and it works fine.
Very soft, moist, and delicious. I opted for half the sugar, as the chocolate chips add sweetness along with the banana and it was perfect.
That’s great, Anna! I’m so glad you loved it.
I love that you added that you can use gluten free flour. Can’t wait to try this, looks so good
I hope you love the recipe!
Would love to make these in giant cupcake pans. Would you be able to tell me how long to bake them.
Hi Pamela! I have not tested it but you can reference my banana muffins recipe to get an idea of how to adjust the time. It will likely require a few more minutes if you are using jumbo-size pans.
Turned out great and delicious! Enjoyed every slice. A must-bake treat!
I’m so glad you loved it, Leah!
How can I avoid to have the chocolate chips going to the bottom of the loaf pan?
Hi Rosy! This batter is thicker and they shouldn’t sink to the bottom. You can also toss them in a little bit of flour to help.
Wow, the best recipe for the chocolate lovers in the fam! I used my old bananas and cacao powder, and it turned out perfectly.
Hi Erin! I’m so glad to hear it was a hit!
I love a good chocolate banana bread recipe and this was just phenomenal! Thank you so much for sharing this amazing recipe
You’re so welcome, Jess! I’m so happy you loved this recipe!
Hi Natasha, Can we add warm melted butter instead of butter
Hi Anusha. You wouldn’t be able to cream melted butter with sugar as instructed in the recipe card, which can change the texture of the bread. Feel free to experiment with melted butter. Some of our viewers have used oil in place of butter with good results in our banana bread recipe.