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Chocolate Chip Banana Bread is the ultimate use for those spotty bananas on your counter, ultra-moist and tender with melty chocolate chips in every slice. I bake a loaf on a lazy Sunday morning and Maddie and Lizzie devour the warm end pieces first. It is just as cozy as a batch of our banana nut muffins.
Sour cream and ripe bananas keep this quick bread incredibly soft and moist, and it comes together in one bowl with no mixer skills required.
Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Quick Look
- 🕒 Prep Time: 10 minutes
- 🌡️ Cook Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
- ⏳ Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- 🍽️ Serving: 12 servings
- ⚡ Calories: 366kcal
- 🌶️ Flavor Profile: Moist, sweet, and banana-rich with pockets of melty chocolate
- ✋ Difficulty: Easy, as simple as our banana bundt cake
Quick Answer
The secret to moist Chocolate Chip Banana Bread is using very ripe, spotty bananas plus sour cream, which adds richness and tenderness. Cream the butter and brown sugar, beat in the eggs, sour cream, mashed bananas, and vanilla, then mix in the dry ingredients and fold in the chocolate chips. Bake at 350 degrees until a toothpick comes out clean.
Jump to:
- Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Quick Look
- Quick Answer
- Why This Recipe Works
- Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Key Ingredients
- Variations and Substitutions
- How to Make Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
- Recipe Tips & Tricks
- Serving Ideas and Suggestions
- Chocolate Chip Banana Bread FAQs
- Other Recommended Easy Banana Recipes
- Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
Why This Recipe Works
Click to see the technique science
- Ripe bananas add moisture and flavor. Very spotty, overripe bananas are sweeter and softer, giving the bread natural sweetness and that classic banana flavor.
- Sour cream makes it extra tender. A scoop of sour cream adds richness and moisture, keeping the crumb soft for days.
- Brown sugar deepens the flavor. Using brown sugar instead of white adds a touch of caramel-like richness and keeps the bread moist.
- Flouring the chips keeps them suspended. Tossing the chocolate chips in a little flour first stops them from sinking to the bottom of the loaf.
- One bowl, no fuss. The batter comes together quickly with simple steps, so there is minimal cleanup and no special equipment needed.
- It freezes beautifully. This bread freezes well whole or sliced, so you can always have a cozy treat on hand.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- It is the best way to use up ripe bananas and turns them into something everyone in the house fights over.
- It is ultra-moist and tender, much like our banana cream cheese muffins.
- It is freezer-friendly and make-ahead, perfect for busy mornings and lunchbox treats.
Key Ingredients
Simple pantry and fridge staples plus ripe bananas make the best banana bread. Here are the ones that matter most.
- Ripe bananas: Use very spotty, overripe bananas for the sweetest flavor and the most moisture.
- Mini chocolate chips: Mini chips spread chocolate throughout every bite, toss them in flour so they do not sink.
- Sour cream: A little sour cream is the secret to an extra moist, tender crumb.
- Brown sugar: Brown sugar adds moisture and a deeper, caramel-like sweetness.
- Butter: Softened butter creams with the sugar for a rich, flavorful loaf.
See recipe card for exact quantities.
Variations and Substitutions
This banana bread is easy to make your own:
- Add nuts: Fold in a half cup of chopped walnuts or pecans for crunch alongside the chocolate.
- Make muffins: Divide the batter into a muffin tin and bake for 18 to 22 minutes instead.
- Swap the chocolate: Use white chocolate, dark chocolate, or peanut butter chips in place of the mini chips.
- Add a swirl: Swirl a few spoonfuls of peanut butter or Nutella through the batter before baking.
How to Make Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and grease a 9×5 loaf pan. Toss the chocolate chips with 1 tablespoon of the flour, then whisk the remaining flour, baking soda, and salt together in a bowl.
- Cream the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy, then beat in the eggs one at a time. Mix in the sour cream, mashed bananas, and vanilla, then stir in the dry ingredients until just combined.
- Gently fold the flour-coated chocolate chips into the batter, being careful not to overmix.
- Spread the batter into the prepared loaf pan and sprinkle a few more chips on top. Bake for 60 to 65 minutes, loosely tenting with foil at the 30-minute mark, until a toothpick comes out clean.
Recipe Tips & Tricks
- Use the spottiest bananas you have, the riper they are, the sweeter and more moist your bread will be.
- Toss the chips in flour first so they stay suspended in the batter instead of sinking to the bottom.
- Do not overmix the batter, stir just until the flour disappears to keep the bread tender.
