This Chocolate Chip Banana Bread recipe is ultra moist because I use a secret trick! This banana bread can be made with or without the chocolate chips and is guaranteed to be your new go-to recipe!
Make sure to try my Chocolate Banana Bread too! It’s DOUBLE the chocolate!
My BEST Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Recipe Uses A “Secret” Method
Before you start yawning at yet ANOTHER banana bread recipe, please, please give me a chance to explain. I mean I get it, you’re probably wondering why mine is the best Chocolate Chip Banana Bread? You have your Granny’s recipe that is the best. Or you’ve made my Toasted Coconut Banana Bread and don’t think you need to look any further. But I am not one to leave well enough alone…you know that about me by now. I’ve even claimed to make the BEST Banana Muffins…which, btw are totally THE BEST.
But I will tell you I have officially cracked the banana bread code here. This chocolate chip banana bread that I am sharing with you today is EVERYTHING.
Why is This the BEST Banana Bread?
Let me explain why this is the last banana bread recipe you’ll ever need. First off, it’s outrageously moist (sorry). This recipe has butter as well as sour cream, which not only make it unbelievably soft, they also give great flavor, as opposed to a lot of banana bread recipes that are made with oil. Of course I use walnuts in this recipe, that you can omit if you must, but I urge you not to, at least the first time you make this recipe.
BUT the real secret to this recipe on supreme moistness and banana flavor is…wait for it…SLICED BANANAS. You add some mashed and some thinly sliced. Is your mind blown yet?
Adding the sliced bananas into the bread leaves little pockets of banana that you wouldn’t normally have when it’s mashed. Not enough that it is mushy, that wouldn’t be good… just the exact perfect thing your banana bread has been missing all along. I’m telling you, this is legit.
Ingredients:
- Bananas. This recipe calls for 3 “medium”. This isn’t exact, obviously, which is fine. The only problem you could really run into is if you chose large bananas, which would end up making your bread super dense. If you only have large bananas, you could cut back to 2 – 2 1/2, depending on how big. You will be mashing 2 and slicing 1!
- Melted butter. I like to use butter instead of vegetable oil in my recipe because it adds more flavor!
- Granulated sugar
- Eggs
- Vanilla extract
- Sour cream. You can use full fat or lower fat, the difference in the final outcome is minimal.
- Baking soda
- Kosher salt
- All purpose flour
- Mini chocolate chips. You can use full sized if that’s what you have, I just prefer the smaller chips in this! OR you can leave them out too!
- Chopped walnuts. You can also use pecans, or totally omit the nuts!
One Bowl Instructions!
- Coat a 9×5 loaf pan with nonstick spray. Line the bottom and up the short sides with a strip of parchment paper for easy removal from the pan. Leave a little parchment hanging over the pan so you can easily grab it!
- Mash 2 of the bananas and slice 1. Set the sliced bananas aside.
- In a large bowl stir together the butter and sugar. Mix in the eggs and vanilla and stir until smooth. Add the sour cream, mashed bananas, baking soda, and salt, and stir until blended.
- Add in the flour and mix until incorporated.
- Fold in any chocolate chips and nuts you are using.
- Bake for 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. If the bread is browning too quickly you can loosely tent it with foil to stop the browning.
- Allow the bread to cool in the pan for 15 minutes, and then using the parchment paper as handles, carefully lift the banana bread out of the pan to cool on a wire rack.
Do You Have to Add Nuts to Banana Bread?
Nope! If nuts aren’t your thing, you can absolutely omit them. You can even add in a few extra chocolate chips, or even leave the chocolate chips out! My Banana Bread recipe is a great one to adapt. You can even try adding different flavor combinations of chips and nuts!
What kind of Nuts Should You Add?
You could easily sub in pecans in place of the walnuts in this recipe. I would recommend using a softer nut, like a walnut or pecan, just to keep the texture of the bread at its bread. If you would like to experiment with say, pistachios or peanuts in this recipe, just make sure to chop them!
Can You Freeze Banana Bread?
Yes! Freezing banana bread is a great way to save any extras you might have, or double the recipe and save a loaf for later. Just thaw the banana bread at room temperature, and slice and serve!
How to Reheat Banana Bread
- If you have frozen the bread, then like I said above, let the bread thaw completely first. Next preheat your oven to 350°F, and wrap the loaf in foil. Heat it for 10-15 minutes and it will be as good as new!
- You can also toast slices of leftover banana bread, which is a great way to have a warm individual slice without reheating the whole loaf!
- And yes, certainly you can reheat a slice of banana bread in the microwave, although it’s never the recommended method because it doesn’t heat evenly. BUT, in a pinch heat a slice for 10-12 seconds and it will be good to go!
Even Better the Next Day!
This is amazing warm, right out of the oven. And it’s even more indulgent with a spread of butter.
BUT the thing with this chocolate chip banana bread is that it’s out of control delicious when it’s warm…but it is also SO GOOD the next day! The flavors have a chance to blend together and get really soft and friendly.
