Chocolate chip banana bread for breakfast, lunch and dinner, can we all agree on that? After you bake this sweet, delicious bread, I think we can. After all, who doesn’t love a bread made with only ripe bananas and pantry ingredients? Yeah, this is a chocolate chip banana bread recipe with no eggs or any animal ingredient.
I’ll start saying that the only real secret to this bread is making it with ripe bananas. The ripest, the better. That banana so overripe you thought its only future was a trash can? Perfect for this cake. The ones I used to bake the one you can see in all photos were soft and pale brown inside, and these are the bananas you want for this cake.
So now, if you want to keep reading, you’ll find everything else I have to say about this piece of heaven. But if you don’t, feel free to skip directly to the recipe - I wouldn't wait any second more to bake this beauty, trust me.
Ripe bananas are the only real secret here, but…
But I have to tell you if you want the super moist, slightly underbaked texture so many of you love, you need to take this bread out of the oven while the toothpick comes out with some crumbles on it.
I always test for doneness after 35 minutes with this recipe, and if I want it super moist, I’ll take out of my oven usually between 40 to 42 minutes. Most of the time, after 35 minutes the toothpick still comes out with some batter on it. But after 40 minutes it’s usually done in my oven.
So if it’s your first time doing my chocolate chip banana bread, stick a toothpick into the center to check if it’s ready. If by any chance you left a few minutes more, don’t worry: it will still be far from overcooked. Just take it out of the oven and place it into a cooling rack as soon as your toothpick comes out clean.
Let’s talk about chocolate chips
I’m all about recipes where I can throw and throw chocolate chips. As a chocolate addict, they’re never enough for me! The bread you see in the photos has only half a cup - sorry, I was low on chips that day. But I ask for a whole cup on this recipe, because that’s how I baked this bread the second time I did it - and I love it.
You can adjust the amount of chocolate as you like it, replace its dark version with all white, or mix half cup of white chips, half of semi-sweet chocolate chips. You can even add some peanut butter chips, as peanut butter goes insanely well with bananas.
Just remember, for this banana bread to still be vegan, you need to get vegan chips. And as we're talking about chocolate…
Don’t skip the chocolate streusel
Should I call it streusel? Maybe crumble? Crisp? The name matters less here: just don’t skip it. This crispy crust of chocolate deliciousness is all that was missing in all my previous banana breads. Now I have the tenderness of the banana batter, the melted chocolate chips and a crisp chocolate on the top that makes every bite even more addictive!
Best chocolate chip banana bread ever, I can truly say.
So, how do you bake this banana bread?
You’ll need 2 bowls, a fork to mash your bananas and a spoon or spatula to mix everything together. You’ll find the complete instructions on the recipe card, so here I’ll just make 3 quick reminders.
Regarding the bananas: usually I only need 2 bananas to bake this banana bread, probably because this is a lucky number in this house. There’s always 2 overripe bananas that Hubby forgot to eat on time. But what I want to say here is: you have to mash them, and then measure 1 cup of mashed bananas, ok?
Regarding the batter: This batter is thick, more a banana dough than batter - after all, it’s called banana bread, right? So when spreading into the prepared loaf pan, you may need the help of a spatula/spoon. Spread evenly.
Regarding oven and pan: Loaf pan is my choice for baking this recipe, but I’m pretty sure a small round cake pan works as well. Although you can grease your loaf pan only, lining it with parchment paper makes it easier to pull the bread out. Leave about 3 inches of it overhang to make it easier to pull after baking. Bake on middle rack and don’t be tempted to bake at a higher temperature than the recommended on the recipe card.
And we’re done here! Now you're free to bake the best ever chocolate chip banana bread - finally!
More Vegan Options for your Breakfast
Apple Bread
Banana Bread Granola
Sourdough Discard Tortillas
Best Sourdough Pancakes
Cold Brew Coffee
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Best Ever Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
Chocolate chip banana bread for breakfast, lunch and dinner, can we all agree on that? After you bake this sweet, delicious bread, I think we can. After all, who doesn’t love a bread made with only ripe bananas and pantry ingredients? Yeah, this is a chocolate chip banana bread recipe with no eggs or any animal ingredient.
Ingredients
Chocolate Crumbs
- ½ stick (60g) margarine
- ¼ cup + 2 tbsp brown sugar
- ¼ cup + 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 1 tbsp cocoa powder
Banana Bread
- ½ cup brown sugar, packed
- 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- ⅓ tsp salt
- ½ cup canola oil
- 1 cup mashed bananas (about 2 to 2 ½ medium to large bananas)
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 325°F for about 15 minutes, rack in the middle. Line a 9x5-inch loaf pan with cooking spray or parchment paper.
- For the chocolate crumble, in a bowl stir together the brown sugar, all-purpose flour and cocoa powder. Add margarine and mix with your hands, a fork, or a pastry cutter, until crumbs are formed.
- For the banana bread batter, use a spoon to stir together brown sugar, all-purpose flour, baking powder and salt. Add the canola oil and mashed bananas and mix only until batter is formed and no dry spots are seen.
- Add the chocolate chips and mix only until incorporated.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread it evenly with the help of a spoon. Add the chocolate crumbs all over the top.
- Bake on 325°F for 40 to 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few crumbs attached.
- Allow to cool for about 15 minutes in the pan before transferring to a cooling rack. Try to let it cool completely before slicing - but I won’t judge you if you don’t.
Notes
You can substitute all-purpose flour for whole wheat flour, as well as brown sugar for granulated sugar. Canola oil can also be substituted for vegetable oil, almond oil or sunflower oil.
If you prefer less chocolate, you can add only ½ cup of chocolate chips. You can substitute chocolate chips for white chocolate chips, or mix both, ½ cup each. Peanut butter chips are also a good fit for this recipe.
If stored in an airtight container at room temperature, this banana bread will keep moist for up to 4 days. You can opt to freeze it, but the crumble will no longer be crispy when reheated.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
12Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 276Total Fat: 14gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 10gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 191mgCarbohydrates: 38gFiber: 2gSugar: 19gProtein: 3g
Karen
Nothing better than chocolate and bananas - and lovely photos!
Milk and Pop
Agreed! Thank you, Karen! 😀