Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Bread (Printable Version)

Moist banana bread swirled with creamy peanut butter and rich chocolate chips.

# What You'll Need:

→ Dry Ingredients

01 - 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
02 - 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
03 - 1 teaspoon baking soda
04 - 1/2 teaspoon salt

→ Wet Ingredients

05 - 3 large ripe bananas, mashed
06 - 2/3 cup granulated sugar
07 - 1/3 cup neutral oil (vegetable or canola)
08 - 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter, plus extra for swirling
09 - 2 large eggs
10 - 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

→ Mix-ins

11 - 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

# Method:

01 - Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease and line a 9x5-inch loaf pan with parchment paper.
02 - In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt until well blended.
03 - In a large bowl, combine mashed bananas, sugar, oil, peanut butter, eggs, and vanilla. Mix until smooth and creamy.
04 - Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Stir gently until just combined; do not overmix to maintain texture.
05 - Fold in the chocolate chips until evenly distributed throughout the batter.
06 - Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Dollop extra peanut butter on top and swirl gently with a knife to create a marble effect.
07 - Bake for 50–55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with just a few moist crumbs.
08 - Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before slicing.

# Chef's Tips:

01 -
  • It bridges the gap between respectable breakfast and guilty pleasure dessert without trying too hard
  • The swirling technique looks impressive but takes literally ten seconds
  • Keeps moist for days, assuming it lasts that long
02 -
  • Overmixing once the flour hits the bowl makes bread tough and gummy, even with all that moisture
  • The toothpick test matters more than the timer, especially if your bananas were extra large
  • Swirling too aggressively mixes the peanut butter into the batter instead of creating distinct ribbons
03 -
  • Let your bananas go almost black before baking, they create significantly more moisture and sweetness than yellow ones
  • Room temperature ingredients combine more smoothly, reducing the risk of overmixing

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