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My chocolate chip banana bread is made with a handful of basic ingredients, and is a great way to use up over-ripe bananas. This moist loaf cake is really easy to make, and ready in about an hour.
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As I mentioned in my fudge brownies post the other day, until recently, I was supplying several local cafés with my baked goods. In addition to brownies, cookies, and tea loaf, this banana bread has consistently been one of my most popular sweet bakes.
At home, we love to have it with a cup of masala chai, and the spices from the tea go so well with chocolate and banana. So much so, that I sometimes make a variation of the basic recipe, and use masala chai spice instead of cinnamon. Yum!
BTW, because I make this banana bread without eggs, it’s a super-easy vegan cake that requires no non-standard ingredients such as ground flax or aquafaba.
Also, if you’re not vegan or plant-based, you can use your usual milk instead of non-dairy stuff. The results will be the same.
Recipe for chocolate chip banana bread
Banana bread ingredients
You probably already have everything you need to make this banana bread, so let’s get baking!
- demerara sugar
- vegetable shortening
- milk
- mashed ripe bananas
- self raising flour
- wholemeal spelt flour
- chocolate chips or drops
- plus: vanilla extract, ground cinnamon, baking powder, and salt
You’ll also need either an electric mixer (or a large mixing bowl and wooden spoon) and a 2lb loaf pan. Loaf pan liners make life so much easier, so I recommend using those instead of greasing the pan!
How to make chocolate chip banana bread
- Pre-heat your oven, and prepare your loaf pan.
- Beat together the sugar and shortening, then add the milk, bananas, and vanilla. Beat some more.
- Mix the flours, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt, then add to the bowl. Mix until the flour is just incorporated.
- Fold in the chocolate chips into the batter, then pour into the prepared loaf pan, making sure the top is level.
- Bake for 45 minutes, then set aside for 15 minutes to rest, before removing from the pan, and allowing to fully cool.
- Store in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-4 days, or a week or so in the fridge.
Notes
- A 2lb loaf pan measures roughly 23 x 13 x 7cm (9″ x 5″ x 2¾”)
- Not all ovens are equal, therefore if you know your oven runs a few degrees hotter or cooler, please adjust your baking temperature accordingly.
- You can use either vegan milk or dairy in this recipe, the results are the same. For my vegan version, I use Oatly (original whole) milk.
- In the UK, the brand of vegetable shortening I use is Trex. Before anyone rushes to point out that it contains palm oil, it’s from RSPO-certified sources. And no, it does not contain hydrogenated oils (trans fats)!
- If you have another banana, you could slice it in half lengthways, and lay it on the top of the batter before baking.
- Instead of half and half, you could use all self-raising flour. I don’t recommend all wholemeal though as it makes the banana bread a bit too dense.
- Regular wholemeal or medium wholemeal chapatti flour (atta) can be substituted for the spelt, weight for weight.
- I prefer to use chocolate with no more than about 50% cocoa solids for this banana bread recipe. I’ve made it with a higher percentage but it’s too bitter for my liking. As I mentioned in my fudge brownie recipe, my favourite chocolates to use are Callebaut and Belcolade.
- If you fancy it, you could make this banana bread with walnuts instead of chocolate. Just use the same amount of walnuts as chocolate chips. Pecans work well, too.
- If you really want to push the boat out, instead of using cinnamon, use a teaspoon of my chai masala (spice mix) – it’s heavenly!
- Freezing tip: slice the banana bread, and wrap each slice individually before freezing, that way you don’t have to thaw an entire loaf just to have a slice of cake!
Why not try these other tea-time delights?
fudge brownies
old-fashioned English tea loaf
coconut macaroons
cookie butter blondies
perfect brownies
choc chunk cookies
lemon curd
masala chai
You’ll love this chocolate chip banana bread
Because it’s…
- quick and easy to make
- nut-free
- potentially soy-free, depending on the chocolate you use
- adaptable
- kind of good for you (…maybe, ha ha!)
- deliciously comforting
Is this the best chocolate chip banana bread? Only you can decide that – we think it’s rather fab, though, so why not make it yourself, and let me know what you think? Enjoy!
