Super-moist and incredibly indulgent brown sugar banana bread loaded with dark chocolate chips and raspberries.
If you’ve been reading my blog for awhile… a long, long while… you may remember my Dark Chocolate Raspberry Banana Bread from 2012. I made that bread about 17384 times that summer. I’m not joking; ask all my old coworkers because I’d bring in a loaf practically each week. Chocolate and raspberries are my weakness.
I had a whole bunch of ripe bananas on the counter over the weekend, so I made two delicious loaves.
This time, I used my favorite banana bread base recipe. It uses more butter, brown sugar instead of white, and more banana. I call it my “best-ever banana bread.” Check it out, banana bread lovers.
I sliced and froze one loaf (freezes beautifully up to 2 months) and snapped photos of the other loaf. We gobbled up slices for dessert and when I wasn’t looking, Kevin ate the last slice for breakfast yesterday. The nerve.
You will fall in love with this banana bread recipe! It’s incredibly dense and bursting with flavor in every slice. I sweeten the loaf with brown sugar—brown sugar and banana go together like peanut butter and chocolate. The two are just meant to be! You will love the richness the brown sugar gives.
About 4 large and beautifully ripe bananas go into my banana bread. I use extra spotty brown bananas to make it—and encourage you to do the same. Just like when you make banana chocolate chip streusel muffins, they should not be totally brown and black, just heavily speckled. Like this:
This banana bread is the moistest of moist. I know you probably hate that word or are sick of me saying it, but I simply loathe dry banana bread. I’d rather eat a bowl broccoli for breakfast than a piece of dry banana bread.
This banana bread obtains its moisture from 2 eggs and a little yogurt (in addition to the bananas and brown sugar). The 1/3 cup of yogurt goes a long way! I typically use plain Greek yogurt, but regular yogurt will be just fine. Sour cream makes a nice substitution as well. Butter gives the bread a nutty, rich flavor that is enhanced with the bananas and chocolate. And a touch of vanilla extract rounds out the banana’s sweet flavor.
Each bite is truly mouthwatering.
I use a heavy hand when adding the raspberries. I prefer using fresh raspberries because I find using frozen tints the banana bread pink, no matter how gently you fold them in. The bread also takes longer to bake when using frozen berries due to their added moisture.
I go a little lighter on the chocolate because I feel it overpowers the banana taste. However, you can see there is still plenty of chocolate in each bite!
There are no liquids in my banana bread recipe, so you know it’s going to be dense. Not overly heavy in the slightest, just the perfect amount of density you’re looking for. Dark, dense, and packed with chocolate and raspberries. Just the way I love it.
Ladies and gents, I give you… heaven in sliced form.
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Dark Chocolate Chip Raspberry Banana Bread
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Total Time: 2 hours
- Yield: 1 loaf
- Category: Bread
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Super-moist and incredibly indulgent brown sugar banana bread loaded with dark chocolate chips and raspberries.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (115g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 3/4 cup (150g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1/3 cup (80g) plain Greek yogurt or sour cream*
- 2 cups (460g) mashed bananas (about 4 large ripe bananas)
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups (250g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 3/4 cup (135g) dark chocolate chips (or semi-sweet)
- 1 cup (150g) halved raspberries, tossed in 1 Tablespoon (8g) all-purpose flour to prevent sinking*
Instructions
- Adjust the oven rack to the lower third position and preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Lightly spray a 9×5 loaf pan with nonstick spray. Set aside.
- Using a hand-held or stand mixer, cream together the butter and brown sugar on medium speed, about 3 minutes. On medium speed, add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the yogurt, mashed bananas and vanilla on medium speed for 1 minute. Remove the bowl from the mixer if using a stand mixer. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, toss the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon together until combined. Using a large spoon or rubber spatula, slowly mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Slowly stir everything together until no more flour pockets remain. Do not overmix. Gently fold in the raspberries and chocolate chips.
