An easy recipe for the most unbelievably MOIST banana bread nut bread with chocolate chips! This classic banana bread is studded with pecans and chocolate. My secret ingredient to perfect banana bread: extremely over-ripe bananas.
This recipe is great for brunches, with a morning cup of coffee or even with a scoop of ice cream.
Hi Hi! Happy Monday!
Currently writing to you from my couch on a Sunday afternoon. Rascal is laying on the floor in front of me on our new cozy living room rug and I’ve got OC Re-runs playing in the background.
If I’m lucky, I get a few quiet hours on Sunday evening to gather my thoughts, get a plan together for the week and knock out a blog post. I did manage to make yet another loaf of this new banana nut bread with chocolate chips for a little weekend morning delight.
I’ve made this loaf countless times this month and every time I do it gets demolished. My assistant Abbie took one bite and said it was THE BEST banana bread she had ever head. She’s a tough cookie to crack too.
If you love quick, cakey bread recipes that are unbelievably soft, moist (yes I said it) and come together easily this is for you. It’s perfect when you need a quick dessert to bring to the office in the morning or an easy morning treat at brunch.
If chocolate isn’t your jam for a banana nut bread recipe, give this cinnamon swirl banana bread a try! It’s an incredibly moist cinnamon banana bread recipe and is laced with buttery, cinnamon sugar swirls in every bite.
Save it, bake it, above all eat it because it’s sort of legendary.

Ingredients for Banana Nut Bread with Chocolate Chips:
- Unsalted butter, melted or softened
- Brown Sugar
- Eggs
- Milk
- Vanilla Extract
- Very Ripe Bananas
- Flour
- Cinnamon
- Baking Soda
- Salt
- Pecans
- Chocolate Chopped or Your fav chopped chocolate bar!
How to make Banana Bread without a mixer!
I love this recipe because it comes together in one easy loaf tin, no mixer required and is extremely moist every. time.
How do you keep banana bread moist you ask!?
Start with extremely over-ripe bananas. I’m talking like almost black, okay?! Like bananas that you probably would have thrown out. They are the sweetest and hold great moisture for banana bread! Mash them up and set them to the side.
Mix together your melted butter, brown sugar, milk, eggs, and vanilla extract.
Add in your mashed bananas and mix until smooth.
Next add in your flour, cinnamon, baking soda and salt until just combined.
Lastly, add in your chopped chocolate (or chocolate chips!) and pecans.
Top banana bread with chocolate chips and more banana slices before baking for 1 hour!
How to quickly ripen bananas for banana nut bread with chocolate chips:
If you just simply cannot wait for brown bananas, here are a few ways to quickly ripen bananas for banana bread:
- Keep them together: bananas ripen more quickly in a 24-48 hour period when they are left in their bunch. If you’re saving bananas for a daily snack, separate them to keep them fresher.
- Hot hot heat: Keep your bananas in a warmer part of the house to increase browning time.
- The quickest way: Place your bananas on a sheet pan with parchment paper and baking at a low heat 300-325F for 15-20 minutes or until they are black and soft.
Banana Nut Bread with Chocolate Chips Variations:
Get Nutty: Feel free to swap out the pecans and chocolate chips for a different nut or white chocolate chips.
Espresso Powder: If you plan on having this bread for brunch or breakfast adding in 1-2 teaspoons of espresso powder will add a rich aroma.
Muffins: Turn this banana bread into muffins easily by lining a cupcake tip with liners. Bake for 25-30 minutes at the same temperature or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Storing banana bread: Keep your banana bread wrapped tightly in plastic wrap, foil or Tupperware. Bread will stay fresh at room temperature for a couple of days and up to a week in the refrigerator.
If you love Banana Bread with Chocolate Chips…You’ll love these recipes!
- Skillet Chocolate Chip Cookie with Peanut Butter
- Browned Butter Dark Chocolate Chip Pretzel Cookies
- Caramelized Banana and Chocolate Pie
- No-Bake S’mores Bars
More Quick Bread Recipes to try:
- Cinnamon Swirl Banana Bread
- Lemon Poppyseed Bread with Lemon Curd Core
- Peach Bread with Cinnamon Crunch Topping

Banana Nut Bread with Chocolate Chips
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Total Time: 1 hour and 10 minutes
- Yield: 8-10 slices 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: American
Description
An easy recipe for the most unbelievably MOIST banana bread with chocolate chips! This classic banana bread is studded with pecans and chocolate. My secret ingredient to perfect banana bread: extremely over-ripe bananas.
