BRUNCH MENU: Grilled Cheese Sandwiches, Pickles, Baked Sweet Potato Fries, Banana Chocolate Chip Bread, Orange Juice, and Coffee
This recipe makes enough for one mini-loaf of banana chocolate chip bread, plus a couple of extra mini-muffins. The loaf spends less time in the oven than the epic hour of a regular-sized banana bread, and the muffins cook even more quickly, which means you get an appetizer to tide you over.
I know everyone has his or her own favorites when it comes to banana bread. For a long time, I wouldn’t have dreamed of adding chocolate chips to mine. And then, at Phoebe’s 21st birthday party, as I mentioned in this post about quickbread ratios, I ate the banana bread Phoebe’s mom baked loaves and loaves of, and I couldn’t really ever go back.
This recipe actually uses a little more fat than the normal ratio, which gives it an unbeatable crispy top and sides. Great warm out of the oven and topped with chocolate gelato!
From my kitchen, albeit small, to yours,
Cara, THE QUARTER-LIFE COOK
Banana Chocolate Chip Bread and Muffins
Makes 1 small loaf and 10-12 mini muffins
Ingredients
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons safflower oil
1/2 cup sugar
2 large very ripe bananas
1 egg
3/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 tesaspoon salt
1/2 cup chocolate chips (milk or semisweet)
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a small loaf pan and a dozen mini muffin cups.
In a mixing bowl, combine the oil and the sugar. Beat in the egg, then add the bananas whole and mash them with a fork. Don’t overmash; you don’t want the batter to become gummy.
Whisk together the flour, soda, powder, and salt. Fold it into the wet ingredients until the flour is just barely moistened. Fold in the chocolate chips.
Bake for 10 minutes for the muffins and 25-35 minutes for the loaf, until a sharp knife stuck in comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes before digging in.
wow! Only 25 minutes in the oven. This seems like a great last minute brunch or dessert. I can't wait to try it.
Wow, those were easy and delicious. I substituted 1T flax seed and 3T water for the egg.
gorgeous!
Kate - I added a menu for brunch suggestions. I ate this with grilled cheese and hash browns, actually.
Sara - you can also add an extra banana if you want to leave out the egg. Makes the loaf even denser.
Yum. This might be great for the shower? They look delectible!
-Bec
Thanks for the tip. I've been using flax a lot recently as an egg substitute. Everything I've made that way has been super moist. I always thought eggs helped with rising. Is that true? And, if yes, do you know if flax does the same thing?
The best banana muffins I have ever tried hands down. So light and fluffy OMG!!!
I made the bread version of this recipe and was disappointed with the results. I baked it for 45 minutes and it still came out underdone. I would definitely try this recipe again but make them as muffins instead.
Sorry to hear that. Loaves usually need at least an hour, unless you’re using a mini loaf pan.
I made “regular” sized muffins (large size cups) using this recipe this morning (baked for 20 min for more on the moist side), and they were ridiculously delicious! thanks so much for the posting!!!
I thought this recipe was dairy-free?
It is!
What about the chocolate chips? Do you have some dairy-free chocolate tips? 🙂
Almost all semi sweet chocolate chips are dairy free! If you don’t want your chips made in a dairy facility, I’d look into the “Enjoy Life” brand.
I have never used safflower oil before, but am going to give this recipe a try. My question is, can i omit the chocolate chips? I can’t eat any chocolate. or, Is there a good substitution for instead of the chocolate?
You can definitely skip the chocolate, Adriana! I like the idea of adding pecans or walnuts, but you could also skip the add-ins altogether. Enjoy!
This was delicious! Everyone enjoyed it. I want to make it again today. I was wondering what would it taste like without any sugar? Should I add an extra banana or something?
Thanks!
So glad you enjoyed! Hmm, I can’t really imagine a sweet like this without sugar, but I’ll be intrigued to hear about the results if you try!
This recipe isn’t dairy free since it has chocolate chips, they would have to be left out or substituted.
Hi! How can I substitude the safflower oil? Thank you!
Melted butter is the best bet!
Thank you Cara!
Just made this- fantastic recipe! I didn’t have safflower oil on hand and just used straight up vegetable oil- and instead of using a smaller loaf pan and some muffins, I just used one larger loaf pan- took 38 minutes at 350. Turned out awesome! Thanks! 🙂
So glad you loved it!