Moist Chocolate Banana Bread

Name: Double Chocolate Banana Bread
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 100 min
Total time: 115 min
Ingredients: 2 cups mashed bananas (about 4-5 ripe bananas); ¾ cup (161g) brown sugar; ½ cup (113g) unsalted butter (1 stick, melted (can substitute olive oil or coconut oil)); 2 large eggs (room temperature); 1 tsp vanilla extract; 2 cups (240g) all purpose flour; ½ cup (42g) unsweetened cocoa powder; 2 tsp baking powder; 1/2 tsp baking soda; ½ tsp salt; ¾ cup (129g) semi-sweet chocolate chips (plus more for topping the bread)

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Find out why my chocolate banana bread is loved by so many families! This moist, flavorful bread is loaded with rich chocolate chips.

Three slices of chocolate banana bread on wooden cutting board

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The bread turns out so amazing, my family loved it!! It’s so moist and rich in flavour!!
-Zara

I have been making banana bread for as long as I can remember, and over the years I have tweaked my recipe to the point where I have to say, it’s pretty perfect!

If you can’t resist making banana bread whenever you have over-ripe bananas on hand, this Chocolate Banana Bread is the perfect recipe to jazz up your next loaf. It’s moist and full of banana flavor just like the classic, but the addition of cocoa powder and chocolate chips takes it up a notch!

Keep reading for all my best banana bread tips and tricks!

Like all of the best banana bread recipes, this one is a cinch to make; mix your wet ingredients and your dry ingredients, combine them, and you’re good to go. Add a scoop of ice cream or Peanut Butter Whipped Cream for a crowd-pleasing dessert, or keep it simple and enjoy a slice for a quick afternoon pick-me-up with this homemade pink drink recipe.

Either way, this Chocolate Banana Bread recipe is going to become a fast favorite!

Chocolate Banana Bread Ingredients

Scroll down to the recipe card below this post for ingredient quantities and full instructions.

Ripe bananas
Brown sugar
Unsalted butter – Olive oil or melted coconut oil can be used in place of the butter.
Eggs – Let the eggs come to room temperature before you start the recipe.
Vanilla extract
All-purpose flour
Unsweetened cocoa powder – Be sure to use unsweetened cocoa powder, not cocoa mix.
Baking powder
Baking soda
Salt
Semi-sweet chocolate chips – You’ll need some for the batter and some for topping the loaf.

4 photos showing process of making chocolate banana bread

How to Make Banana Chocolate Bread

Here’s what you’ll need to do to make this moist, decadent banana bread recipe.

Prepare. Preheat your oven to 350ºF and grease or line a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan with parchment paper.

Mash the bananas. Place the bananas in a large mixing bowl and mash them with a fork or potato masher. A few chunks are okay, but the bananas should be mostly smooth; if you prefer, you can pulse the bananas in a blender instead of mashing them by hand.

Mix the wet ingredients. Add the sugar, melted butter, eggs, and vanilla extract to the bowl with the mashed bananas. Use a hand mixer on low speed to mix until combined.

Mix the dry ingredients. In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Slowly mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, then fold in the chocolate chips.

Bake. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and scatter additional chocolate chips over the top of the batter, if desired. Bake for 60 minutes, then check the bread and add additional time in 5 or 10 minute increments, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out mostly clean.

Cool and serve. Let the loaf cool for 15 minutes in the loaf pan, then it transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.

Three slices of chocolate banana bread on cutting board

Chocolate Banana Bread Recipe Tips

This Chocolate Banana Bread recipe is fairly straightforward, but these additional hints and tips will help make sure it turns out perfect.

Measure the mashed banana. After you’ve mashed the banana, measure it. Bananas vary in size, and adding too much or too little can affect the texture of your banana bread.
Tent the bread if needed. Sometimes banana bread can trick you; it can look done on the outside but still be doughy in the middle. That’s when tenting the bread with aluminum foil comes in handy. It protects the top from becoming too brown, overcooked, or crusty.
Know your loaf pan. The baking time for this recipe is a large range because every oven if different and various loaf pans bake at different rates. There are two popular loaf pan sizes, 9×5 and 8.5×4.5, and although the numbers are similar, the pans actually differ in size by 15%. The 8.5×4.5 pan will yield a taller, more domed bread and will take 5-10 minutes longer when baking.

Sliced loaf of chocolate banana bread on cutting board

Loaf of chocolate banana bread on cutting board with one slice cut

How to Store Moist Chocolate Banana Bread

Wrap the loaf tightly or place it in an airtight container. Chocolate Banana Bread will keep at room temperature for up to 4 days. Banana bread will dry out in the fridge, so it’s best to keep it on the counter!

Can you freeze chocolate banana bread?

Yes, you can freeze this Chocolate Banana Bread for up to 3 months. Wrap it tightly, or store it in an airtight container or freezer bag. When you’re ready to serve it, let it thaw at room temperature.

Slice of chocolate banana bread on plate with bite taken out of corner

Double Chocolate Banana Bread Recipe FAQs

Can Bananas Be Too Ripe for Banana Bread?

No, unless the banana is completely liquefied or moldy, it’s not too ripe for banana bread! The darker the better; your bananas should at least have lots of black and brown spots, but bananas that are more brown than yellow are best of all.
Not only do darker bananas lend more sweetness to this Chocolate Banana Bread recipe, they also have a more pronounced banana flavor. A banana that’s still yellow with streaks of green has a bland flavor that yields a lackluster banana bread.

What Makes Banana Bread Moist?

Bananas make banana bread naturally moist, but if your loaf turns out dry, there are two likely culprits.
First, it’s possible that you didn’t add enough mashed banana; this is why it’s so important to measure it. Second, you may have added too much flour to the recipe. Use the spoon-and-sweep method to make sure your flour measurements are accurate.