This healthy Almond Butter Chocolate Chunk Banana Bread is the perfect combination of moist, rich, and sweet on the inside with a crusty outside, plus plenty of chocolate chunks throughout! It’s gluten free, grain free, dairy free, and Paleo and great for a healthy breakfast or snack.
Truth be told – I hoard and hide bananas that I plan to use for baking in random spots – luckily I haven’t forgotten about any of these secret bananas YET, but, I know that day will come and when it does, I’ll sure as heck regret ever thinking that hiding bananas was a good idea.
Whatever gets the banana bread made though, right? Anyway, before I jump into gooey chocolate chunks and rich almond buttery cake-like bread, I want to say Happy Birthday to my daughter Emily! She’s 7 today, and I can tell you that it’s at least 40 degrees colder now than it was the day she was born. (So much for a mild winter, right?) Since she’s sweets obsessed, it’s only right that I post a proper Emily-approved recipe on her birthday.
Since we took her home from the hospital on the morning of Valentines Day, it only makes sense that she’d be wild for desserts and chocolate in all forms. There is nothing chocolate that she’ll pass up – even the super dark 90% has her attention even if she kind of thinks it tastes terrible – the idea of chocolate in general makes her happy.
I totally wish I could still fit that cute little Valentines Day hat on her head! We still usually wind up celebrating her birthday on Valentines Day, as we’ll do this year. She specifically requested going out for both pasta and pizza and eating a regular (AKA not Paleo) cupcake for dessert. Plus, she brought 2 dozen donuts to school to celebrate her birthday, on top of the Valentines Day school party and candy cards that all the kids exchange. Sharing your birthday with Valentines Day turns out to be the best holiday you could ask for, I think! If you like chocolate, that is.
And now to shift back to this recipe for a second – because if you’re still here that might just be the reason why. This recipe surprised me in a great way – maybe it’s the newness of it, but, I think I like it better than my chocolate chip banana bread squares – which are delicious too, so it’s a lot to compete with. I’m thinking it was the almond butter that took this bread to the next level. In my experience, a good dose of almond butter in a baking recipe does amazing things – my favorite chocolate chip cookies are another example of that! The texture is simply unbeatable!
The bananas don’t hurt either, which is why I’ll likely continue to run the risk of losing a banana somewhere in my house in order to bake with them. Too bad there’s no “find my banana” app like the find my phone one.
Almond Butter Chocolate Chunk Banana Bread {Paleo}
Almond Butter Chocolate Chunk Banana Bread {Paleo}
Ingredients
- 2 medium-large overripe bananas
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup smooth almond butter
- 1/4 cuporganic coconut sugar
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 and 1/4 cups blanched almond flour
- 1/4 cup tapioca flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- pinch fine grain sea salt
- 2/3 cup Enjoy Life chocolate chunks plus a few more to sprinkle on top
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, mash the bananas and beat well (by hand or with a mixer) with the almond butter, eggs, coconut sugar, and vanilla.
- In a smaller bowl, combine the almond and tapioca flour, baking soda, and salt.
- Mix the dry ingredients into the wet until just combined, then stir in the chocolate chunks.
- Transfer the entire mixture to the parchment lined loaf pan, using a silicone spatula to scrape the sides of the bowl.
- Spread the batter out evenly, then sprinkle a few more chocolate chunks on top.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out mostly clean*
- Allow the loaf to cool in the pan for at least 10 minutes before removing it (still in the parchment paper) and transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
- After it cools, slice and enjoy! Store any leftovers covered at room temperature.
Recipe Notes
*Since oven times/temps vary, check first around 45 minutes.
What holiday would you choose to share your birthday with?
What ingredient seems to make everything you bake better?
Any fun Valentines Day plans this weekend?
Happy Birthday Emily! Hope you have a wonderful day! I got married the day before my birthday and my husband’s birthday is 6 days later so we usually combine and do something extra special 😉 One of my best girlfriend is getting married on Saturday. I’m about to leave for an extra early run before we start our 8 hour car trip to the wedding! Have a great week-end!
