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Chocolate Chunk Greek Yogurt Banana Bread. The easiest and best banana bread! All made in one bowl with bananas, yogurt, maple or honey, whole wheat flour, and a mix of dark chocolate chunks and chips! Slice this sweet bread warm and enjoy as is or with whipped vanilla cinnamon butter. Each slice of banana bread has pockets of melted chocolate and sweet, salty butter melted into every inch of this tender loaf. You’re going to make this on repeat.
It might be a new year, but some things never change. And that’s OK! When January comes around, I always crave banana bread. It’s not even that it’s so delicious, which, of course, it is, but I love the act of making banana bread on a snowy day at home.
This time after Christmas can always feel a little sad, but baking something warm, cozy, and delicious helps make these dark winter days feel special too!
I share a new banana bread recipe at least once a year. My maple banana bread is probably the one I make most often, but what’s so shocking is that after a quick scroll through all my banana bread recipes I realized I’ve never made banana bread with Greek yogurt!
We’re all looking to get in more protein, and Greek Yogurt is packed with it! It’s also a wonderful ingredient to bake and cook with. I often use it as a high-protein, nutrient-packed swap for sour cream and no one knows the difference!
My brother Red and his girlfriend Hailey have been in town the past week. I love cooking for them. Red is not someone who’s big on sweets, but he tried a slice of this banana bread and loved it so much he asked if I’d make another loaf for him to take out snowmobiling.
Okay, here are the details
Ingredients
- brown bananas – they must be brown. I think it’s so important when baking banana bread
- whole milk plain Greek yogurt
- salted butter or coconut oil – I prefer butter
- maple or honey – I love both, use your favorite
- eggs
- whole wheat flour – you can use all-purpose or a gluten-free blend too
- baking soda
- ground cinnamon
- salt
- semi-sweet or dark chocolate chunks, chips, or a mix
Ingredients for the Cinnamon Butter
- salted butter
- maple
- cinnamon
- vanilla extract
- flaky sea salt
Special Tools
Zero! You just need a mixing bowl, a spatula, and a loaf pan.
Steps
Step 1: mash the bananas
Use very ripe bananas, practically black bananas, and very soft. If they’re just too black to eat, they’re perfect for banana bread.
Mash up the bananas using a fork or a potato masher. Get them really mashed.
Step 2: add the wet ingredients
Now mix the mashed bananas with a little yogurt, melted butter or coconut oil, pure maple syrup or honey, a couple of large eggs, and a splash of vanilla.
Try to use room-temperature ingredients.
Step 3: mix in the dry
Add the whole wheat flour, a pinch of cinnamon, baking soda, and a dash of salt. The cinnamon is that unexpected ingredient that might seem a bit off, but it’s actually what makes the banana bread batter really good. It’s subtle enough that you can’t really tell it’s there, but it adds a special touch.
Chop up some chocolate and mix it in! My secret is using dark chocolate bars mixed with 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips.
Step 4: baking
Pour the batter into a loaf pan and bake for close to 1 hour.
It’s a long time, but be patient.
Step 5: the butter
Just one stick of salted butter whipped with maple, cinnamon, vanilla, and salt.
Some might skip this step, which is fine, but the bread is better with the butter. I’m begging you all to MAKE THE BUTTER at least once. It’s so delicious.
The bread with the butter slathered on is very tender, very banana-y, sweetened lightly with maple, and full of yumminess.
A warm slice of chocolate banana bread with salty butter is what makes a winter day a GREAT day. Enjoy it!
Looking for other sweet winter recipes? Here are a few ideas:
Peanut Butter Protein Chocolate Chip Cookies
Chocolate Chunk Rye Banana Bread
5 Minute Chocolate Chunk Banana Bread Mug Cake
Baked Chocolate Fudge Glazed Doughnuts
Baked Apple Cider Doughnuts with Cinnamon Maple Glaze
Lastly, if you make this Chocolate Chunk Greek Yogurt 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 tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Chocolate Chunk Greek Yogurt Banana Bread
Servings: 1 loaf
Calories Per Serving: 495 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Watch the How-To Reel
Ingredients
- 4 ripe bananas, mashed (about 1 1/4 cup mashed)
- 1/2 cup plain whole milk Greek Yogurt
- 1/4 cup salted butter or coconut oil, melted
- 1/4 cup maple syrup or honey
- 2 eggs, at room temperature
- 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 salt
- 1 cup semi-sweet or dark chocolate chunks
Cinnamon Butter
- 1 stick salted butter, at room temperature
- 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Grease a 9×5 inch bread pan.2. In a bowl, stir together the mashed bananas, yogurt, butter/coconut oil, maple/honey, eggs, and vanilla until combined. Add the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Mix until just combined. Fold in the chocolate chunks/chips. 3. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 50-60 minutes, or until the center is just set. Remove and let cool for 15 minutes before cutting, or just eat it warm with a smear of cinnamon butter. Enjoy!4. To make the cinnamon butter. In a bowl, beat together all ingredients. Serve with the warm bread.
