This chocolate chip banana bread is so incredibly tender it almost eats like cake, and it's made with premium Lindt dark chocolate instead of the semisweet chips from a bag. The dark chocolate is a straight one-to-one swap, so regular chips still work, but the chunks melt into satisfying slivers and pools of real chocolate in every slice. It's a chocolate chip banana bread recipe worth saving!
Jump to:
- Why You Can Trust This Recipe
- Why You'll Love This Dark Chocolate Chunk Banana Bread
- Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Ingredients
- Choosing the Best Chocolate for Banana Bread
- How to Make Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
- Ways to Customize Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
- Chocolate Chip Banana Bread FAQs
- More Easy Quick Bread Recipes?
- 📖 Recipe
- Food Safety
Why You Can Trust This Recipe
The base for this recipe comes from the classic banana bread we used to make from my former assistant pastry chef days, but includes a premium chocolaty twist. Using high-quality 70% Lindt dark chocolate instead of regular chocolate chips is the easiest way to upgrade an average chocolate chip banana bread. This banana bread with chocolate chips is the best I've ever made!
Why You'll Love This Dark Chocolate Chunk Banana Bread
- Premium 70% dark chocolate instead of ordinary chocolate chips
- Dark chocolate chunks you can actually bite into, no little chips with added stabilizers in the ingredients
- The crumb is in between banana bread and banana cake (super tender!)
- A one-to-one swap, so you can make banana bread with chocolate chips of any kind
- The same batter makes chocolate chip banana bread muffins
Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Ingredients
You only need 10 ingredients to make this chocolate chip banana bread, and that includes the salt.
- flour
- baking soda
- salt
- butter
- sugar
- eggs
- pure vanilla extract
- buttermilk (or faux buttermilk, see the recipe card notes)
- overripe bananas
- 70% Lindt dark chocolate, chopped into chunks (or regular chocolate chips, one-to-one)
Find the full ingredient measurements in the recipe card.
Choosing the Best Chocolate for Banana Bread
The base here is my classic banana bread, so for the full method, you'll want to use overripe (deeply spotted to black) bananas, room-temperature ingredients, and mix the ingredients without overworking the batter. See my bakery-style banana bread recipe for the full details. What makes this version different is the premium chocolate.
- Use chocolate you'd happily eat on its own. A chopped 70% dark chocolate bar is what we love, but you can use 50-60% as well. It melts into pools and creates a balanced bite. Bagged chips hold their shape but taste flatter.
- Chop it into uneven chunks. You get slivers, shards, and pockets of chocolate instead of uniform chips, which, for us, is more satisfying to eat.
Types of Chocolate for Banana Bread
The cacao percentage tells you how much of the bar came from the cacao bean. The higher the number, the less sugar and the more chocolate flavor. Percentages vary a lot between brands, so the label is your best guide.
| Type | Cacao | In banana bread |
|---|---|---|
| Milk chocolate | 10%+ | Sweetest and mildest. Chocolate stays in the background |
| Semisweet chips | ~35 to 60% | The familiar chip taste. Holds its shape (added lecithin stabilizers) |
| Bittersweet or dark | 60%+ | Deeper, less sweet. Stands up to the bananas |
| 70% dark bar (my pick) | 70% | Intense and barely sweet. Melts into slivers and pools |
| Unsweetened | ~100% | Bitter. Not a swap, it has no sugar |
There is one real difference between a chopped bar and a bag of chips, and it isn't just quality. Chips are made with less cocoa butter and usually contain added lecithin, so they keep their shape in the oven.
A chopped bar has nothing holding it back, so it melts, but if the chunks are big enough, they firm up when the bread cools. That's why you get pools of firmed-up chocolate from a bar and neat little chips from a bag. Both work here. One is just more fun to eat, in our opinion!
How to Make Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
Chocolate chip banana bread comes together quickly, and it's a good recipe to get kids into the kitchen to help with.
Step 1. Preheat oven to 350°F/176°C and prep the loaf pans. Generously butter two loaf pans. Add about ½ cup of flour to one pan and turn the pan while tapping it so the flour coats every surface. Tap the excess into the second pan and repeat, then tap out any extra and set aside.
Step 2. Whisk together the dry ingredients. Whisk thoroughly so everything is evenly distributed; set aside.
