My reader-favorite recipe for the best banana bread gets *fancy* with the addition of dark chocolate chips and raspberries. Each slice is incredibly moist, full of flavor, and bursting with sweet raspberries and chocolate in every bite. Enjoy a slice for a special breakfast treat or end your day on a high note with dark chocolate chip raspberry banana bread for dessert. A true anytime treat!
My recipes for banana bread and banana muffins are consistently in the top 10 most popular recipes on my website. And I mean top of the top… not just seasonally, not just of all my quick bread recipes or muffin recipes… I’m talking the favorite of more than 1,300 published recipes.
That sure says something!
When you have recipes that tasty, it only makes sense to create flavorful variations! And today’s dark chocolate raspberry version is one of my absolute favorites. (Like chocolate raspberry cake and banana bread combined. Swoon!)
All About Dark Chocolate Chip Raspberry Banana Bread
- Taste: Chocolate and berries are always an indulgent pairing, and taste unbelievable with the sweet, comforting notes of banana. A lovely trio!
- Texture: Thanks to a handful of powerhouse ingredients like mashed banana and Greek yogurt/sour cream, the bread is supremely moist with a tight crumb. Not quite as dense as lemon pound cake, but not quite as light as this chocolate chip loaf cake. Texture-wise, it’s situated perfectly in the middle.
- Time: Quick bread loaves typically take about an hour or more in the oven, and this loaf is no exception. However, all the prep leading up to bake time takes about 10 minutes—so most of the total time is hand-off.
One reader, Paige, commented: “What a wonderful combination of flavors! Every bite is different, yet always delicious.”
Key Ingredients to Use & Why
- Butter: Creamed butter gives the loaf structure and melt-in-your-mouth buttery flavor.
- Sugar: Just enough to sweeten the bread (the bananas provide some sweetness too).
- Eggs: These bind the ingredients, and also add a little richness.
- Greek Yogurt or Sour Cream: Plain Greek yogurt helps guarantee a moist, dense loaf. I use it quite a bit in my bread and muffin recipes, like these lemon blueberry muffins.
- Mashed Bananas: You want 4 large, extra-spotty bananas for best flavor. Just like I recommend for my cinnamon swirl banana bread, too.
- Vanilla Extract, Salt, and Cinnamon: Little bits of each promise plenty of flavor enhancement.
- Flour: To maintain the intended texture, I recommend all-purpose flour. If you’re looking for a whole wheat recipe, try my healthier whole wheat banana bread and feel free to add raspberries and dark chocolate to that recipe.
- Baking Soda: Helps the bread rise.
- Dark Chocolate Chips: I love using dark chocolate with raspberries, but semi-sweet is also delicious. Whatever type of chocolate you enjoy in your chocolate chip cookies, you’ll love here as well.
- Raspberries: If you can, reach for fresh raspberries. Frozen raspberries will release extra moisture in the batter and leave the bread a light shade of pink, no matter how gently you incorporate them. If using frozen, do not thaw, and know that your bread may take a few minutes longer in the oven due to the added moisture.
Success Tip: Mashing the Bananas
I started doing this a while ago and it’s been a total game changer whenever I make recipes like banana chocolate chip breakfast cookies, chocolate banana muffins, or chocolate marble banana Bundt cake. Just use your mixer to mash bananas! Peel the bananas, place in your mixer’s bowl, and beat until mashed. Transfer them to another bowl, then use the same mixing bowl to cream the butter and sugar together and proceed with the recipe.
If you’d rather not use the mixer, just mash the bananas in a big bowl with a fork or even a potato masher. You need 2 cups (460g) of mashed ripe bananas, which is about 4 large bananas.
Can I Use Frozen Bananas in This Dark Chocolate Chip Raspberry Banana Bread?
Yes, and I do this often. Thaw the frozen bananas at room temperature. Drain off any excess liquid, mash the thawed and drained bananas, then use as instructed in the recipe below. See How to Freeze & Thaw Bananas for Baking. Try not to mash too much or else you’ll be left with 2 cups of banana-y liquid; some chunks are great.
More Quick Bread Recipes
- Pumpkin Bread
- Cinnamon Swirl Quick Bread
- Apple Cinnamon Bread
- Nutella Swirl Peanut Butter Banana Bread
- Zucchini Bread
And don’t forget about my savory sun-dried tomato and cheese quick bread!
PrintDark Chocolate Chip Raspberry Banana Bread
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 70 minutes
- Total Time: 3 hours
- Yield: 1 loaf
- Category: Bread
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
My reader-favorite recipe for the best banana bread gets *fancy* with the addition of dark chocolate chips and juicy raspberries. Enjoy a slice for a special breakfast treat or end your day on a high note with dark chocolate chip raspberry banana bread for dessert. A true anytime treat!
Ingredients
- 2 cups (250g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 cup (8 Tbsp; 113g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 3/4 cup (150g) granulated 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
- 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). Lowering the oven rack prevents the top of your bread from browning too much, too soon. Grease a metal 9×5-inch loaf pan with nonstick spray. Set aside.
- Whisk the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon together in a medium bowl. Set aside.
- Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle or whisk attachment, beat the butter and sugar together on high speed until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. With the mixer running on medium speed, add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Then beat in the yogurt, mashed bananas, and vanilla extract until combined.
- With the mixer running on low speed, slowly beat the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until no flour pockets remain. Do not over-mix. Fold in the chocolate chips and floured raspberries.
- Pour and spread the batter into the prepared baking pan. Bake for 60–75 minutes, making sure to loosely cover the bread with aluminum foil halfway through to prevent the top from getting too brown. The bread is done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean with only a few small moist crumbs. This may be after 70 minutes depending on your oven, so begin checking every 5 minutes around the 60-minute mark.
- Remove banana bread from the oven and allow the bread to cool in the pan set on a wire rack for 1 hour. Remove bread from the pan and cool bread directly on the wire rack until ready to slice and serve.
- Cover and store banana bread at room temperature for 2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Banana bread tastes best on day 2, after the flavors have settled together.
Notes
- Freezing Instructions: Freeze baked & cooled loaf for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator. If desired, bring to room temperature before serving. To learn more details about how to freeze quick breads, see my post called Make-Ahead Baking.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): 9×5-inch Loaf Pan | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand Mixer) | Mixing Bowls | Silicone Spatula | Cooling Rack
- Butter: If needed, you can use salted butter in this recipe with no other changes needed. I’ve also successfully reduced the butter down to 6 Tablespoons (85g) with no issue (just as tasty).
- Sugar: Feel free to substitute the same amount of light or dark brown sugar or coconut sugar. I do not recommend any liquid sweeteners.
- Yogurt: You can use nonfat or low-fat plain yogurt, Greek or regular. You can also use sour cream, either full-fat or low-fat.
- Raspberries: I prefer using fresh raspberries in this recipe because frozen berries tint 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.
- Muffins: Use this banana bread recipe to make 2 dozen dark chocolate raspberry banana muffins. Pour the batter into lined or greased muffin pans and bake for 5 minutes at 425°F (218°C); then, keeping the muffins in the oven, reduce the oven temperature to 350°F (177°C). Bake for an additional 16–17 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. The total bake time for the muffins is about 22–23 minutes. The initial burst of hot air helps those muffins rise nice and tall!
- Frozen Bananas: You can use frozen bananas here. Thaw the frozen bananas. Drain off any excess liquid, mash, then use as instructed in the recipe. See How to Freeze & Thaw Bananas for Baking.
- Adapted from Recipe Boy
Keywords: dark 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.
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.