If you’re like me and sometimes find some forgotten overripe bananas hidden on the counter, the perfect way to put them to good use is this chocolate chip banana bread recipe! This loaf is so wonderfully moist and full of sweet banana flavor. It will be the only banana bread with chocolate chips recipe you’ll ever need.
Whether you plan on enjoying this loaf for breakfast or as an afternoon snack, this banana bread tends to disappear fast off the counter. So it’s a good thing this loaf comes together quickly and easily. Simply mix the ingredients in a mixing bowl, then transfer to a pan and bake! You’ll have this loaf ready in no time. If you want another easy bread recipe, then try my apple bread, chocolate zucchini bread, or classic banana bread.
What You Need to Make This Recipe
Leavening agents — make sure the baking soda and baking powder are fresh. You should switch out old baking soda and powder every six months or so. Using expired baking soda or baking powder can lead to disappointing results.
Sugar — you can use brown or granulated sugar for this recipe! Or, do half and half. I like to do a mix if I’m not serving the entire loaf immediately because the brown sugar helps keep the banana bread moist for longer.
Butter — like most baking recipes, this chocolate chip studded banana bread uses unsalted butter. You use unsalted butter as the amount of salt in salted butter can vary from brand to brand, so using unsalted butter and measuring out salt to add to the batter, allows us to control the amount of salt added.
Eggs — bring the eggs to room temperature so they mix into the batter more seamlessly! Cold eggs require a little more mixing, and you don’t want to overmix the batter.
Vanilla — real vanilla extract is preferred as the flavor is better than artificial extract. Check out my homemade vanilla extract recipe if you want to try to make some at home!
Bananas — you need overripe bananas to make the best banana bread, as they’re extra soft, easy to mash, and sweet! Your banana bread will be so much more flavorful with spotty overripe bananas than if you used yellow bananas. If you have overripe bananas but don’t want to make this banana bread with chocolate chips just yet, peel and freeze the bananas until ready to use.
Chocolate chips — I use semi-sweet chocolate chips, but you can use your favorite type of chocolate chip or even chocolate chunks. Not a huge fan of chocolate chips? Try my regular banana bread recipe.
How to Make Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
1. Whisk together the all purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl.
2 In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the sugar and butter together on medium-high speed until fluffy and pale in color.
3. Mix in the eggs one at a time, stop and scrape down the bowl, then beat in the vanilla extract. Mix in the mashed bananas.
4. With the mixer on low, add the dry ingredients and mix together until almost combined.
5. Reserve a handful of the chocolate chips and stir the rest into the batter.
6. Pour the batter into a greased 9×5-inch loaf pan, and sprinkle the extra chocolate chips on top. Bake for 60 minutes. Let cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then remove and finish cooling on a wire rack.
Pro Tips for Making This Recipe
- Be careful not to overmix the batter! Overmixing can create a dense and tough loaf of banana bread as it develops the gluten in the batter. Mix just until the wet ingredients and dry ingredients are combined to ensure a super moist chocolate chip banana bread. Overmixing can also cause the center of the bread to sink.
- Sugar plays a significant role in ensuring the bread stays moist over time. I don’t recommend changing the amount of sugar added to the banana bread.
- You can mash the super ripe bananas until smooth or leave some chunks in there for more texture in the bread.
- Ovens and the material of baking pans can vary, so the baking time might vary a little. If you’re concerned, you can use a skewer or toothpick inserted into the center of the banana bread to check if the bread is done right before the 60-minute mark. It should come out pretty clean or with just a few crumbs on it.
- Allowing the banana bread with chocolate chips to cool before slicing will help the slices hold their shape. The bread may be crumbly when straight out of the oven.
- To measure your flour correctly, I recommend using a scale. If you do not have a scale, spoon the flour into the measuring cup, then level it off with a knife. If you scoop directly from the bag of flour, you will overpack the measuring cup and get too much flour, leading to a dense loaf.
- If you’re wondering if you could turn this into a chocolate chip banana muffins recipe, I recommend you check out my super easy banana chocolate chip muffins recipe!
Frequently Asked Questions
If your bananas aren’t ripe enough to mash, place the bananas on a baking sheet and bake at 350°F for about 10 minutes or until the skin blackens and the bananas are soft. Allow the bananas to cool a bit before peeling them to mash.
If you have some almost ripe bananas and a little extra time, you can break apart your bananas and store them in a closed paper bag, and the ethylene they naturally emit will ripen them quicker.
It’s best to store banana bread at room temperature on the counter, as the cold air from the fridge can dry it out. Cover the bread with plastic wrap or transfer it to an airtight container. This chocolate chip banana loaf will keep for up to 4 days on the counter.
