This moist and tender double chocolate banana bread tastes as good as chocolate cake, but it’s so much healthier! Made with coconut flour and raw cacao powder, it’s paleo, nut free, gluten-free, dairy-free, family and kid approved!
I’ve always been a big fan of all-things comfort food. You just might be able to figure that one out browsing through my blog. I actually own a (pre-paleo) cookbook that contains 200 comfort food recipes, and I still reference it all the time for ideas!
I’m not ashamed to say that I’m a firm believer in the power of comfort food – especially when we can make it just as tasty – but way better for our bodies than the original versions. Have our cake and eat it too? Yes. Have our cake (make it paleo) and eat it too.
Except today, we’re not having cake, we’re having chocolate banana bread! Well, double chocolate banana bread actually, and I know you won’t be disappointed!
This recipe is based on a really, really old one. One of those recipes I sort of hope you haven’t discovered in the archives, due to the embarrassingly ugly photos.
I tweaked the recipe over the years, experimenting with different sweeteners and flour measurements, and what you see here is how I’m currently making it. The flour is a nut free blend of coconut flour and a bit of arrowroot (or tapioca) flour, with raw cacao powder to give the bread that rich dark flavor.
Bananas and full fat coconut milk give the bread lots of moistness, almost like a cake! It’s sweetened with just the right amount of raw honey (sweet enough so my kids would eat it!), and studded with dark chocolate chips.
Just as a side note on the chocolate chips, I’m okay with using Enjoy Life Brand Dark Chocolate Morsels, which contain cane sugar, making them not technically Paleo.
If you’d rather stick to unrefined sweetener but still want those chocolate chips (I don’t blame you!) you can make your own homemade, maple-sweetened chocolate chunks using this recipe from Bakerita. While you’re there, check out a few of her mouthwatering dessert recipes (mostly paleo + vegan) – serious YUM!
The result is what you see above – gooey, chocolatey, moist and tender paleo banana bread that’ll be a hit with anyone who dares to come along and steal a slice!
This is one of those recipes that seems to disappear within 2 hours of making it – all it takes is two slices each for a family of 5! I DO recommend letting the bread fully cool to room temperature before digging in, though, since it’ll be far easier to slice and won’t fall apart.
If you do happen to have leftovers, store them covered in the refrigerator, then lightly toast the bread to warm it up. It’s great for snacks, breakfast, or dessert! Are you guys ready to hop over to the dark (chocolate) side and bake this?! Let’s go!
Double Chocolate Banana Bread {Paleo & Nut Free}
Double Chocolate Banana Bread {Paleo & Nut Free}
This moist and tender double chocolate chip banana bread tastes just as good as chocolate cake, but it's so much healthier! Gluten free, dairy-free, nut free and paleo.
Ingredients
- 3 very overripe small bananas or 2 larger ones, mashed
- 3 large eggs room temp
- 1/4 cup raw honey
- 1/4 cup full fat coconut milk room temp, blend first if separated
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup coconut flour sifted
- 2 tbsp arrowroot starch or tapioca flour
- 6 Tbsp raw cacao powder sifted
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips or paleo chocolate chunks* divided
Instructions
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Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line a medium loaf pan with parchment paper (I used this 8.5 X 4.5” loaf pan) but an 8 x 4" would be fine.
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Gently whisk together all dry ingredients (except chocolate chips) in a mixing bowl - make sure to sift the coconut flour and cacao powder prior to mixing, since they can be lumpy.
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In a separate larger mixing bowl, whisk together the mashed bananas with the eggs, coconut milk, honey and vanilla. Wet ingredients should be as close to room temp as possible before starting.
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Gently stir the dry ingredients into the wet using a spatula or wooden spoon - batter should not be vigorously mixed or blended since this interferes with the bread rising. Batter should be relatively thick and lumpy once combined.
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Stir in about 1/3 cup of chocolate chips, then transfer the batter to the prepared loaf pan, spreading evenly. Sprinkle the remaining chocolate chips over the top.
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Bake in the preheated oven 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean of batter (melted chocolate is okay) allow the loaf to cool for 15 minutes in the pan, then carefully transfer it to a wire rack, holding two sides of the parchment paper to help you. Allow bread to cool completely to room temp before slicing. Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator. Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
*Make your own homemade paleo chocolate chunks with this recipe.
Nutrition
What I Used To Make My Double Chocolate Banana Bread:
Want more delicious paleo and nut free baking recipes? Try one of these!
Banana Blueberry Breakfast Bread
Coconut Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies
Pumpkin Bread with Chocolate Chips
Chocolate Frosted Chocolate Donuts
Tell Me!
Favorite sweet comfort food?
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Can the coconut flour be subbed for almond flour in this recipe?
This banana bread was awesome! Made it exactly as stated – it turned out great, couldn’t stop eating it! Will be making this again 👍
This was delicious! Instead of chocolate chips, I used dried cherries. It was so good!
Made this today without any honey or maple syrup as I can’t have them. Subbed coconut milk with almond and added a banana and a few tablespoons of almond butter to give sweetness. I also added some fresh berries. It was great! Such an easy and versatile recipe!
Pretty easy to make and it came out so delicious! My only frustration was with the formatting. Instead of listing the dry ingredients in the recipe steps, it said to whisk the dry ingredients together. I’m sure for most people this would be fine, but I don’t have great short term memory so I kept having to scroll up to the list and confirm each item I was adding.
Double Chocolate Banana Bread is so delicious I will follow the recipe you shared to make them.