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My chocolate chip banana bread is the softest, most tender loaf I bake, and one slice tastes like everything good about banana bread got better. The inside is soft and moist, the top bakes up with that classic crack down the middle, and there is melty chocolate in every bite.
The second I spot brown bananas on the counter, this is what I make. I baked it again last week rather than let good bananas go to waste. It becomes breakfast, an afternoon snack, and something everyone grabs on their way through the kitchen.
What sets this loaf apart is that it actually stays moist instead of drying out by the next morning. Very ripe bananas and butter do part of the work, but the real difference is pulling the bread at the right moment so it never overbakes. That is the step most recipes gloss over, and it is the whole reason mine stays soft.
If you want this same idea in a smaller, grab-and-go size, my banana bread mini muffins are two-bite versions my kids grew up on.
Family Favorite
This Has Been in My Kitchen Since the Kids Were Little
I have been making this banana bread since my kids were little, and it turned into the treat everyone grabbed on their way through the kitchen. It still disappears the same way today. The one change I made and kept over the years is butter instead of oil, because it gives the loaf a richer, almost bakery flavor.
What Goes Into This Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
Very ripe bananas: Wait until the peels are heavily speckled or almost fully brown. The riper they are, the sweeter and more flavorful the loaf, and they mash down smooth so you get a soft, moist loaf without adding extra liquid. Underripe bananas are the number one reason a loaf comes out bland.
Room-temperature butter: Let the butter sit out until it is soft enough to press a finger into but not greasy or melted. Softened butter creams with the sugar and traps air, which is what gives the loaf its tender lift. Cold butter will not cream, and melted butter makes it dense.
Chocolate chips: About a cup, and the amount is totally to your taste. I fold them in at the very end instead of stirring them through the batter, which keeps the loaf light and spreads chocolate through every slice. Semisweet is my default, but milk chocolate works if you like it sweeter.
How to Make Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Recipe
Step 1: Heat the Oven and Prep the Pans Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and spray two standard 9×5 loaf pans with nonstick spray. Getting the pans ready first means the batter goes in the moment it is mixed.
Step 2: Cream the Butter and Sugar In a large bowl, beat the room-temperature butter and sugar with a mixer on low until light and well combined. This step builds the soft texture, so do not rush it.
Step 3: Add the Eggs, Milk, and Bananas Whisk in the eggs, then the milk and mashed bananas. Mash the bananas well but leave them a little rustic. The batter will look lumpy, and that is exactly what you want.
Step 4: Fold in the Flour, Then the Chocolate Chips Add the flour and baking soda and stir until the flour disappears, then gently fold in the chocolate chips. Stop mixing the moment it comes together. Overmixing is what makes banana bread tough and dense.
Step 5: Divide and Bake Divide the batter evenly between the two pans and bake for about 45 minutes. Start checking near the end, and pull the loaves when a toothpick in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs.
Step 6: Cool Before Slicing Let the loaves cool on a wire rack for 30 to 45 minutes before you turn them out. They keep setting as they cool, so this rest is what gives you clean slices instead of a gummy center.
I have made this bread recipe over and over. My grandson calls me to make this and will eat the loaf in 2 days.
A Few Things That Make a Difference
Freeze bananas you cannot use yet. When bananas go brown before I am ready to bake, I break them into chunks and freeze them in a bag. Let them thaw on the counter and they are ready to mash. That way I always have banana bread bananas on hand.
Coat the chips in flour if they sink. If your chocolate chips tend to drop to the bottom, toss them in a teaspoon of the flour before folding them in.
Line the pans with a parchment sling. A strip of parchment hanging over the long sides lets you lift the cooled loaves straight out without tearing them.
Make-Ahead and Storage
This is a great loaf to make ahead. Once it is completely cool, wrap it tightly or keep it in an airtight container at room temperature. For longer storage, freeze a whole loaf or individual slices wrapped well, then thaw on the counter.
We eat slices warm with a little butter for breakfast, and it is one of my favorite ways to use up a bunch of ripe bananas.
