Chocolate chip banana bread is the best rich, tender and incredibly moist banana bread filled with sweet chocolate chips in every bite. This chocolate chip banana bread recipe is quick, easy to make and will become your new go to recipe.
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Why Should You Make This Recipe
There is something so cozy and inviting about banana bread. It’s straight forward and easy to make. I especially love my Brown Butter Banana Bread, Nutella Banana Bread, Cake Mix Banana Bread and Apple Banana Bread recipes. This banana bread with chocolate chips is no exception. If you’re a fan of super moist banana bread, this recipe is for you.
- Layers of flavors and textures: This recipe for chocolate chip banana bread has an incredibly moist, soft, tender and dense texture filled with sweet and creamy banana and chocolate flavor.
- Easy to make, bake and eat: This almost one bowl banana bread with chocolate chips is just as easy to make as mixing a few simple ingredients into a bowl, bake, cool and enjoy.
Ingredients
This soft and moist banana bread with chocolate chips requires only a handful of simple ingredients to make and you probably already have them in your pantry and fridge.
- Dry Ingredients: Gather all purpose flour, baking soda and salt.
- Wet Ingredients: Gather butter, granulated sugar, light brown sugar, mashed bananas, eggs, sour cream, vanilla extract and chocolate chips.
Substitutions
Here are my recommended substitutions to make this moist banana and chocolate chip bread if you need them.
- All purpose flour: To make this chocolate chip banana loaf gluten free, use a good 1-1 gluten free flour. I recommend using the one from Bob’s Red Mill. Measure the amount of flour based on weight (180 g) instead of cup for cup.
- Baking Soda: This recipe hasn’t been tested with baking powder. Make sure the baking soda is in date and not expired.
- Mashed Banana: Make sure the bananas are fully ripened with some brown spots.
- Unsalted Butter: Feel free to use your preferred unsalted butter. The best option to brown a plant based butter is to use Miyokos Plant Butter.
- Granulated and Light Brown Sugar: This recipe hasn’t been tested with alternative sugars. However, maple sugar would be a good substitute to make this banana and chocolate chip bread refined sugar free.
- Eggs: This recipe hasn’t been tested without eggs.
- Sour Cream: A full fat greek yogurt or full fat buttermilk works well in place of the sour cream.
- Vanilla Extract: This provides a lovely background flavor for the caramelized banana and sweet chocolate chips.
- Mini Chocolate Chips: Feel free to use regular chocolate chips, dark chocolate chips. If you want, omit the chocolate chips and add chopped nuts for banana nut bread.
Variations
- Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Banana Bread: Follow my Brown Butter Banana Bread Recipe and add 1 cup mini chocolate chips.
- Banana Chocolate Chip Nut Bread: Follow the recipe as written. Stir in up to 1 cup chopped nuts like pecans or walnuts at the same time as the chocolate chips.
How To Make
Learn how to make chocolate chip banana bread takes a few easy steps.
- Preheat the oven to 350 F (177 C). Line a 9x5 loaf pan with parchment paper, leaving a bit of overhang on two sides. In a mixing bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda and salt together until well combined.
- In another large mixing bowl, whisk the melted butter, granulated sugar and light brown sugar until the mixture turns into a paste like consistency. This can take 1 - 2 minutes of whisking by hand. Whisk in the eggs, mashed bananas and vanilla extract until smooth and well combined. A few lumps of banana are fine. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet, alternating with the sour cream in this order (dry, sour cream, dry, sour cream, dry) until just combined. A few streaks of flour are fine. Fold in ¾ cup of chocolate chips. Reserve the remaining chocolate chips for topping.
3. Evenly pour the banana chocolate chi bread batter into the prepared pan. Top with the remaining chocolate chips. Bake the banana bread for 50 - 65 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the bread comes out with a few moist (not wet or gummy) crumbs. Cool the banana bread in the loaf pan for 15 minutes. Use the parchment sling to lift the bread out of the pan. Fully cool the banana bread for at least an hour at room temperature, slice and enjoy.
How To Store, Freeze and Thaw
- Store: Place leftover banana chocolate chip bread in an airtight container or wrapped tightly in plastic wrap, at room temperature for up to 3 days. Then transfer the bread to the fridge for up to another 2 - 3 days.
- Freeze: Slice and individually wrap each slice of choc chip banana bread in wax or parchment paper and transfer each wrapped slice into a ziplock bag. Store in the freezer for up to 2 months.
