Healthy Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Recipe
There are three types of breakfast people: Team Sweet, Team Savory, and Team I Don’t Have Time.
As a former chronic alarm snoozer, I used to be Team I Don’t Have Time — but, I’ve recently realized how much more energy I have when I make time to eat breakfast in the morning. With that said, I definitely find myself on Team Sweet more often than savory.
Chocolate is one of my favorite things about life. It’s rare that I go a day without just a little piece. It took me a while to find a chocolate chip banana bread recipe that I like and is relatively healthy (i.e. not loaded with butter and added sugar, although, there is definitely a time and a place for that kind, too!).
A few weeks ago, I found a recipe on Well Plated and adapted it slightly based on what I already had in my pantry. Made with greek yogurt for moisture, honey for sweetness, and coconut oil in place of butter, I can barely tell the difference in taste compared to a more traditional recipe.
Full transparency, all I had was a 9x5 bread pan, and even though I baked it for 40 minutes rather than 50, the edges were slightly crispy. Follow the recipe exactly as below, and if you are using a 9x5 rather than 8x5 bread pan, I’d bake it for about 35-38 minutes!
Whole Wheat Dark Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Recipe
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups mashed overripe bananas — about 3 bananas
1 large egg
1/3 cup plain Greek yogurt
2 tablespoons coconut oil — must be melted and COMPLETELY cooled, or it will solidify once it hits the colder ingredients :)
1/3 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup honey
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour
3/4 cup dark chocolate chips — I prefer Enjoy Life!
Instructions:
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease an 8 x 4-inch loaf pan with nonstick spray.
Mash the bananas in the bottom of a large bowl until mostly smooth. Whisk in the egg, yogurt and coconut oil. Mix in the brown sugar, honey, and vanilla. Add in the baking soda, cinnamon, and salt, and stir until combined. Gently stir in the flour, then fold in the dark chocolate chips.
Pour the batter into the pan. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes (or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean) on the center rack of the oven. Check at the 35-minute mark and cover pan with foil if the corners are browning too quickly. Place the pan on a wire rack and let cool for 15 minutes, then remove the loaf from the pan and place on the rack to finish cooling completely (or enjoy it warm if you don’t mind messy, chocolatey slices!).
what are some of your go-to breakfast staples??
