Chocolate Banana Bread Loaf (Printable)

A moist, rich banana loaf with chocolate chips, perfect for breakfast or a flavorful snack.

# What You'll Need:

→ Dry Ingredients

01 - 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
02 - 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
03 - 1 teaspoon baking soda
04 - 1/2 teaspoon salt

→ Wet Ingredients

05 - 3 ripe medium bananas, mashed (about 1 1/4 cups)
06 - 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
07 - 2/3 cup granulated sugar
08 - 2 large eggs
09 - 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

→ Add-ins

10 - 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
11 - Optional: 1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

# Directions:

01 - Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9x5-inch loaf pan and line with parchment paper.
02 - Whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl.
03 - In a large bowl, whisk mashed bananas, melted butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla extract until smooth.
04 - Gently fold dry ingredients into wet mixture until just combined; avoid overmixing.
05 - Fold in chocolate chips and optional nuts evenly throughout the batter.
06 - Pour batter into prepared loaf pan and smooth surface.
07 - Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with moist crumbs.
08 - Cool in pan for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely; slice before serving.

# Expert Tips:

01 -
  • It's foolproof enough to make on a weekday morning, yet impressive enough to bring to a gathering and have people ask for the recipe.
  • The cocoa powder transforms ordinary banana bread into something that tastes like it took way more effort than it actually did.
  • One loaf somehow disappears in a matter of days, whether you're slicing it for breakfast, sneaking pieces at lunch, or dunking it in coffee at midnight.
02 -
  • The batter should be thick and cake-like, not runny; if your bananas were extra wet, the bread might need an extra 5-10 minutes in the oven, and that's perfectly normal.
  • Don't skip the cooling step, no matter how good it smells; cutting into warm bread causes it to crumble and fall apart, but a fully cooled loaf slices like a dream.
  • Overmixing the batter is the most common way to accidentally turn this into a dense, tough loaf, so fold gently and stop as soon as the dry ingredients disappear.
03 -
  • Let your butter cool slightly before mixing it into the bananas; warm butter can begin to cook the eggs, creating an unpleasant texture.
  • Use a toothpick or cake tester rather than a knife to check doneness, as a knife drags out bigger crumbs and gives a false reading of how done the bread actually is.

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