- Spoon the batter into the prepared baking pan – sprinkle with a few additional chocolate chips if desired. Bake for 60-65 minutes, loosely covering the bread with aluminum foil at the 30 minute mark. This will prevent the top and sides from getting too brown. A toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf will come out clean when the bread is done. Remove from the oven and allow the bread to cool completely in the pan on a wire rack before slicing.
- Banana bread tastes amazing on day 2 after the flavors have had time to meld together. Store leftover bread tightly at room temperature or in the refrigerator for 1 week.
Notes
- Freezing Instructions: Bread freezes well for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and allow to come to room temperature before serving.
- Muffins: Preheat oven to 425°F (218°C) degrees and spray a 12-count pan with nonstick spray or line with cupcake liners. Prepare batter as directed above, fill each cupcake liner to the top with batter and bake the muffins for 5 minutes at 425°F (218°C). Then, keeping the muffins in the oven, lower the temperature to 350°F (177°C) and continue to bake for an additional 14-15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Makes 10-12 muffins.
- Yogurt/Sour Cream: Either Greek, regular yogurt, or sour cream are fine. Plain, vanilla, or honey flavored are OK. Low-fat or non-fat are OK.
- Raspberries: I prefer using fresh raspberries because I find using frozen tints the banana bread pink, no matter how gently you fold them in. The bread also takes longer to bake when using frozen berries due to their added moisture.
- Adapted from Recipe Boy.
Keywords: dark chocolate raspberry banana bread, chocolate raspberry banana bread
Made these in the muffin version Because I didn’t have a bread pan and they turned out perfect. Thank you.
Made this last night and had to use sour cream and strawberries since I was out of yogurt and raspberries. Turned out fantastic!
I emailed a comment in Nov 2016 and wanted to send you a follow-up! I wrote that my bread was delicious, but was “moist and mushy” and fell apart when I sliced it after 3 tries of baking it. It finally occurred to me that my problem was that I had moved to Montana, where my altitude was now 5300 feet, and this affects baking! I made “high-altitude adjustments” (in the ingredients, baking temp. and baking time), and the bread turned out perfect! Thank you so much for your wonderful recipes; I now know that I’ll have to make a few minor revisions for great results!!!
Curious as to which changes you made! I recently moved to 7200 ft and still don’t know how to accommodate recipes 🙁
Hi Sally, I’ve made this bread about 4 times; the last 3 times the loaf has come out soggy and mushy. I made sure the raspberries were firm and ripe, and also dusted them with the 1 tablespoon flour the recipe calls for. I did refrigerate the bread after it cooled by placing it in the refrigerator before I was able to slice it. Then I froze the bread in single slices in wax paper. It was so soggy that no one wanted to eat it! Any ideas? I’m wondering if the reader who wrote her’s was “squidgy” has experienced the same problem. Thanks in advance; we loved the first loaf…it was delicious!
Hi Pamela! Oh no. I’m so sorry to hear this! I suggest baking the bread even longer. Is it done in the center when you remove it from the oven? You may also want to slightly reduce the amount of raspberries. That should help too.
Hi Sally,
Can I substitute coconut oil for the melted butter? if so, what would the measurement be?
Thanks!
Hi Kate, it’s best to use softened butter in this bread. Though creaming the same amount of solid coconut oil would work too! Just a change in flavor.
Hi Sally,
Thanks for another great recipe!!! So I’ve never been able to make really good banana bread and I saw this recipe and got really excited to make it. I don’t know what I did wrong, but the bread came out really dense. What are some ways I can avoid that?
Thank you!
It’s supposed to be dense 🙂 But was it like rock-hard? Was it baked all the way through you think? You can try sifting the flour (so use 2 cups of sifted flour– sift, then measure). Sifting always helps lighten things up.
I made this yesterday and, as everyone else has already said, it’s amazing! I forgot to toss my raspberries with flour, but they still didn’t sink… perhaps because of the density of the loaf. I ised milk chocolate rather than dark as thats what I had and I knew my toddler woild be begging for some (I was correct). Mine was a lot darker around the edges and very squidgy inside (we personally like this so no problems in this house!). I might try baking at a slightly lower temperature for a little longer next time. And there will DEFINITELY be a next time!
