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The best and (easiest) Chocolate Chunk Coconut Banana Bread…for your Friday chocolate fix. One bowl, pantry staple ingredients, super quick to mix up, healthy…ish, and SO DELICIOUS! Yes, that pretty much sums up this banana bread, and it’s the perfect bread to bake up this weekend. With over-ripe bananas, good honey, and your favorite chocolate bar, this is sure to become one of your favorite banana bread recipes. Perfect for breakfast, as an afternoon snack, or a late night dessert.
This past week all I’ve wanted to do is bake. I”m sure the very cold temperatures and snowy weather have something to do with this. Regardless, I really just want to bake. And if I’m not baking, I’m making homemade pizza in the pizza oven. Which is currently my very favorite thing to do, I can’t get enough pizza (new recipes are coming).
Or banana bread.
Clearly my “Healthy January” is going soo well…
In all honesty, I’ve found this year’s “Healthy January” to be a little tougher than in years past. I’ve had to really scratch my head to brainstorm “healthy” recipes over the last few weeks.
You see, I am very much craving warm comfort food…
Celery juice on the other hand? Not so much. Don’t get me wrong, I actually love celery juice. But it’s cold, and just not what I want to sip on a white blustery January day, you know?
Instead of denying those cravings, I tried to make my favorite cozy recipes a little on the healthier side. It’s all about balance over here, no diets, at least not temporary ones. Just creating recipes that are delicious and wholesome. Which is where this banana bread comes in. Yes, it has honey. And yes, my dark chocolate chunks are not 100% cacao. But hey, this bread is made with whole wheat flour, coconut oil, and plenty of overripe banana. All healthy things, especially when it comes to the dessert world. So, I’m going with it, and very excited to be sharing today’s recipe. Just in time for the weekend too!
PS. have you tried celery juice? I know it sounds odd, but I recently tried some (because of this book) and it’s actually so good.
Moving on to the details. This is the best and easiest banana bread I’ve ever shared. It’s my go-to…that is until I develop a newer version in .02 seconds, and that becomes my favorite. Ahh, the life of someone who makes up recipes for a living. We always have a new “favorite”.
Seriously though, this banana bread is moist, very banana-y, hinted with coconut, sweetened lightly with honey, and swirled with chocolate throughout. Every last bite is roll your eyes back delicious. Best part? It’s the easiest to make, requiring just one bowl and a handful of pantry staples.
Here’s the quick run down.
Find yourself some very ripe bananas, I’m talking practically black bananas everyone. Like, you think they are too black to eat? Nope, that just means they are perfect for banana bread. Use them.
Mash up the bananas and then mix with the wet ingredients, a little coconut oil, honey, a couple of eggs, and a splash of vanilla. Add whole wheat flour, a pinch of cinnamon, and a dash of salt. The cinnamon is that unexpected ingredient that might seem a bit off, but it’s actually what makes the bread really good. It’s subtle enough that you can’t really tell it’s there, but it adds a special touch.
Now stir in all the chocolate chunks that your heart desires. Bake, and less than an hour later your house is going to smell incredible, and you’ll have the prettiest deep golden, and chocolate filled loaf of banana bread.
Great for breakfast, delicious as an afternoon snack, and chocolatey enough for an evening dessert.
The perfect recipe, right?
If you can resist, you should wait 30 minutes or so to slice into the bread. That way the bread will have time to properly set-up and fully finish baking after coming out of the oven. Waiting is what any professional baker would tell you to do, but let’s be real, no one cares what you should do. Do what your stomach and your eyes are screaming at you to do. Slice the bread and enjoy it warm while the chocolate is gooey.
It might not be what you should do, but it’s the right thing to do. That I am sure of.
Oh, and major bonus points if you enjoy this with a little smear of butter and a drizzle of honey. It’s Friday, live a little. AND if you happen to have a snowy weekend in the forecast, you really need to bake this up. It’s great any day, but it’s best enjoyed on the coldest of days.
If you make this chocolate banana bread be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to also tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Watch the How To Video:
chocolate chunk coconut banana bread_WEB from Half Baked Harvest on Vimeo.
Chocolate Chunk Coconut Banana Bread
Servings: 9
Calories Per Serving: 356 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 4 medium overly ripe bananas, mashed (about 1 1/4 cup mashed)
- 1/4 cup melted coconut oil
- 1/4 cup honey
- 2 eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour, or all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup semi-sweet or dark chocolate chunks
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9x5 inch bread pan.2. In a large mixing bowl, stir together the mashed bananas, coconut oil, honey, eggs, and vanilla until combined. Add the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt, mix until just combined. Fold in the chocolate chunks. 3. Pour the batter into the prepared bread pan. Bake for 50-60 minutes, or until center is just set. Remove and let cool for at least 30 minutes before cutting...or just eat it warm with a smear of butter and a drizzle of honey (you should do this!). Enjoy!
