This chocolate banana bread recipe is seriously packing the chocolate flavor! It’s super moist and those chocolate chips all over the top just make it fun to eat!
I made you guys some banana bread! Then I ate it all for breakfast the next day. My husband was very judgy about the whole thing.
I think the chocolate in the banana bread confused him and made him consider this a dessert.
So, seeing me stuff my face with “chocolate cake” at 8am was concerning to him, apparently. Not sure why. We’ve been married for almost 20 years. I can assure you that he’s seen worse.Also, I don’t care how rich and chocolatey this looks right now. This is breakfast food. I will fight you on that.
I don’t need you judging me.
Stop telling me that something that is covered in chocolate chips is a dessert.
I don’t tell you how to live your life, you don’t tell me how to live mine.
This is breakfast food and I will eat it all morning long with a big cup of coffee and I will be happy and fulfilled and that is the end of this discussion.
I mean, yeah. I realize that maybe this is a teensy bit more decadent than a traditional banana bread.
But it’s still full of fruit and fruit equals breakfast, apparently.
Also, if you’re like me, you’ll slather a thick slice of this chocolate banana bread with some creamy peanut butter and peanut butter = protein. Look at me being all healthy and making smart breakfast choices!
Ugh. Husbands.
Why are they always so judgy? I mean, he eats cookies for breakfast and I don’t say a word.
Check out my classic banana bread, chocolate chunk banana muffins, and fluffernutter banana bread too!
Anyway, you guys, I don’t care what time of day you eat this chocolate banana bread, but I really hope you take the time to make it and give it a try.
It is seriously good bread.
It’s so moist (sorry about that word) and just bursting with both chocolate and banana flavor.
This one is really easy to make too.
Plus, who can resist a bread covered in chocolate chips? NOBODY.
This chocolate banana bread recipe is loaded with double the chocolate and tons of bananas!
This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
I always get comments asking about my loaf pan, so I’ll link you to it here! I have a range of colors of these pans and LOVE them.
Just note that ceramic pans can bake a little different than the traditional metal loaf pan, so you may need to adjust your bake time accordingly.
And, for those of you asking what brand cocoa powder I use, it’s Hershey’s Special Dark. I love the rich flavor it gives and I really like how intensely chocolate the bread looks when you bake with it.
So pretty and tasty, which is a win-win! 🙂
You can buy it through that link on Amazon or just grab it at your local grocery store near the rest of the cocoa powder. I love that it’s readily available.
UPDATE: I’m getting a lot of comments that your loaves are sinking in the center. I’m updating the recipe a bit to help with this. You’ll also want to be sure your bread is baked through – the time listed is a guideline – every oven is different. Be sure to check this with a tester to ensure it’s baked through.
UPDATE #2: By popular request, I turned this recipe into banana bread muffins!
Double Chocolate Banana Bread
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup white sugar
- 1 large egg
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 medium bananas, mashed - about 1 cup
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup milk chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9x5x3 loaf pan with non-stick spray.
- Add the butter and sugars to a mixing bowl and mix until well combined.
- Beat in the egg, vanilla, banana, and sour cream.
- Stir in the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Pour mixture into prepared loaf pan.
- Sprinkle the top with chocolate chips and gently press them into the batter.
- Bake for 70 minutes or until a tester comes out clean. If you under bake this, the center will sink upon cooling.
- Let bread cool completely before cutting and serving.
- PLEASE NOTE: I baked this bread in a ceramic loaf pan. If you're using a glass or metal pan, your baking times may vary. Keep an eye on the bread and check with a tester before removing from the oven.
Elisa says
I’ve made this 3x so far and it came out perfect every time. I used a metal nonstick load pan and baked it 65 mins. It’s moist and delicious with right amt of banana (i use 3) and chocolate flavor. This will be a staple in my repitua! Thanks for the recipe!
Karly says
Glad you’re enjoying the recipe! 🙂
Joyce says
This is absolutely delicious. I used yogurt since that’s what I had and dark chocolate. Yum!
Karly says
Yum!! Glad you enjoyed this one!
Gonzo says
I am truly sorry to hear that your husband judged you for eating this delicious-looking double chocolate banana bread. If you ever decide to leave him, my wife and I will welcome you into a throuple. Bring banana bread.