Step 3. Cream the butter and sugar. Using a handheld mixer (or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment), cream on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
Step 4. Add the eggs and vanilla. Crack the eggs into a small prep bowl and add the vanilla. With the mixer on medium-low, add the eggs one at a time, waiting about 5 seconds between each and blending just until incorporated. All three should take no longer than 15 seconds. Turn off the mixer.
Step 5. Add the flour mixture and buttermilk. Add about half the flour mixture and mix on low to gently incorporate. With the mixer running, add about ⅓ of the buttermilk, then more flour, then another ⅓ of the buttermilk, then the last of the flour, ending with the last of the buttermilk. Turn off the mixer and gently stir to finish combining.
Step 6. Add the bananas and chocolate chunks. Add the mashed bananas and chopped chocolate and gently stir with a rubber spatula until just combined, or hold some of the chocolate back to scatter over the top. Divide the batter evenly between the two pans and tap each on the counter about 10 times to release air bubbles.
Step 7. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, until the tops are golden brown and a cake tester comes out clean from the middle of each loaf. Cool in the pans for 15 minutes, then turn the loaves out right-side-up onto a rack to cool to room temperature before slicing.
Find the full banana bread with chocolate chips recipe in the recipe card below.
Ways to Customize Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
This recipe is built on my bakery-style banana bread recipe, so it takes add-ins well. A few ways to use it or change it up:
- use it to make chocolate chip banana bread French toast
- add up to 1 cup of toasted nuts (walnuts, pecans, hazelnuts, or pistachios)
- swap the dark chocolate for milk chocolate and coconut to make an Almond Joy-inspired coconut chocolate chip banana bread
Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Muffins
You can bake this same batter as chocolate chip banana bread muffins. Line a muffin pan with paper or foil liners, fill each cup about three-quarters full, and bake at 350°F/176°C for 20 to 25 minutes, until set and a cake tester comes out clean. They bake up with a flat, cupcake-style top, and they freeze just as well as the loaves.
Chocolate Chip Banana Bread FAQs
Yes. It's a one-to-one swap, so use the same amount of semisweet or milk chocolate chips. The bread will be sweeter, and you'll get chips that hold their shape instead of melted pools of chocolate. Either way, it's the best banana bread recipe with chocolate chips
Heavier chunks tend to settle. Toss the chopped chocolate in a little of the flour before folding it in, or hold some back and scatter it over the top of the batter once it's in the pans.
That depends on how chocolaty you want it. For just a hint of chocolate in each slice, or for a lighter version, use as little as ¼ cup of chopped chocolate or chocolate chips. That's about 4 squares off a 100g Lindt Excellence bar. For an intense chocolate chip banana bread, go up to a full cup, which is about 170g, or a bar and a half plus a couple of squares. I use the full cup.
Yes. Cool the loaves completely, wrap in parchment and then cling film, and place in an airtight freezer bag or container. Defrost overnight in the refrigerator or for a couple of hours on the counter.
Having trouble with your banana bread? My bakery-style banana bread recipe covers common problems in detail, including dense or tough loaves, loaves that sink in the middle, dry bread, and a bitter aftertaste.
More Easy Quick Bread Recipes?
A few of our favorite banana and pumpkin bread recipes.
Made this Recipe? I'd love for you to rate ⭐️ it and tell us what you think! Your feedback is helpful to our other readers!
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Print📖 Recipe
Dark Chocolate Chunk Banana Bread (Super Moist)
- Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Yield: Two 8x8-inch Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Loaves
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
A delicious chocolate chip banana bread made with premium chopped 70% Lindt dark chocolate instead of chips. So tender it almost eats like cake, with pools of real chocolate in every slice!
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour (260g)*see notes for correctly measuring flour below
- 1 teaspoon baking soda (6g)
- 1 teaspoon + ¼ teaspoon kosher salt (4.5g)
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature (113g)
- 1 ½ cups pure cane sugar (or granulated sugar) (300g)
- 3 large eggs, room temperature (150g)
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract (8g)
- ½ cup buttermilk, room temperature (120g)*see notes for making an easy buttermilk substitute
- 1 ⅓ cups (10.5 ounces) mashed overly ripe bananas (2 ½ to 3 bananas) (300g)
- ½ to 1 cup Lindt 70% dark chocolate bar, chopped (or semi-sweet chocolate chips) (80 to 170g)
Get Recipe Ingredients
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F/176°C and prep the baking pans. Turn on the oven and generously butter two loaf pans (or spray with non-stick cooking spray). Add about ½ cup of flour to one pan and turn the pan while tapping it to ensure the flour coats every surface well. Tap out the excess flour into the second loaf pan and repeat. Tap both pans well to remove excess flour, set aside.
