Moist Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Recipe

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A super moist and decadent chocolate chip banana bread recipe that can be made into loaves or muffins of any size. It’s the perfect sweet treat with afternoon coffee or tea!

Chocolate chip banana bread has been a staple in my family ever since I can remember. My mom has been making this recipe for years, never failing to have a loaf ready when company is over, or during the holidays. Her dad had been making it for years before that. And now I’ve been making it for years, using it as a tasty fallback when I fail to eat all the bananas I bought at the grocery store.

This recipe has been passed down through generations for one simple reason: it’s irresistible! And with my mom’s blessing, I’m finally sharing it with you today.

What This Recipe Entails

This chocolate chip banana bread recipe is a simple quick bread that you’ll mix together in one bowl and pour into a prepared pan before baking. You can bake standard loaves, mini loaves, muffins, or mini muffins.

• Prep time: 15 minutes
• Cook time: 30 to 35 minutes, for mini loaves (see Variations section below for more cooking times)
• Cool time: at least 1 hour, for mini loaves

Make sure to leave time for the loaves to cool before slicing and serving, storing on the counter, or freezing.

Moist Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Ingredients

All you need to make this delicious and moist chocolate chip banana bread is a few ripe bananas, chocolate chips, and baking staples:

• Bananas
• All purpose flour
• Granulated sugar
• Vegetable oil
• Baking soda
• Baking powder
• Salt
• Eggs
• Milk chocolate chips

You want to use very ripe or slightly overripe bananas for the best banana bread! Extra mushy banana yields a much more moist loaf. Plus, it’s easier to mash, which yields a smoother consistency with no banana chunks inside the finished loaf.

The vegetable oil makes this chocolate chip banana bread recipe super moist. You can always experiment with healthier substitutions like applesauce, but if you’re going to put chocolate chips in your banana bread, just lean into it and enjoy the extra decadence 🙂

Finally, we love using milk chocolate chips in our banana bread! They’re extra sweet compared to traditionally used semi-sweet chips, which makes this banana bread so yummy. But you can always change this up and use semi-sweet or even dark chocolate chips if you prefer.

How To Make Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

You can make chocolate chip banana bread in many forms! Large loaves, mini loaves, muffins, mini muffins, you name it. We tend to bake mini loaves most often because it’s the perfect size for the two of us to go through in a few days or a week. (They’re also a great size for gifting around the holidays!)

Our recipe details how to make mini loaves of chocolate chip banana bread. For more details on baking other types of loaves or muffins, continue onto the Variations section below.

1. First, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and grease the bottom of a nonstick mini loaf pan, like this one, or 4 individual mini loaf pans.
2. Next, add the bananas to a large mixing bowl and mash thoroughly until smooth. A potato masher or a fork works great for this.
3. Then, add the remaining ingredients (minus the chocolate chips) to the mixing bowl and stir to combine. Be careful not to overmix – stir by hand until the ingredients are just combined.
4. Now, add the chocolate chips – you have two options for how to do this (see notes below).
5. Fill the mini loaf pans about half to three-quarters of the way.
6. Bake the mini loaves for about 30 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the tallest loaf comes out clean. The loaves should be browned on top when they’re done.
7. Remove the mini loaves from the oven and let them cool in the pan for at least 1 hour. Then, transfer them to a wire cooling rack and cool completely before slicing and serving (or dig right in if you don’t mind not having clean slices)!

You have two options for adding the chocolate chips:

1. Fold them into the batter before filling the mini loaf pans, or;
2. Fill the mini loaf pans, then sprinkle the chocolate chips into each one and gently fold them into the batter with a fork

We find that option 2 generally yields a more even distribution of chocolate chips throughout the loaves. When you fold the chocolate chips into the batter first (option 1), they tend to sink to the bottom of the loaf pan after pouring the batter.

Tips For Success

• Only grease the bottom of the loaf pans, not the sides. Quick breads need to stick to the sides as they bake so that they become tall and fluffy. If you grease the sides of the pan, the sides of the bread can’t support the middle, and your loaf will sink in the center.
• Be careful not to overmix the batter! Overmixing quick breads can yield tough and chewy results.
• No matter what type of pan you’re baking in, try to only fill it about halfway to three-quarters of the way up. This will give your banana bread plenty of room to expand without overflowing.
• Set your timer for about 5 minutes less than you think you should bake the loaves. Begin to check them with a toothpick once you think they look done – chances are, they may need another minute or two, but that’s okay! The trick to achieving extra moist chocolate chip banana bread is to catch it just as it’s done baking, so it doesn’t dry out in the oven.
• Make sure to stick the toothpick all the way into the loaf when checking for doneness. I’ve made this mistake a few times, only to find that a section of my loaf was underdone when I went to slice it!

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Variations

You can easily make chocolate chip banana bread in full size loaves, muffins, or mini muffins! 

• Standard loaf (yields 1) – bake for 1 hour +
• Muffins (yields 12) – bake for 15 to 20 minutes
• Mini muffins (yields 36) – bake for 10 to 15 minutes

Again, make sure to grease only the bottom of the pan when making a standard loaf. For muffins and mini muffins, you can grease the wells or use liners.

Muffins and mini muffins won’t need quite as long to cool before you remove them from the pan. We recommend waiting at least 30 minutes for muffins, and at least 10 to 15 for mini muffins.

Disclaimer: It’s been awhile since I made any of these variations (mini loaves are our go-to), so these baking time suggestions are from my mom’s experience. As soon as we try these other variations we’ll come back with an update on what times worked for our oven!

Serving Suggestions

Once the banana bread is cool, you can slice it into neat pieces and serve it for breakfast, brunch, dessert, or an afternoon snack with coffee or tea! The chocolate chips make this banana bread an extra sweet treat for indulging in when you’re craving a bakery style bite.

Chocolate chip banana bread is also perfect for the holidays. My mom always has a loaf ready whenever there’s company, whether it’s for Easter, Thanksgiving, or Christmas. And mini loaves or muffins are the perfect size for baking and sharing around the holidays with neighbors, teachers, and friends!

Storing Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

You can store chocolate chip banana bread at room temperature for up to 5 days. Make sure to cool completely before wrapping in aluminum foil. Alternatively, you can cool the loaf completely, slice it, and store it in an airtight container. Note that storing the whole loaf will preserve its freshness and moisture for longer.

You can also freeze chocolate chip banana bread for up to 3 months. Again, make sure to let the loaves cool completely before wrapping them tightly in aluminum foil. Then label them and freeze them until needed.

When I make 4 mini loaves, we typically eat one and then freeze the other 3. They’re great to have on hand when we need a quick and easy breakfast option, or when we’re craving something sweet.

Try our super moist chocolate chip banana bread recipe and let us know what you think! Don’t forget to rate, comment, and share below.