Chocolate chip banana bread with pecans
- Preparation 15 min
- Cooking 1 h 10 min
- Servings 6
- Freezing Absolutely
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🍌 Inspired by my mom’s banana bread
This chocolate chip banana bread starts from my mom’s, but the rest is all me. If you want the plain version, no chocolate and no pecans, that’s my old fashioned banana bread.
🍫 Chocolate milk in the batter
The chocolate milk in the batter is my own idea, not my mom’s. It gets stirred with a little lemon juice first, then goes into the batter in two additions, alternating with the dry ingredients. Dark chocolate chips and pecans do the rest.
🕐 Even better the next day
It’s moist the day you bake it and even better the day after. Good thing it keeps three to four days in the fridge in an airtight container, and it freezes well, sliced.
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🍌 Frozen bananas are even better.
Frozen bananas work, and I’d even suggest them. When your bananas turn dark, put them in the freezer and take them out the day you bake.
🥄 Mix just enough.
When you add the dry mixture, stir by hand just until everything is moistened, no more. Mix too much and you build gluten, and the bread comes out tough. That’s why the batter goes together in three rounds: a bit of dry, a bit of milk, and repeat.
🍫 The chocolate chips don’t sink.
The batter is very moist, so the chips stay put. Fold them in at the very end, along with the pecans.
🔪 Let the toothpick decide.
Take the loaf out too early and the middle will be raw, no question. Poke it in the center: if it comes out dry, you’re done, if not, back in the oven. And if your loaf is as big as mine, grab a metal skewer, it reaches farther than a toothpick.
✂️ Slice before freezing.
Yes, it freezes. Slice it first, otherwise you’ll have to thaw the whole loaf just to eat one slice.
📅 Make ahead.
Bake it the day before: it’s even better the next day. Once cooled, keep it in an airtight container in the fridge, where it lasts three to four days.
✅ What to serve with my chocolate chip banana bread with pecans?
A cold glass of milk or a coffee, and you’re set. If you want another shape, I have my banana chocolate chip muffins and my banana pecan muffins. For breakfast, my banana pancakes. And for the version without chocolate, there’s my old fashioned banana bread.
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Ingredients
- 1 cup (250 ml) chocolate milk
- 1 tablespoon (15 ml) fresh lemon juice
- 2 cups (500 ml) all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup (180 ml) whole wheat flour
- ½ teaspoon (2.5 ml) baking soda
- 1 teaspoon (5 ml) baking powder
- ½ teaspoon (2.5 ml) salt
- ½ teaspoon (2.5 ml) ground nutmeg
- ½ cup (125 ml) softened butter
- ¾ cup (180 ml) brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 2 teaspoons (10 ml) vanilla extract
- 1¼ cups (310 ml) mashed very ripe bananas (about 3 bananas)
- ¼ cup (60 ml) pecans, coarsely chopped
- ¼ cup (60 ml) dark chocolate chips
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Preparation
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).
- Grease a 9 x 5-inch (23 x 13 cm) loaf pan well with butter.
- Pour the chocolate milk and lemon juice into a large measuring cup and stir well. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine the flours, baking soda, baking powder, salt and nutmeg. Stir well.
- With an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the softened butter and brown sugar in a large bowl until smooth. Mix in the egg and vanilla. Add the bananas and mix for about 10 seconds.
- Take the bowl off the mixer and stir in a third of the dry mixture by hand, just until the ingredients are moistened. Add ½ cup (125 ml) of the chocolate milk and stir by hand for 1 minute. Repeat with another third of the dry mixture and the rest of the milk. Finish with the last third of the dry mixture, add the pecans and chocolate chips, and stir.
- Pour the batter into the well-greased loaf pan and bake for about 1 hour to 1 hour 10 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out dry when poked into the middle! (Mine was so big I had to use a skewer to poke it, hahaha!) Take it out of the oven and let it cool for 5 to 10 minutes before unmolding and digging in!
Mixing too much. Once the dry ingredients go in, stir by hand just until they’re moistened. Overmix and you build gluten, and the loaf turns out tough. That’s why this batter goes together in three rounds, alternating the dry mixture with the chocolate milk.
Yes, and they don’t sink. The batter is very moist, so the chips stay in place. Fold them in at the end, with the pecans, right before pouring everything into the pan.
Poke a toothpick in the center: it should come out dry. Take it out too early and the middle will be raw, no question. In a 350°F (180°C) oven, count about 1 hour to 1 hour 10 minutes. If the loaf is big, a metal skewer reaches farther than a toothpick.
Yes. Slice it first, otherwise you’ll have to thaw the whole loaf. In the fridge, it keeps three to four days. Frozen bananas work very well in this recipe too, and I’d even suggest them.
My old fashioned banana bread is the plain version. This one adds chocolate milk to the batter, dark chocolate chips and pecans.
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