Karly says
I forwarded him your email and he’s not his best behavior for fear of my gathering up my banana bread and moving out. 🙂
Cathleen Clark says
I just made this with nuts, not chocolate chips (because my we have a walnut tree and a bazillion nuts came this year), and I hope it turns out as delicious as with chocolate chips! 🙂
Jessica says
I made this as 9 jumbo muffins. They turned out great. I baked it at 375 for 20 minutes, checked and the toothpick came out wet so left them in another couple minutes and they’re great. I used a nonstick metal muffin tin. Delicious with my peanut butter chips!
Ladydee says
I’m making this for the second time at this very moment! Delicious recipe, a hit last time I made it!! I have everything I need in my home and everyone raves about it! I followed the recipe to a “T” and it came perfect!
Stacy says
I made this with a package of Hersey’s white chocolate pudding powder mix in place of the cocoa powder and butterscotch chips and my husband and I think it is simply amazing. Kudos for the versatile recipe.
Karly says
Oh, that’s an interesting change – I’ll have to play around with pudding in place of cocoa next time!
Jean Cykana says
Do you mean unsweetened cocoa powder?
Karly says
Yes, I use unsweetened cocoa powder.
Kristen says
I have read that if you use dutch processed cocoa powder vs. regular cocoa powder, it won’t sink in the middle. What kind of cocoa powder did you use, Karly? Does it make a difference in this recipe? Thanks!
Karly says
I’m not sure if that’s true or not. I used Hershey’s Special Dark here which is actually a blend of natural and Dutch cocoa powder.
holly heppner says
can you make this in a bundt pan?
Karly says
Yes, I’m sure you can, but you’ll want to keep an eye on it as I don’t know how long it will need to bake.
Heather Raymond says
Loving this recipe!!! I made squares and baked for ~25 minutes, this time I’m substituting avocado for the butter, fingers crossed
DIANA R HENZE says
The 9x5x3 size loaf pan was too small, it started to overflow the sides shortly after putting it in the oven and I had to scrape quite a bit off the top. I think next time I will use a Bundt pan.
Karly says
Sorry you had problems with this overflowing. I’m not sure why you had an issue since it worked fine in my pan of the same size. So strange!
Marge poling says
The recipe on my cell phone looks like it says 1 cup milk and then under that it says chocolate chips. After looking at the printout version, I saw it said 1 cup milk chocolate chips. That is confusing and could be why the above person had batter running out of her baking pan!
Karly says
Hi Marge! The recipe states 1 cup milk chocolate chips all on one line – my guess is that you have your screen or font size set larger than standard and that makes it take up two lines. Unfortunately, there is nothing I can do about individual screen sizes.
Mary LInda Graham says
Maybe her bananas were bigger.
Marge poling says
See my comment below. Did you think it meant 1 cup milk, instead of 1 cup milk chocolate chips?
Taryn says
Do you take it out of the pan to cool? Just made it!
Karly says
I cool it in the pan. 🙂
Areej says
can we use buttermilk instead of sour cream?
Karly says
I’m not sure that would work as the texture is quite different between the two.
Cali says
It works but it’s not as fluffy. I did that this last time around. I will definitely use sour cream instead next time.
Cindy Soinski says
I followed the recipe exactly. Both loaves sunk in the middle. Any suggestions on how to prevent this?
Karly says
It sounds like the recipe wasn’t cooked all the way through or the batter was overmixed. Either can cause sinking. Hopefully they still tasted delicious! 🙂
Kim Po says
I made it using gluten-free all purpose baking flour. So very delicious!
Karly says
Awesome! Glad to hear it worked out with the gluten free flour.
Angela McElwain says
What kinda GF flour did you use, by the way?
Joyce says
Just made two loaves with 1 to 1 gluten free flour and it tastes good. Had to use yogurt as I had no sour cream. My adult kids said it tastes like cake but they like it. Good to know it works as I am just starting our gluten free journey. Might tweak a bit to get it to rise a bit more. Thanks for the recipe.
Traci S. says
I am about to make this for the 1st time. Munson loves banana bread and my daughter is a chocoholic so this recipe is perfect. For me tho not so perfect since I am on weight weighters. I struggle with needing that chocolate taste and this would be wonderful. But this rexipe is 21 points, how can we make it healthier for me. Any thoughts
Karly says
No, sorry, I haven’t tried lightening this one up.
Jeanne Brodalski says
Made this awesome bread several times. Always a big hit! Tried it with 1/2 chocolate chips and 1/2 peanut butter chips, yummy!
Karly says
I bet peanut butter chips were a great addition!
