This Paleo chocolate chip banana bread is made with almond butter and almond flour, hearty and delicious with the perfect amount of sweetness. Gluten-free, dairy-free, grain free, family approved, and great for breakfast or dessert!
This is a remake of my old favorite banana bread recipe – the one that NEVER disappoints.
Yes, it’s definitely a dessert-y banana bread with all the almond butter and dark chocolate it’s loaded with – but I make no apologies for that. And you won’t either, once you make it and taste it for yourself!
One of the best things about banana bread is how versatile it is, after all. From breakfast and snacks (like my no-sugar-added banana bread) to full on dessert (like my nut-free double chocolate banana bread), it can be whatever you need it to be for the moment.
Banana bread is sort of my baking “happy place” for a couple of reasons. First – banana bread is typically really easy to make – like, do it with my eyes closed easy – if you know what I mean.
No need to double check measurements and order of operations every step for banana bread – it’s almost fool-proof.
Which, brings me to reason number two it’s what happiness is made of – it’s forgiving as heck. Ease and forgiveness in baking is HAPPY baking, for sure.
Have you ever forgotten if you’ve added an ingredient and can’t figure it out by looking at the batter? Yup, this is a weekly occurrence for me, and let me tell you – it’s not a good feeling!
But with banana bread? Somehow it always comes out right. Or, at least edible. It comes out edible even if you mis-measure, or leave an ingredient out entirely. Well, perhaps except for the bananas. I’m crediting the bananas for all this happiness anyway.
So, to get a bit more specific about this dreamy chocolate chip banana bread you’ll be making today, the “secret” ingredient is almond butter. I mean, it’s not exactly a secret (it’s in the title, after all) but I do give it a whole lot of credit for both the incredible flavor and texture of the bread.
Rather than weigh it down, the almond butter gives the bread a moist yet fluffy quality, and 100% helps with the rise of the bread (good rise = happy baker, too). It also gives it a rich nutty flavor that complements the dark chocolate oh so well!
As for the chocolate, if you don’t need the bread to be strictly paleo, you can use dairy free, soy free dark chocolate chips such as Enjoy Life dark chocolate morsels.
If you want to avoid added sugar, you can also use a paleo friendly dark chocolate bar, chopped up, OR make your own homemade chocolate chunks.
If you decide to make your own, you can use the chocolate recipe from my cookie dough truffles – simply allowing the chocolate mixture to chill in a parchment lined loaf pan before chopping and adding to the batter.
Whichever option you go with, you’ll be left with the BEST dessert-y paleo chocolate chip banana bread you could imagine. Are you all ready to bake?! Let’s go!
Paleo Chocolate Chip Banana Bread with Almond Butter
Paleo Chocolate Chip Banana Bread with Almond Butter
This Paleo chocolate chip banana bread is made with almond butter and almond flour, hearty and delicious with the perfect amount of sweetness. Gluten-free, dairy-free, grain free, family approved, and great for breakfast or dessert!
Ingredients
- 3 small overripe bananas mashed
- 3 large eggs
- 1/2 cup smooth almond butter unsalted
- 1/4 cup coconut sugar
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups blanched almond flour
- 1/4 cup tapioca flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp fine grain sea salt
- 3/4 cup dark chocolate chips *or homemade paleo chocolate chunks
Instructions
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Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line a medium loaf pan (I used 8.5 x 4.5) with parchment paper
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In a large bowl, combine the bananas, eggs, almond butter, coconut sugar and vanilla and whisk until smooth.
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In a separate bowl, combine with almond flour, tapioca flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Gently stir the dry mixture into the wet ingredients until just combined (don’t overmix) then fold in the chocolate chips, leaving a few to sprinkle over the top of the loaf.
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Transfer to the prepared loaf pan, scraping the bowl with a spatula, spread out and sprinkle remaining chocolate chips over the top.
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Bake in the preheated oven for 55-65 minutes or until the loaf is deep golden brown and a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.
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Cool loaf on a wire rack, allowing to cool completely before slicing. Store leftovers loosely covered at room temperature for the first day, then refrigerate after that. Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
*You can use this recipe for homemade chocolate chunks - just chill the chocolate mixture in a parchment lined square pan until solid before cutting into chunks.
Nutrition
What I Used To Make My Paleo Chocolate Chip Banana Bread:
Want More Paleo Baking Recipes? Try One Of These!
Paleo Blueberry Muffins with Crumb Top
Double Chocolate Paleo Banana Bread {Nut Free}
Hearty Paleo Banana Bread {No sugar added}
Paleo Orange Cranberry Pecan Muffins
Paleo Orange Poppy Seed Muffins
Maple Pecan Banana Bread Breakfast Bake {Vegan}
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Natalie says
February 17, 2018 at 5:54 amThis banana bread looks amazing! I love the texture – looks so rich and delicious ♥
Linda @ the Fitty says
February 17, 2018 at 1:33 pmomg this looks SO good. I’m just waiting for the day you write a cookbook, Michele!