Make Ahead & Storage Instructions
- Make ahead: This banana bread is great for prepping in advance because it stays soft for days and freezes beautifully. Bake the loaves, let them cool all the way, and then store in the fridge or freeze for later.
- Store: Keep the bread in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. For longer storage, wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate for about a week.
- Reheat: Warm a slice in the microwave for 10 to 15 seconds if you like it soft and a little melty.
- Freeze: Wrap each loaf tightly in plastic wrap, add a layer of foil, and store in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw it on the counter before serving.
More Banana Recipes
- Skillet banana bread with caramel
- Reese’s peanut butter banana bread
- Cast iron banana bread
- Banana bread cookies
Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
Ingredients
- ¾ cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 ½ cups sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 ⅓ tablespoons milk
- 3 ripened bananas
- 2 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ bag chocolate chips totally your preference on how much you like
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- In a large bowl, combine the sugar and the butter. Use a mixer on low until combined.3/4 cup unsalted butter, 1 1/2 cups sugar
- Add eggs and blend.2 eggs
- Add milk and the bananas and mix for about 1 minute. The batter may look at little lumpy – that’s ok!1 1/3 tablespoons milk, 3 ripened bananas
- Add the flour and the baking soda and mix until blended. Fold in the chocolate chips.2 cups flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1/2 bag chocolate chips
- Spray 2 loaf pans with non-cook spray and divide the batter. Pour the batter into the two pans.
- Bake for 45 minutes (mine took a little longer, but my ovens are not so great). You should be able to take a knife or a toothpick inserted into the middle of the loaf and the they should come out clean.
- Remove from the oven and let cool on a wire rack for about 30 – 45 minutes. Remove from pan and serve
- (I serve one and freeze one… wrap in plastic wrap and then with tin foil and freeze)
Jenn’s Notes
- I use very ripe bananas, the browner the better, for the sweetest flavor.
- Do not overbake. Pull the loaves when a toothpick shows a few moist crumbs, since the bread keeps cooking as it cools.
- Fold the chocolate chips in at the very end so the loaf stays light.
I followed your recipe to a T this time, and they are in the oven baking right now. We shall see how they turn out 🙂 I put them into cupcake form this time though. I do think I will try the recipe again at a later date with less sugar. I am making them to put into kid’s school lunches, so the amount of sugar is a bit counter intuitive to what I want for them LOL. But, I’ll put it in as a desert for now. Thank you 🙂
Mine is baking right now. I did add the mini chips and little vanilla. This seems pretty rich, but that is just fine with my family. I doubled the recipe and got three loaves out of the batch. I have made 4 different kinds in two weeks to put in the freezer for fall. This really is a great recipe.
Sorry, I am replying to myself. It is out of the oven and is really great! I make all my own stuff like that because my daughter is allergic to all nuts, some seeds, and oils. This was pretty fast and easy and will be something I can put in her lunch for school. Her review is that it is very sweet and wonderful. I am very happy to have another recipe to put in the book!
If you add a tad or vanilla, it makes the banana bread even more spectacular!
Sorry I meant a tad of vanilla not or… 🙂
Ohhhh – yum!!! Need to give that a try!
This recipe is a keeper, thank you!
It smells so good! I tried it today and going to bring some for a morning baby shower!
Yum!
So glad you liked it, Coco! Thanks for the feedback!
Thanks for linking up to the Tip Me Tuesday linky party! {knuckle bumps} Did you know that I can “lend” your blog posts my Google page rank for better search engine traffic? {fabulous} If you upload at least 2 images, 2 steps, and blog post URL into your Tip Junkie craft room, you’ll be in business! {wink} ~ Laurie {a.k.a. the Tip Junkie}
Hi there Jenn!!! I am so excited to share with you that this week your Chocolate Chip Banana Bread is a favorite feature over at Nibble’s By Nic Wonderfully Creative Wednesday!!! I just adore banana bread and the chocolate chips brings it to a whole new level!!! Thanks so much for coming and hope to see you this week with your fantastic nibbles!! Warmest, Nic
WOW – I am SO excited! Thanks so much!!!
