This Chocolate-Swirled Banana Bread is a riff on this Classic Banana Bread (and this Lime-Coconut Banana Bread is another variation of the same recipe!) Using Greek yogurt increases the moisture and protein, cutting down on the need for as much oil/fat that is typically used in banana bread. We promise, whichever version you make, you’ll love it!
Ingredients Needed
This is just a preview of ingredients and method, keep scrolling for full printable recipe.
- All-purpose flour
- Baking soda
- Salt
- Granulated sugar
- Butter – Always use real butter if you can!
- Mashed ripe bananas
- Eggs
- Greek yogurt or sour cream
- Chocolate chips
- Brown sugar – Optional, for a crunchy top.
Quick Tips Before You Start
- The Best Way to Bake Quick Breads: I always line my pans with parchment. You don’t need to line the entire interior, like you would with foil. Rather cut your parchment so it fits like a sling as show in the photo below. Spray your pan with cooking spray, then place the paper in over it and spray all sides of the pan again. This will make it super easy to lift your bread right out of the pan.
- Top Your Quick Breads: Here’s a little tip for basically ALL quick breads- sprinkle a little brown sugar over the top before baking. I don’t even measure, but about 2-3 tablespoons. It kind of melts in, but leaves a slightly light, crisp topping that enhances so many breads.
You can see both the parchment set up and the sugar topping in this photo- it bakes up beautifully! Let your bread cool until just warm before you pull it out of your pan. Run a knife around the edges that weren’t covered in parchment and then use the paper to just lift it right out.
How to Make Chocolate Swirled Banana Bread
- Prep your bread with parchment and set aside.
- Melt some chocolate chips and set aside.
- After blending the soft butter and sugar, you’ll mix in bananas, eggs, vanilla, and sour cream or yogurt. I’ve included several notes about other things you can use in place of the sour cream or yogurt- this recipe is very flexible!
- A few basic dry ingredients are added and you’ll be left with a simple batter.
- Grab your melted chocolate and mix with a little batter. Alternate spooning the plain and chocolate batters into your prepared loaf pan. Swirl gently with a knife.
- If desired, sprinkle a little brown sugar on top to get a sweet, crispy crust, then bake! Cool on a wire rack for a few minutes then remove from the pan and cool completely.
Storing and Other Tips
- Store cooled banana bread wrapped tightly or in an airtight container at room temperature and enjoy within 3-4 days for best results.
- Freeze finished loaves wrapped tightly in plastic and then foil for up to 3 months.
- Not quite ready to bake? Only have one super ripe banana and you want to save them up? You can toss them right in the freezer, peel and all (it’s best to put them in a zip-top bag so they don’t leak juices when thawing later). You can also peel and slice or mash and then freeze in a zip-top bag. Simply let them thaw in the fridge before use.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I add nuts or additional chocolate chips?
Sure! Walnuts or pecans would be great here. I prefer to chop and toast nuts before adding them to batter. If just sprinkling them on top, they should toast up just fine in the oven. Chocolate chips are also great. Toss them in a little flour before adding to help suspend them in the batter while baking. For add ins I would aim for 1/2 – 1 cup.
How ripe should my bananas be?
Very ripe! The peels should be heavily spotted or even mostly brown. The riper the bananas, the sweeter and more flavorful the bread!
Can I double this recipe?
Yes, a double recipe should fit just fine in the bowl of a standard kitchen mixer, just divide the batter between two loaf pans.
Chocolate Swirled Banana Bread
A chocolatey twist on a comforting classic, this simple Chocolate Swirled Banana bread is sure to go fast!
Servings slices (1 loaf)
Equipment
- Loaf Pan 4.5 x 8.5 inches
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour lightly spooned into a measuring cup and leveled with a knife
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup sugar
- ¼ cup butter softened
- 1 ½ cup mashed ripe bananas about 3-4 medium bananas
- 2 eggs
- ⅓ cup plain Greek yogurt or sour cream
- ½ cup chocolate chips
- OPTIONAL: 1-2 tablespoons brown sugar.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350℉. Mash enough bananas to get 1 1/2 cups. Set aside.
- Lightly spoon flour into measuring cups and level. Combine flour, baking soda, and salt. Cream sugar and butter. Add bananas, eggs, and yogurt, beating until just blended.