I want to make this recipe so bad, it definitely look scrumptious but I was wondering if I can substitute the dark chocolate for white, do you think it would be extremely sweet?
Thanks!
It would be quite sweet, yes– feel free to slightly reduce the added sugar in the recipe.
Awesome recipe I can’t wait to try! Question, could I substitute all purpose flour for whole wheat flour or buckwheat flour? Would that change the measurements in any way? Thanks!
You can use whole wheat flour, the same amount– but the banana bread will be more dense.
Hi Sally, stumbled upon your blog and now I can’t wait to make your fantastic breads and cookies. I’m just wondering if there is a substitute loaf pan for the 9×5 stated in your recipe? Thank you so much! Keep inspiring!
Hi Carol! You can surely use a 9×9 square baking pan instead– for a “cake” type banana bread. No other size loaf pans are ideal.
I just made this gluten free – substituted the 2 cups of flour for 1 cup of brown rice flour and half a cup each of coconut flour and almond meal with 1 tsp guar gum. Came out great!
Hi Sally,
I tried baking this recipe last night, but it didn’t turn out as I wished. I used everything as you mentioned. The only difference is the size of the pan. My pan measured at 9x4x3. Does the size of the pan makes a difference in how cooked the bread will be? The inside of the bread was not cooked properly, whereas the outside browned a little over. The inside of the bread looked like semi-cooked batter… Where did I go wrong?
If a bread isn’t cooking properly, it’s usually the oven. Try baking the bread on a lower rack and checking your oven temp with an oven thermometer. This always helps!
Oh my gosh that chocolate chip raspberry banana bread was just amazing!! Chocolate and raspberry are truly a match made in heaven! Thank you so much for sharing, I plan on making it again today or tomorrow, depending on the bananas! thanks again, excellent recipe!
Have you ever tried to make this with strawberries instead? Does it also come out pink?
Strawberries work, yes! The baked bread was tinted pink just a little yes.
Hi Sally – Thanks so much for the wonderful recipe! I’m planning on doubling it and placing one loaf in the freezer (like you did). Any tips for thawing the bread? How do you store yours in the freezer? In a freezer ziploc? Thanks again for all of your wonderful recipes – your bog and cookbook are my go-to source for all things related to baking!
Hi Karen! I like to freeze mine in a large ziplock bag, yes. I thaw it overnight in the refrigerator then bring to room temperature before serving.
Sally, you havent failed me yet! Today I bought strawberries to repeat your lovely strawberry/banana bread – out of this world – and then went to Pinterest to find something with raspberries and chocolate – and what to my wondering eyes did appear: another of your wonderful breads! I had to laugh out loud – as opposed to chewing, etc….. Im sure you will be there when I am dreaming up something else. Thanks for your generosity and good taste (!) – very generous of you.
My mom and I saw this recipe and immediately drove to the store for raspberries. We just moved and realized our bread loaf pans are in storage 🙁 i have regular cupcake pans, would you just adjust bake time?
Yes, the bake time will be significantly less for cupcakes.
Hi Sally. Great recipe, very tasty and yum! Quick question though – how deep is the loaf pan you used? I followed this recipe exactly, and I used a 9×5 loaf tin, but only 5 mins in the oven and I noticed that the mix was pouring over the sides of the tin. It kept spilling for 20 mins and left a huge mess in the oven. Perhaps my loaf tin was too shallow! How deep should it be for this recipe?
My 9×5 pans are 9x5x3 inches.