Michele says
February 20, 2018 at 3:37 pmAw thanks!
Michele says
February 20, 2018 at 3:38 pmHope you enjoy!
Kristin says
February 18, 2018 at 11:15 amMade this morning – big mistake because the house is empty and I might EAT THE WHOLE LOAF. Hubs came home and said “Whoa, this is REALLY good banana bread.” Translation = he likes it more than the others I make 🙂 Thanks Michele!
Michele says
February 20, 2018 at 3:32 pmOh I’m thrilled you guys enjoyed it! Definitely an addicting one!
shynne says
February 18, 2018 at 2:57 pmIs there anything I can use to replace Tapioca Flour? Thanks
Michele says
February 20, 2018 at 3:31 pmYou can use more almond flour and I’ve also used flax seed and it comes out great 🙂
shynne says
February 21, 2018 at 12:35 pmThanks Michelle. I found Tapioca so used it. I used kiddie pans and cooked for 40mns at 180 deg Celsius. Top was hard but inside was good. Should I have cooked in 30 mns. Posting it now in insta & tagging u.
Michele says
February 23, 2018 at 10:30 amGlad you enjoyed!
Carly Collins says
February 19, 2018 at 9:28 pmHi! I just found your blog and I’m hooked. Made the banana bread today and it was amazing. My husband and kids had no idea it was healthier than the usual one I make. Can’t wait to make more.
Michele says
February 20, 2018 at 3:25 pmWow that’s incredible to hear! Thrilled you all liked it!
Emily says
February 20, 2018 at 9:40 amThis recipe was amazing! i made it last night and it was a hit!!! definitely will be holding on to it.
Michele says
February 20, 2018 at 3:23 pmOh I’m so happy you all enjoyed!!
Hanna says
February 20, 2018 at 2:52 pmThis is my new favorite banana bread recipe! I made it last night and my husband had eaten 3 slices before I went to bed! Thank you for sharing!
Michele says
February 20, 2018 at 3:23 pmOh that’s awesome to hear!
Marisa Gouveia says
February 25, 2018 at 10:28 amIs there anything I can use to replace the coconut sugar? My niece is allergic
Laura Scott Madden says
February 25, 2018 at 4:22 pmHave you ever used quinoa flour? Can you substitute it here?
Michele says
March 4, 2018 at 5:28 pmI’m not sure, haven’t used it.
Siti says
February 27, 2018 at 3:56 amHi. Can I substitute coconut sugar with palm sugar?
Michele says
March 4, 2018 at 5:23 pmYup
Emily says
March 2, 2018 at 2:56 pmMade this this morning- baked as muffins for ~20 minutes and added 1/4 cup ground flax. They’re so wonderful! The texture is perfect, so much like a traditional wheat flour muffin. They fluffed up beautifully and tasted delicious! Thank you!
Michele says
March 4, 2018 at 5:11 pmSounds perfect, so happy you enjoyed them!
Alyssa says
March 3, 2018 at 10:44 pmAnother WIN for the paleo running momma! I only had two medium bananas, and added 1/8 c flax and put into a liner muffin pan like Emily did above. So so good! Thanks for the great recipes!
Michele says
March 4, 2018 at 5:02 pmAwesome! Glad it worked out so well 🙂
kissmanga says
March 7, 2018 at 4:18 amOMG!! These look amazing!! What a great idea!! You’re too smart for your own good.
Melissa says
March 11, 2018 at 9:38 pmMichele- thanks so much for posting all these amazing recipes. My son has a gluten, dairy, and nut allergy and it’s nearly impossible for me to find anything he likes. I really want to beable to bake for him. Thanks to you, I have been able to do that! He has LOVED everyone of your recipes. I’m so grateful to you!
Michele says
March 13, 2018 at 3:10 pmWow that’s incredible to hear! Love hearing that recipes make the kiddos happy 🙂
Amy says
March 19, 2018 at 12:04 pmThis recipe is AMAZING!! I made a double batch and used half almond flour and half cashew flour because it’s what I had on hand. It tastes SO, SO delicious! My traditional banana bread recipe used 3/4 cup sugar per loaf and I can’t get over how sweet this bread is only using 1/4 cup of the coconut sugar per loaf. I plan to freeze my second loaf. I’m sure it will freeze beautifully! Thank you so much for crating and SHARING this recipe!
Michele says
March 23, 2018 at 8:00 pmSo thrilled you enjoyed this!