Notes
Bread will keep (covered) for 3-5 days.
This post was originally published on January 25, 2019
Hi! I love banana bread and am eager to try this recipe. I don’t cook with coconut oil too much. Does it matter refined vs unrefined, etc? Sorry if that’s a dumb question!
Hey Elizabeth! I like to use unrefined coconut oil for best flavor! Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
I used a bundt pan as my loaf one ended up in my studio… fingers crossed! It’s in the oven now and smells amazing.
I hope it turns out amazing for you, Svava! Thank you!
Just took a big bite out of my bread right out of the oven! Delicious! I didn’t have any coconut oil so just used vegetable oil and it was fine. Excited to try it with coconut next time! 🙂
Thank you so much Kayti! I am so glad you loved this!
Made this yesterday, it was awesome. Shared some with my neighbors who equally loved it.
Thank you so much Dana! I am so glad you all loved this!
Hi, is there any gluten free flour options you would recommend? Many thanks, Katie.
HI! I recommend a GF flour blend. I like Bobs red mill. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
Oh this looks like such a beautiful banana bread loaf! Chocolate chunks make ANY banana bread a billion times tastier. Each slice looks so fluffy and hearty–it must have smelled heavenly while you baked this bread! Making healthier choices is always a must, but that doesn’t mean it can’t taste indulgent! I’d love to dig into this whole wheat loaf any day! Do you know if this recipe works with flax eggs and maple syrup?
Hey Cassie! I have not tested with a flax egg so I am not sure of the results. I do think maple will be great! Let me know how the flax egg works out! Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe. Thanks so much!! xTieghan
It’s in the oven now. Used peanut butter and swirled it, in the loaf pan.
YUM! I hope you love this Kim!
Making this right now
I hope you love it Dana!
I was just searching Google for a banana bread recipe and came across this one. Surprisingly, I had all the ingredients on hand and they were ones I wanted to use up. I added toasted unsweetened coconut flakes and extra chocolate chips that I always wanted to use up. It came out good, not too sweet but I’m not sure if my whole wheat flour was too old or not.
Hi Lucy! I am so glad you liked this bread recipe and so perfect you had all of the ingredients! Thank you for trying it!
Just came out of the oven and cooled enough for my greedy self to try a bite… YUM! Super soft and moist, and I loved that it was made in one bowl with minimal fuss. This is definitely going in the rotation, thank you!!!
I didn’t have vanilla extract and my bananas weren’t quite as ripe as I would’ve liked, but I had some vanilla brandy that I soaked the bananas in while I got everything else together… not complaining haha. Also, I made as muffins, just baked for 15 minutes… perfect. Thanks again!
Hi Cristina! I am so glad you loved this recipe and it turned out so well for you! Thank you!
Just made this bread following recipe exactly(used AP flour & organic dark chocolate bar chopped) and it came out AMAZING! Will definitely make this again! Love following your blog! We really love your “hot buttered rum apple pie stuffed cinnamon sugar soft pretzels”! I make them often!
I am so glad you loved this and the pretzels!! Thank you so much Megan!
So yammy ? the calories you indicated are for the all cake or for each portion? I’m doing this tomorrow, for sure! 😀 kisses from Portugal
It’s for each portion. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe. Thanks so much!! xTieghan
What are your thoughts on using frozen (very browned) bananas that I had saved a few months back for a recipe like this? Let them thaw completely or don’t use them at all for this recipe?
HI! You can totally use the frozen bananas. Just let them thaw and use as directed. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe. Thanks so much!! xTieghan
This recipe is SO good, Tieghan! I’m normally so skeptical of honey-sweetened baked goods because often times they are not great, but this banana bread is straight up AMAZING! So moist, great crumb, and I splurged on some big chunks of TCHO chocolate to put in there and it was crazy good. Thanks!
I am so glad you loved this recipe, Joanne! Thank you so much!
I just made this. Followed the recipe exactly. and the batter did not taste good – not a good sign! i checked other banana bread recipes and saw the 1/4 cup honey is much less sweetener than other recipes, so I added an additional 1/4 cup of sugar. The texture of the bread is good, but the taste is just okay. It could be that my bananas were too brown.
Hi Jen! I am so sorry you did not enjoy this recipe! Are there any specific questions you have about it? I hope you love some other recipes on my blog!