Double Chocolate Banana Bread

Why You’ll Love This Mexican Chocolate Banana Bread Recipe

• Quick and easy—just 2 bowls and 15 minutes of prep.
• Simple ingredients you likely have on hand.
• Butter and crema make it super moist and tender.
• Mexican chocolate adds richness, and cocoa powder amps up the flavor.
• A touch of cinnamon brings warm, cozy vibes.

Ingredients & Substitutions 

The complete list of ingredients, quantities, and instructions can be found in the printable recipe card below.

As promised, you only need basic ingredients to make this delicious banana chocolate bread. Here’s what to grab:

• Unsalted Butter – Butter adds lots of richness and contributes to a fluffy, tender consistency. Since it’s melted, there’s no need for your electric mixer!
• All-Purpose Flour – Plain white flour is all you need.
• Overripe Bananas – The frecklier, the better.
• Crema Mexicana – Basically a pourable sour cream, this creamy, dreamy condiment adds tons of moisture. Feel free to swap in regular sour cream or full-fat Greek yogurt instead.
• Granulated Sugar – The neutral flavor and pH of white sugar are essential for both letting the Mexican chocolate and banana flavor shine through. It also creates a light, crackly crust for our chocolate banana nut bread. Light brown sugar will likely add too much moisture.
• Salt – I used fine sea salt. If you opt for another type (e.g. kosher), use this handy conversion chart.
• Egg – I used a large egg, so if you’re using liquid egg from a carton, you’ll need ¼ cup.
• Pure Vanilla Extract – “Pure” is the operative word here. Imitation vanilla flavor (a.k.a. “vanillin”) is far less complex tasting. Feel free to swap in an equal amount of vanilla paste or vanilla powder.
• Unsweetened Cocoa Powder – I prefer using Dutch process cocoa powder because it has a more intense chocolate flavor and less bitterness. That said, conventional cocoa, black cocoa, or even raw cacao powder should work just fine. 
• Baking Soda – Not to be confused with baking powder, this powdery raising agent helps our banana chocolate nut bread puff up during baking. 
• Ground Cinnamon – A classic ingredient for Mexican chocolate. Adding some to the batter with the cocoa powder adds a warm, cozy, Mexican hot chocolate vibe. 
• Mexican Chocolate – I always have a box of Mexican chocolate tablets hanging out in the pantry. It’s readily available at most major supermarkets, right next to regular hot chocolate (look for the bright yellow box — Abuelita and Ibarra use similar packaging). If you don’t have any on hand, feel free to substitute with regular or mini chocolate chips, or omit it. Double the amount of cinnamon if you’re not using Mexican chocolate.
• Chopped Pecans – I love the mildly sweet flavor and yummy crunch pecans add. You’re welcome to swap in chopped walnuts if you prefer!

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How to Make the Best Chocolate Banana Bread

PREP. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9×5-inch loaf pan with 1 tablespoon of butter and dust with flour, tapping out any excess. Make sure to get all the way in the corners so every last bit of your chocolate banana nut bread releases from the pan. Want to make life easier? Use Baker’s Joy! It’s a real life-saver for bundt and loaf pans.

Step 1: Mash Bananas. Using a potato masher or fork, mash peeled ripe bananas until smooth.

Step 2: Add Butter. Melt the remaining butter and add to the bowl with the mashed bananas.

Step 3: Wet Ingredients. Stir in the crema, sugar, salt, beaten egg, and vanilla extract to the bowl with the banana-butter mixture.

Step 4: Dry Ingredients. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, ground cinnamon, and grated chocolate.

Step 5: Mix Wet & Dry. Add the flour mixture to the banana mixture, stir until just incorporated, then fold in the pecans.

Step 8: Cool in the pan on a wire rack for at least 15 minutes, no more than 30 minutes.

Step 9: Unmold. Run a butter knife around the perimeter of the pan to loosen loaf, then tap pan gently on its side until loaf releases. Transfer to a cutting board or plate and let cool completely before slicing.

Expert Tips & Tricks

• No ripe bananas? No problem! You have a few options, depending on how much time you want to invest:
  • If you have a couple of days: Place your bananas in a paper bag to speed up the ripening process. Or, swap them out entirely for pears and try something new—like this delicious pear bread!
  • If you have about an hour, place unpeeled bananas on a parchment-lined cookie sheet and bake at 250 degrees until they turn dark and smooshy, about 15-45 minutes. 
  • If you only have a couple of minutes, poke the bananas all over with a fork and microwave in 45-second bursts until soft. Note that this method doesn’t result in as sweet of bananas as the others, so use it as a last resort.
• Toast your nuts. While it’s an extra step that’ll cost about 15 minutes, the flavor dividends make it worthwhile. I prefer to toast them in a dry pan over medium heat so I can keep an eye on them, but you’re also welcome to use a baking sheet and the oven.
• Use the dual-cooling method. Allowing the moist banana chocolate bread to cool in the tin for 15-30 minutes helps to ensure structural integrity when you tip it out. But after that initial cooling period, make sure to remove the bread from the tin and cool the loaf on a wire rack. Why? If you leave it in the tin for too long, condensation will accumulate inside the pan and leave you with a somewhat soggy bottom.

Storage Instructions

• Baked double chocolate banana bread will last about 2 to 3 days at room temperature (lightly covered).
• Refrigerate: Allow the bread to cool fully before wrapping it in plastic wrap, placing it in a zip-top bag, or putting it in an airtight container for storage.
• Freeze:I recommend you wrap Mexican chocolate banana bread in plastic wrap and then place it in an airtight freezer bag. Remove as much air as possible and seal tightly to ward off freezer burn. It should keep well in the freezer for up to 6 weeks. 
• To thaw frozen banana chocolate bread, remove it from the freezer and let it thaw in the fridge overnight. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 5 minutes to warm it.

Frequently Asked Questions

More Quick & Easy Bread Recipes

• Chocolate Applesauce Bread
• Cranberry Christmas Bread
• Mexican Chocolate Zucchini Bread
• Pumpkin Bread

Have you made this banana bread? Rate the recipe and leave me a comment below to let me know how it turned out!