Jessica says
April 7, 2018 at 7:36 amMade this bread last nite. It was delish! Silly question, it says dairy free but what about the chocolate chips?
Michele says
April 7, 2018 at 10:22 amI always use Enjoy Life Dark Chocolate Morsels which are dairy and soy free – they’re linked to in the recipe if you want to try them out. Glad you enjoyed!
Meghan G says
April 9, 2018 at 6:31 pmEntire loaf… gone in less than 24 hours. It was definitely a huge hit with my 2 kiddos and my hubby (and I may or may not have had three slices when it was still hot from the oven)! So yummy! Made it exactly as directed. The almond butter was an awesome addition… thanks!
Michele says
April 9, 2018 at 9:55 pmDefinitely one of my favorites too! So happy you enjoyed 🙂
Torie says
May 4, 2018 at 4:09 pmThis recipe is awesome. I’ve made it for my husband at least four times since I have stumbled upon it in the past months. Great job- we love it!
Kristi says
July 14, 2018 at 6:00 amThis was delicious and I can’t wait to make again. I used chunky almond butter and that worked well.
Bridget B. says
July 16, 2018 at 1:17 pmI’d give this recipe 10 stars if I could. It’s the first time I’ve made gluten free banana bread and it was best I’ve ever made. I’ll be making it a LOT! Thank you for creating/posting it!
Elli Reid says
July 20, 2018 at 3:37 pmTastes great! Will definitely make again! The only thing I’d note is that the batter was runny enough that the chocolate chips just fell to the bottom of the bread- even the ones I sprinkled on top.
Erica says
August 28, 2018 at 3:13 pmI’ve made this recipe and I absolutely love the flavor and texture. I was thinking of substituting that banana for pumpkin and adding pumpkin pie spice. Has anyone else tried this? How did it turn out?
Mackenzie says
October 1, 2018 at 10:02 pmGreat! Thank you for this recipe! You should stress the fact that the times vary and to monitor the bread as it bakes – if I hadn’t checked it would have totally burned and I saved it just in time.
Taryn says
October 22, 2018 at 11:50 amThis recipe is perfection! The top got very brown but it didn’t taste burned at all. The texture is moist without being gummy. It’s perfectly sweet and the banana flavor really shines through. Next time I’ll experiment with flax eggs to see if I can make it vegan.
Taryn says
October 22, 2018 at 11:50 amMeant to give it 5 stars 🙂
Alandrea says
October 24, 2018 at 10:12 amHey can I use all almond flour like I do with your zucchini choc. Chip muffins? I don’t use tapioca flour. We plan on making this today! Love your recipes!
Hong Martin says
November 1, 2018 at 8:19 pmWow! The best Paleo bread recipe! I tried it as muffins, made 11 of them. 27 minutes.
Lisa Sparks says
November 17, 2018 at 10:21 pmCan coconut flour replace tapioca flour if I don’t have any on hand?
Michele says
November 18, 2018 at 6:16 pmUnfortunately no, it’s much more absorptive and dense.
Sarah Bernet says
December 6, 2018 at 9:05 pmWow! I can’t wait to try! Can I also use all purpose flour for this recipe instead of tapioca and almond flour? i have so much flour at home 😉
Marian says
December 9, 2018 at 2:37 pmIs it supposed to be really wet inside?
Jane Norrie says
February 12, 2019 at 12:09 pmWhat brand of coconut sugar do you use? And where do you buy it from? Love this recipe by the way. This bread is so good!
angel lee says
February 13, 2019 at 4:27 amcan i use gluten free all purpose flour instead? thank you!!!
Faye says
February 25, 2019 at 11:57 amI used sunbutter instead of almond butter because it’s what I had on hand and it turned out amazing!
Jessi says
March 1, 2019 at 1:14 pmOh this is just a perfect combo of soft, fluffy & crunchy. I used crunchy almond butter & ground flax (in place of tapioca starch), a glug of maple syrup for coconut sugar & added cardamom. Texture reminiscent of a whole wheat based bread. This may even sway my Uber picky kiddos! Thanks for this!!
Mary says
March 2, 2019 at 11:19 amHas anyone tried omitting the coconut sugar?Did it taste just as good without the added sugar?
Mary Cameron says
April 9, 2019 at 8:31 pmI never leave comments but something just had to be said about this recipe. It is different than any other paleo bread I’ve made…it’s perfect. The texture is almost the same as a traditional wheat flour bread. Most paleo breads come out dense and wet, but this little guy just kept on rising and came out light and soft. I substituted cashew butter for the almond butter, used regular chocolate chips because that’s all I had (not paleo I know), and doubled the salt because I love a good sweet and salty combo. It was simply amazing! Props to you!
Assunta Cherubin says
April 13, 2019 at 9:08 pmThis is fantastic.