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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!

loaf of chocolate chip banana bread cut in half

Ok, if you’re NOT new around here then you may know by now that my grocery order always has bananas in it. I usually have one as a snack. Like. Every. Day. But even so, I still somehow always have one or two leftover! For awhile, I was totally messing up my instacart order and when I ordered “5 bananas” I had zero idea I actually was ordering 5 bunches!!!

Oops. Major oops. Now yes I had lots of snacks that week. But come on….25 bananas in one week? I don’t think so.

So here’s what I do when leftover bananas happen. 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
Baking Soda
Salt
Cinnamon
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 bananas, that are black and speckled in color.
Sugar
Oil
Eggs
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
Chocolate chips

four slices of chocolate chip banana bread on top of each other

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.

a bowl of mashed bananas with a fork in it

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.

bowl of banana bread dry ingredients with a whisk in it

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.

Step 4: Add Chocolate Chips

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.

loaf of chocolate chip banana bread on a cooling rack

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.

You also want to make sure that you don’t overmix! Overmixing cause gluten, the protein in the flour that provides structure, to form. So less mixing means less gluten forms. So a nice tender, fluffy banana bread.

Recipe Tips:

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 Recipes To Try

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

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

Use Ripe Bananas!

Ingredients For Chocolate Chip Banana Bread