Ingredients
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted or softened
1 cup brown sugar
2 large eggs
1/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 medium, very ripe bananas
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 Teaspoon of cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1 bag of chocolate chips or 12 ounces of chopped chocolate
Banana Slices for topping
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a loaf pan with parchment paper and spray with nonstick spray.
- In a medium bowl, mash ripe bananas until smooth and slightly chunky.
- In a large bowl combine melted or softened butter with brown sugar until smooth.
- Add in eggs and whisk until smooth.
- To mixture, add milk and vanilla extract until combined. Add in in the mashed bananas to the batter and mix until incorporated.
- Add in flour, cinnamon, baking soda and salt to batter and gently stir until batter is combined. Do not over mix, batter lumps are okay.
- Gently fold in chocolate chips or chopped chocolate (reserve 1/4 cup for topping) and pecans until just combined.
- Pour batter into a prepared loaf tin, smooth the top and top with a few banana slices and remaining chocolate. Bake banana bread for 50-60 minutes or until a tooth pick comes out clean.
- Allow banana bread to cool for 10-20 minutes before transferring to a wire rack and slicing.
Notes
Muffins: Turn this banana bread into muffins easily by lining a cupcake tip with liners.
Bake for 25-30 minutes at the same temperature or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Keywords: banana nut bread, banana bread, chocolate chips
SAVE THIS RECIPE ON PINTEREST!
As soon as I saw Elizabeth post this recipe on Instagram over the weekend, I knew I had to give it a try. It made for the easiest weeknight baking project since the batter took less than 15 minutes to throw together. The bread rose beautifully & tastes amazing. I love the chocolate (duh) & the added texture from the pecans. A keeper!
★★★★★
Can I use Almond flour?
Have you ever done this ?
★★★★★
Hi Elizabeth! By any chance, is it possible to make this recipe with coconut sugar instead of brown sugar?
Author
Hi Cal! I’ve never tried it with coconut sugar but I think it should be okay.
I have made this twice now and love it! I left out the chocolate chips but want to add them next time. I love to cook but I’m not much of a baker because you have to measure but this recipe is easy peasy!
★★★★★
I made this for my son-in-law’s birthday (yes, he wanted banana bread for his “cake”). First time making banana bread! This turned out beautifully, and it is absolutely the best banana bread I’ve ever eaten. It did take 80 minutes to bake, but it was absolutely perfect!!! Thanks so much for the recipe.
Author
Hi Shirley! That is so wonderful! So happy to hear your SIL ‘birthday cake’ came out just the way he wanted 🙂 Everyones oven is a little different so that’s okay! I always rely on the good ole toothpick test anyways. Happy baking!
The same with mine. Actually ended up baking it 80 minutes. It was perfect!!!!
I followed the recipe exactly I just used mini chocolate chips . Turned out great !
★★★★
Author
I love mini chocolate chips, they taste just as delicious! 🙂 Enjoy!
I had but 2 bananas, but good sized ones. Hazelnuts was all I had. Otherwise no substitutions. I wanted easier to create, smaller portions, so I baked it in a rectangular, 12×17” pan. Baked it 25 minutes. This was a Pinterest WIN. Thank you.
Author
I’m so happy you enjoyed this Recipe Lorrie!
What could I put under the loaf in case it over flows in the oven?
Author
You could put a sheet pan underneath in case, sounds like you may need a bigger loaf tin
I made this and the center was very gooey beyond the 60 mins. I kept adding 5 mins and checking for more of a “bread” consistency, and this was in the center. Not sure what happened or why.
Author
Hmmm. It may be the size of your loaf tin. This makes quite a bit of batter and I use a 9×5 loaf tin.
Does salted butter make a big difference?
Author
Hi Kirsty! You can use salted butter, just cut back on the salt to 1/8 of a teaspoon in the recipe 🙂
Awesome!! Thank you!!!