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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Even the day after, this banana bread is delish! I do find that the banana flavor is a bit overshadowed by the chocolate (even though I actually used a little more banana than the recipe called for), but that’s okay because it is scrumptious. Thanks for another nice recipe.
This recipe: 5 BIG STARS!
I make it for everything. It’s a very sinful breakfast so we have it for afternoon tea, evening dessert and I take it to pot luck dinners. Kids love it, obviously (chocolate chips!), but it also has a wonderful dark chocolate flavor, rich and moist for days.
I made this today substituting Greek yogurt for sour cream and vegetable oil for butter! WAs lived by grandkids. Tasted wonderful! It’s a huge winner. Cooked in metal loaf pans (I doubled recipe) and pulled out of pans at 1 hour. Wonderful recipe!
Hi there! I’ve made quite a few of the recipes from your site and have always really enjoyed them. I made this loaf tonight with my son and it overflowed in the oven! Not sure what I did…I’m not a novice baker by any means. My measurements were correct. The only thing is I can think is that I used three bananas and jumbo eggs…but would that have done it?? Luckily I had a piece of tin foil on one of the lower racks so thankfully it’s not all over the bottom of my oven. Any ideas? Smells great though. Just going to let it keep cooking 🙂 Thanks!
Hmmm… that’s a head-scratcher! You mentioned that you used 3 bananas – was it the eqwuivalent of about a cup when mashed? Did you use a 9 x 5 x 3-inch loaf pan?
I made the chocolate banana breads a couple of weeks ago and we all loved it, I made it as is except that I put in four bananas (smaller ones though).
If you love chocolate and bananas you’ll love this bread! It’s one of my fav recipes.
Hi Jenn! I just noticed something when comparing this recipe to your original banana bread recipe, I think there might be a mistake. Is the metric measurement of bananas wrong? I thought it was strange I was only supposed to get 117g from 2-3 bananas, and checked the cup measuress and saw that it was 1 cup. When I was looking at the original banana bread, it has 227g in metric and still 1 cup in cup measures. I’m assuming it’s 227g for both recipes!
You’re right, Elise – thanks so much for catching that. It has been corrected!
I substituted the sour cream with Greek yogurt. I don’t like the taste of sour cream & I’m afraid I’ll taste it! The bread still came out moist and delicious! I have finally found the perfect recipe. Thanks Jenn! I do have a question though. When I store this (or any type of muffin/bread) in the fridge the top gets kinda wet/gummy. Is there a way to prevent this?
Hi Tori, I know what you mean. I usually store quick breads and muffins on the countertop loosely covered with foil.
I made this recipe and loved it. It was very moist and tasty. I left out the chocolate chips and added chopped pecans. I have made several times now.
This is an great recipe that works. Instead of whisking the dry ingredients initially, I like to sift them together in a bowl to get rid of the chunks in the cocoa, then there’s less whisking together after… also I use mini-chips as they seem to melt and/or not all sink to the bottom when baking.