Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Recipe

Preheat and prep pan

Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease a 9x5-inch loaf pan with butter or nonstick spray and line the bottom with a strip of parchment if available; lightly dust with flour and tap out excess.

Bring eggs and refrigerated ingredients to room temperature if possible (about 10–15 minutes) to help batter combine evenly.

In a large bowl, mash ripe bananas with a fork until mostly smooth with a few small chunks remaining (about 1.5 cups mashed).

Whisk in the eggs until combined, then add granulated sugar and brown sugar and whisk until sugars are mostly dissolved and mixture looks glossy.

Stir in the melted butter, vanilla extract, and sour cream (or yogurt) until the mixture is uniform. Do not overmix; stop when homogenous.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and ground cinnamon (if using) until evenly combined.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in two additions. Fold gently with a spatula after each addition until just combined and no large streaks of flour remain. Be careful not to overmix to keep the bread tender.

Fold in 3/4 cup of the chocolate chips and all the chopped nuts (if using) with a few gentle strokes so they are evenly distributed.

Transfer the batter to the prepared loaf pan and smooth the top with a spatula. Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup chocolate chips evenly over the top and the optional coarse sugar if you want a sparkly glazed top.

Bake in the preheated oven for 50–65 minutes. Start checking at 50 minutes: insert a toothpick into the center; it should come out with a few moist crumbs clinging but not wet batter. If the top browns too quickly, tent loosely with foil for the last 10–15 minutes.

When done, remove from oven and let the loaf cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10–15 minutes. Run a knife around the edges, then invert the loaf onto the rack and remove the parchment. Cool at least another 30 minutes before slicing to set the crumb.