Super Moist Chocolate Banana Bread (Gluten-free)

This Chocolate Banana Bread is the undoubtedly the most luscious chocolate-flavored and perfectly moist loaf you’re ever going to come across, and gluten-free too. Naturally sweetened by the banana, its a great option for breakfast, dessert, or even a midday snack. 

I’m writing this post just after finishing 2 slices of this Chocolate Banana Bread, so my thoughts are as fresh as the loaf itself!

A little confession: I’ve never had banana bread before. I know it’s one of those classic quick breads and I really shouldn’t have any excuse, but it wasn’t that big a thing back home in India (at least while I was till the end of High School), and then I just never came across it until I’d already started Keto halfway through college here in the US. 

Bananas are in no way Keto-friendy (way too much sugar in there) so I never even bothered checking whether it was possible to make a low-fat banana bread. Maybe I missed out? Eh, no use crying over spilled milk.

Well now that I have pretty much no dietary restrictions I bought some bananas, force-ripened them in the oven, and went for it. 

Shoutout to Bakerita’s recipe here.

How to ripen bananas

You need over-ripe browning bananas for this recipe. If you plan ahead, just leave them on your counter top of pantry for a week and you should be good.

But if – like me – you have sudden cravings and all you’ve got are greenish yellow bananas, bake them in the oven at 300°F for 12-15 minutes until skin is black and shiny.

How to make this and what to use:

• Mash bananas with a fork, add eggs and vanilla and puree with hand mixer or blender.
• Combine coconut oil and cocoa powder in a bowl.
• Add cocoa mixture and peanut butter to banana mixture and blend.
• Sift together coconut flour and baking powder.
• Add dry ingredients to wet, and whisk. 
• Pour batter into loaf pan (top with chocolate chips) and bake for about 50 minutes

Gluten-free & Grain-free

This uses coconut flour, so theres wheat or rice or any other grain involved.

Peanut Butter / Almond Butter

I used peanut butter in the recipe, but you can use almond butter or any other nut butter if you’re allergic to peanuts, or to make it Paleo. If you’re concerned about the strong PB taste though, don’t worry about it. 

Why not? Coz the equal amount of cocoa powder that goes in completely masks it. All you can taste is the decadent, luscious chocolate. Even that banana barely makes it out! 

This is probably the first time I’ve baked a perfectly moist loaf on the first try, and I was ecstatic! 

Its got a great, soft, super-duper-moist texture and is packed full of rich, dense chocolatey flavor.

Super Moist Chocolate Banana Bread (Gluten-free)

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Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time50 minutes mins

Total Time1 hour hr

Servings: 16 ½” slices

Calories: 148kcal

Course: Breakfast, Dessert

Cuisine: American

This Chocolate Banana Bread is the undoubtedly the most luscious chocolate-flavored and perfectly moist loaf you’re ever going to come across, and gluten-free too.

Ingredients

• 5 medium Bananas, Overripe, 590g
• 4 Eggs
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
• ¼ cup Coconut Oil, Melted
• ½ cup Unsweetened Cocoa, 40g
• ½ cup Peanut Butter, or other, 128g
• ½ cup Coconut Flour, 64g
• 4 teaspoon Baking Powder
• ¼ teaspoon Salt
• 2 tablespoon Stevia Sweetened Chocolate Chips, Optional, 28g

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350°F (325°F for glass pan).
• Line an 8″ x 4″ loaf pan with parchment paper or foil (leave some overhang to lift out of pan later) and grease.
• In a large bowl, roughly mash banana with a fork.
• Add eggs and vanilla extract, and blend with a hand mixer on low till pureed, 20 seconds.
• In a small bowl, stir together coconut oil and cocoa powder.
• Add cocoa mixture and peanut butter to banana mixture and blend till combined, 15 seconds.
• In a medium bowl, combine and uniformly mix flour, baking powder and salt.
• Add dry ingredients to wet, and whisk.
• Pour batter into prepared loaf pan, and top with chocolate chips if desired.
• Bake for about 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into center comes out mostly dry, with maybe a few crumbs attached.
• Cool for 15 minutes, then lift out of pan using the lining. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely, about 45 minutes and cut into slices.

Notes

Recipe adapted from Bakerita.

• Make sure the bananas are overripe and browning, or the bread won’t be sweet enough since there is no added sweetener.
• To ripen green-slightly yellow bananas, bake at 300°F for 12-15 minutes until skin is black and shiny.
• Use almond butter or another nut butter to make it Paleo.

Storage:

• Let the bread cool completely before storing so that it remains fresh.
• Room temperature: 2-3 days, tightly wrapped in plastic wrap or airtight container.
• Fridge: 1 week in an airtight glass container.
• Freezer: 3 months, wrapped in plastic wrap and then placed in freezer bags. Loaves can be stored whole or as individual slices.

Product Recommendation:

• Lily’s Dark Chocolate Baking Chips
• Lily’s Milk Chocolate Baking Chips

Nutrition:

• Servings: 16 ½” slices | Serving size: 1 slice
• Calories: 148kcal
• Fat: 9.5g | Saturated fat: 4.6g
• Carbohydrates: 13.8g | Fiber: 3.5g | Sugar: 5.1g
• Protein: 4.7g