Chocolate Banana Bread
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This chocolate banana bread is so sinfully delicious, you might just find yourself topping it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and serving it for dessert!
I usually think of banana bread as something to eat for breakfast (or, let’s be honest, something to cut a tiny slice from every time you walk through the kitchen). But this chocolate banana bread is so rich and decadent, you could really top it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and call it dessert. Packed with chocolate chips and cocoa powder for a double chocolate punch, and made irresistibly moist from the addition of sour cream, this quick bread is a major family-pleaser.
Table of Contents
“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 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.
- 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, making it extra indulgent.
- 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.
Incorporating well after each addition.
Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture.
Beat gently until just combined.
Mix in the mashed bananas, sour cream and vanilla.
Add the chocolate chips.
Fold with a rubber spatula until evenly incorporated. Do not overmix.
Pour the 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.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, you can make this bread gluten-free by substituting the all-purpose flour with a gluten-free flour blend. Look for a 1:1 or measure-for-measure gluten-free flour blend to ensure the texture remains as close to the original recipe as possible.
Absolutely! You can customize your bread by adding nuts like walnuts or pecans for extra texture and flavor. You can also consider adding dried fruit or substituting some of the chocolate chips with white chocolate or peanut butter chips for a different twist. Just fold your additional mix-ins before transferring it to the baking pan.
The bread is best enjoyed fresh, but it can be wrapped in aluminum foil and stored at room temperature for up to 3 days. If you’d like to keep it longer, you can freeze the bread for up to 3 months. After it is completely cooled, wrap it securely in aluminum foil, freezer wrap, or place in a freezer bag. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before serving.
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Chocolate Banana Bread
This chocolate banana bread is so sinfully delicious, you might just find yourself topping it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and serving it for dessert!
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
- 1 stick (½ cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup mashed very ripe bananas, from 2-3 brown bananas
- ½ cup sour cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350° F. Grease a 9 x 5 x 3-inch 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.
- Note: There are two types of unsweetened cocoa powder: natural (such as Hershey's) and Dutch-processed. Dutch-processed will not work in this recipe.
- Make-Ahead/Freezer-Friendly Instructions: The bread is best enjoyed fresh, but it can be wrapped in aluminum foil and stored at room temperature for up to 3 days. If you'd like to keep it longer, the bread can be frozen for up to 3 months. After it is completely cooled, wrap it securely in aluminum foil, freezer wrap, or place in a freezer bag. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before serving.
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (12 servings)
- Calories: 273
- Fat: 13 g
- Saturated fat: 8 g
- Carbohydrates: 37 g
- Sugar: 24 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 4 g
- Sodium: 327 mg
- Cholesterol: 58 mg
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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Oh my goodness what a delicious chocolate banana cake! This cake is so moist not to sweet and perfect! Thank you Jen! ALL YOUR RECIPES ARE PERFECTLY DELICIOUS!!!
❤️
Wonderful banana bread! Tasty and moist! Only problem is… it always seems to disappear 🙂
Seriously though, everyone in my house loved them. I made them again for my dad’s coworkers (he works in a nursing home) to express my gratitude for their work during this time. Thanks so much for the recipe!
Glad you all like it (and how nice that you supported the employees in the nursing home by sending in something sweet). ❤️
Amazing recipe. The best one I’ve ever tried. It came out fluffy, chocolatey and decadent. I’ll definitely make this again and share with others.
I made this today. From Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
I’ve tweaked the recipe a bit since I do not have cocoa powder. Used melted Lindt Dark Chocolate 78% cocoa, dark chocolate chunk, flour at 1 and half cup instead, used brown sugar 1/3 cup only and banana 2 cups. I’m happy with the result. The sweetness just nice with the dark chocolate bitter taste. I love it. And I do agreed with some of the review. The banana taste it’s not strong even though I’ve used 2 cups.
Overall I’m happy with the first trial and planning to bake this for my mum in law for mother’s day that coming soon.
These are really good! I followed the recipe exactly. I made it in muffin form though. They took 17 min to bake with the yellow scoop. Next time I might use closer to 1 cup of chocolate chips since you can never have too many chocolate chips. This is a keeper!!!
Again, I wish I would have doubled your recipe. The recipe was easy, moist and absolutely delicious! Next time, I will double the recipe and freeze one for later. Delicious and not overly sweet. I got 1 slice and my husband and kids devoured the rest.
Say what?! My taste buds were singing “is it banana or chocolate”…well, it’s like two amazing breads colliding together for me to justify eating a healthy version of chocolate cake. It’s delicious warm and a true break from the chaos outside in our world today. It’s a comforting treat that was even better to bake along with my daughter, Caroline. Thanks for ALL your recipes. Your food is truly an act of love, created and made with love – to share with those you love.
❤️ Glad you enjoyed it!
OMG! This is one of the best banana bread recipes I have ever made. I have made four loaves in the past three days and everyone that I have given some to absolutely loves it! Don’t skimp on the chocolate chips it gives the bread the perfect texture and that extra chocolate kick.
