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Sep 29, 2010 · Modified: Oct 19, 2021 by Sues · This post may contain affiliate links, uses cookies, and generates income via ads · View privacy policy + disclosure statement linked in footer · 29 Comments

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

Name: Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 60 min
Ingredients: 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour; 1 tsp baking powder; 1 tsp baking soda; 1/4 tsp salt; 3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips; 3/4 cup walnuts, (toasted and roughly chopped); 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, (room temperature); 1 cup granulated sugar; 2 large eggs; 1 cup mashed ripe banana; 2 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice; 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

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This Chocolate Chip Banana Bread is incredibly easy to make and is way more delicious than the average banana bread! Chocolate and walnuts take it to a wonderful new level.

Overhead closeup view of a loaf of chocolate chip banana bread with a couple slices cut a knife and bananas in the background with recipe title at top.

(This recipe for Chocolate Chip Banana Bread was originally published in September 2010, but was updated with new photos in 2020).

Just as I convinced myself that baking wasn't "my thing," baking, sure enough, is becoming... my thing. There's something about it that I've found to be a bit soothing. Just watching my mixer spin around, getting my hands sticky with flour and butter, and the sweet smells that flow out of my oven.

It slows life down a bit and after being around people all day, I was in the mood to bake in silence this afternoon. Just me and the sounds and smells in my kitchen. I'm finding it's the perfect way to unwind - and probably expand my waistline, too.

I decided to raid the pantry and fridge to see what I could put together. I saw I had a few pretty decently ripened bananas and immediately thought of banana bread. Because who doesn't love a loaf of banana bread staring at them every time they enter the kitchen? Exactly.

I didn't want to do just a plain old banana bread so I did a search for a Chocolate Chip Banana Bread and decided to rift off of one with chocolate chips and walnuts instead.

Why You'll Love This Recipe

There are so many beautiful things about banana bread. The first is that it's often made spur of the moment. You realize you have bananas sitting on your counter that are ready to go in the trash, so you make the game time decision: "I'm going to make banana bread!"

And it's the kind of game time decision you feel OK making because banana bread is so quick and easy to prep. Just mix a few ingredients together, throw them in a loaf pan, pop into the oven, and soon your entire house will be smelling of delicious banana bread.

But what makes banana bread even better? Chocolate chips, of course! And walnuts, too. Just like any banana bread, this is incredibly easy to make and will be ready just in time to enjoy with your afternoon tea or coffee.

This will likely be the best easy banana bread you've ever had!

Ingredients

The ingredients for this quick bread are simple. You likely already have most of the ingredients in your pantry and fridge already.

And if you don't have walnuts or chocolate chips, you can obviously leave them out. But I do highly recommend including them! Here's everything you need:

All-purpose flour
Baking powder
Baking soda
Salt
Chocolate chips
Walnuts
Unsalted butter
Granulated sugar
Eggs
Banana
Lemon juice
Vanilla

How to Make Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

The process for this chocolate chip banana bread is easy almost to the point of being a little dangerous. As soon as you realize you have bananas getting ripe on your counter, you're going to want to make this treat!

To start, pre-heat oven to 350 degrees and butter and flour a 9x5 metal loaf pan.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in medium bowl.

In a separate small bowl, combine chocolate chips and walnuts. Add 1 tablespoon flour mixture and toss to coat.

Chocolate chips and walnuts in a bowl tossed with flour.

You'll also want to make sure your banana is nice and mashed.

In the bowl of an electric mixer or in a large bowl with a hand mixer, beat butter until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes. Gradually add sugar, beating until well blended.

Beat eggs in 1 at a time and then add mashed bananas, lemon juice, and vanilla extract.

Overhead view of banana bread batter in a mixing bowl

With the mixer on low, beat in flour mixture. I wanted to stick my face in the mixer at this point. Mmmm, vanilla. Mmm, bananas!

Pour about ⅓ of the batter into the loaf pan.

Sprinkle with half of the chocolate chip and walnut mixture. Pour an additional ⅓ of batter over. Sprinkle with remaining chip/nut mixture and top with remaining batter.

Chocolate chip walnut banana bread batter in loaf pan

Bake bread for about 55-60 minutes, until edges are just turning golden and a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Turn out on to rack and let cool a bit.

Slice and enjoy!

Bird's eye view of a loaf of chocolate chip banana bread with slices cut out on a marble tray with knife and bananas in background.

This is the most perfect banana bread! It's super moist and packed with banana flavor. But it also involves lots of chocolate... If you slice it when it's still a bit warm, the chocolate gets all melt-y and is heavenly.

Chocolate chip banana bread may be the only kind of banana bread I make at all from now on!

Overhead closeup view of slices cut from a loaf of chocolate chip banana bread with bananas in background.

But we can't forget the walnuts either. They add a nice little crunch and obviously a nuttiness that complements the sweetness of the bananas and chocolate just a bit.

Of course, you can leave the nuts out if you'd rather... But I highly recommend them!

More Quick Bread Recipes

I love a good quick bread and often find myself making them on a whim because of how easy they are. Here are some of my favorite recipes:

Blueberry Lemon Bread
Chile Cheddar Bread
Cinnamon Raisin Oatmeal Bread
Lime Zucchini Bread (from Beyond the Chicken Coop)
Cranberry Orange Bread (from Boulder Locavore)

Overhead closeup view of a loaf of chocolate chip banana bread with a couple slices cut a knife and bananas in the background.

I'm 100% positive that this chocolate chip banana bread will be my breakfast tomorrow. Maybe just one slice. Maybe the whole loaf. We will just wait and see...

What's your favorite easy thing to bake?