Double Chocolate Banana Bread

Got some overripe bananas sitting on the counter? This Double Chocolate Banana Bread is a great way to use up those brown-speckled bananas sitting on your counter when your family has decided they’re over bananas. With a little cocoa powder and a generous helping of chocolate chips, this bread is less like bread and more like chocolatey goodness. With just 10 minutes of prep time, you’ll have an hour of mouthwatering smells filling up your house. It’s moist, decadent, and tastes just like cake. Overripe bananas never had it so good!

If you find yourself inundated with ripe bananas, another tasty way to use them is by making our Easy Banana Muffins or Banana Cake.

Banana bread is ideal for breakfast or snacks, but adding in this deep level of chocolate, we’ve made it completely appropriate to serve for dessert too. That’s if it lasts that long. Your family will float into the kitchen nose first, thinking you’re a professional baker. This Double Chocolate Banana Bread will be lucky to make it to dessert – we give it less than an hour after coming out of the oven. It’s that good! Maybe make an extra loaf, just in case.

Ingredient Notes

• Bananas: Very ripe, with equal parts yellow and brown on the peel, or mostly brown.
• Eggs: While you can use your eggs straight from the fridge, room temperature for easier mixing and a better rise. To quickly bring cold eggs to room temperature, place them in a bowl of warm water for 5 minutes.
• Butter: You can also substitute with vegetable oil or unsweetened applesauce.
• Brown Sugar: You can use light or dark brown sugar for this.
• Cocoa Powder: Use unsweetened cocoa powder or Dutch-process.
• Chocolate Chips: You can use milk or semi-sweet chocolate chips depending on your sweet tooth’s preference.
• All-Purpose Flour: We don’t recommend using whole wheat on this one.

Ripen Bananas Fast

We know they’re not pretty, but you’re really going to want your bananas to be overripe for any banana bread you make. The banana’s flavor intensifies as it ripens, giving you a stronger and more pronounced banana taste. If your family goes through bananas before they hit that perfectly brown and speckled point, we’ve got a little trick.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and place the unpeeled yellow bananas onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, laying each banana on its side. They should be lined up on the baking sheet like breadsticks. When the oven is preheated, place the baking sheet on the center rack of the oven for 15-20 minutes. The outside of the bananas will begin to speckle brown – you’re essentially caramelizing these bad boys. Remove from the oven and let the bananas rest on the baking sheet for 5-10 minutes. By this point, your bananas will turn completely brown (it’s ok if there’s still some yellow on the side the bananas were laying on). Once cool enough to touch, peel each banana and you’re ready to roll.

Muffins and Mini Loaves

Take your Double Chocolate Banana Bread on the go by making muffins! For extra-large, bakery-style muffins, divide the batter into 4 for a Texas-sized muffin tin (6-ounce capacity), and bake at 350°F for about 20 minutes. For standard muffins, line a regular 12-cup muffin tin (3-ounce capacity) with paper liners and fill each cup about two-thirds of the way. Bake at 350°F for approximately 12 minutes. If you want to make mini loaves, divide the batter between two 5.75 x 3-inch mini loaf pans, and bake at 350°F for about 20 minutes.

All of these baking times are approximate, so check the doneness by inserting a toothpick into the bread or muffins when you think they’re done baking. If the toothpick comes out clean then your masterpiece is done and can be taken out of the oven. If the toothpick has any pieces of bread or batter sticking to it, give it another 1-2 minutes of baking time, then check it again.