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Healthy Chocolate Banana Bread is perfect for breakfast!
If you’ve been reading my blog for a while now, you probably already know how I feel about bananas.
↑ I hate them. UNLESS they’re in banana bread. Or cake. Or a smoothie. Then I’m a total fan girl. But a raw banana?! Please no. Never. Ever. EVER.
Anyway! I was thinking a lot about banana bread yesterday. More specifically, what could make banana bread even better than it already is…
Light bulb moment: CHOCOLATE! Lots of it. Added a few handfuls of walnuts too, which went great with the chocolate and banana flavors.
Tips and Tricks for Recipe Success:
- This healthy chocolate banana bread is not overly sweet! The recipe only calls for a 1/3 cup of coconut sugar, but if you want a sweeter loaf, you can round it up to a 1/2 cup.
- If you cannot find coconut sugar, you can substitute an equal amount of packed light brown sugar.
- Make sure you sift your cocoa powder before you add it to the dry ingredients.
- The walnuts and chocolate chunks are both optional, but great additions to this healthy chocolate banana bread. I love the texture that chunks of chocolate add, but you can totally use chocolate chips instead.
- Use whatever variety milk you have on hand! I’ve made this loaf with cow’s milk, almond milk, and coconut milk. I haven’t tried it with soy milk, but I assume it will work just fine.
- I call this healthy chocolate banana bread healthy because, to me, it’s made with healthier ingredients I feel good about. That said, it’s still banana bread!
- If you want an extra decadent treat, drizzle the loaf is chocolate syrup before serving! I used store bought, but you can also use homemade 😉
Have a safe, peaceful, and delicious weekend, my friend! I’ll be testing a few new recipes (including pretzel buns!!!) and hopefully I’ll be able to pop in and share them with you soon.
But for now, why not try this healthy chocolate banana bread?! It’s perfect with a cup of coffee!
If you try this recipe for Healthy Chocolate Banana Bread, let me know what you think! Leave a comment below, and don’t forget to snap a pic and tag it #bakerbynature on instagram! Seeing your creations makes my day.
Healthy Chocolate Banana Bread
Ingredients
- 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons whole wheat flour
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/3 cup coconut sugar (use 1/2 cup for a sweeter loaf)
- 1/3 cup coconut oil, melted
- 2 large eggs, lightly beaten, at room temperature
- 3 teaspoons milk (cow's milk, almond milk, or coconut milk are all fine!)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 and 1/2 cups VERY ripe banana, peeled and mashed (about 5 or 6 bananas)
- 3/4 cup chopped walnuts, optional
- 1/2 cup semi-sweet or dark chocolate, chopped into small chunks, optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F). Line a loaf pan with parchment paper and lightly spray with non-stick spray; set aside.
- In a medium bowl whisk together whole wheat flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon; set aside.
- In a large bowl combine coconut sugar, coconut oil, eggs, milk, and vanilla; beat until combined. Stir in the mashed bananas. Add in the dry ingredients and stir just until combined. Fold in the walnuts and chocolate chunks, if using.
- Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan, smoothing the top with a spatula. Bake for 1 hour, or until a cake tester inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean. Allow bread to cool in the pan for 15 minutes before removing the loaf from the pan and transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Once cool, slice and serve.
You can find coconut sugar at Walmart & target both in my area hav eorganic. I can’t wait to make this I have ripe bananas on my counter.
Thank you for the tips on finding coconut sugar, Jo! I can’t wait to hear how the banana bread turns out 🙂
Can you please tell me the dimensions of the loaf pan?thank you
Hi Camelia. The pan I used was 6 x 11 x 10 in. You could use a loaf pan with slightly different dimensions, just be sure to keep an eye on it as it bakes, as the “done time” may shift by a few minutes.
I kid you not, I just pulled chocolate, banana, walnut muffins from the oven. How great is that combo?????
Yours looks killer good!
I’m sure it’s a typo, but the prep time is likely not 15 hours. Can’t wait to try this one out.
Any substitute for coconut oil?
Could you use maple syrup to sweeten instead of coconut sugar and if so, how much do you recommend?
Thank you!
I dn’t see the calories amout per slice. Can you hlo me with that?
I’ve tried this recipe with my best dous chef, my 3 yr old many many times n it’s come out perfect everytime ! Such a simple recipe…I ve been complimented many times by friends with requests for repeats !! Thnx again….
My favorite banana bread recipe! It’s a piece of heaven, second time making it!
I tried this recipe with olive oil, came out really well, loved it so much. The texture of the bread was so perfect. Thanks for this recipe.
What can be used instead of Coconut Sugar and would the portions be the same? I just bought Splenda Naturals Stevia Baking Sugar and their Brown Sugar. Can I add Blueberries to this? I’m recently devoted to change and start baking healthier for my family and young grandchildren. I just found you and I’m in love with your recipes. I want to bake it all♥️
Made this recipe for the 2nd time. We all love it. Made it with canola oil, granulated sugar and dark brown sugar. All works fine. I need to calculate the cups to grams (Netherlands) but comes out great.