- Tent with foil at the halfway point so the top does not get too dark before the center is done.
- Test with a toothpick, it should come out clean or with a few moist crumbs, not wet batter.
- Cool before slicing, let the loaf rest at least 10 minutes so it sets up and slices cleanly.
Serving Ideas and Suggestions
This chocolate chip banana bread is perfect warm from the oven with a pat of butter and a hot cup of coffee. Slice it for breakfast, an afternoon snack, or dessert alongside our banana nut muffins and double chocolate muffins.
For an extra-special treat, warm a slice and add a smear of chocolate cream cheese frosting or a scoop of vanilla ice cream. It is also wonderful toasted with butter or turned into French toast for a decadent weekend brunch.
Wrap leftover slices and tuck them into lunchboxes, or freeze the loaf for later. However you serve it, this moist, chocolate-studded banana bread never lasts long in our house.
Chocolate Chip Banana Bread FAQs
The riper the better. Look for bananas that are heavily speckled with brown spots or even mostly brown. Overripe bananas are softer, sweeter, and mash easily, which gives the bread the best banana flavor and the moistest texture. Green or barely-yellow bananas are too starchy and bland.
Dry banana bread usually comes from too much flour, overbaking, or not enough banana. Spoon and level your flour instead of scooping, use very ripe bananas, and start checking for doneness a few minutes early. The sour cream in this recipe also helps keep it moist, so do not skip it.
Toss the chocolate chips in about a tablespoon of the flour before folding them into the batter. The light flour coating helps suspend the chips throughout the loaf instead of letting them sink to the bottom. Using mini chips also helps because they are lighter than full-size chips.
Store the cooled bread wrapped tightly or in an airtight container at room temperature for up to four days. For longer storage, keep it in the fridge for up to a week. Because of the chocolate and sour cream, it stays moist and delicious for days.
Yes, banana bread freezes wonderfully. Wrap the cooled loaf, whole or sliced, tightly in plastic wrap and foil and freeze for up to three months. Thaw at room temperature or warm individual slices in the microwave. Freezing slices makes it easy to grab a quick treat.
Absolutely. Divide the batter into a lined muffin tin, filling each cup about two-thirds full, and bake at 350 degrees for 18 to 22 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. This makes about 12 to 15 muffins, perfect for grab-and-go breakfasts and lunchboxes.
Love a sweet bake? Try our baked chocolate chip cake donuts or a lemon blueberry coffee cake next.
Love a chocolate chip bake? Our chocolate chip banana bread is moist and easy.
Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
Ingredients
- 1 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup light brown sugar packed
- 8 Tablespoons unsalted butter softened
- 2 large eggs room temp
- 1/3 cup sour cream room temp
- 2 cups mashed ripe bananas about 5 medium bananas
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a 9×5 loaf pan with baking spray, set aside. Toss the chocolate chips with 1 tablespoon of the flour in a small bowl, set aside.
- In a large bowl stir together the remaining flour, baking soda, and salt, set aside.
- Cream together the brown sugar and butter for about 3 minutes in a stand mixer or with a hand mixer, until light and fluffy. Add in the eggs one at a time, beating them into the mixture before adding the next. Add the sour cream, bananas, and vanilla, mix until combined.
- Using a large spoon slowly mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, stir until no flour pockets remain but do not over mix. Fold in the chocolate chips.
- Spread the batter into the prepared loaf plan. Sprinkle some more chocolate chips on top for a pretty presentation. Bake for 60-65 minutes, loosely covering the bread at the 30-minute mark with foil. This will make sure the bread doesn’t get too dark. Bread is done when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Take the bread out of the oven and let cool for 10 minutes on a wire rack in the pan. Remove the bread from the pan and let cool, slice, and serve warm or at room temperature.
Notes
- This recipe is adapted from Sally’s Baking Addiction.
- Chocolate chips are completely optional in this recipe, if you are not a fan you can leave them out.
- Use really ripe bananas to get the best banana flavor you can.
- This can be frozen, see my tips above.
- Double this recipe to serve more people or to store for later consumption.
- You can use any type of chocolate that you’d like, see my tips above.
Nutrition
Love This Recipe?
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Wow, yum! This looks amazing. Pinned and will be trying very soon.
Oooh! I love banana bread and this seems like such a super fun twist on it! What a great idea!! Thanks for linking up to Snickerdoodle Sunday!
That banana bread looks amazing!
this does look moist, and I have yet to meet a banana bread I did not like! especially with chocolate