This chocolate banana bread is always a hit when I make it. It’s an easy one-bowl recipe and you can taste both the chocolate and banana flavors. I love banana bread but adding chocolate takes it to a whole new level.
Whenever I make banana bread, I have to make a chocolate version because everything tastes better with chocolate!
What I love about this chocolate banana bread is that the cocoa powder and chocolate chips add a double dose of chocolate flavor, but it doesn’t overwhelm the bread. You can still taste both the banana flavor and chocolate.
Like other quick bread recipes, this recipe is super easy to make. You only need one bowl and it only takes about 10 minutes to make the batter.
Recipe Notes
There are a couple of things that make this the best chocolate banana bread I’ve made:
- Sour cream gives the bread a lot of moisture and it stays moist for several days.
- Very ripe bananas do two things in this bread. First, when bananas are overripe, which means they have turned brown, the flavor is more intense and doesn’t get covered up by the chocolate. The bananas also add a lot of moisture so be sure to let them overripen – the spottier the better!
The best traditional banana bread recipes have these two things, too, so I knew when I tried this chocolate version it would work really well.
Type of Chocolate
- There are two kinds of chocolate in this banana bread: unsweetened cocoa powder and semi-sweet chocolate chips.
- You only need two tablespoons of cocoa powder which gives the banana bread a nice chocolate flavor without overpowering the banana flavor.
- I like to use semi-sweet chocolate chips but you can also substitute milk chocolate chips or dark chocolate chips.
It smells so good while it’s baking! With some baked goods, it’s better to let them cool completely to allow the flavors to really develop, but this bread tastes great right from the oven. It’s so hard to resist.
Ingredients
- Unsalted butter
- White sugar
- Eggs
- Very ripe mashed bananas
- Sour cream
- Vanilla extract
- Ground cinnamon
- Salt
- Baking soda
- All-purpose flour
- Unsweetened cocoa powder
- Semisweet chocolate chips
Instructions
Preheat oven to 300°F (150°C) and grease (or coat with cooking spray) two 7×3 inch loaf pans.
In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar with an electric mixer. Mix in the eggs, mashed bananas, yogurt, vanilla, and cinnamon.
Mix in all of the dry ingredients and then fold in the chocolate chips. Pour the batter into the prepared pans.
Bake the loaves for one hour or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool the loaves in the pan for 30 minutes before turning them out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
How to Store Chocolate Banana Bread
This bread keeps well at room temperature, in the refrigerator or in the freezer. Here are some tips for storing it:
- Room temperature: If I don’t plan on serving the bread all at once, I just slice of the amount I want and then keep the rest of the loaf tightly wrapped. It will keep well for two to three days this way. Slicing the bread first and storing it will dry it out faster.
- Refrigerator: You can also keep the bread in the refrigerator for up to a week. It tastes great cold from the fridge or you can leave it out at room temperature before you serve it.
- Freezer: Chocolate banana bread freezes great for up to three months. Tightly wrap it and then when you are ready to thaw it just leave it out at room temperature for a few hours. Or, you can freeze individual slices and warm them up in the microwave.
Banana Bread Variations
I’ve made several variations on banana bread like my Chocolate Avocado Banana Bread, Flourless Peanut Butter Banana Bread, and Blueberry Banana Bread but I have to admit this simple double chocolate banana bread is one of my favorites!
Chocolate Banana Bread
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 1 1/2 cups white sugar
- 2 eggs
- 3 very ripe bananas mashed
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 3 tsp baking soda
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 cup of semisweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300°F (150°C). Grease two 7x3 inch loaf pans.
- In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar. Mix in eggs, mashed bananas, yogurt, vanilla and cinnamon. Mix in salt, baking soda, cocoa powder and flour. Stir in chocolate chips. Divide into prepared pans.
- Bake for 1 hour, until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
Notes
The nutrition information provided are only estimates based on an online nutritional calculator. I am not a certified nutritionist. Please consult a professional nutritionist or doctor for accurate information and any dietary restrictions and concerns you may have.
I wanted to try this recipe because I love banana bread and also LOVE chocolate. This bread was really simple to make, and I chose to add extra chocolate chips. Next time I’ll add more banana, just to get more of the banana flavor, but I really loved it. The bread turned out really moist, and everyone really liked it.
We’re so glad you enjoyed it!