Double Chocolate Banana Bread

Double Chocolate Banana Bread is a delightful treat for anyone with a love for chocolate and nostalgic comfort foods. This banana bread recipe is made with wholesome ingredients and is naturally sweetened, and the texture of the crumb is wonderfully tender and moist. Grab those ripe bananas on your counter and let's get baking!

As far as nostalgic foods go, banana bread is in a league of its own.

This sweet quick bread is also really easy to mix up. It can be topped with a banana cut in half lengthwise or a dusting of coarse sugar or a sprinkle of extra chocolate chips or some crushed nuts.

People have strong opinions about what makes the perfect loaf of banana bread. What are your banana bread must-haves? Are you a walnut or pecan fan? Do you like it slightly undercooked and doughy in the very center? For me, chocolate chips are an absolute must in all banana breads!

If you're a true chocolate lover, explore my other recipes like Chocolate Orange Pudding Cake, Chocolate Banana Buckwheat Muffins, Chocolate Peppermint Crinkle Cookies, Chocolate Peanut Butter Rice Cake Bars, and Chocolate Covered Dates.

Enjoy!

The Secret To Good Banana Bread

The secret to amazing banana bread is seriously overripe bananas.

A lot of the taste and goodness of banana bread is dependent on overripe bananas. Many bakers see bright yellow bananas sitting on their counter and consider those bananas “over-ripe” a little prematurely. In the ingredient shot below you can see a bunch of bananas with brown spots on their peels that are just on the verge of being ripe enough for banana bread for reference.

In my recipe testing stage, I tested making banana bread with bananas at varying stages of ripeness. I even tried roasting bananas in the oven to see if that would bring the sweetness out. All in all, I discovered you really just have to be patient to let bananas naturally ripen on your counter to a perfect sweet stage.

Why You'll Love This Recipe

• This recipe is ultra flavorful and moist!
• Banana bread is the ultimate comfort food snack
• Made with healthier ingredients
• Option to use either whole grain spelt flour or all-purpose flour
• Option to have this recipe entirely sweetened with coconut sugar and maple syrup or to use brown sugar if that's what you have on hand
• Ripe bananas add a natural sweetness to this loaf
• This recipe is versatile and you can experiment with a variety of add-ins to make it to your preferences
• Make ahead and freezer friendly

Ingredients

• Flour - this recipe has been tested with both all-purpose flour and whole-grain spelt flour.
• Cocoa powder - choose good quality unsweetened cocoa powder.
• Baking soda
• Salt - I choose an unrefined sea salt.
• Butter
• Coconut sugar - or swap for brown sugar if you prefer.
• Eggs
• Bananas - the key to really delicious and sweet banana bread is truly overripe bananas.
• Maple syrup
• Brewed coffee - this is optional but this add-in helps to enhance the chocolate flavor.
• Chocolate chips - choose sugar-free chocolate chips if desired!

See the recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.

Substitutions & Variations

• Flour: you can use all-purpose flour instead of spelt flour if preferred.
• Sugar: you can use brown sugar instead of coconut sugar if preferred.
• Swap the brewed coffee for 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract or 1 teaspoon of fine espresso powder.
• Chocolate chips could we swapped for chopped chunks of baker's chocolate.
• Add a crunchy texture and nutty flavor by incorporating chopped walnuts, pecans, almonds, or hazelnuts into the batter.
• For an attractive decorative topping, slice an additional banana in half lengthwise and gently lay it on top of the batter in the loaf pan just before placing it in the oven for baking.

I have not experimented with any other substitutions or alterations for this recipe. If you decide to make any changes by adding or substituting ingredients, I would love it if you could share your results with us by leaving a comment below.

How To Make Double Chocolate Banana Bread

Here are the step-by-step instructions to make this recipe.

Step 1: Preheat the oven and combine dry ingredients.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9x5 loaf pan with butter or line with parchment paper.

Combine dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, cocoa powder and salt) in a medium bowl and mix well.

Step 2: Beat butter and sugar together.

Mix butter and brown sugar for 5 minutes with an electric mixer until light and fluffy.

Step 3: Beat in eggs.

Beat in room temperature eggs one at a time. Once eggs are combined, add room temperature maple syrup.

Step 4: Combine wet and dry ingredients.

Fold in dry ingredients a bit at a time until just incorporated. Be careful not to overmix.  Gently fold in mashed bananas.

Step 5: Add chocolate chips

Fold in chocolate chips.

Step 6: Pour into a loaf pan.

Pour into a greased 9x5 loaf pan.

Step 7: Sprinkle with chocolate chips.

Smooth out the top of the batter and sprinkle with some extra chocolate chips.

Step 8: Bake.

Bake for 60-70 minutes. Test your banana bread at 60 minutes with a toothpick or cake tester.  Continue to bake until the tester comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan for at least 1 hour before cutting into the loaf.

Expert Tips

• Always be prepared to make banana bread: Next time you go to the grocery store, buy several extra bunches of bananas and let them get really ripe on your counter. When they’re the perfect ripeness for banana bread,  simply peel them and freeze them in a freezer-safe container and then you are ready for delicious banana bread at any time.
• Measure the flour carefully and accurately. The best way to do this is to spoon the flour into your measuring cup and level it off with the back of a knife.
• I included a small amount of sugar in this recipe so that you can beat the butter and sugar together for 3-5 minutes before adding the rest of the wet ingredients. Beating butter and sugar together for this long allows the sugar granules to really whip up the butter and make it light and fluffy. This method results in a lighter loaf.
• Mix the dry ingredients and wet ingredients until just combined. Overmixing can give you tough banana bread. 
• Try setting aside 100-150 grams of banana to mash more gently so your loaf has more texture and bits of banana. 

Recipe FAQs

Storage

Room Temperature

Once the loaf has fully cooled wrap it tightly in plastic wrap or store it in an airtight container at room temperature for 2-3 days.

Freezer

Once the loaf has fully cooled, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap or store in a freezer-safe airtight container and store in the freezer for up to 3 months.

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