Thank you! That’s the perfect birthday combo 🙂 Have a great time at the wedding – I’m sure you’ll feel relieved and ready for fun after the run!
Ohh this looks so so good! Happy birthday to Emily! Love the baby picture 🙂 I like that she asked for a regular cupcake lol – sounds like my son!
Thanks! Now today she tells me all the Valentines day candy and celebrations were enough so maybe we don’t need a cupcake, but I’m thinking by tomorrow she’ll change her mind.
Happy Birthday to your daughter! I actually share my birthday with St. Patrick’s Day. It was really fun when I was in my college and early 20s but now it’s kind of annoying. Especially when people wonder why my name isn’t Patty. This recipe looks amazing. And perfect timing – I have very ripe bananas waiting for me to make this!
Thanks! I can totally see that one shifting over the years – St. Patty’s day after college will never be the same 🙂 Yay for those bananas!
I swear almond butter is magic in baking! I like it better than flour. Happy birthday Emily!
I feel like I only use it to bake now and it makes everything perfect! And thank you 🙂
Happy Birthday Emily! When I was 3 days old, my brother came to visit mom and I in the hospital (I was a C section baby) and he brought his favorite treat–a Mrs. Field’s Cookie. And promptly shared the GIANT cookie with me (I didn’t get very far). No wonder I love chocolate!
Aw that’s too funny! Thank you!
Happy Birthday Emily!!! You were an adorable baby and now a beautiful young girl!! Enjoy your birthday and that cupcake.
Aw thank you Leslie 🙂
Happy Birthday Emily! I share my birthday with New Year’s and kind of Christmas, but I think I’d prefer Valentine’s Day or St. Patrick’s Day to space out the celebrations. I just bought the Enjoy Life Foods chunks to make a bread recipe with…game changer! A step up from the chips 🙂
Yup the chunks are pretty awesome! And thank you!
Yay happy birthday!!!!!
Tis a banana bread week 😉 You need to pack her some of this banana bread (as my post said….it makes the kids popular!!! Hahahahahaha!)
And what makes every recipes better? LOVE 😉
Aw, that’s sweet 🙂 Every week needs to be a banana bread week! Except a loaf only really lasts a day here!
Happy birthday! What a great recipe and I want to try it ASAP!
Thanks Gretchen! You’ll love this 🙂
Happy birthday to Emily! It’s funny, maybe my late July arrival is what dictated my penchant for ice cream and summer strawberries 🙂
Thank you! And I bet it was 🙂
Your recipe posts make me realize how many amazing things you can eat being paleo! I would happily be paleo if I lived with you and had these sort of goodies around all the time….just sayin. Happy birthday to Emily! Right there with her on her love of chocolate 🙂
Thanks Hayley! Almond flour and butter do amazing things, very true 🙂
This recipe looks simple and delicious. I haven’t made bread or anything close in a while but I might have to attempt it. It’s hard to believe it’s paleo too….I never would have guessed.
Almond flour and butter together are a game changer with baking! This is a really simple recipe, can’t go wrong 🙂
Awwww Happy Birthday Sweetie!!!! I am drooling over my screen right now.. seriously, this banana bread looks out of this freaking world! Thank you!
xxoo
Kris
Thank you! And this is a really good and easy one to try out, you’ll love it 🙂
That’s so sweet that your family goes out together on Valentine’s for Emily’s b-day! (Happy Birthday to Emily!) Its a good time to have a birthday with the parties and candy. Btw, I always like your baking recipes because they have minimal yet wholesome ingredients!
Thanks Marisa! My birthday is near Halloween but I’d probably prefer Valentines Day 🙂 And so glad you like my recipes, thanks again!
