Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

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Nothing beats a slice of warm banana bread. And I love it even more when it’s chocolate chip banana bread. This chocolate banana bread recipe couldn’t be easier, and is a delicious way to use up those ripe bananas!

I don’t know about you but I always put a bunch of bananas in my grocery cart for the week. Always. Without. Fail.

And I usually do a pretty good job of eating them throughout the week. Mm, usually. Sometimes, not so much. 

There tends to be a few left behind at the end of the week. Sometimes two. Maybe just one. But rarely, do I get through the entire bunch. And throwing out ripe bananas just seems WRONG. AmIright?!

So here’s what I do. I throw them in my freezer until I have enough to make some banana bread. Sometimes in a week I have the perfect amount. And if not, I add each ripe banana to my freezer collection. And then when the banana bread craving strikes – Voila! I have ripe bananas in my freezer waiting for me. 

And so this time, my weekly batch and freezer bananas went to making a classic – chocolate chip banana bread. 

Because bananas and chocolate are just a happy, happy marriage, aren’t they? Ok enough talk. Let’s make banana bread!!!

Use Ripe Bananas!

First let’s talk bananas. Your bananas for banana bread should very ripe. Black and speckled. This will mean they are very ripe so the sugars have really come through. 

Ingredients For Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

• Flour – Just some good old all purpose flour is all you need. Of course you could make it a whole wheat, like my whole wheat banana bread recipe that uses white whole wheat flour. Or try swapping out half of the flour with whole wheat flour. Just be sure to measure your flour accurately if you are using dry measuring cups. I do always recommend using a scale and weighing your ingredients. But if you are measuring by volume, then be sure to measure your flour accurately. Start by stirring up your flour, then spoon the flour into your cup. And level off with a flat edge. Don’t pack it down or you will end up with too much in your cup!
• Baking Soda – This is what makes a quick bread a quick bread. Unlike yeast, baking soda reacts right away so that means we can get the bread in the oven immediately. Just be sure your baking soda hasn’t expired. If you’re not sure, mix a little baking soda with a little vinegar (or lemon juice) and see if it bubbles. If it does, then you’re fine! If not, time to throw it out and get fresh. And don’t mix it up with your baking powder. Baking soda and baking powder are not the same thing and should not be used interchangeably.
• Salt – Salt is very important to help balance the sweetness in a recipe. So don’t skip it! You can read more here  about the role that salt plays in baking. 
• Cinnamon – I just love a little bit of cinnamon. It pairs well with the bananas.
• Bananas – Of course we need bananas. I just mash mine in a bowl with a fork before I start. And be sure that you use very ripe banans, that are black and speckled in color. 
• Sugar – I used all white granulated sugar in this recipe. 
• Oil – I used vegetable oil, which keeps the bread very moist. You could also use any neutral tasting oil such as canola oil. 
• Eggs – You need two large eggs at room temperature. I place mine in a bowl of warm water for 10 minutes before using. 
• Sour Cream – This adds fat and richness. You could try swapping out for greek yogurt, which I did in my healthy banana bread recipe.
• Vanilla extract – Of course pure vanilla extract is best. 
• Chocolate chips – I used semi-sweet chocolate chips, but milk chocolate would work. Chunks or discs. Bring on the chocolate!

How To Make This Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

Step 1: Mash Your Bananas

In a separate bowl, you want to mash your bananas. I just do this with a fork. It’s easier to get this done ahead of time, and have them mashed ready to go. 

I used 4 bananas about 1 1/2 cups.

Step 2: Combine your dry ingredients

In a large mixing bowl you want to whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. And then set aside. 

Pro Tip: At this point, I like to remove 1 tablespoon of the dry ingredients and toss it with chocolate chips in a small bowl. This will help the chocolate chips from sinking.

Step 2: Mix The Wet Ingredients

In a second mixing bowl you want to combine your wet ingredients – oil, eggs, vanilla, bananas, sugar and sour cream. 

Step 3: Fold In The Dry Ingredients

Now using a spatula, fold in the dry ingredients. Just don’t overmix! Overmixing will cause the gluten in the flour to form and too much gluten creates a tough bread. So stop mixing once the last streak of flour is incorporated.

Now stir in the chocolate chips. Again just be careful to not overmix!

Pro Tip: I like to save a few chocolate chips to sprinkle on top of the bread once the batter is in the pan, so it the top of the bread looks all pretty.

Step 5: Bake The Banana Bread

Then you want to pour the batter into your greased 9×5 inch loaf pan and bake! Bake on a middle rack in a pre-heated oven. And bake for 60-70 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.

How Do You Make Banana Bread Moist?

The key to making moist banana bread is using very ripe bananas. The blacker the better when it comes to the bananas! Not just flecks but really black.

