This recipe from NYT Cooking has received more than 8000 5-star reviews and for good reason. It’s delicious and in a league of its own. The toasted nuts and chocolate add just the right amount of texture and richness while still allowing the tropical banana flavor be the star of this bread.
Don’t hesitate to spread a few pats of butter on a thick slice of this bread before eating it.
Common pantry ingredients will soon become an uncommonly unique banana bread with loads of banana flavor.
This is a big loaf! Be sure your pan’s interior measurements are 9×5-inches. The amount of batter won’t work in a smaller loaf pan. You’ll notice in the photo above that the batter is near the top of the pan and it will rise when baking.
This recipe uses a generous amount of bananas which gives it a rich banana flavor. Lots of nuts and little pockets of chocolate make this banana bread extra special.
Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
12-16
servingsAdapted from NYT Cooking
Ingredients
1 1/3 cups (400g) mashed ripe bananas (about 1 pound peeled)
I used 5-6 local medium size Hawaii Apple bananas (also known as Manzano)6 tablespoons (85g) lightly salted or unsalted butter, melted
I used Green Valley lactose free lightly salted butter1/3 cup (80 milliliters) plain whole milk or Greek yogurt (I used Green Valley Lactose Free Yogurt)
1 cup (220g) light or dark brown sugar, firmly packed
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups (250g) all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 bar semi-sweet chocolate (4 ounce/113g) finely chopped, or 4 ounces (113g) mini chocolate chips
3/4 cup (130g) coarsely chopped toasted walnuts or pecans
Toast nuts for 3-4 minutes at 325 degreesCoarse turbinado sugar, (optional)
Directions
- Heat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9×5-inch loaf pan with nonstick spray or unsalted butter. Line bottom of pan with parchment paper. Be sure the interior of the pan measures 9×5 and not the exterior which would not be large enough for this recipe!
- In a large bowl, mash the bananas coarsely using a fork or potato masher. The bananas should be fully broken apart (some larger lumpy pieces are ok). Whisk in the melted butter, yogurt, brown sugar, eggs and vanilla until well combined.
- In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda and salt to combine. Add the flour mixture to the banana mixture and stir to combine using a spatula or wooden spoon. Scrape the sides and base of the bowl well to make sure the mixture is uniformly combined.
- Gently stir in the chocolate and nuts. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan and spread into an even layer. If using, sprinkle the surface generously with coarse sugar.
- Bake until the edges of the loaf start to pull away from the edge of the pan, and a tester inserted into the center comes out with just a few moist crumbs attached, about 65-75 minutes. If the top of the loaf is becoming too dark, loosely tent with foil.
- Transfer the pan to a cooling rack and run a knife around the edge to separate the bread from the pan. Let cool in the pan for at least 15 minutes before unmolding and cooling completely.
Notes
- This recipes makes a very big loaf! Leftovers freeze well.