Made this for comfort food this week and the family loved it. I make banana bread all the time but this chocolate one was decadent! Thank you
I only have Fry’s Premium Cocoa. Is it ok if I use baking powder instead of baking soda with this recipe.
I wouldn’t recommend it, Jacinta — sorry!
Banana bread is usually not our favorite, but this recipe is moist and absolutely delicious. It has just the right amount of chocolate flavor with a hint of banana. The house smelled wonderful while it was baking. Half of the loaf was gone before it cooled and was my breakfast the next day! The first time I used the recommended size pan. Then next time I used two smaller pans and baked 45 minutes. My bananas weren’t overly ripe, so I mixed in some very ripe bananas that I had in the freezer and used mini chocolate chips. The bread is fabulous! Thanks for sharing the recipe.
This is hands down the most wonderful banana bread recipe ever! My husband begs me to make this. It is moist, rich, and simple perfection. I make the recipe exactly as written. I tried making as muffins but it is much better as a loaf. Wonderful reheated in microwave. For further decadence, all a little whipped cream when serving.
I’m short on sour cream and don’t have Greek yogurt. I’m crossing my fingers and trying it with heavy cream/vinegar to make a thicker version of buttermilk.
Amazing recipe. Moist and so much flavor. Thank you for sharing all your wonderful recipes.
Hi Jenn — just made this and cannot wait to serve it to the kids (I confesss I had a sliver and it is so good!). Question: what’s the best way to store this bread so it retains the crispyish top and doesn’t get soft? I find that whenever I store banana bread it loses that right out of the oven top which is kind of the best part. Thanks for your help!
Eve
Hi Eve, I leave it on the countertop loosely wrapped in foil. It will never be quite as crispy as it is right out of the oven, but you can always lightly toast individual slices for that same effect. Hope the kids enjoy it!
Hi Jenn
My loaf pans are 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 x 2 1/2. Do you think all the batter will fit, or should I make two loaves? If two loaves, does the baking time change? Love your recipes and this one sounds delicious. Sharon
Hi Sharon, The batter won’t fit so I’d definitely make two loaves and start checking around 40-45 min. Hope that helps!
This was absolutely delicious! Another winner, Jenn, thank you! Planning to give out to teachers for end of year treat!
I just made this tonight and it came out perfect. My son doesn’t like bananas, but he ate the cake all up! I will be sharing this with my friends and making it again. Thanks!
Hi Jenn,
Can I sub whole milk yogurt in place of sour cream? Thank you!
Reem
Yes, that will work, Reem. Enjoy!
The recipe calls for a 9×5 pan and mine is 8 1/2x 4 1/2. How much do I reduce baking time? Also, I’ve made several of your other banana breads and they were fabulous, but I noticed after baking I can sometimes see bits of banana. I’m always careful not to overmix but now I am wondering if I’m not mixing enough?
A. Lo — Try mashing up the banana more thoroughly before you add it to the other ingredients (you can even use a blender or food processor). Unfortunately, I don’t think this recipe will fit in a smaller pan — sorry!
The smell of this Chocolate Banana Bread baking evokes a Pavlovian response from family members, who shuffle into the kitchen to stare at the timer on the oven. The only thing I do differently is use Ghirardelli tiny chocolate chips because they seem to get distributed throughout the loaf, rather than settling on the bottom.
Made this bread last week, it is delicious except for the fact that the Chocolate overpowers the Banana. I could taste some banana but it was almost like a flavoring. The the cake is very moist and tastes good especially if you like chocolate.
This is now a family favorite!! It is very moist and keeps well….I will definitely be making this again…Thanks Jen!!
This is a good recipe for Chocolate Banana Bread. I didn’t change a thing in the recipe, amount of sugar is just right. I baked it in two 8 x 4 pans at 325 degrees for 35 minutes. It turned out perfect, moist and chocolatey. I love the chocolate chips in the bread
Just made this and it is delicious! I doubled the recipe and used white whole wheat flour, plain yogurt for the sour cream, and only 1 1/4C sugar. Came out great! I also used double dutch dark cocoa powder from King Arthur Flour and it tasted just fine.
This is delicious! I did not have sour cream, so I substituted with cream cheese. I did not have chocolate chips either (because my kids used an entire bag to make chocolate balloon bowls last night) so I substituted with white chocolate chips. Personally, I think both of these additions to your wonderful recipe kept it just as delectable. I made two loaves; one is in the freezer. Thanks so much. xo Natalia
Also, I made my banana bread with 1 cup of sugar today but do you think it would turn out the same next time if I used any of these sugar substitutions: To replace 1 cup of white sugar you can substitute it for 3/4 cup honey, or 3/4 cups maple syrup or 2/3 cup agave or 1 teaspoon stevia.
Hi Misty, I wouldn’t recommend using honey or maple syrup in place of the sugar. And regarding other alternatives like agave or stevia, I don’t have enough experience with either of those to say confidently how they would impact the results. If you try either, I’d love to hear how it turns out!