- Add flour mixture. Beat on low until just moistened.
- Microwave chocolate chips in a medium bowl for 1 minute, stirring every 20 seconds. Stir until smooth. Cool slightly. Add 1 cup batter to chocolate, stirring until well-combined. Spoon chocolate batter alternately with plain batter (so you have stripes of plain and chocolate batter) in an 8 ½” x 4 ½” loaf pan coated with cooking spray. Swirl batters with a knife.
- Bake for 1 hour 15 minutes (set a timer for 1 hour and check on it after that)–the bread is done when golden brown on top and a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes, then remove from pan and cool completely before slicing. Store any leftovers tightly wrapped in plastic wrap or in an airtight container.
Notes
- This recipe calls for plain yogurt or sour cream. Full fat sour cream is my go-to because it’s what I always have in my fridge, but we have used SO many things in its place. You can use full fat or low fat yogurt, plain or vanilla (we’ve even used fruit flavored yogurts in a pinch). I’ve also used apple sauce. For the photos in this post I was actually out of all of those things so I used ricotta cheese mixed with a couple tablespoons of milk so it was the texture of full fat sour cream and I think I liked it even better than the original! So it’s flexible. If you’re out of sour cream or plain yogurt, you can be creative.
- This recipe also makes great muffins and mini muffins. You’ll have to eyeball the baking time and cook until done- I think I usually start with about 15-20 minutes and then check them.
- Store cooled bread tightly wrapped or in an airtight container at room temperature and enjoy within 3-4 days for best results.
- You can also wrap the loaf tightly in plastic and then foil and freeze for up to 3 months.
Nutrition
Serving: 1slice (1/12 loaf), Calories: 252kcal, Carbohydrates: 44g, Protein: 4g, Fat: 7g, Saturated Fat: 4g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.4g, Monounsaturated Fat: 1g, Trans Fat: 0.2g, Cholesterol: 38mg, Sodium: 210mg, Potassium: 156mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 25g, Vitamin A: 179IU, Vitamin C: 2mg, Calcium: 23mg, Iron: 1mg
Calories: 252kcal
Cost: $3
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Questions & Reviews
@knikitta- a "c" is a cup or 8 fl ounces. There are about 29 mls in one fluid ounce. Hope that helps!
Made this today and it was really good. However, I need some more help with the swirling technique. LOL I think I swirled too much or didn't place my batter in the right sort of orientation to achieve that dramatic swirled look I was after. Hints?
Its a shame that you do not have any sort of conversion chart for us UK (European) readers as I have no idea what measurement 'c' is!
We use kg and g, or if you are old school, lbs and oz.
This looks sooooo wonderful! I can't wait to try it.
Just a thought for you and your readers. When bananas are really cheap, I over-buy. For those that don't get eaten, just toss them in the freezer as they are. When you want to make banana bread, thaw the bananas (in a dish or you'll have a puddle). Once thawed, snip off the bottom and squeeze out like toothpaste. Easy peasy!
Oh .. and chocolate, banana, and peanut is the bomb!!! I keep thinking I want to try making frozen chocolate bananas with a layer of peanut butter under the chocolate.
The Ross Family–I think it would probably just make your life easier if you baked the loaves and then froze them. I've heard you can freeze batter, but I've never tried it, but I do know that freezing that baked loaves is a great solution.
Hope that helps! 🙂
Can you freeze the batter for a day or two? and if you can, what's the best way to defrost it?
🙁 i overcooked mine a little bit. but it still tastes good. so maybe next time ill check it after 1 hour instead of the extra 10 min
Yum. Yum. Yum! You guys never let me down! I needed to make bread for some people in RS that have been helping me out and this was easy to make and delicious (and I am picky with banana breads!!!) This one was soft, moist, dense, sweet and delicious. I doubled it and made two 9×5 inch loaves at a time and then made the chocolate with the second batch of two more and they were both great. I have to make another set since I couldn't smell the house like this and not share some with my own family! Thanks for the recipe. It is a keeper!!!
Laura- save yourself a trip, that will work just fine!
This looks amazing and I want it RIGHT NOW! 🙂 But I only have non-fat plain greek yogurt on hand. Do you think that will work even thought it is a different texture and has no fat at all? Maybe I will just go to the stupid store . . .