Looking for more Banana Bread Recipes? Try these:
PrintThe Best Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
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Prep Time: 10 minutes
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Cook Time: 60 minutes
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Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
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Yield: serves 8 1x
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Category: Bread
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Method: Baking
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Cuisine: Dessert
Description:
This Chocolate Chip Banana Bread recipe is ultra moist because I use a secret trick! This banana bread can be made with or without the chocolate chips and is guaranteed to be your new go-to recipe!
Ingredients:
- 3 medium bananas, divided
- 1/2 cup butter, melted
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
Instructions
1. Prepare your equipment: Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a 9×5 loaf pan with nonstick spray. Line the bottom and up the short sides with a strip of parchment paper. Spray again with nonstick spray. Set aside.
2. Mash some of the banana. In a medium bowl mash 2 of the bananas with a fork, leaving them slightly lumpy. Slice the remaining banana thinly, and set aside.
3. Slice the rest of the bananas.
4. Mix the batter. In a large bowl stir together the butter and sugar. Mix in the eggs and vanilla and stir until smooth. Add the sour cream, mashed bananas, baking soda, and salt, and stir until blended.
5. Add the flour. Next mix in the flour until incorporated.
6. Add mix-ins: Fold in the chocolate chips, walnuts, and sliced banana.
7. Bake. Pour batter into the prepared pan and bake for 50-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
8. Cool and serve. Cool in the pan for 15 minutes, and then using the parchment paper as handles, carefully lift the banana bread out of the pan to cool on a wire rack.
Notes:
store airtight for up to 3 days
Keywords:: banana bread, cookies and cups, banana, chocolate chip, recipe, banana recipe, quick bread, best chocolate banana bread, easy banana bread
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Helpful tip… Out of sour cream? Here’s a great sour cream substitution!
Looks delicious!!! Can I use strawberries instead? Not a big banana fan here.
★★★★★
I’m not sure if strawberries would work. I’d worry they have too much moisture and your bread would be very wet.
Lovely recipe. The cake looks soo yummmm in the pics. I would love to gv it a try. Thank u Shelly for your valuable tips n guidance.
★★★★★
First time making banana bread and this was a bullseye, that was a few months ago and here I am ready to make it again, cheers!
★★★★★
I’ve made this twice and it has been delicious both times! Sent to everyone I know that is a crappy baker – you can’t screw this one up…and I am a really poor baker!
I added a touch of cinnamon the second time and it didn’t seem to affect the recipe too much. I’m wonder about chia seeds? Will it need a bit more moisture or reduce baking time?
★★★★★
Would this work with a bread machine?❤️
I don’t think so, no. This bread is more like a cake.
how much heat in degrees/ Fahrenheit did you use to bake the Banana bread? thankyou
It’s in step one in the recipe 🙂
It actually isn’t, there is a temp for reheating banana bread but no temp for baking. I assume it’s the same though!
Hi Kat… the full recipe is at the bottom of the post 🙂 It’s in a recipe card. The text of the post is just written as a helpful tool to aid in making the banana bread using the full recipe.
I made this with my 13 year old daughter who loves to bake. I have never seen a recipe with sliced bananas! So good. We did sub the walnuts for pecans and used 1/2 the sugar. Great recipe! Make sure to bake it for at least 60 minutes!
★★★★★
Love hearing this!! Thanks for the review and your feedback!
OOOH MY WORD THIS IS THE BEST BANANA BREAD IVE HAD! Yup that’s it.
★★★★★
Hi 🙂 I really love this recipe! Doubled it and made a birthday cake!!
This truly is incredible banana bread! I was a little unsure at the start about adding in the sliced bananas as I’ve never heard of doing that before but it really added an extra layer of deliciousness that sets this recipe apart from others I’ve tried. Next time I need a killer banana bread recipe, I’ll definitely be back to make this again!
★★★★★
I’m usually not a fan of superlatives but this may be the BEST banana bread I’ve ever had. I veganized it (cashew yogurt, flax eggs, peanut butter instead of butter), halved the sugar and replaced with date sugar, and replaced the all-purpose flour with a mix of vital wheat gluten and chickpea flours to up the protein and it was phenomenal. On a bit of a health kick so going to keep experimenting with upping the protein and cutting back the sugar/fat, but this is an incredible base recipe and very versatile! Thank you!!
★★★★★
Thank you so much for the review and your experience making it vegan! I know this info will be super helpful to others!
Made this today, with pecans instead of walnuts, and it is delicious! I will say, it did cave in the middle as another person posted. Also, it took 65 minutes to cook through, and my oven runs hot. I will definitely make this again though. Thank you!
★★★★★
I was so excited to try this and my loaf completely caved in in the middle!! Anyone know what I did wrong?? The
Oh no!! I’ve never heard of that happening with this recipe! Possibly you over-mixed it?
This recipe is delicious and is definitely a keeper! I used greek yogurt with a few squeezes of lemon juice as a sub for sour cream and it came out perfect!
★★★★★
So glad you like it!!
When a recipe ask for a cup of white sugar, I usually use 1/2 cup of white sugar and 1/2 cup of brown sugar and they work very well.