Chocolate Chip Banana Bread is wonderfully moist and loaded with ripe bananas and melty morsels of chocolate chips. This banana chocolate chip bread is a real treat.
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Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Recipe
Classic Banana Bread is on the regular rotation at our house but when we’re craving chocolate, we make this Chocolate Banana Bread. It is the favorite of the children and we are quite smitten as well. Did I mention it’s EASY?
It’s hard to wait for this to cool so I wait until it’s just no longer hot! The aroma that lingers in your kitchen is incredible and your home will smell like Christmas morning. Pair a warm slice with a mug of coffee and your morning is made. This is an excellent breakfast bread but it also works as a dessert bread (because – the chocolate!).
Ingredients for Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Recipe
Be sure eggs, butter and bananas are at room temperature. If using frozen ripe bananas (we often freeze our overripe bananas for later use), thaw bananas overnight then let them come to room temperature.
Keep Those Old Bananas!
Use very ripe bananas, i.e. mushy bananas. You can tell a mushy banana by the color of the peel – it should be browned or browning significantly and should feel soft when squeezed between your fingertips and will be very easy to mash with a fork. Mash bananas until they are a chunky applesauce consistency. Some texture is good in banana bread!
The Best Chocolate Chips for Baking?
We used semi-sweet chocolate chips since the bread was already plenty sweet with the overripe bananas and bit of sugar, but it really is based on preference. You can use milk chocolate for a sweeter bite or even bittersweet chocolate chips to cut down on the sweetness.
We used standard-sized baking chips but mini chocolate chips would also work. Use between 2/3 to 3/4 cup of mini chocolate chips based on how sweet your like your bread.
How to Make the Best Chocolate Chip Banana Bread:
You can use either a stand mixer, an electric hand mixer or even whisk this together by hand with a little extra effort.
- Cream together softened butter and sugar in mixing bowl
- Add 2 lightly beaten eggs
- Mash bananas with a fork and add them to the bowl
- Whisk together dry ingredients and add to batter
- Fold in 3/4 of chocolate chips and transfer to the prepared bread pan
- Sprinkle top with remaining 1/4 chocolate chips and bake
The chocolate banana bread batter should be thick and have small lumps of banana.
It’s marvelous how the chocolate chips stay gooey and moist long after the bread comes out of the oven.
More Banana Recipes to Explore:
- Classic Banana Bread – loaded with nuts and raisins
- Banana Muffins – the muffin version of this recipe
- Banoffee Pie – layers of cream, bananas and caramel
Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, (8 Tbsp), softened
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 3 bananas, (very ripe)
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips, divided
Instructions
- Preheat Oven to 350˚F. Butter and flour a bread loaf pan (9.25"L x 5.25"W x 2.75"D)
- In a mixing bowl using paddle attachment, cream together 1/2 cup softened butter and 2/3 cup sugar. Add 2 lightly beaten eggs.
- Mash bananas with a fork until consistency of chunky applesauce and add them to the mixing bowl along with 1/2 tsp vanilla extract. Mix until blended.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together dry ingredients: 1 1/2 cups flour, 1 tsp baking soda and 1/2 tsp salt. Add to mixing bowl and mix until incorporated.
- Fold in 3/4 cup chocolate chips then transfer to prepared bread pan. Sprinkle remaining 1/4 cup chocolate over the top and bake at 350˚F for 55-65 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let banana bread rest 10 min before transferring to a wire rack to cool.
Nutrition Per Serving
If you make this recipe, I’d love to see pics of your creations on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter! Hashtag them #natashaskitchen
Absolutely love this recipe as well as many others. Chicken Parmesan (we serve on a bed of Alfredo sauce the red sauce mixed with the Alfredo is perfection!), cream cheese frosting, and cheesy spinach stuffed chicken to name a few. We rarely make any modifications. I was wondering what the baking directions should be to make banana bread cupcakes? Any insight you can provide would be greatly appreciated!
Hi Lindsey! I’m so glad you’re enjoying the recipes. I have a Banana muffin recipe that you can reference.
So easy to put together, it’s baking away happily as I type and the house smells like happiness!:).
This has become my go to recipe !
Thank you so much 🙂
This made incredible banana bread. I gave some to my situationship who gave it to his grandma and she said it was amazing. My friends can’t stop raving about how moist it is. 5 stars 🙂
Hi! Wondering if this recipe would work with dark brown sugar instead of light? Thanks 🙂
Hi Mirabel. Yes, it will still work. But it can give the bread a more robust/molasses taste and a darker color, and might even affect the texture a bit.
I’ve made a lot of chocolate chip banana bread recipes over the years and haven’t found the “one”. My teenager said this one is it. She’s been begging me to make this recipe again. It’s baking as I type this 🙂
Soooooo good!! I’m making again as we speak and I used gluten free flour (1:1 ratio) so exact same recipe other than that and it is just the best!
Thank you, Sherry! I appreciate your comments and feedback!
The most delicious chocolate chip banana bread I’ve ever had 😫❤️❤️
Delicious!! Didn’t change a thing! Super moist & nice balance of banana & chocolate. Sweet tooth boyfriend loves it too, almost regret making it…he may expect it every week!
Hi Stephanie! I’m so glad your family love the recipe.
I know you’ve done your research from reading your blog. I have been so discouraged to make banana bread from a few fails. But I tried this recipe and am so glad I did! It was perfect! Ty, ty, ty for helping me redeem myself before my family!
I’m so glad you trusted and gave my recipe a try, Kimmy! Thank you so much for sharing that with me.
Can I use two bananas instead of three? Or will that mess up the consistency.
Hi Becca. I haven’t tested it with 2 bananas. The bananas help with moisture and flavor so using less could help affect the end product. If you’d still like to make this recipe but only have 2 bananas, you can scale down the recipe by decreasing the serving size until the ingredients list says 2 bananas. You you will have a little less batter and your loaf will be flatter and will bake faster in the oven if you use the same size pan so keep an eye on it.
I only had 2 large overripe bananas and it turned out fine. I also added walnuts.