Banana Bread with Chocolate Chips & Whole Wheat Flour

Waking up to a delectable slice of chocolate chip banana bread (or two!) and a hot cup of coffee is a recipe for a great day. Plus, there’s the bonus of banana bread being partially healthy. Follow along for an easy recipe for Banana Bread with Chocolate Chips and make your mornings more delicious!

Easy Banana Bread with Chocolate Chips

Have you ever found yourself wishing you hadn’t eaten all the bananas so you can make bread? I highly recommend purchasing extra bananas each week, just for this very purpose. This Banana Bread with Chocolate Chips will rock your recipe world. 

Even if you don’t end up using them right away, once your bananas are fairly brown, but not so squishy that they leech liquid, peel them, toss them in the freezer (after putting them in a freezer bag, of course), and wait until you have 3 medium-sized ripe bananas ready to go. 

With this method, chances are you will always have enough bananas to whip up a batch of chocolate chip banana bread anytime you have a craving! Just remember to pull them out of the freezer the night before and let them thaw to room temperature before using (otherwise, it may be difficult to mash them!).

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Recipe

Whether you would like one large loaf or three smaller loaves (great for sharing or freezing!), this recipe is just the right size to do either. Baking bread at the holidays for neighbors and friends can be super simple, using small loaf pans! Just double or triple the recipe for more loaves and more chocolate chip banana bread love to spread.

Did I mention that the recipe is simple? Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced baker, this recipe is for everyone. Sometimes the word “bread” can seem intimidating, but rest assured there is no yeast or kneading involved!

The best part is you probably have everything you need to make a loaf already in your kitchen!

What You Need to Make Easy banana bread with chocolate chips

• Flour: I use whole wheat flour, but you can use all-purpose flour if it’s what you have on-hand.
• Baking Powder, Baking Soda, Sugar, and Salt: All ingredients you likely keep on-hand!
• Butter: I use unsalted butter. It’s best if used at room temperature since that makes it easier to mix in by hand.
• Eggs, Lemon Juice, and Vanilla Extract: Adding in that lovely flavor and, of course, the eggs which give the bread some stability to stay together and give it moisture as well.
• Chocolate Chips: I use semi-sweet chocolate chips, which add the chocolate flavor we all love without too much sweetness. You can also use a sugar-free baking chip to lower the sugar and carb count in this recipe.

From here, all you have to do is throw together the dry ingredients, beat the wet ingredients, toss them together, and fold in the chocolate chips! 

Extra Tips for Making Banana Bread with Chocolate Chips 

To make sure you end up with moist banana bread, take care not to overmix your batter. For this reason, consider using a spatula or whisk to stir the ingredients so you can tell when it’s all combined.

This recipe freezes well, too! Especially if you make miniature loaves, you’ll have banana bread whenever you want it. Simply wrap your bread tightly in foil or place in an airtight container. 

Freeze Individual Bananas

Freezing individual slices rather than full loaves will give you portions without having to thaw a big chunk. Simply pull a slice out of the freezer, lay it on the counter for a bit, or microwave it for 20-30 seconds and you’re ready for breakfast!

Leave Bread on the Counter 

Don’t feel like you must freeze your bread! It’s ok to leave it out on the counter (wrapped in plastic wrap or placed in an airtight container) for up to three days or in the refrigerator for up to five days. But I would be surprised if it lasts even that long.

Make Bite-Sized Muffins 

Feeling a bit adventurous? Try using a small loaf or mini muffin pan and making bite-sized muffins! These are great for sharing or portion control.

It’s ok to use regular-sized chocolate chips, but if you like your chocolate nice and spread out, try mini chocolate chips, instead.

Use Parchment Paper 

A tip for if you have trouble lifting the bread out of the pan after baking is to use parchment paper. Drape parchment paper over the long side of the loaf pan, leaving about three inches on each side to grab ahold of to lift the bread out of the hot pan.

What Bananas are Best for Bread?

When it’s time to make banana bread, you may be wondering what bananas are best for bread. The best bananas that are best for banana bread is black bananas. They need to be able to be smooshed down in a bowl and turned into a batter. As long as the banana isn’t growing mold, you can use it for banana bread. This recipe for banana bread with chocolate chips is one of my favorites and I hope you get a chance to make it. 

What Makes Banana Bread Moist?

If you’re going to make this banana bread, then you may want to know what makes it the moistest. Well, the liquid, sugar, and fats in the recipe are the deciding factor for what makes banana bread moist. Once the bread is made, you don’t want the atmosphere the bread is stored in to dry it out. Using the right ingredients is important to keep banana bread moist. 

Banana Bread with Chocolate Chips is a cross between a healthy snack and a decadent treat. Bake one large loaf or three mini loaves that can easily be shared! This bread freezes beautifully.

More Recipes Using Bananas

If you are still looking for ways to use up those ripe bananas be sure to check out these recipes:

Banana Bread French Toast Bites – delicious way to use up leftover banana bread. Turn your bread into a meal for breakfast! Turn these bites into French Toast & Fruit Kabobs.

Delicious Banana Walnut Bars – this vegan recipe has a layer in the center of the bars. Delicious for any diet plan.

Browned Butter Banana Cake – nutty flavor that is outstanding. Serve this cake as-is or top with a brown sugar frosting.

Looking for a low carb banana bread option? You’ll love this version made with Carbquick.

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

Tender banana bread with white whole wheat flour with a burst of chocolate from the chocolate chips. Great snack idea. Enjoy one large loaf or make 3 mini loaves.

5 from 9 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Baking

Cuisine: American

Keyword: baking, banana bread, Bread, quick bread

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour hour

Total Time: 1 hour hour 10 minutes minutes

Servings: 12 Servings

Calories: 226kcal

Author: Sandra Shaffer

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour or pastry flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup 1 stick butter, unsalted and at room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs large
• 3 ripe bananas mashed
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Instructions

• Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray loaf pan (s) with non-stick baking spray or grease pans with butter and flour. Set aside.
• In a small bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
• In a large bowl beat butter until fluffy. Gradually add sugar until well incorporated.
• Add eggs one at a time and beat thoroughly.
• Add bananas, lemon juice and vanilla extract.
• Beat in flour mix into butter mixture.
• Fold chocolate chips in the batter.
• Place batter into prepared loaf pan(s). Bake one large loaf for 60 minutes. Small loaves will bake for 30-35 minutes or until tooth pick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
• Remove from oven and let cook for 10 minutes.Remove from pan and cool on wire baking rack.

Notes

All purpose flour can be used in place of white whole wheat flour.

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 226kcal | Carbohydrates: 44g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 31mg | Sodium: 204mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 28g

Disclaimer

Please note that the nutritional information provided are guidelines and may vary based on the brand of products used. For your specific nutritional goals use My Fitness Pal or Verywell Fit recipe calculators. All content within this site is not intended as medical diagnosis or treatment and should not be considered a substitute for professional medical expertise.

This recipe was first posted on August, 2015. I have updated the post (June, 2020) with updated photos and content.

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