This is banana bread for chocoholics.
With thick ribbons of chocolate swirled into every bite, you’ll never look at banana bread the same way again!
Chocolate Marble Swirl Banana Bread
- 2 cups over-ripe banana, mashed well (480g)
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract (8g)
- 2 tsp white or apple cider vinegar or lemon juice (10g)
- 2 tbsp milk of choice (30g)
- 1/4 cup oil or more milk of choice (oil version will be richer and better-textured; milk version will be lower-calorie… so it depends on what you’re going for and to whom you are serving the bread)
- 1/2 cup pure maple syrup, agave, or honey (honey is not for strict vegans)
- 2 cups spelt, all-purpose, or Bob’s gf flour (240g)
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 3/4 tsp baking powder
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1/8 tsp pure stevia or 1/4 cup sugar of choice
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon, optional
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips, optional
- 3 tbsp cocoa powder (15g)
Bring one cup or so of water to a boil. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 F, grease a 9×5 loaf pan, and set aside. Get out three large bowls and a small bowl. In one of the large bowls, whisk together all liquid ingredients. In a separate large bowl, stir together all remaining ingredients except the cocoa powder. Measure the cocoa powder into the empty small bowl and whisk in 1/4 cup of the boiling water (discard remaining water). Now combine the contents of the two large bowls until just evenly mixed, then divide the batter in half so there’s an equal amount of batter in each of the two large bowls. Pour all of the cocoa mixture into only one of the banana bread batters. So now you should have one chocolate and one non-chocolate batter. Scoop a thin layer of plain batter into the prepared loaf pan, followed by a layer of chocolate. Repeat until all batter is used up, then take a spoon and swirl the batters together—for just a few seconds so there are still two distinct colors present. Bake 50 minutes, then turn the oven off and leave the loaf in the oven 20 more minutes if it still needs to firm up. For best freshness, leftovers should be stored in the refrigerator or freezer.
Click for: Banana Bread Nutrition Facts
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I just made this using Pamela’s GF artisan flour blend, and it came out perfect! I don’t think I’ll have much left to freeze! Thanks for the delicious recipe Katie!
I just wanted to mention an impromptu change I made: I had already mashed the bananas and heated the oven, when I realized I had run out of cocoa powder! I couldn’t turn back at that point, so I decided to melt about 1/4 cup chocolate chips with a tablespoon of coconut oil, then stir it into half the batter in lieu of the cocoa. The chocolate ribbons still came out fluffy and delicious! Not quite as healthy, but definitely a tasty treat. 🙂
Is a printable version of the recipes available? If so, please advise. Thank you
Yes, click the “print” link at the top right corner of the recipe boxes in the posts.
I ran into some issues 🙁 I smashed up 4 bananas measured and they made the listed 2 cups of bananas, but even after cooking this way beyond the time, my bread is still way too moist in the middle. I think next time i would only mash up 2 bananas [usually the non healthy bananas breads only use 2 bananas]. it’s more like a bread pudding in its current state. it won’t go to waste but isn’t the texture I was hoping for 🙁
Just cook it longer and you will be fine. As Katie mentions in her FAQ page, sometimes climate, elevation, oven calibration or lack thereof, and/or other factors can make a difference.
Hi all! Safe to assume I’m using unsweetened cocoa powder? Thanks!
This was so dangerously tasty it was gone in one day!! I ate half of it, if not more!! It was so good I will have to make it again and exercise some temperance in the second round!! Thanks so much Katie!!
Has anyone had success with this using GF flour or GF flour alternatives? Im not a master GF baker curious to know if anyone had tried that yet. Its a great yummy recipe!
Had many overripe bananas ? so I chose this recipe because I love chocolate in the mix and I had all the ingredients. I like to follow recipes exact the first time, then experiment. I like the reviews so I can see what other people added or substituted. I made as close as I could with the following tweaks based on what I had:
Brown sugar for the 1/4 cup sugar
1 cup Bob’s Red Mill GF flour + 1 cup banana flour
Only had extra virgin olive oil, so used it
Added walnuts
I also laid a whole banana pressed in on top before baking
Wonderful recipe. I’ve already had 2 slices. Go for it!!
Banana flour sounds so interesting!
Do I think I can sub the oil for peanut butter?
You absolutely can!
I would love to try this!!