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
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!
That’s wonderful to hear. I’m happy it was a hit!
Best banana bread recipe. Easy to make. I used less time due to the silicon pan.
Hey Natasha! Another great recipe! So yummy. Easy and chocolatey. Will make again.
I added 1/2 C. Crunchy Peanut Butter to wet ingredients ;)..Great Recipe. Thank You
Best banana bread I’ve ever made or had for that matter. I do have one question. Can you use brown sugar instead of cane sugar?
Hi Dave, I haven’t tried that myself to advise, but with a few adjustments I bet it could work. If you experiment, let me know how you liked the recipe.
Wowww!! Looks so yummy. I wanna make it. Surely everybody would love it.
Delicious! Moist, fluffy and oh so chocolatelty! This bread does not last long in our house.
Hi Natasha and good morning. Quick question on the Chocolate Banana Bread. In addition to the chocolate chipsand bananas I would like to add some Walnuts. How much should I add?
Hi Jorge. You can add them to your preference, but 1 cup is a good amount.
Love this. Perfect every time. Do you have a marble loaf or blueberry bread recipe??
Hi Vanessa! I’m glad you love this recipe. I don’t have a marble cake, but I think you’ll love my Easy Blueberry Bread Recipe here.
Hi Natasha!
Almond flour? I live this recipe and I want to make it again but can I only have almond flour at hand.. can I use that instead? If so, same amount?
Thank you!!!!
Hi Lindsay. I haven’t tested almond flour in this recipe so I don’t know how it would turn out and what modifications are needed.
Delicious!!! Better than my original banana bread recipe. So moist! So glad I found it. This is a keeper.
I’m so happy you loved it, Patty!
Perfect every time! It’s so hard to find a banana bread that doesn’t dry out and this one is so moist even a few days later.
I’m so happy you found this recipe and also enjoy it. Thank you for the review. It’s a family favorite.
This is my new go to banana bread recipe. If you replace the cocoa powder with additional flour instead you will have regular banana bread that is equally as delicious if you’re not in the mood for chocolate. I have also replaced the sugar with monk fruit sweetener for a no sugar added version and you can’t even tell the difference. It’s super moist and stays moist for a WEEK.
Thank you so much for sharing that with me, Evangeline! We do have a regular Banana Bread recipe that’s quite popular also.
This chocolate banana bread is absolutely amazing & so delicious.It was very moist..My friends and I love your recipes.
So perfect! I love using this recipe for muffins. I add less sugar because they turn out a bit too sweet for me but otherwise so delicious and moist.
I baked two loaves of this chocolate banana bread — they turned out great, and the recipe was super easy to follow!
This is a very tasty recipe!
I made Muffins from it. I couldn’t wait for it to cool, but it was wonderful… just wish that I had some vanilla ice cream to go with it. 😁😋
I made this today and it was ABSOLUTELY AMAZING! I’ve always craved something like brownies—moist, chocolatey, but less sweet and heavy—and this was exactly it. I added walnuts and crunchy peanut butter, reduced the sugar by 20g, and since I was out of baking soda, I swapped in 3 tsp of baking powder. It still turned out beautifully! Thank you, Natasha, for sharing this gem from your cookbook—I think it’s officially going into my dessert rotation! 😍🍌🍫🤎❤️
To be precise, I mixed 2 full Tbs of crunchy peanut butter right after banana in the wet ingredients. And the walnuts were a handful chopped and not toasted walnuts which I folded into batter together with chocolate chips.
Hi Natasha. I would like to add peanut butter. How much do you suggest? Thanks
Hi Mary, I haven’t tested that but I think it could work. If you experiment, let me know how you liked the recipe.
Hi Mary! Yesterday I actually tried adding 2 very full table spoons of crunchy peanut butter right after banana to the wet ingredients. Moreover, I also folded a handful chopped walnuts together with chocolate chips into the batter. It actually turned out amazing and I like that you could taste the peanut butter but it wasn’t overpowering. 😊
Can you substitute the coco powder with chocolate shavings?
Hi Rachel, while I haven’t tried it to give specifics, yes, you can substitute cocoa powder with chocolate shavings, just note it will likely change the texture and sweetness of the banana bread. Cocoa powder is unsweetened and has a more concentrated flavor. I hope this helps.