Julie says
I made this yesterday, oh my word! Lovely …
Taruna says
Is it okay to make this without butter? Will it be okay if I use coconut oil or vegetable oil instead? Butter breaks me out like crazy so I can’t handle it:(
Karly says
I haven’t tested this with anything but butter. I think the texture will be a bit different, and I’m not sure it would work. But if you do test, let us know!
Jessica Ward says
I’ve made this recipe with coconut oil! Worked great! Best of you use it while still semi solid vs melted
Nanci says
Can I make this using shallow, round cake pans to make a layered cake? I’m a rookie cook and need to make a birthday cake for someone who loves chocolate and peanut butter.
Karly says
I haven’t tried this in cake pans so I’m unsure how many layers it would make and how long it would take to bake them. If you’re not comfortable with experimenting yourself, I’d recommend finding a different recipe. 🙂
Melanie says
I’ve made this is an 8×8 pan and baked for 30 minutes, it turned out great. It would work fine in a round pan too and cut in half to layer.
Nanci says
Hi Karly!
I made a birthday cake over the weekend (my first one ever, Lol!) using the recipe. I was able to fill two round cake pans with it and I just used a traditional chocolate cake mix for the third one. Since my boyfriend likes Reese’s cups, I mixed in a half cup of Reese’s chips and a half cup of chocolate chips. I also spread peanut butter between the layers and used a cream cheese frosting. The cake ended up being huge, but delicious! I baked the banana bread pans for about 40-44 mins.
Thanks again for the recipe!!!
Karly says
Yay! I’m so glad it turned out well for you. Sounds like a delicious cake!!
Natalie says
Looks so good!
Gula Oem says
Yes…these chocolate banana bread look delicious and it make me drool
Luanne says
Hi karly, that double chocolate banana bread is to die for. Im planning to bake this maybe next week. Im a newbie baker so im not sure if i can make the same as yours. But if you dont mind me asking is 375 degrees is for farenheit? Sorry just a newbie. And can i substitute wholewheat flour to all purpose flour? Will it make a difference? Thank u. Really love your baking tho.
Truly yours, luanne
Karly says
Hi Luanne!
You’ll want to bake this at 375 Fahrenheit. I haven’t made this with whole wheat flour, but if you’d like to try, I’d start with just half whole wheat and half all purpose. Hope that helps!
Luanne says
Thank you. I think ill try that. 🙂
Luanne says
Hi karly,
Done making it. The outcomes is good! Hahaha! I used whole wheat flour and it is still good, it is moist and soft and delicious! Thank you for sharing your recipe.
Karly says
So glad it turned out and you enjoyed it! 🙂
Judy Morrison says
Your basic instructions say to preheat oven to 350, but in a comment area you say to bake it at 375. Which is correct? I am making this in a few minutes but need clarification before I start. Thank you.
Karly says
It should be baked at 350.
Diana says
Would it be possible to omit the sour cream or what substitute I can use if I don’t have a sour cream?
Thank you
Karly says
I haven’t tried this without the sour cream. Greek yogurt would make a good sub.
Tara P says
i have subbed applesauce for the sour cream also.
Sarah says
I’ve just taken mine out f the oven. I had no sour cream, so I used 1/4 cup of coffee cream that I soured with 1 teas. of vinegar. (Milk soured with vinegar would also work.)
I’m sure it will be great!
Karly says
Hope you enjoyed!
Sara says
Ripe bananas or fresh ones?! I’m excited to make this!
Karly says
Over-ripe bananas. 🙂
Kirstin says
Could I change the flour to almond flour or coconut flour to make it lower carb?
Karly says
No, that won’t work at the same ratio. You’d have to make some major adjustments to the recipe.
Melanie says
Almond flour to regular flour is a 1:1 ratio. You’ll likely have to add more egg though, 1 more perhaps, as a binging agent.
Jennifer says
I made muffins instead of bread so my kids could grab a d go easier. I followed the recipe to a “t” and they were perfect. Omg the flavor! I will be making these weekly. Thank you for a great recipe
Brenda says
Is the Nutrition Facts information for the whole loaf or per slice?
Karly says
It’s for 1 slice.
Allison Brodsky says
Mine is in the oven now! I noticed you forgot to list when salt is added in the directions. Anyone who bakes certainly knows, but newbies might not.
helen johnston says
I made this tonight for valentines and it turned out well. a little crumbly but very nice. I will definitely have to make this one again
Catherine Waddell says
How will this work if I make it tonight for something tomorrow? Will it stay overnight?
Karly says
It should last fine for a few days, if you wrap it tightly.