Tips On Making Banana Bread:

• Use Ripe Bananas. You want to make sure you use very ripe bananas. Bananas that have lots of black specks. The blacker the banana is the sweeter it will be. I actually like to freeze my bananas when they have gotten too ripe to use later for banana bread. If you use frozen bananas, then let the bananas thaw before using them.
• Mash first. Mash your bananas before adding them to the mixing bowl. I do this by hand with a fork since I have used frozen bananas they are very easily mashed. You could also use a pastry blender, potato masher, or a hand mixer.
• Measure your flour accurately. I use the spoon and level method. You can learn how to measure your flour in this post.
• Careful to not over mix. I like to use a spatula and fold in the dry ingredients by hand. You want to stop mixing once they have been incorporated. Too much mixing = too much gluten forming. Gluten is what will give a bread its chew, but for a banana bread you want less gluten to form. So we can accomplish that by making sure we don’t overmix!
• Toss The Chocolate Chips In The Dry Ingredients. Chocolate chips have a tendency to sink to the bottom of the batter, so I like to toss them in a tablespoon of the dry ingredients.

What Else Can You Put In A Banana Bread?

I kept this recipe simple. But you can definitely use something besides chocolate chips – like toasted walnuts like in Flour Bakery’s Famous Banana Bread

or try blueberries like this Blueberry Banana Bread.

More Quick Bread Recipes

• Quick Jalapeno Cheddar Bread
• Blueberry Muffin Bread
• Blueberry Banana Bread
• Whole Wheat Irish Soda Bread Recipe
• No Yeast Bread

And if you are new to making quick breads, be sure to read my Ultimate Guide To Baking Quick Bread Recipes.

Tools Needed To Make This Banana Bread Recipe:

• Loaf Pan
• Kitchen-aid mixer – you could use a hand mixer but a stand mixer will  make quicker work of this bread, and save you the arm workout.
• Sifter–  Sifting your dry ingredients is key in making this banana bread light and fluffy.
• Dry measuring cups and spoons

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Print Recipe

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

If you’re like me then you always have bananas in the house, and you can never eat them fast enough before they get all black and speckled. I love when my bananas get that way, because it means it’s time to make banana bread. This banana bread recipe is made with chocolate chips for a bit of sweetness!

Prep Time15 mins

Cook Time1 hr 5 mins

Total Time1 hr 20 mins

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: banana bread recipe, chocolate chip banana bread

Servings: 12 slices (1 9x5 loaf)

Calories: 392kcal

Author: Heather Perine

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups (300 g) all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon table salt
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 1/4 cups (248 g) granulated white sugar
• 1/2 cup (120 mL) vegetable oil
• 2 large eggs room temperature
• 1 ½ cups (340 g) very ripe bananas (about 4 medium)
• ½ cup sour cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Instructions

• Preheat and prepare pan. Preheat oven to 350^oF. Spray a 9x5” loaf pan with non-stick cooking spray or grease with butter and set aside.
• Mash bananas. In a small mixing bowl, mash bananas with a fork. Set aside.
• Combine dry ingredients. In a mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.
• Combine wet ingredients. In the same mixing bowl with the bananas, whisk in the sugar, oil, eggs, and vanilla extract and stir until combined.
• Combine wet and dry ingredients. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix together with a spatula until just combined. Stir in chocolate chips.
• Bake. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan and bake for 60-65 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center of the bread comes out clean. Remove from the oven and allow the bread to cool completely in the pan set on a wire cooling rack. Store the bread, and any leftovers, covered at room temperature for 2 days, or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

Notes

• Use Ripe Bananas. You want to make sure you use very ripe bananas. Bananas that have lots of black specks. The blacker the banana is the sweeter it will be. I actually like to freeze my bananas when they have gotten too ripe to use later for banana bread. If you use frozen bananas, then let the bananas thaw before using them.
• Mash first. Mash your bananas before adding them to the mixing bowl. I do this by hand with a fork since I have used frozen bananas they are very easily mashed. You could also use a pastry blender, potato masher, or a hand mixer.
• Measure your flour accurately. I use the spoon and level method. You can learn how to measure your flour in this post.
• Careful to not over mix. I like to use a spatula and fold in the dry ingredients by hand. You want to stop mixing once they have been incorporated. Too much mixing = too much gluten forming. Gluten is what will give a bread its chew, but for a banana bread you want less gluten to form. So we can accomplish that by making sure we don’t overmix!
• Toss The Chocolate Chips In The Dry Ingredients. Chocolate chips have a tendency to sink to the bottom of the batter, so I like to toss them in a tablespoon of the dry ingredients.
• Save A Few Chocolate Chips. I add about 3/4 cup of the chips to the bread, and reserve 1/4 cup to sprinkle on top of the batter once it's in the pan. 
• Use The Right Pan. I used a 9x5 loaf pan. Be sure it's the right size. And make sure you aren't using a dark loaf pan, which can bake too quickly and burn.
•  

Nutrition

Calories: 392kcal | Carbohydrates: 53g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 33mg | Sodium: 306mg | Potassium: 204mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 29g | Vitamin A: 119IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 29mg | Iron: 2mg