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5 from 9 reviews

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Mocha banana bread makes a delicious twist on classic banana bread! If you’ve never added chocolate to your banana bread, I’m here to tell you that you’ve been missing out on a truly wondrous experience. To really shake things up, I gave the classic banana loaf a makeover with a shot of espresso and a double dose of chocolate.

Mocha Banana Bread
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Espresso intensifies the rich chocolate flavor and is an easy fit with banana; coconut oil and buttermilk give the honey-sweetened loaf the ideal springy texture. Topped with chocolate chips for a bit of indulgence, this is the way to do breakfast!

And if you prefer your banana bread without coffee, simply omit the espresso for chocolate banana bread. 🙂

Craving more banana bread? Try banana bread muffins next!

How to Make Mocha Banana Bread

Room temperature ingredients – Bring buttermilk and egg to room temperature before baking. Room temperature ingredients incorporate more easily into the batter and give this quick bread a tender crumb.

Bananas – My favorite bananas for banana bread are ripe and speckled (not blackened). For this recipe, you’ll use 1 1/2 cups mashed ripe banana. Place the ripe bananas in a bowl and mash with the back of a fork or potato masher until completely mashed.

Mix just until combined – Don’t overmix the batter! Gently fold the wet and dry ingredients together until almost incorporated, then gently fold in chocolate chips. The finished batter is textured and visibly lumpy.

Bake – Bake the loaf for 60 to 75 minutes, until the top springs back to the touch. Bread is done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few crumbs attached; baking time may vary based on moisture content of the bananas.

Freezing Tips

Cool banana bread completely on a wire rack, then place on a parchment-lined baking sheet and freeze flat for 1 hour. After 1 hour, wrap the bread well with a layer of plastic wrap and a layer of foil (or place in a freezer bag). Freeze bread for up to 2 months.

When you’re ready to enjoy, defrost the banana bread at room temperature (still covered to prevent condensation from forming).

To freeze banana bread slices, use a serrated knife to slice the bread and wrap each slice in plastic wrap. Store the slices in a freezer bag for up to 2 months.

Mocha Banana Bread

More delicious banana bread recipes:

Did you try this Mocha Banana Bread Recipe? Let me know by leaving a comment and rating below!

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Mocha Banana Bread

Chocolate Mocha Banana Bread

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 9 reviews
  • Author: Laura Kasavan
  • Prep Time: 25 minutes
  • Cook Time: 60 minutes
  • Total Time: 1 hour 25 minutes
  • Yield: 1 loaf, 12 slices
  • Category: Breakfast
  • Method: Bake
  • Cuisine: American
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Description

Mocha banana bread is a delicious twist on classic banana bread! With rich mocha flavor and a delicious chocolate chip topping, you’ll love this easy bread.

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups flour
  • 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 1/2 cups mashed ripe banana
  • 2/3 cup honey
  • 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted and slightly cooled
  • 1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk, at room temperature
  • 1 large egg, at room temperature
  • 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 Tbsp instant espresso, dissolved in 1 Tbsp hot water
  • 1/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Topping

  • 3 Tbsp semisweet chocolate chips

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F and line a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan with parchment paper, letting excess extend over sides of pan. Spray parchment paper lightly with nonstick spray.
  2. Whisk together flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Make a well in the center of the mixture. Combine banana, honey, coconut oil, buttermilk, egg, vanilla, and espresso in a medium bowl; add to flour mixture and fold in just until combined. Fold in chocolate chips.
  3. Spoon batter into prepared pan and smooth top with an offset spatula. Tap pan sharply and top with remaining chocolate chips.
  4. Bake for 60 to 75 minutes (see note below), rotating pan halfway through. Bread is done when center is set, loaf springs back to the touch and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached. Cool in pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes; carefully lift bread from pan and cool completely.
  5. Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature.

Equipment

Notes

Baking time will vary based on moisture content of the bananas. Begin checking bread after 60 minutes. If using bananas that were previously frozen, baking time may be up to 75 minutes.

The equipment section above contains affiliate links to products I use and love!

Meet Laura

Hi, I'm Laura and I'm so happy you're here! Welcome to Tutti Dolci Baking Recipes, a baking blog celebrating all things sweet! I share approachable baking recipes and elevated classic desserts for every home baker. My goal is to inspire you to bake from scratch with kitchen-tested recipes you can count on.

More about me

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40 Comments

  1. Hi Laura,
    You think it’ll work if I use egg replacement? Trying to veganise your recipe. I’ll try with maple syrup instead of honey and let you know how it’s goes. Wish me luck!

    Reply

    1. Hi there! I’m not sure, but I don’t see why not. You could also add an extra mashed banana to act in place of the egg. Hope that helps! 🙂

      Reply

  2. Made this to change up my current banana bread recipe and it was a hit! This is my fiancés new favorite recipe and it’s what he requests whenever he spies bananas getting ripe on the counter. I love how all of the ingredients come together to make this loaf that isn’t overly sweet but flavorful and addicting.

    Reply

  3. Not too sweet, decadently chocolate, and moist, super moist. My mother is a food snob; she kept commenting and coming back for more.

    Reply

  6. This banana bread was delicious! I substituted 1/2 cup flour with fine almond flour . I will make this again! ❤️

    Reply

  7. This looks glorious!!! Is there a way to sub out the honey with brown sugar instead? I tend to not like tasting honey in my bakes

    Reply

    1. Thank you! Because of the cocoa powder and the instant espresso, you don’t taste the honey at all. But you could use brown sugar instead (3/4 cup). The baking time may vary, so just keep an eye on it. 🙂

      Reply

  8. This is very decadent, a rich, moist bread. The flavors all come through, even the coffee, which surprised me! Next time, I will not put the chips on top, as even with mini chips, they were heavy and prevented a nice center dome. I will wait, and drizzle melted chocolate on top, if anything, but it really doesn’t need that. It’s so good.

    Reply