Banana Bread with Chocolate Chips and Walnuts

Deliciously moist Chocolate Chip Banana Bread with walnuts, perfect for using up those ripe bananas. Easy to make and great for a tea-time treat this is my go-to banana bread recipe that everyone loves.

Every family has their own perfect version of banana bread. This is ours. It has become a firm family favourite, a real treat. With just the right amount of chocolate, enough to satisfy any chocolate lover's cravings but not so much that it overpowers the banana, this is a banana bread after all.

It has just the right amount of nuttiness too, with walnuts added for good measure, to give a little texture and bite to your loaf. I've added a sliced banana on top of this loaf, when baked it turns into a beautiful caramelised extra treat, this is optional but highly recommended.

What You'll Need

• Flour - You'll need self-raising flour for this recipe. I have tried this with wholemeal flour and to be honest plain old white self-raising flour really is best. You'll also need 1 teaspoon of baking powder.
• Sugar - I have tested this recipe many times and have experimented with different sugars and indeed different quantities of sugar. Soft, light brown sugar always wins, as does the lesser quantity of 100g.
• Eggs - 2 large free-range eggs are all you need for this recipe. Make sure they are at room temperature.
• Bananas - Two medium to large very ripe bananas are perfect for this recipe + 1 small ripe one for the topping.
• Butter - I use salted butter for almost all my recipes, including this one. Feel free to use unsalted if you wish, but I would add a pinch of salt to the dry ingredients if you do. Make sure your butter is at room temperature!
• Chocolate Chips - Milk chocolate chips are my choice for this recipe. You could use dark chocolate if you want, in that case, I would reduce the amount to about 60g.
• Nuts - Walnuts are great in this bread if you don't have walnuts pecans work great too.
• Extras - I always add cinnamon and vanilla extract to this recipe. One teaspoon of each works for us, if you prefer more cinnamon or vanilla then go ahead and add one more teaspoon.

How To Make Banana Bread

1. Using a wooden spoon beat the butter and sugar together until you have a smooth mixture. In a small bowl mash the bananas with a fork. In another bowl whisk the eggs and vanilla together. Pour the eggs into the bananas and stir until everything is combined.
2. Pour the egg and banana mixture into the butter and sugar then mix well. Sift the flour, baking powder and cinnamon into the batter, then use a spatula to fold the flour into the batter.
3. Add the chopped walnuts and the chocolate chips and mix together briefly.
4. Pour the mixture into a greased and lined loaf tin. Add the banana to the top of the batter, press the banana in a little then bake for 50 to 60 minutes.

Tips For Making The Best Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

• Make sure your butter and eggs are at room temperature. The butter should be soft if it's not soft try grating it into the bowl first.
• Use just-ripe bananas. I'm not a fan of using overly ripe bananas for banana bread, you can if you need to, but I find overly ripe bananas can be too sugary and they don't give the bread that lovely banana flavour. I like my banana bread to taste of banana so just ripe is best.
• Roughly mash your bananas. Some chunks of banana are good!
• When you take the bread out of the oven, let it sit in the tin for a few minutes then remove it to a baking tray. Get rid of the baking paper too.

FAQs

How long will banana bread last for? This banana bread should keep for at least 3 days, none of mine has graced my kitchen long enough to be wrapped and stored! Wrap it tightly with foil or cling film to stop it drying out. Pop it in the fridge to make it last longer.

Can I freeze banana bread? Yes, you can. Leave the bread to cool then wrap it tightly and freeze for up to 3 months. To defrost, take it out of the freezer and leave it to thaw overnight in the fridge.

Need More Tasty Treats?

• Chocolate Covered Dates
• Sourdough French Toast
• Whole Wheat Banana Muffins
• Drop Scones
• Pear and Ginger Crumble

Have you made this Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Recipe? Rate it and leave me a comment below to let me know what you think!

Chocolate Chips Banana Bread

Deliciously moist banana bread with milk chocolate chips, walnuts and a hint of cinnamon.

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Course: Cake

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes

Servings: 12 slices

Calories: 251kcal

Author: Michelle Alston

Ingredients

• ▢ 125 g (½ a cup) salted butter, softened plus more for greasing the loaf tin
• ▢ 100 g (½ a cup) light soft brown sugar
• ▢ 2 large free-range eggs
• ▢ 1 tsp vanilla extract
• ▢ 2 large ripe bananas roughly mashed
• ▢ 1 small banana sliced in half lengthways (optional) for decoration
• ▢ 140 g (1 cup) self raising flour
• ▢ 1 level tsp baking powder
• ▢ 1 level tsp cinnamon
• ▢ 100 g (just over ½ a cup) milk chocolate chips
• ▢ 50 g (just over ⅜ of a cup ) walnuts chopped

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Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 180 C/356 F

  Grease a 2 lb loaf tin with butter and line with parchment paper.
• Beat the butter and sugar together in a bowl until you have a light fluffy mixture.

  In a small bowl beat the eggs and vanilla together.

  In another bowl mash 2 bananas.

  Pour the eggs into the bananas and mix well.

  Start by adding a small amount of the egg and banana mixture to the butter, mixing all the time with the wooden spoon. Then gradually add the remaining eggs and banana mixture. You should have a loose batter.
• Sift in the flour, baking powder and cinnamon. Fold in the flour until it is all incorporated.

  Stir in the walnuts and chocolate chips. Then pour the batter into the prepared tin. 

  Cut the remaining banana in half lengthways and place on the batter, gently press it down a little bit.
• Place the tin on the middle shelf in the oven and bake for 50 - 60 minutes. The bread is done when you pierce it with a metal skewer and it comes out clean.

  Leave the loaf to cool in the tin for a little while then remove from the tin and place on a cooling rack to cool completely.
• Enjoy warm or cold. Keep the loaf wrapped in tin foil and in your bread bin or fridge for 2 to 3 days.

Notes

• Eggs - I use large free-range eggs, they should be at room temperature.
• Butter - As with most of my recipes I use salted butter. It should also be at room temperature. You can use unsalted butter, if you do I would add a pinch of salt to the flour.
• Tin - I used a 2lb loaf tin to make this banana bread.
• Freezing/Storing - This bread will last for 2-3 days. To keep it moist wrap it tightly in foil or clingfilm and store it in the fridge. You can also freeze this - leave it to cool then wrap and store in the freezer for up to 3 months. To defrost - remove the bread from the freezer and leave to thaw overnight in the fridge.
• Chocolate Chips - Milk chocolate chips work best but you can also use dark chocolate chunks for a richer chocolately taste. I would use less though.
• Nuts - Don't like walnuts, try pecans or hazelnuts.
• Nutritional Information - is approximate and is calculated using an online nutrition tool. It is based on one slice are per slice and are approximate. Cup measurements are approximate, I use a Metric scale to measure all ingredients.
• Measurements - I weigh all my ingredients using an electric scale, all measurements are metric. Cup measurements are approximate.

Nutrition

Calories: 251kcal | Carbohydrates: 30.5g | Protein: 4.1g | Fat: 13.2g | Saturated Fat: 6.1g | Cholesterol: 54mg | Sodium: 108mg | Potassium: 160mg | Fiber: 1.7g | Sugar: 11.9g | Calcium: 15mg | Iron: 1mg

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* This recipe was first published on 24th of October 2017 it has now been updated with nutritional information, expert tips and a step by step guide.