Yes, you can freeze this bread! Wrap the entire loaf or individual slices tightly in plastic before transferring them to a freezer-safe bag. Freeze for up to three months. When ready to eat, you can remove the slices from the freezer bag and thaw at room temperature.
If you love this recipe try these out!
If you’ve tried this Chocolate Chip Banana Bread recipe, then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you!
Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
Video
Equipment
- 9×5″ Loaf pan
- Mixing Bowls
- Electric hand or stand mixer
- Wire cooling rack
Ingredients
- 1¾ cups all-purpose flour (210g)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup sugar (150g)
- ½ cup unsalted butter room temperature (113g)
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla (5ml)
- 3 very ripe bananas mashed (1 1/2 cups)
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (180g)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F (180C). Grease a 9×5-inch loaf pan with baking spray.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the sugar and butter together on medium-high speed until fluffy and pale in color, about 3 minutes.
- Mix in the eggs one at a time, stop and scrape down the bowl, then beat in the vanilla extract. Mix in the mashed bananas. (I like to mash the bananas with a fork so they are still a bit chunky.)
- With the mixer on low, add the dry ingredients and mix together until almost combined.
- Reserve a handful of the chocolate chips and stir the rest into the batter. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan, and sprinkle the reserved chocolate chips on top.
- Bake for 60 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Let cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then remove and finish cooling on a wire rack.
Notes
- Be careful not to overmix the batter! Overmixing can create a dense and tough loaf of banana bread as it develops the gluten in the batter. Mix just until the wet and dry ingredients are combined to ensure a super moist loaf. Overmixing can also cause the center of the bread to sink.
- Sugar plays a significant role in ensuring the bread stays moist over time. I don’t recommend changing the amount of sugar added to the banana bread.
- You can mash the ripe bananas until smooth or leave some chunks in there for more texture in the bread.
- Ovens and the material of baking pans can vary, so the baking time might vary a little. If you’re concerned, you can use a skewer or toothpick to check if the bread is done right before the 60-minute mark. It should come out pretty clean or with just a few crumbs on it.
- Allowing the banana bread with chocolate chips to cool before slicing will help the slices hold their shape. The bread may be crumbly when straight out of the oven.
- To measure your flour correctly, I recommend using a scale. If you do not have a scale, spoon the flour into the measuring cup, then level it off with a knife. If you scoop directly from the bag of flour, you will overpack the measuring cup and get too much flour, leading to a dense loaf.
- If you’re wondering if you could turn this into a chocolate chip banana bread muffin recipe, I recommend you check out my super easy banana chocolate chip muffins recipe!
Bharti Chandarana says
Hi John
I have made this receipe for the
Third time.. my family love it and so do I, I have made quite a few of your recipes and want to say thank you, love your videos, your method and just thank you for sharing this amazing receipe.
Martha says
AWESOME!!!! Thank you!
Pumpkin says
John, I have recently discovered your page. Today I tried out this delicious recipe. You truly rock! Best choc chip banana bread recipe ever. Keep it up!
John Kanell says
Thank you!
Naomi Gamis says
thank you PreppyKitchen (JohnK) i made 1pan for trial then the next day i made 6pan to sell it to my relatives and friends.
Ashwini Chawathe says
I tried this recipe with walnuts and it was just divine, my entire family went nuts over it… It has been my go to recipe for banana Bread ever since
Also I love how you leave your bloopers in the video
Much much love from India
Rineva Maja says
This is the best chocolate chip banana bread i have ever tried. The only thing i changed less sugar (100gr brown sugar in total) , 100gr melted butter and 180 gr chocolate chips :)).
Perfect!!!
Thanks John for your amazing recipes!
Camille C Tamayo says
Thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! it turned out great. much Love!!
Meaghan says
I made this recipe once before and it was a HUGE hit! Actually, anything I make of yours is a huge hit:)
I just have some questions now that I am coming back to make this recipe again. When do you add the vanilla extract? I notice its an ingredient but it doesn’t say when to add it in the recipe. Also, should we follow the recipe and mix the yogurt with the bananas or follow the top where you mash the bananas without the yogurt? I see you posted a video that might answer these questions but it won’t load for some reason.
Thank you!
John Kanell says
Vanilla can go in with the egg, corrected that part, thanks! Either way with the bananas will work,
Vidhya Raghavan says
Chef John Kanell, big fan here! I love your videos and recipes! I made this Chocolate chip banana bread last week and it was a super-hit! My friends and my husband absolutely loved it. It tasted more yummier the next day. This will be my go-to banana bread recipe! Thank you so much!
Debbi S. says
I made this today and it is now my go-to banana bread! It is delicious!! Thanks John!❤️?❤️
Kavitha Sebastian says
I baked this beautiful banana bread today, and it turned out absolutely amazing! Thank you so much for this brilliant recipe.