Chocolate Banana Bread
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Rich, chocolaty, and loaded with banana flavor, this chocolate banana bread is as delicious as it is easy to whip up! Enjoy it as a breakfast treat, afternoon snack, or dessert—it’s perfect any time of day.
I usually think of banana bread as a breakfast treat (or, let’s be honest, something you grab a little slice of every time you pass through the kitchen). But this chocolate banana bread is so rich and decadent, you could easily top it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and call it dessert. With chocolate chips and cocoa powder for a double dose of chocolate and sour cream to keep it irresistibly moist, this quick bread is always a family favorite.
“Exquisite, fabulous, hands down the most beautiful, moist, decadent, delicious, cake-like, chocolaty, awesome banana bread I’ve ever had.”
What You’ll Need To Make Chocolate Banana Bread
- All-Purpose Flour: The base of your chocolate banana bread. Measure it by spooning it into the measuring cup and leveling it off to ensure accuracy.
- Natural Unsweetened Cocoa Powder: Adds a rich chocolate flavor. It’s important not to substitute this with Dutch-process cocoa powder due to differences in acidity.
- Baking Soda: Acts as a leavening agent, helping the banana bread rise.
- Unsalted Butter: Provides moisture and richness. Using it at room temperature ensures it creams well with sugar.
- Sugar: Adds sweetness and contributes to the bread’s tender texture.
- Large Eggs: Bind the ingredients together and add structure.
- Mashed Bananas: The star ingredient for moisture and flavor. Use very ripe, brown bananas for the best taste. To quickly ripen bananas, store them in a loosely sealed brown paper bag. (Overripe bananas can be frozen—simply peel and store them in a resealable bag in the freezer, ideally 2 to 3 bananas per bag, as this is the common amount used in recipes.)
- Sour Cream: Adds richness and ensures the banana bread is moist.
- Vanilla Extract: Enhances the overall flavor of the bread.
- Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips: Add gooey, chocolatey pockets to the bread. If you’d like, you can also add a handful of chopped nuts, like walnuts or pecans for extra texture and flavor. You can also substitute some of the chocolate chips with white chocolate or peanut butter chips for a different twist.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-by Step Instructions
To begin, combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Whisk well and set aside.
In another bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Add the eggs one at a time, making sure to mix well after each addition.
Next, add the dry ingredients to the butter and egg mixture.
Beat gently until just combined, then mix in the mashed bananas, sour cream and vanilla.
Add the chocolate chips and fold with a rubber spatula until evenly incorporated. Be sure not to overmix the batter.
Pour the chocolate banana bread batter into a greased loaf pan and spread evenly.
Bake until done, about 1 hour and 10 minutes.
Let the chocolate banana bread rest in the pan for about 10 minutes, then turn out onto a rack to cool completely. The bread is best enjoyed fresh, but it can be stored at room temperature for up to 3 days or frozen for longer storage.
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Chocolate Banana Bread
Ingredients
- 1¼ cups all-purpose flour, spooned into measuring cup and leveled-off
- ¼ cup natural unsweetened cocoa powder, such as Hershey's (see note)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup mashed very ripe bananas, from 2 to 3 brown bananas
- ½ cup sour cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C) and set a rack in the middle position. Grease a 9 x 5-in (23 x 13-cm) loaf pan with non-stick cooking spray.
- In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. Whisk until there are no more lumps in the cocoa powder and the mixture is well combined. Set aside.
- In a large bowl or electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or beaters, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, incorporating well after each addition. Add the dry ingredients and beat gently until just combined. Add the bananas, sour cream and vanilla and mix on low speed to combine. Fold in the chocolate chips. Do not overmix.
- Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and spread evenly with a spatula. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached, about 1 hour and 10 minutes. Let the loaf rest in the pan for about 10 minutes, run a blunt knife around the edges to loosen, then turn it out onto a rack to cool completely.
Notes
Nutrition Information
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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Wonderful recipe and a great way to use over ripe bananas. I used half yogurt and half sour cream and substituted the chocolate chips with white chocolate chips for color contrast.
Looks fantastic, but the natural cocoa powder bit is silly. If you’re concerned about loss of acid, use baking powder instead of soda, or a mix of the two. The powder contains cream of tartar to activate the reaction that produces CO2. In any case, the dairy products (especially the sour cream) have more than enough acidity to get the soda party started. I’ll use the Dutch-process.
this chocolate banana bread is so good.thanks for sharing the recipe
As an experienced baker, I was wondering why this recipe had only 1.25 cups of flour whereas your marbled banana bread has 1.75 cups flour. The batter seemed too thin and could be why the chips settled to the bottom.
Delicious! this bread is definately worthy of dessert, snack, or breakfast. It is now my go to bananna bread recipe!
Made this yesterday and it was superb! Will try your other banana bread recipes in the future. The directions were perfect, although my oven tends to be a little low in the temperature department, so I added about 7 minutes to the cooking time. Incredibly moist and delicious. I can’t stop eating it with my Sunday morning coffee!
Jenn, my large bread pans are Pyrex. Do I need to make any adjustments to the temperature or cook time? Thanks for your wonderful website, where everything is delicious!
Hi Vicki, Thank you! So glad you are enjoying the site. I’d reduce the temperature by 25 degrees; cook time should be the same. Hope you enjoy 🙂
Hi Jenn! Can I replace the sour cream with natural Greek yogurt? Same measurement?
Yes that should work 🙂
Have made this recipe several times and always comes out perfect! Made as mini muffins too! Thanks for sharing!:-)
I plan to try the Chocolate Banana Bread this evening. I’ve been making banana bread with mini chocolate chips for years, but the chips mostly migrate toward the bottom of the loaf, even when I mix them with flour and FOLD. I’m hoping this recipe will be perfect 🙂