Does anyone else out there buy obscenely large bunches of bananas with the hope that at least half of them will overripen before they can be eaten? Because bananas always taste better when whipped up with butter, flour, and sugar? I have a feeling I’m not the only one.
I love banana bread. Loooooove. It’s such a comfort food for me. It goes perfectly with a hot cup of coffee in the morning. Throw some chocolate in the mix and I’m done for. I’ve made many variations of banana bread, but this one is up there as a fav. It’s sweet, satisfying, and feels way more indulgent than it actually is. At least that’s what I tell myself as I cut off my third “healthy” slice in one day.
Really, though. This ba-noo-noo bread is a lot lighter than many versions out there. It’s super moist and dense, but the ingredients are fairly healthy! Greek yogurt, mashed bananas, buttermilk, and ground flax seed. Those are the major moisture factors. Yes, there is some butter, but it’s waaaay less than more traditional recipes call for.
Is there anything better than the smell of banana bread baking away in the oven? Mmmm.
One problem: Dan doesn’t like banana bread, which means that I’m left with an entire loaf to myself. Well, I guess that’s only a “problem” by certain definitions. Do you hear that? I think my stretchy-waist-banded yoga pants are calling my name….
Totally worth it.
Espresso Chocolate Banana Bread
- Yield: 1 loaf (roughly 8 servings) 1x
Ingredients
- 1½ cups mashed, ripe bananas (about 4 medium)
- ¼ cup sugar
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
- 2 tablespoons plain Greek yogurt (I use nonfat)
- ¼ cup buttermilk (or sour cream)
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon espresso powder
- 1 tablespoon ground flax seed
- 1½ teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter and flour one loaf pan and set aside.
- In a large bowl, mix together the mashed bananas, sugars, butter, yogurt, buttermilk, egg, and vanilla. In another bowl, whisk together the flour, espresso powder, ground flax, baking soda, and salt. Toss 2/3 cup of the chocolate chips in the flour mixture (reserve the other 1/3 for the top of the banana bread). Pour the dry ingredients into the wet and stir until just combined.
- Pour into prepared loaf pan. smooth out the top, and then top with the remaining chocolate chips.
- Bake for 50-60 minutes, or until the top is golden and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean (baking time will vary by oven). Let cool in the pan for 15 minutes and then invert onto a wire rack to cool completely.
- Slice and eat (one piece at a time, if you can manage it!).
Hi There. I'm Molly. I'm a food-obsessed, self-taught cook and I can't wait to share my passion for all things culinary with you. My love for egg yolks is just the tip of the iceberg!
Molly, this looks SO great, I love all the ingredients, however, I don’t bake with butter often, I prefer Coconut Oil – I’d be happy with using Eggs and gluten free flour. Do you have any idea how to calculate ratio of melted coconut oil in lieu of butter? Babycakes in NYC, a vegan and gluten free bakery makes great recipes like this!
Thanks, Catherine! I also love using coconut oil in baking, but I have to admit, I haven’t tried it with this specific recipe. I believe the general idea is to use a 1:1 ratio of butter to coconut oil in baking. So, for this recipe, you could use 4 tablespoons of melted cocunut oil in lieu of the butter. Again, I can’t tell you how it would turn out for sure, but I THINK it would work just fine! It will change the flavor slightly, but as long as you’re OK with a more coconut-y flavor, it should be OK. Let me know if you try it out!
Just made this tonight and it was fantastic. The combination of chocolate and banana is my favorite and this was perfect! Thanks for the recipe!
So glad you enjoyed it!
Hey there! I think your recipe looks great, I would like to try to make it 😉 but I have a little difficulty to understand some part of it, I hope you don’t mind if I am asking, …about the measure of quantity, I am use to grams, a cup…how big do you mean?… a standard mug would be fine?…the other question is about the type of coffee …do you mean freeze-dried coffee (instant one)? or the powder to make a moka coffee?….and I beleive that 350 F are more or less 175/180 C…
thank you very much
Hi Barbara. First, thank you for your comment! When I say “cup” I mean the US standard measurement of 8 oz (about 227 g). As for the coffee, I used instant espresso powder (instant coffee powder would work too). As for temperature conversions, I just did a quick Google check and it looks like 350F is right around 175/180C. Hopefully this helps! Let me know if you try it out.
Hi Molly,
I had a piece of your amazing banana bread at a friends….so good.
Thank you, J
So glad you enjoyed it, Jude! Thanks for the comment 🙂