- Combine the dry ingredients. Whisk the dry ingredients together well to ensure everything is evenly distributed and set aside.
- Cream the butter and sugar. Using a handheld mixer (or stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment), cream the butter and sugar together on medium speed until light and fluffy (about 3 minutes).
- Add the eggs and vanilla. Crack 3 eggs into a small prep bowl and add the vanilla. With the mixer running on medium-low speed, add eggs one at a time waiting about 5 seconds in between each addition blending just until the eggs are incorporated. The addition of all three eggs should take no longer than 15 seconds to incorporate. Turn off the mixer.
- Incorporate the flour mixture and buttermilk. Add about ½ of the flour mixture to the creamed mixture. Turn the mixer on low speed to gently incorporate the ingredients. With the mixer still on, add about ⅓ of the buttermilk, then add some more flour, then a ⅓ more of the buttermilk, then add the last of the flour, ending with the last of the buttermilk. Turn off the mixer and gently stir it using a rubber spatula to finish combining the ingredients.
- Add the bananas and chocolate chunks. Add the mashed bananas and chocolate chunks (or chips) and gently stir with a rubber spatula until everything is just combined. You may also sprinkle the dark chocolate on top of the batter instead of stirring it in. Divide the batter evenly between two loaf pans and tap the pans on the countertop about 10 times to remove any air bubbles from the batter.
- Bake the chocolate chunk banana bread. Place the loaf pans onto a baking tray and bake for 45 to 50 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown and a cake tester (or toothpick) comes out clean when inserted directly into the middle of each loaf. Remove from the oven and allow the banana bread to cool for 15 minutes in the loaf pans, then gently remove the loaves and place them right-side-up onto a cooling rack to finish cooling to room temperature. When loaves have cooled, slice, serve, and Enjoy!
Notes
Measuring flour. I always use a scale and the gram measurements for consistency and precision. But if you're you're using measuring cups, be sure to use the 'scoop and level' method. I use 00 flour for this recipe when I'm in Italy, and flour weights vary with humidity and absorption potential, so scoop and level keeps it more consistent.
Chocolate. ½ cup (80g) is 8 squares off a 100g Lindt Excellence bar. Go up to a full cup (170g), just under two bars, for intense chocolate, or down to ¼ cup (42g) for just a hint. Semi-sweet or milk chocolate chips work in the same amounts.
Keep the chocolate from sinking. Toss the chopped chocolate with a little of the leftover flour from prepping your pans before folding it in, sprinkle some over the top of the batter, or do both.
Less sugar. Use up to ½ cup (100g) less, for 1 cup (200g) total, without sacrificing texture or flavor.
Browning too fast. Tent the loaves loosely with aluminum foil.
Storage. Wrap well and keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, up to 1 week in the refrigerator, or freeze for up to 3 months.
No buttermilk? Add 1 tablespoon (14g) lemon juice to a measuring cup, fill with whole milk to reach ½ cup, stir, and rest 10 minutes before using.
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Category: Quick Breads
- Method: Oven Bake
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice
- Calories: 195
- Sugar: 18g
- Sodium: 188mg
- Fat: 7g
- Saturated Fat: 4g
- Unsaturated Fat: 3g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 30.5g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 3g
- Cholesterol: 44mg
Food Safety
- This batter contains raw eggs, so don't taste it before baking. The USDA advises against eating raw or undercooked eggs or any product containing them
- Keep eggs refrigerated until you're ready to bake, and don't leave them out more than 2 hours
- Wash your hands, utensils, and work surfaces with hot soapy water before and after handling raw eggs
- Bake until a cake tester comes out clean from the middle of the loaf. Baked goods made with eggs should reach an internal temperature of 160°F/71°C
- Cool completely before wrapping. Wrapping a warm loaf traps steam and encourages mold
- Store wrapped on the counter for up to 3 days, or freeze for up to 3 months at 0°F/-18°C
- For more, see the USDA's guide to shell egg safety
Kelly Leding says
A super moist and tender chocolate chip banana bread recipe that anyone can make (perfect for beginners who want great results).