Sierra says
I followed the directions step for step and it ran over my loaf pan and it sunk in the middle and did not cook right.. 🙁 is it missing an ingredient?
Karly says
Hi Sierra! Sorry to hear this didn’t work out for you. There’s no missing ingredient in the recipe – are you sure your loaf pan was the right size?
Chris says
Can I use butterscotch chips instead of chocolate?
Karly says
Should work fine, if you think the flavors will work well. 🙂
Stephanie says
Hi I made this and the hubby and I loved it! I used sugar-free cocoa and dark chocolate vs milk then added marshmalloes and broiled, will not add that again lol but was delish!! Just wondering if I store in fridge or room temperature? Thank you:) !!!
Karly says
Marshmallows sound like a fun addition! We store this at room temperature. 🙂
Melissa Franklin says
Is it necessary to use sour cream if you are not using the Hershey’s special dark cocoa?
Karly says
The sour cream is there to add moisture and richness. I do think you could leave it out but the bread will be a bit drier.
Ellen says
Can I add more than three bananas?
Karly says
No, the batter will be too wet and it won’t set properly.
Melanie says
I add 4 bananas in my regular banana bread, the only difference is the cocoa powder in this one.
Julie Retter says
Can you freeze this?
Karly says
I haven’t myself, but I’m sure you could.
Aglaya says
I used only 2 bananas (had no more) and put the batter into a round pan with a whole in the middle and in 35 minutes it was ready and with amazing taste! I put the chocolate chips into the batter since after baking the bread had to be inversed. I’ll make now for second time. Really satisfying recipe, thank you!????
sue says
Thank you so much we LOVE this recipe! I made this substituting apple sauce for the butter and soy yogurt for sour cream (we are dairy free) I also used gluten free flour! It was amazing – and did NOT sink in the middle! My bananas were frozen and I mashed them up before stirring in — not sure if that helped — the bread was beautiful healthy and delicious!
Karly says
Thanks so much for sharing the changes you made to make it dairy/gluten free. That’s so helpful for others! 🙂 Glad it turned out!
Phyllis says
Made this last week and as of today I’ve made 2 more pans of this absolutely delicious banana bread! Followed recipe and it turned out perfect every time.
Amy says
I have made this “bread” (let’s get real- it’s cake!) multiple times and it always comes out perfectly! Yesterday I made it with Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Flour for my neighbor (who is GF.) It came out perfectly again and you cannot tell at all it is GF. It is amazing and a perfect breakfast! 😉 Thanks!
Karly says
Oh that’s great to hear! Thanks, Amy!
Deanna Kellogg says
Where does the milk come in
Karly says
There is no milk in this recipe. I’m guessing that you’re looking at the “1/2 cup milk chocolate chips?”
Maggie Martin says
Okay girlfriend, made this using Bartlett Pears becuz banana smell gags me! Everything else was the same.
Hubs loved it even tho he is not a major chocolate person as I am.
THIS is a keeper…
Thanks so much for this one Karly!
Maggie
Karly says
Woah. Pear bread. How have I never done that?! You’re a genius.
Leanne says
This is the best. Sooo much better than regular banana bread! Thanks
sharee says
I used a glass loaf pan and knew it would come out sooner. I put it for 45 min. The only thing I didnt like was the top was slightly crunchy. The inside was fine though. I did the same ingredients but used organic light brown sugar instead of white. I like the idea of peanut butter chocolate chips so will try that alternative. Thank you I did pin this!
Nadine Hooten says
I tried this today. Followed recipe, but added walnuts. Decided I would use a 9×9 pan instead of a loaf. Turned out like fluffy brownies. Very moist. My husband loved it (a little too much…). I liked the fact that it only took 30 minutes to bake in the larger pan. I can cut in 9 or 12 pieces. ?? Very tasty.
Karly says
Sounds like some great changes!
Carrie H says
Just made a double batch and it was so hard to wait for it to cool! Yum!!
Karly says
Enjoy! 🙂
David says
What would you do to make it moist at an elevation above 7000 fat?
Karly says
Hi David! I don’t have any experience with baking at a high altitude, so I really can’t help. Whatever adjustments you normally make for banana bread may work here as well.
Taylor says
Can I sub milk for the sour cream? And if so, how much milk?
Karly says
I’ve only tested this recipe as written.
Ana Brown says
Hi what’s the alternative for sour cream?
Karly says
You could try Greek yogurt, but I’ve only made this as written.