Chocolate Banana Bread

4.65 from 31 votes

This chocolate banana bread is super moist, yet hearty and stable to hold its shape when sliced. Loaded with chocolate chips for the chocolate lover's dream!

Prep Time15

Cook Time1

Total Time1 15

Course: Bread

Cuisine: American

Keyword: chocolate banana bread, how to ripen bananas, ripened bananas

Servings: servings

Calories: 441kcal

Author: Nikki Gladd

Ingredients

1 cup all purpose flour
½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup unsalted butter melted
½ cup granulated sugar
½ cup light brown sugar
1 cup mashed ripened bananas (about 3 medium overripe bananas)
2 large eggs lightly beaten
½ cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 ½ cups semi-sweet chocolate chips divided

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9x5-inch loaf pan with nonstick spray (I recommend Baker’s Joy).
In a large mixing bowl, whisk the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt; set aside.
In a medium bowl, beat together the melted butter and sugars until thick. Stir in the banana, eggs, sour cream and vanilla. Pour into the dry ingredients and gently stir to combine. Fold in 1 cup of the chocolate chips.
Pour batter into the prepared loaf pan and spread with a rubber spatula. Sprinkle remaining ½ cup chocolate chips evenly over top.
Bake for 50-60 minutes or until passes toothpick test and done in the middle. Optional: Loosely cover with foil the last 10 minutes of baking to avoid crispy edges.
Remove from oven and allow to completely cool in loaf pan on wire rack before removing to slice and serve.

Video

Notes

Tips for this chocolate banana bread recipe:

Use room temperature eggs and sour cream. If you have time, set out your eggs and sour cream about 20 minutes before making the banana bread recipe to allow them to come to room temperature.
Fully mix together the melted butter and sugars until thick like paste. I use my handheld mixer for this (or you can use your stand mixer with either the whisk or paddle attachments). You can achieve this same consistency with a whisk, but it will take much more elbow grease and energy!
Use overripe bananas. If your bananas are not overripe, consider the tips above to quickly ripen your bananas. For best flavor and results, the banana peels should be black or have at least streaks of brown and black in them. Overripe bananas infuse more flavor and are easier to mix into the batter.
A metal loaf pan bakes most evenly. The baking time indicated in my recipe is based on my Wilton 9x5 loaf pan. I have made this same recipe countless times with my ceramic loaf pan with great results, but it bakes more evenly in my metal pan. If you are using a ceramic or glass pan, your time may vary so watch closely and use the toothpick test.

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