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This delightful bread combines the natural sweetness and soft yet dense texture of ripe bananas with the deep, velvety richness of cocoa and melted chocolate. Each slice offers a blend of flavors, where the fruity banana complements the bittersweet chocolate notes, making it a perfect option for breakfast, a snack, or a dessert.
Why I Think You’ll Love This Recipe
- I love this recipe because it uses up two cups of bananas, which is about 6-8 bananas that you can use up!
- This is a one-bowl recipe that mixes up quickly!
Sweet Chocolate Banana Bread
Banana bread is a tender and moist bread and a traditional family favorite. With the addition of a few extra ingredients, it becomes an irresistible chocolate banana bread. Adding chocolate chips creates pockets of melted chocolate throughout the bread.
Ripe Bananas
Choosing bananas for banana bread at the right time does matter. The best time to use bananas for baking is when they have little brown spots all over the peel and a larger brown spot or two. This is when they are the sweetest and will give the best flavor.
Types of Cocoa To Use In Baking
There are two main types of cocoa that you can use in baking.
- Natural Cocoa is the most common type and is slightly acidic. It typically gives a robust chocolate flavor and reacts with baking soda in recipes, helping the bread rise. This is the most common cocoa called for in chocolate-flavored recipes, like this one.
- Dutch-processed cocoa has a more neutral acidity, giving it a smoother flavor. It does not react with baking soda, so it’s a good choice if you prefer a milder chocolate flavor. Unless specified, this is not the cocoa that you use in most recipes.
How To Make Chocolate Banana Bread
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease two 9×5 inch loaf pans and set aside.
- Cream the butter and sugar together, add the eggs, and stir in the bananas, sour cream, and vanilla until incorporated.
- Add flour, baking soda, and cocoa in a separate bowl, then stir into the banana mixture. Mix and fold in the chocolate chips.
- Pour the batter into prepared pans. Bake for 55-65 minutes.
Karlynn’s Tips And Tricks
- When you have ripe bananas you aren’t using, you can freeze them in their peel. They will turn black, but that is okay; it does not affect them.
- Frozen ripe bananas work great for banana bread! Just thaw them out, mash them, and measure!
Having ripe bananas in your freezer means you can make the perfect sweet chocolate banana bread anytime. If you want to change your banana bread, try my Zucchini Banana Bread or my Banana Nut Bread, as they are both family favorites.
Happy Baking!
Love,
Karlynn
More Great Banana Breads!
Chocolate Banana Bread
- Prep Time
- 10 minutes
- Cook Time
- 1 hour
- Course
- Dessert
- Cuisine
- American
- Servings
- 2 loaves
- Calories
- 238
- Author
- Karlynn Johnston
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter softened
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 2 cups mashed bananas
- 1 cup sour cream
- 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- ½ cup cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 cup semi-sweet mini chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease two 9×5 inch loaf pans and set aside.
- In a large bowl using a hand mixer or in the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attached, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, incorporating well after each addition. Stir in the bananas, sour cream, and vanilla until fully incorporated.
- In another bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and cocoa then stir into the banana mixture. Mix on low speed until the wet and dry are combined completely. Fold in the chocolate chips.
- Pour the batter into prepared pans.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 55-65 minutes, or until a cake tester or toothpick inserted into the center of each loaf comes out clean.
Nutrition Information
All calories and info are based on a third party calculator and are only an estimate. Actual nutritional info will vary with brands used, your measuring methods, portion sizes and more.
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Kelly says
Hi!!
Do you just let the bananas sit out to thaw before mixing?
Karlynn Johnston says
You can defrost them in the microwave, just put them in for 45 seconds or so!
Sophie Nakoneczny says
Need your loaf pan lol!
The Kitchen Magpie says
I use my Pyrex bake ware ALL the time. It’s all I use.
Sophie Nakoneczny says
I’m on the lookout but ……
Christine Nicole says
I love your loaf pan!
The Kitchen Magpie says
Thanks!! It’s one of my favorites!
Wendy Collins says
Made this chocolate banana bread today and it’s yummy, At least that’s what hubby thinks and I have to agree. Thanks for posting it.
The Kitchen Magpie says
Oh, awesome!!! Thanks for letting me know! It’s Mike’s favorite too!! He doesn’t like banana bread that much. He ate this (without me telling him what it was) and he couldn’t tell hahah!
becky vaupel says
This is the best recipe for banana bread and so is Mom’s banana bread.thank you for sharing your recipes.i know it sounds bad but I can eat a whole loaf in a day.
Laura Delorme says
Looks like a winner. Have to try this.
Mark Wicklund says
One can never go wrong when chocolate is involved