Hi, why can’t honey or maple syrup be subbed here? Is it because of the butter? In which case, can we make your Healthy Banana bread (using coconut or olive oil and honey or syrup), then just add cocoa powder? Thank you for all your hard work!
Hi Elle, while a small portion of honey (or maple syrup) can be used in place of sugar in baked goods, honey browns much faster than sugar and can lead to burning. And for a bread like this one that is already dark in color because of the chocolate, it would be hard to tell if it is getting overly browned. Hope that clarifies! 🙂
It clarifies that you’re awesome. Thank you!
I just made this banana bread and it is truly delicious! (You are right…it tastes like moist chocolate cake!). What type of loaf pan do you use? (I am trying to read the wording in your photos but I can’t make it out). I have a stainless steel loaf pan that I buttered then sprayed with coconut oil, yet my banana bread stuck to the bottom of the pan which is not a problem for our family, but I would like to get a non-toxic loaf pan that I know will work for future loaves of bread. Thank you!
Hi Misty, glad to hear you enjoyed the banana bread! The loaf pan you see in the recipe photos is a KitchenAid one, but not sure they make it anymore. I recently bought a new loaf pan that I really like; it’s by USA Pan. Hope that helps!
Chocolate Banana Bread – The bread is wonderful and moist. When I make it I add chopped roasted pecans and omit the chocolate chips. I have made this recipe several times.
Excellent. I’m a retired chef, living at 7000′ altitude and rarely does any baking recipe NOT need adjustments. Took a chance, followed this as is. Perfect, done in 1 hour. Used extra dark chocolate chips, all I had on hand, guitars. This banana bread tastes great, as someone said, like a chocolate cake! Thanks!
This banana bread actually made my son love banana bread! I followed the recipe (don’t alter anything!) And it was so moist, light and delicious. Keeps very well and is a great addition to the lunchbox!
Decadent & the kind of stuff people dream of. I don’t have a loaf pan so I made this in my muffin tin. My whole family, even my hard-to please sister, loves them & always asks when I’ll be making more.
SO GOOD!…this was moist, chocolaty , perfection in a loaf. Jenn, this is another winning recipe. Busy sharing it with my neighbors who love it as much as i do. They say to me, “Do another something from Once Upon a Chef.” Thank you!
I substituted bread flour for all-purpose flour, cacao powder and cacao niblets for the chocolate and granulated sugar from dates. It tasted great, but I do not know the nutritional information. Any calculations would help.
Hi Ronald, there is nutritional information for the recipe as written, but I don’t know how your substitutes would impact the numbers – sorry I can’t be more helpful, but glad you liked the way it turned out!
So I was trying to do this late tonight and use up the ripe bananas I had and I completely missed the note about not using dutch chocolate powder. This is probably a super dumb question but I am not sure if the chocolate powder I used is Dutched or not. I used the Valrhona brand but I don’t see where it would say this. Will it always say on the package if it is Dutched and not say anything when it isn’t or how would I be able to know? In the oven now so hoping I used the right chocolate.
Hi Nancy, The package would specify if the cocoa powder was Dutch processed, so if it doesn’t indicate that, you can assume it’s not. Hope the bread turned out well!
Thank you for always taking the time to reply, so here is what I found on the internet “Dutch-process (alkalized) cocoa may or may not be labeled “Dutch-process,” or “alkalized,” but the ingredient statement should say, “cocoa processed with alkali.” Interestingly, the Valrhona brand only says 100% cacao and doesn’t say dutch processed nor alkali BUT when you google Valhrona cocoa powder on Amazon, it says it is a dutched processed chocolate so I figured I was going to have to dump my banana chocolate bread but it still rose beautifully and tasted great! In any case, I am using Hershey’s as you are recommending next time.
I’m not a huge fan of banana bread, but sometimes its the easiest thing to make when you have ripe bananas sitting around. So, on a really hot summer day I thought I’d give this a try. Doesn’t chocolate make everything better? It really does in this bread! I loved it. I did substitute yogurt for the sour cream since thats what I had and I cooked it in the crock pot. There was no way I was turning on the oven in the 100 degree heat. I put it in a loaf pan, placed the loaf pan in the crock pot on the rack and cooked on high for 3 hours.
Just made this today. It is delicious!!! I did not add chocolate chips but added a little more cocoa powder. I also added a little less sugar. Will definitely make this again! Thanks a million!!
This banana bread is absolutely amazing, very rich. It is almost more like a dessert than a breakfast bread. I followed the recipe exactly, except I used dark chocolate chips since that is what I had on hand. Absolutely wonderful, this will be a regular recipe.
Love this recipe and have made it often. One friend said her son and his friend liked the bread so much that they thought they would open a store and just sell this bread.
I do make some substitutions coconut oil for the butter, homemade yogurt for the sour cream, and dark chocolate baking chunks instead of chocolate chips.
Any banana bread recipe that gives me permission to top it with ice cream is a winner in my book! Thank.You.Jenn. This is soooo good, but the true gem in this recipe is the tip about the natural cocoa powder. I’ve never used it and so many of my other recipes just don’t have this wonderful texture. Definitely a keeper!
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.