Same thing happened to me today…huge mess in the oven:(
I made this for my sweet hubby tonight, because his favorite flavors are dark chocolate, raspberry, and banana — too perfect! I followed the recipe to the T and it was out of this world! Hands down, the best banana bread I’ve ever had and hubby was in complete heaven! Thanks!
hello again, Sally. so far this is only the second recipe I’ve made from your blog (cake batter chocolate chip cookies being the first obviously) but the cookies I’ve made quite a few times and currently have dough balls of just that in my freezer 😀
anyways, I made this beautiful bread last night and just had to have a slice for breakfast. soo delicious. oh my gosh. I normally don’t even like fruit in my baked goods (I know I’m crazy) but I wanted to make this bread for my husband because he likes things like this. but I tried a piece and I was in banana bread heaven. seriously Sally, you are a genius. my husband and I thank you! I made him look through all your recipes and bookmark the ones he wants me to make and I promise you, between the both of our bookmarks, by the end of this year I will have made 90% of your delicious goods.
okay but my whole point was just to tell you THIS BREAD IS THE MOST FANTASTIC BREAD THATS EVER HAPPENED TO ME AND MY HUSBAND! so thank you Sally!
Made this today because the pictures looked amazing! Accidentally, put 2 bananas instead of 4, OOPS! Delicious bread, can’t wait to make it again with the correct number of bananas! Found it needed 65 minutes of cook time.
Hey there!
Loving your blog. So much I need to try!!
I whipped this up today, my first ever banana bread. Let it cook for as long as possible (about and hour and a half in the end with foil from 30 mins) but I’ve just removed it from the tin and the raspberries have sunk slightly and it has a soggy bottom! What did I do wrong? Followed the recipe although I used 3 bananas instead of 4.
Just don’t seem to have gotten the knack of cooking with fruit so any tips would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!
Hi Tammi – were your raspberries frozen or fresh? And were they extra moist/wet? I’ve never had a problem with the raspberries sinking – I always be sure to toss them in a bit of flour as the recipe states. Were you sure to do that?
Hi Sally,
Was looking for a banana bread recipe when I happened on your website and am sure glad I did! The addition of raspberries & chocolate chips…..simply genius!! I made it last week & loved it sooooo much, I made it again this week. I am telling you seriously my bananas could not ripen fast enough! Now when I am looking for a recipe I immediately go to your website instead of perusing all the others. Your photos and explanations make me want to make practically everything I see. Thank you Sally. You are my ” go to girl” & I have recommended your website to my co-workers as well
I was so excited to make this bread. Your photos and description really sold me. I made it tonight, and it met all of my expectations and more! Yum! My only issue was that I had to cook it about 15 minutes longer than the directions say. I’m not sure if this is just a variance in oven quality or what, but when it was done it looked and tasted incredible! Thank you for this recipe!
This was scrumptious!!
Sounds delicious, with so many of my favorite things in one recipe! One question…Do you think I could make this into little muffins, so it would be easier for my little one to eat? Maybe I’ll just go for it and let you know how it goes.
Definitely! Maybe about 18 minutes bake time. Enjoy!
This has just come out of the oven and my home smells amazing! This was super easy to make – I did have to use frozen berries, but i defrosted before and let rest on some kitchen paper after advice on it needing longer to cook because of moisture. Cooked for just under the 60 minutes.
Sally, you never disappoint with amazingly delicious recipes!
I made this today and everyone who has tasted it so far (including myself obviously) thought it was delicious! I love the combination of chocolate, raspberry and banana. Thank you for your fantastic recipes, Sally!
Hi Sally,
I want to say THANK YOU for the amazing site and recipes!
I’ve made this recipe twice in the past two days and rave reviews of how moist and delicious the bread is from co-workers.
I’ve also made your funfutti cookies using cake mix…AMAZING! and the quick upside down pineapple cake.
I saw your mango banana bread recipe and I’m super excited to try that one next. I think instead of mango I’m going to try it with pineapple, but using the dry ratio from the raspberry chocolate chip loaf because I love how dense and moist the bread is.
Again, love love LOVE your site and I tell everyone I know about it.
Question: when you slice and freeze the loaf, do you wrap the slices individually, or do you put them back together and then wrap the whole thing?
I can hardly wait to try it!
I’ve done both before- and I let the cake/slices thaw overnight in the refrigerator.