I just made this recipe and it turned out delicious! I was so pleased that it took the amount of time to bake as specified and it rose evenly and not high in the middle that is so hard to bake through without over baking! This recipe is going in my recipe box as a keeper. Thanks for sharing we love it!
Lorrie – I am SO glad that it came out so well for you – did you make me some??
Hi, The bread sounds good but I would never make it this way, it just isn’t healthy. I’ve followed a controlled carb program for over 10 years and try to limit sugar. I make banana bread but I would only use a bit of almond flour (lower in carbs) or whole wheat flour, never white flour which is terrible for you. And this bread does NOT need a cup and a half of sugar! That is so bad for you. I only use a bit of honey for sweetener–no more than a couple of tablespoons. It is more than enough sweetener with the bananas which are already high in sugar. And also our bodies metabolize honey much better than regular sugar. I have a healthier banana bread recipe on my homepage if you want to check it out.
Cindybin – thanks for the suggestions – always looking for healthy alternatives!! I will check out your site!
Actually, honey is just a natural sugar syrup, mainly fructose and glucose. Your body processes it pretty much the same as any other sugar solution.
And I wouldn’t presume to lecture someone on the healthiness or not of their recipe.
The author replied beautifully I’d say… my mouth dropped after reading that persons reply lol
🙂
EC, If Cindybin were suggesting 1.5 cups of honey instead of 1.5 cups of sugar, I would agree with you. However, part of her point is that her taste buds do not require 1.5 cups of any sweetener, be it sugar OR honey, to be added to banana bread.
So, yes, honey does metabolize similarly to sugar, however, most sugar has been processed so that the minerals and nutrients have been removed and then it has been bleached; I believe bleach is a Carcinogen, taken internally. In this sense, I find her point well taken. And, I still see the main point as being that, in Cindybin’s opinion, 1.5 cups of sweetener is way over the top.
In using a small quantity such as Cindybin’s 2 TBSPs of honey, it doesn’t really matter whether one uses honey or sugar.
I appreciate all your suggestions, but I don’t think it is your place to tell the readers what is and isn’t good for them. It is pretty obvious that if made, it is an indulgence and the baker and eater’s choice. No one is ignorant to the fact that too much sugar and fat is bad for our health.
LOL Why would a person comment on someone’s recipe that she ‘would never make it this way’???? I just literally snort laughed! Move on and just go about your day. Had you been positive and said something nice, then MAYBE I’d go visit your blog, but since I see how harsh you’ve been to the author of this blog, I won’t.
Made this recipe and it’s fabulous! Is it as healthy as a bunch of broccoli? No. Will I eat this every day? No. Will I treat myself, my mom, and my family with it today and from time to time? ABSOLUTELY! Thank you for the fantastic keeper of a recipe! 🙂 Found it on Pinterest on a pin that has been re-pinned over 2000 times! Evidently, a TON of people think it’s fabulous, too! Congrats!
Made me laugh too! I hate those health nuts that visit blogs and proceed to give their unwanted advice and recipes to those who are simply looking for a dessert and force their lifestyle on others.
She was condescending and rude! I’m about to make this bread and enjoy every, last bite. 🙂
I <3 U!
I literally got up and started looking for the ingredients, and I have everything!!! It’s in the oven now…⏲ I have a question, I don’t usually bake but I realize it doesn’t have any baking powder that’s ok right?
totally agree with you
I love this recipe. No food is ‘bad’ for you. Healthy eating is based on being able to eat a balance of everything, without physical and psychological deprivation.
I say make 2-3 loaves on a Sunday and eat this for breakfast all week long. My boys would love this!
I have a simular recipe, and cannot make this unless it’s to share–I could eat the whole loaf myself. One tip I’d like to pass along…..I use mini- choc chips. They seem to” float” better in the batter, and the bread is more uniform. Happy baking! Here’s my recipe~
! cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup butter
1 cup mashed bananas
3 TBSP milk
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 cup choc chips
350* 1 hour 1 loaf
Great idea with the mini chips – thanks for sharing your recipe!