Description
This best chocolate banana bread recipe combines moist banana bread with deep chocolate flavor, creating an incredibly tender, fudgy loaf that stays fresh for days. Made with simple, wholesome ingredients and ready in under an hour, this easy chocolate banana bread tastes like it came from a specialty bakery.
Ingredients
Scale
- 3–4 overripe bananas, mashed (about 1 cup mashed banana)
- ⅓ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- ⅓ cup melted butter
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Optional Add-Ins (choose ½ to 1 cup total):
- Semi-sweet chocolate chips
- Chopped walnuts or pecans
- Dark chocolate chunks
- Milk chocolate chips
- Ground cinnamon (½ teaspoon)
- Instant espresso powder (½ teaspoon)
Instructions
- Preheat oven and prepare pans. Position an oven rack in the center and preheat to 350°F (175°C). Proper oven temperature is essential for even baking. Grease two 9×5-inch loaf pans thoroughly or line with parchment paper for easy removal. Well-prepared pans prevent sticking and ensure even browning.
- Mash the bananas. In a large mixing bowl, mash very ripe bananas with a fork until mostly smooth – some small lumps are fine and add texture to the finished bread. You should have approximately one cup of mashed banana. The more overripe the bananas, the better – their higher sugar content creates more moisture and deeper flavor.
- Whisk dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, whisk together cocoa powder, flour, baking soda, and salt. Whisking combines these ingredients evenly and prevents lumps of baking soda or cocoa that would create bitter spots in the finished bread. Make sure cocoa powder is well incorporated – no visible streaks should remain.
- Mix wet ingredients. Add eggs, melted butter, sugar, and vanilla to the mashed bananas and stir until well combined. The mixture should be smooth and uniform. If using an electric mixer, beat on low to medium speed for about 30-45 seconds to combine thoroughly.
- Combine wet and dry ingredients. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir just until combined – do not overmix. Overmixing develops gluten, creating dense, tough bread instead of tender, moist bread. Stop mixing as soon as you don’t see streaks of flour remaining.
- Add optional mix-ins. If using chocolate chips, nuts, or other additions, fold them in gently using a rubber spatula until evenly distributed throughout the batter. Don’t overmix at this stage – just fold until ingredients are distributed.
- Divide batter between prepared pans. Divide the batter evenly between the two prepared loaf pans (use a scale if available, or estimate by eye). Smooth the tops gently with a spatula. Avoid overfilling pans – batter should reach about halfway up the sides.
- Bake until a toothpick comes out clean. Bake for 48-52 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center of each loaf comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs (not wet batter). The tops should be golden brown and slightly domed. Baking time varies based on oven and exact pan size, so check at 45 minutes.
- Cool in pans briefly. Remove loaves from oven and let cool in the pans for 10 minutes. This brief cooling allows bread to firm up enough to handle without breaking apart. After 10 minutes, carefully run a thin knife around the edges of each pan.
- Turn out onto cooling racks. Turn bread out of pans onto cooling racks and cool completely. This typically takes about 1-2 hours. Cooling completely is important – the bread continues to set as it cools, and slicing warm bread results in torn, crumbly slices instead of neat pieces.
- Slice and serve. Once completely cooled, slice bread with a sharp serrated knife using a sawing motion rather than pressing down. Store in an airtight container or wrap tightly in plastic wrap for freshness.
Notes
- Use overripe bananas – Brown bananas with soft texture are ideal; they provide maximum sweetness and moisture
- Don’t overmix – Overmixing develops gluten and creates dense, tough bread instead of tender crumb
- Room temperature eggs – They incorporate more smoothly and create better texture than cold eggs
- Cool completely before slicing – Warm bread tears and crumbles; cooled bread slices neatly
- Make two loaves – Bake extra for gifting or freezing for later enjoyment
- Add chocolate chips – Fold in up to ½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips for extra chocolatey goodness
- Customize with nuts – Add ½ cup chopped walnuts or pecans for crunch and nutrition
- Freezer-friendly – Cool completely, wrap tightly, and freeze for up to 3 months
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 50 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice (1/16 of recipe)
- Calories: 175
- Sugar: 24g
- Sodium: 185mg
- Fat: 6g
- Saturated Fat: 3.5g
- Unsaturated Fat: 1.5g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 28g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 2g
- Cholesterol: 28mg