Banana-Chocolate Chip Bread Recipe (With Video and Steps)

Prep Time:

15 mins

Total Time:

2 hrs

Yield:

1 9-by- inch loaf

Our banana-chocolate chip bread is moist, sweet, and packed with chocolate. Enjoy it for breakfast, morning elevenses, an afterschool snack, dessert (with a scoop of ice cream), or as a late-night treat.—there's no occasion where this easy banana bread doesn't delight. Best of all, there's no need to get out your mixer; all you need are two bowls—one for dry ingredients and one for the wet ingredients—and a potato masher to prep the banana.

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread — Jason Donnelly

Overripe Bananas Make the Best Banana Bread

You could make this recipe with just yellow bananas, but you shouldn't. One of the joys of banana bread is that you can use up bananas that are too ripe to eat. But it's not just about using them up; overripe bananas bring extra sweetness and more banana flavor and aroma to the quick bread.

What Is an Overripe Banana?

An overripe banana should be totally brown, slightly soft, and fragrant. Whenever you have bananas like this, make banana bread. If you don't have time to bake when you have overripe bananas, stash them in the freezer (in their skins) for up to six months.

How to Use Frozen Bananas

Let them thaw completely before using, then pop them open from the stem end and squeeze the flesh and any juices directly into a bowl so you catch all the sweetness.

Directions

Ingredients for chocolate chip banana bread — Jason Donnelly

Preheat oven, prep loaf pan, and combine dry ingredients:

Preheat oven to 375°F. Brush a standard 9-by-5-inch loaf pan with butter and dust with flour, tapping out excess. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cardamom, and cinnamon, 30 seconds.

Jason Donnelly
Combine wet ingredients:

In another bowl, whisk together butter, bananas, eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla until smooth.

Jason Donnelly
Add wet ingredients to dry:

Make a well in flour mixture and pour banana mixture into it.

Jason Donnelly
Mix lightly:

Stir together until mostly combined but some dry flour remains.

Jason Donnelly
Add chocolate chips:

Add chocolate chips and continue stirring just until evenly distributed throughout and no dry flour remains.

Jason Donnelly
Place in pan:

Transfer batter to prepared loaf pan.

Jason Donnelly
Bake:

Bake until a tester inserted in center comes out clean, 1 hour to 1 hour, 10 minutes.

Jason Donnelly
Cool:

Let cool in pan 10 minutes, then transfer loaf to a wire rack and let cool completely.

Jason Donnelly

Why It's Important to Cool Banana Bread Completely

We always call for cooling banana bread completely before slicing, wrapping, or transferring to an airtight container. This is because if the loaf is not totally cooled, it will tear when sliced and will create condensation if stored, which would make the bread gummy.

Storing Banana Bread

Banana bread can be stored at room temperature. We recommend wrapping our banana chocolate chip bread in parchment-lined foil for up to three days. You can also use parchment paper or wax paper, we prefer these options over plastic wrap for this recipe.

Freezing

For longer storage, or just to have a loaf on hand, we recommend freezing banana bread. The loaf should be completely cooled before being frozen. Wrap it in plastic wrap, then place in a freezer bag. Freeze the whole loaf, or slice it prior to freezing—that way you can defrost just a couple of pieces when you need them. Banana bread will last up to three months in the freezer.

Frequently Asked Questions

What chocolate chips should I use for banana bread?

Our banana chocolate chip bread recipe calls for semisweet chocolate chips. If you don’t have them or want to try something different, you could use chopped semisweet chocolate instead. That’s an easy swap. Using a different type of chocolate will also work, but it will impact the finished loaf; if you use bittersweet chocolate the banana bread will be less sweet, whereas caramel chips or white chocolate chips would make it noticeably sweeter.
What can I use instead of the chocolate chips in banana bread?

For a chocolate-free banana bread, follow this recipe but swap the chocolate chips for the same amount of toasted chopped walnuts or pecans. Alternatively, try using the same amount of toasted shredded coconut.
Can I use oil in place of the butter in this chocolate chip banana bread?

You could substitute the same amount of a neutral-tasting oil for the melted butter in this recipe but we haven’t tested the recipe with oil. We like this banana bread made with butter for the rich taste it has, as well as for the fat.