Notes
1 loaf = approximately 8 slices
This post was originally published on January 3, 2025
I made this into muffins and loved how quickly they cook.
Also, I love the flavor because it is not too sweet, and it feels good to know there is Greek yogurt in them!
Hi Stefania,
Awesome! So glad to hear this recipe turned out well for you, thanks for making it! Have a great rest of the week:) Xxx
I enjoyed the is recipe, although it wasn’t as sweet as I thought it would be (I did use overripe bananas) but I guess this is because honey is used instead of sugar. The chocolate was a nice touch, never had it with banana bread before but I only used half the amount the recipe called for. I wasn’t going to make the butter at first but decided to and let me just say, it really elevated the banana bread! It pairs well with it so much so the lack of sugary taste of the bread made sense. I will be making another this weekend because my family loved it. Thnx for this recipe! 🌹
Hi Torah,
Yay!! Love to hear this recipe turned out well for you, I appreciate you making it! Have a great day! xx
Fabulous! So easy to put together. Bread came put firm like a perfect loaf of bread, and still moist. I don’t think it will last around our house more than a day.
Thanks so much, James! Love to hear you enjoyed this bread, I appreciate you making it! Have a great Sunday! xx
Absolutely delicious, Tieghan.
Thanks so much, Bridget! Love to hear this recipe turned out well for you, I appreciate you making it! xx
Accidentally neglected to add my rating – 5 stars of course!
Thanks again, Diana:)
Hi! Can I sub gluten free flour?
Hi Kira,
Yes, that will work nicely for you. I hope you love this recipe! xx
Made this for the first time and it came out great, delicious and easy! May be eating the entire loaf a little too quickly 😉 Maple cinnamon butter failed on me though, used room temp butter and pure amber maple syrup but it wouldn’t stay combined – any suggestions? Still delicious just frustrating, seemed like maybe too much syrup for only 1 stick of butter? Thank you, love all that you do!
Hi Diana,
Thanks so much for making this recipe, I’m so glad to hear it turned out well for you! Did you mix using an electric mixer? I would try that. Happy Sunday! xT
Absolutely fantastic! I added in some pecans and extra cinnamon. Will be making this again. Thanks for the tip, Tieghan on the almost black bananas.
Hi Amanda,
Thanks so much! Love to hear this recipe turned out well for you, I appreciate you making it! Happy Friday! XxT
I literally just used this recipe and my banana bread came out perfectly
I used pecans instead of chocolate chunks. And a little dallop of maple syrup before baking.
Hey Shivani,
Yay! Love to hear you enjoyed this recipe, thanks so much for making it! Happy almost Friday! xx
Wow! The best banana bread recipe I’ve ever tried! Love the zing the yogurt adds without being overpowering. Not too too sweet like the muffins you buy from the store. And the chocolate chips add just enough lux to make you want another one. Absolutely fabulous!!
Thanks so much, Stephanie:) So glad you enjoyed this banana bread, I appreciate you making it! xT
This was good, my husband hates banana bread and he ate almost the entire loaf!
Hi Dee,
Happy Thursday! I appreciate you trying this recipe and your feedback, love to hear it turned out nicely for you! XxT
Is the loaf supposed to collapse in the middle, or is that due to underbaking or perhaps because you’re in the mountains? This recipe sounds so good but I’m concerned.
Hi Emilee,
My bread did sink a little in the middle, but it didn’t bother me or ruin the recipe at all. Please let me know if I can help in any other way! xx
Made this today and it is delicious! Might add some pecans next time.
Hi Kathy,
Amazing! Thank you for making this recipe and your comment, so glad it was enjoyed! xxT
Delicious!!
Thanks so much Christy!!
I made this today and was pleasantly surprised with the results! A very tasty and healthier afternoon treat. I used Emmer Flour (an ancient grain) instead of whole wheat flour, and I used melted coconut oil instead of butter for the bread recipe, & it all turned out perfectly! I also made the butter maple frosting, and it was very delicious as well. I liked that there was no white sugar used in this recipe, and only pure organic maple syrup. (which I tolerate very well) Thanks for sharing this with us! 🙂
Love to hear this, Melissa! Thanks a lot for trying the banana bread and sharing what worked well for you:) Happy New Year! xx
Made this on this cold, rainy Sunday. It was so easy and smelled SO good in the oven! Was delicious also. Will be having this for breakfast the rest of the week!
Thanks so much, Nora:) Love to hear this recipe was enjoyed, I appreciate you making it! xT
Loved this recipe!! And the “cleaner” ingredients are a plus! With the yogurt in the bread, so you recommend we store in the fridge or out on the counter is fine?
Hi Michelle! You can store in an air tight container on the counter or the fridge, either works! Hope you enjoy! xT