Chocolate Chunk Banana Bread
This chocolate chunk banana bread recipe combines overripe bananas and chocolate chunks to create the most moist banana bread recipe ever! Baked with simple ingredients that you should already have in your kitchen, you’re going to love how easy it is to make!
Full disclosure: I always buy more bananas than I know we will go through as a family. This is because banana bread (or muffins) is one of our favorite treats in our home and I love making it on a whim whenever a craving hits.
Those extra bananas get thrown in the freezer once they start turning brown so I can take them out and thaw them whenever it’s time to bake this yummy afternoon snack or treat!
This chocolate chunk banana bread has big chunks of chocolate in it and incredible banana flavor. This is truly one of my favorite banana bread recipes! I think you’re going to love it too.
Looking for more simple recipes to bake? Check out this red velvet loaf cake, chocolate sour cream pound cake, or almond coffee cake!
Why You’ll Love This Banana Bread
- Use Up Super Ripe Bananas – If you have bananas going brown on your counter, this recipe is a perfect way to use them!
- Chunks of Chocolate – The chunks of dark chocolate in this recipe add so much flavor to the banana bread. There’s nothing like melted chocolate in banana bread that’s fresh out of the oven.
- So Much Moisture – Thanks to the sour cream, butter, and mashed bananas, this banana bread is incredibly moist. Top a warm slice with a pad of butter for best results!
Ingredients and Substitutions
Nothing fancy is needed to make this easy recipe. Below are the ingredients and substitutions for the best banana bread recipe!
- Mashed Bananas – Brown bananas are best if you’re looking for that classic banana flavor. You’ll at least want them to have a lot of brown spots. We do not want yellow or green bananas. Yellow bananas will not provide the sweetness we are looking for.
- Melted Butter – I use salted butter in my baking. You can also use unsalted butter. Just add an extra 1/4 teaspoon of salt to the banana bread batter. In place of butter, you could instead use extra-virgin olive oil or melted coconut oil.
- Granulated Sugar – This adds even more sweetness to this banana bread. You could also use half white sugar, and half brown sugar to get a complex flavor.
- Milk – I use whole milk, but any dairy or non-dairy milk (almond, oat, etc) will do. Buttermilk would add more moisture if you have it on hand. Room temperature milk is ideal.
- Sour Cream – This makes the banana bread incredibly moist. You can also use full-fat Greek yogurt instead. Room temperature sour cream is best.
- Vanilla Extract – I add this to basically every baked good I make. It packs such a subtle flavor!
- Large Eggs – Room temperature eggs are best for this recipe. Take them out an hour or two before baking. Alternatively, you can put them in a bowl of warm water for 5 minutes to bring down their temperature.
- Baking Soda and Salt – Baking soda is a leavening agent that helps the banana bread rise.
- All-Purpose Flour – I use all-purpose flour in my baking most of the time. Alternatively, you could substitute whole wheat flour, though you may want to cut the total flour by about 1/4 a cup since wheat flour produces denser banana bread.
- Chocolate Chunks – I used dark chocolate chunks for this banana bread. You can also use semi-sweet chocolate chips. Or, use chopped chocolate if you have a dark chocolate bar or a semi-sweet chocolate bar, chop it up and add it to the banana bread!
See recipe card for quantities.
Step-By-Step Instructions
Step One: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Prepare a loaf pan with oil and sprinkle with flour or line the pan with parchment paper and set aside. Mash the bananas in a separate bowl and set aside. Put the butter into a microwave-safe bowl and microwave for about 30 seconds or until the butter is melted. Add the melted butter, sugar, milk, vanilla extract, and eggs to a large bowl and whisk the ingredients together.
Step Two: Add the banana mixture to the bowl of wet ingredients (I like leaving mine a bit chunky because I like the banana texture in my bread. If you don’t, mash them to your desired consistency for the perfect texture).
Step Three: In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together the baking soda, salt, and all-purpose flour.
Step Four: Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. You can mix them with a rubber spatula or a whisk. Make sure to scrape the sides of the bowl to incorporate all the ingredients together, being mindful not to overmix the batter.
Step Five: Finally, fold in the chocolate chunks.
Step Six: Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Bake for 70-80 minutes. The banana bread will be done when the top is golden brown and you stick a wooden toothpick into the middle of the loaf and moist crumbs stick to it. If wet batter sticks to it, it needs to bake longer. Allow it to cool in the pan for about 20 minutes. Then use a knife to guide the banana bread out of the loaf pan and onto a wire rack (you can also keep the banana bread in the loaf pan if you wish).
Hint: If you notice the top of the banana bread getting dark before it’s close to being fully baked, tent aluminum foil over the top of the loaf. This will slow it down and prevent the top from getting burnt.
Equipment
- Two Mixing Bowls
- One Loaf Pan 6×10 inch (I use a glass loaf pan). Metal is preferred by many–just not me. 🙂 You may need to reduce bake time by 5-10 minutes if using a metal pan, so make sure to keep an eye on it!
- Whisk, Rubber Spatula
- Electric Mixer – This is optional, if you wish to use one (I did not).
Storage
Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days. Alternatively, you can store it in the refrigerator.
To freeze, first wrap in plastic wrap, then put in an airtight container for up to 2 months. Thaw to room temperature before eating.
Top Tip
Coat the chocolate chunks in a bit of flour before adding to the batter. This will help prevent them from sinking to the bottom.
FAQ
You can cut the sugar down a bit and still get sweet banana bread. However, changing the measurements will result in a different flavor and texture than the original tested recipe.
Definitely! Walnuts or pecans would be great options.
Related
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
Chocolate Chunk Banana Bread
Equipment
- 6×10 loaf pan
- Whisk and Rubber Spatula
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups mashed bananas 3-4 medium bananas
- 3/4 cup salted butter melted
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons milk dairy or non-dairy works
- 1/2 cup sour cream full fat
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups chocolate chunks or chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350℉. Prepare the loaf pan with parchment paper or grease it and lightly coat with flour. In a medium bowl, mash the bananas with a fork. Set aside.
- Add the butter to a large glass mixing bowl or microwave-safe bowl. Melt in the microwave in 30-second increments until the butter is melted. Add the sugar, milk, sour cream, vanilla extract, and eggs to the bowl and whisk.
- In a separate medium bowl, sift together the baking soda, salt, and flour. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the bowl of wet ingredients, making sure to scrape the sides of the bowl to incorporate all the ingredients. Mix until just combined. There should be no dry spots in the batter. Finally, fold in the chocolate chunks.
- Pour the banana bread batter into the prepared pan and bake for 70-80 minutes. The banana bread will be done when the top is golden brown and if you stick a wooden toothpick in the center of the loaf no wet batter sticks to the toothpick (moist crumbs are fine). Allow it to cool in the pan for about 20 minutes before transferring to a wire rack. Slice and serve with butter!
The chocolate chunks with the banana flavor was really good. We enjoyed it!
Very tasteful and easy to cook, thank you!
Oh, that makes me so happy. Thank you!!