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
I made mini muffins using this recipe and they turned out great. I added 1 cup of chopped walnuts to half the batter and left the other half plain. I sprinkled the tops with a generous amount of mini chocolate morsels. Baked at 350 degrees for 10 minutes, then cooled in the pan for additional 5 minutes before turning them onto a cooling rack. This is the second time using this recipe and it is amazing. Thank you!
That’s great to hear, Susan! Thank you for sharing.
Absolutely delicious!!! Followed the recipe to a “T”, although without a mixer. So good! Thank you!
So glad you loved this recipe!
Wow! I doubled the recipe and they came out amazing!!! Another awesome recipe!! Took it to my work family and they can’t stop eating all the deliciousness!! Thanks for sharing such a great recipe!
That’s wonderful, Ellen!
I am making a double batch put the first 24 mini lofes in the oven. CANT STOP LICKING MY FINGERS. THANK YOU for all your recipes.
You’re welcome! I’m so glad you loved it!
Very yummy! There are two of us and what I’ll do is wrap this up in 2 slices per package and freeze. I made this exactly following the recipe. I served it with whipped creme and raspberries.
The best banana bread recipe I’ve tried!!! Thank you Natasha 🙂
I’m so glad you loved it!
Hi Natasha! my husband LOVED this and wanted me to make it as a cake for his birthday, could I put it in a cake pan and bake the same? how would you suggest I go about this!?
I love allll your recipes. I always do dinner party’s with ONLY your recipes! Always a WIN!
God bless!
Hi Jen! Thank you, I’m so glad you’re loving the recipes. I’m sure you could bake it in a cake pan, but I haven’t tested different size pans to know which size to use and how long to bake so it would require some experimenting. Depending on the size pan, the thinner the batter is, the faster it will bake so keep an eye on it and and check for doneness with a toothpick. The toothpick will come out clean when it’s done.
Hi Natasha. Can I use margarine instead of unsalted butter. It’s quite hard to get unsalted butter in my vicinity
Hi Sarah! I haven’t tested it with margarine but I assume it would work fine.
Hi Natasha do I need to put in chocolate chips, or I can do without?
Hi Thandi! Yes, you can keep them out. You may enjoy my original Banana bread recipe also.
I’m going to make this and want to know is the sea salt coarse or fine?
Hi Lucy! Good question. It’s fine grain. If you click on “sea salt” in red font, it has the linked item that I used.
I am guilty as charged. I purposely over buy bananas so I can pull out this recipe. It’s fantastic and our grandkids love it. It also freezes nicely for a later time.
That’s when you know its good! I’m so glad you and the grandkids love this recipe, Judy!
So good! Just made this for the first time, another perfect recipe, thanks!
Love all your recipes my grandkids love your chocolate banana bread
Hello Natasha! Can I leave this the whole night on the cooling rack or I need to wrap this in a foil? I just made this and this looks sooo yummy😋 tried a chip of it coz it’s too late to indulge this one tonight but this will be devoured tomorrow😂 Thanks for sharing this recipe😊
Hi Judy! It can dry out. I like to cover it once it’s cooled.
I made this tonight as per your recipe. WOW AWESOME. Unbelievable what a great spin on banana bread. I had my first slice with fresh strawberries and whipping cream and it was mind blowing, better than sex LOL well maybe not but at 70 yrs young it seemed that way. LOL. Thanks again for the absolutely wonderfully tasty recipe. I’ve printed it to add to my collection of great tasty recipes.
Wonderful! I’m so happy that you loved this recipe a lot!
FAN-TAS-TIC! That’s all I can say. What a good recipe and an indulging dessert. Thank you so much, Natasha!
Thank you for your wonderful feedback, Jaqcui!
FAN-TAS-TIC! That’s all I can say. What a good recipe and an indulging dessert. Thank you so much, Natasha!
Thank you for your excellent review!
I made it in a deep pie dish, and it turned out delicious! My husband loved it, and I’ll be making this again, and again! Unable to post a picture on here. I might try adding nuts to it next time too! Thank you Natasha!
That’s just awesome! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review. Vicki!
This is the absolute best treat ever! Sooo rich and moist. Just made it for the 1st time, and ate the whole thing in 3 days, except for the slab given to my banana-bread-loving neighbor! I used milk chocolate chips (my preference) and it is so delicious! Next time I’ll try adding a little cinnamon, but the recipe is just perfect as is!
I’m so glad to hear that, Patty! Thanks for the feedback.
So delicious and moist. A must try for anyone who loves chocolate or banana bread!!
I’m glad you loved the recipe, Sharon!
One thing I wish you would have told me Natasha is that it’s not safe to use parchment paper in a gas oven started burning!
Hi Lynette! I use parchment paper in my oven. It’s heat safe up to 425. Did you use wax paper? Or check the type/brand of parchment paper, the quality can make a difference.