- Thaw: The easiest and best way to thaw the chocolate chip banana loaf bread is to let it slowly thaw in the fridge overnight. Then pop a slice or two into the toaster or into the microwave for that “fresh from the oven” taste.
M’s Expert Tips
- Use ripe bananas. The perfect bananas for making banana bread are soft and yellow with lots of brown spots.
- Measure the mashed banana. This chocolate chip banana bread recipe is incredibly moist thanks to the bananas and sour cream. However, using too much mashed banana can cause the banana bread to be too dense. Mash the bananas and then measure them before using in the recipe.
- Bring cold ingredients to room temperature. This allows the ingredients to mix together more evenly which requires less mixing, resulting in moist and perfectly mixed banana chocolate chip bread.
- Don’t overmix the batter. Make sure to mix the dry ingredients into the wet until just combined. A few flour streaks are fine.
- Use mini chocolate chips. Mini chocolate chips are better for getting chocolate chips in every bite.
- Fully cool the banana chocolate chip loaf bread. This banana bread needs at least an hour, but preferably two hours to fully cool. If you slice into the banana bread too soon, the bread will be mushy.
FAQs
To ripen or brown bananas quickly, bake bananas on a baking sheet in a 300 F oven for 30 - 40 minutes or until the outside of the banana is blackened. Cool the bananas, peel and use as written in the recipe.
Yes, brown sugar can be used in place of regular sugar in banana bread. Keep in mind the banana bread texture will be even more moist and slightly more dense. The brown sugar will give the banana bread a more molasses, caramel forward flavor.
A few things can cause banana bread to be dense and sometimes gummy. The most likely reason is over mixing. Make sure to mix just until the dry ingredients are combined. A few flour streaks are fine. A few other things to prevent the banana bread from being too dense is to make sure the bananas are ripe, the leaveners are in date, measuring the mashed banana and to properly measure the dry ingredients.
Cooling banana bread for at least 1 - 2 hours allows the structure of the bread to fully set. Your patience will be rewarded with perfectly sliced pieces of banana bread.
Other Banana Recipes to Try
- Banana Oatmeal Muffins
- Banana Brownies
- Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Chocolate Chip Banana Bars
- Banana Mini Muffins
If you try this Chocolate Chip Banana Bread recipe please rate the recipe and leave a comment below. Doing so helps other readers decide if this is a great recipe to bake. Don’t forget to tag me on Instagram using @olivesnthyme so I can see what you’re baking! Happy Baking! -M
Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Recipe
Equipment
- 1 9X5 loaf pan
- 1 sheet parchment paper
- 1 - 2 mixing bowls
- 1 whisk and flexible spatula or spoon
Ingredients
- 1½ cups (180 g) all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup (113 g) unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
- ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- ½ cup (100 g) light brown sugar
- 1¼ cup mashed bananas about 3 medium bananas
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 2 teaspoon (10 ml) vanilla extract
- ½ cup (120 g) sour cream, room temperature
- 1 cup mini chocolate chips, divided
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 F (177 C). Line a 9x5 loaf pan with parchment paper, leaving a bit of overhang on two sides.
- In a mixing bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda and salt together until well combined.1½ cups (180 g) all purpose flour , 1 teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon salt
- In another large mixing bowl, whisk the melted butter, granulated sugar and light brown sugar until the mixture turns into a paste like consistency. This can take 1 - 2 minutes of whisking by hand. Whisk in the eggs, mashed bananas and vanilla extract until smooth and well combined. A few lumps of banana are fine.½ cup (113 g) unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled, ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar, ½ cup (100 g) light brown sugar, 1¼ cup mashed bananas , 2 large eggs, room temperature, 2 teaspoon (10 ml) vanilla extract
- Stir the dry ingredients into the wet, alternating with the sour cream in this order (dry, sour cream, dry, sour cream, dry) until just combined. A few streaks of flour are fine. Fold in ¾ cup of chocolate chips. Reserve the remaining chocolate chips for topping.Evenly pour the banana chocolate chip bread batter into the prepared pan. Top with the remaining chocolate chips.½ cup (120 g) sour cream, room temperature, 1 cup mini chocolate chips, divided
- Bake the banana bread for 50 - 65 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the bread comes out with a few moist (not wet or gummy) crumbs. Cool the banana bread in the loaf pan for 15 minutes. Use the parchment sling to lift the bread out of the pan. Fully cool the banana bread for at least an hour at room temperature, slice and enjoy.
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