You know what’s weird? I looked for almond butter today and the only kind they make up here is organic, which makes it a gazillion dollars. I know almond butter is pricier than PB, but it’s like off the charts up here. I wonder why they don’t make non organic AB in Canada? Maybe I just need to look around. Actually, maybe Costco has it. Anyway, this bread looks killer, and happy birthday to Emily!
Get it on amazon! They have a huge selection of brands! I always buy the natural because the organic is a solid $5 more.
This looks amaazingggg! I love using almond butter in baked goods!
If I had to choose a holiday to share my birthday with, it’d have to be Christmas! Christmas is without a doubt my favourite holiday and something I am always looking forward to!
Christmas birthday means double presents! And I agree almond butter does wonderful things!
I share my birthday with Columbus, which was great growing up because I had a long weekend:) But now it’s pointless because in Maryland they don’t close anything for Columbus Day. I think it would be much better to share it with Valentines day or Easter or Halloween- anything with candy! My niece was born on Easter last year so I wonder if she will be a sweets lover:) This bread looks amazing and happy birthday to Emily!
I’ve noticed Columbus day has fallen off and now the kids go to school, not sure when that changed! Mine is near Halloween but I think I’d prefer Easter, if only for the colors since I have a weakness for pastels 🙂
Happy birthday to Emily! Her newborn photo is too adorable. I was born on Labor Day, so my birthday usually falls around the holiday weekend. This banana bread looks delicious—I love banana bread especially when it has chocolate chips.
That’s great that you have a built-in time to celebrate, also a nice time of year 🙂 I’m also on board with banana chocolate chip, or anything chocolate chip!
Haha that’s too funny that you hide bananas around your house to let them ripen. Maybe I need to start doing that – we always eat our bananas before they even have a chance of getting really ripe.
This bread looks awesome – can’t go wrong with you’ve got bananas, almond butter, and chocolate in a recipe!
It’s so hard to have enough bananas, especially for baking! And definitely agree about that combo 🙂
Happy [belated] birthday to Emily!! My mom likes to remind me every year how it was -30 the day they brought me home. And my birthday actually tends to be one of the coldest days of the year almost every year, so lucky me? 😆 If I could, I’d probably move my birthday to something like July 4th. It’s not a holiday for us up here in Canadaland, but it’s the middle of summer and nice and warm. AND it’s my 6 month birthday anyways 😉
Well Emily got to celebrate today with below zero temps so she can relate! I can’t imagine -30 (you must have been seriously bundled!) so don’t think I’m cut out for Canada!
Happy Birthday Emily. I hope she has a great day, although with pasta, pizza and a (non-Paleo) cupcake, how could she not? In fact, I now officially want to celebrate my birthday the same way. I would also take a slice of this banana chocolate chunk bread because it looks amazing and you know anything with bananas speaks to my heart. Speaking of which, I had to buy three bunches this week because two is no longer enough for just the Hubby and I. Obsessed is putting it mildly.
Three bunches! Now you are speaking my language 🙂 And that doesn’t even include the baking ones, I think I buy 4-5 bunches per week. And thanks! She’s having a fabulous birthday celebration!
She sounds so much like my daughter, chocolate lovers! Would coconut flour replace tapioca flour, or is it too dry? That’s too funny that you hide your ripe bananas! I wouldn’t trust myself to find them.
I would just go without the tapioca and add another tbsp or two of almond and it should be fine! There are definitely times I’ve waited too long on the bananas, but no disasters yet 🙂
oh yay! happy belated emily! i bet she can still fit in that hat. haha. well maybe not. But at least she can replace the cute hate with scrumptious paleo chocolate chunk bread. Love it! mama of the year. stay warm! xxoo
Thanks Lindsay! She’d happily trade the hat for sweets! And she actually did wind up going with my Paleo cupcake and loving it lol 🙂
can i use date paste instead of coconut sugar? if so, how much?
I haven’t tested that so I’m not sure how much you’d add, but banana bread is usually very forgiving so I’d say you should give it a shot 🙂
Do you think it work just as well with a 4.5 x 8.5 loaf pan?