Gluten-Free Chocolate Banana Bread

One Bowl Gluten-Free Chocolate Banana Bread – This gluten-free chocolate chocolate chip banana bread recipe is such a delightful way to use up your overripe bananas! It might just become your new favorite.

Hi, I’m Emily and I basically never buy the correct number of bananas. Like…ever.

Some weeks, we gobble them up in two days, so I buy more the next week and no one eats a single banana.

I’m convinced this is why banana bread exists. Right? But this glammed-up gluten-free chocolate banana bread is living proof that banana bread doesn’t have to be boring!

This chocolate lovers’ gluten-free banana bread recipe will make your house smell like brownies while it bakes. I love its gorgeous flavor, light texture, the sprinkle of chocolate chips on top, and how EASY it is to make!

Here’s all you need to get started on this one-bowl gluten-free chocolate chocolate chip banana bread recipe…

Here’s What You Need To Make Gluten-free Chocolate Banana Bread:

• Ripe Bananas. You want to use spotty or brown bananas for making banana bread. The more spotty they are, the softer and sweeter they’ll be in your recipe. Using underripe bananas will impact both texture and sweetness.
• Melted Butter. No worrying about softening the butter! Instead, you get to melt it, which makes things quick and easy. Want to go the extra mile? Feel free to brown the butter first!
• Brown Sugar. I love using dark brown sugar in banana bread for sweetness and a little bit of extra depth, but light brown sugar also works great!
• Eggs & Vanilla. To round out the wet ingredients, you’ll need room temperature eggs and vanilla extract.
• Gluten-Free Measure For Measure Flour. This gluten-free chocolate banana bread recipe keeps things simple with a 1:1 gluten-free flour blend, rather than mixing and matching several different flours. It’s also nut-free, which is great for allergies! We recommend this gluten-free flour blend from King Arthur Baking (not sponsored).
• Unsweetened Cocoa Powder (Not Dark Cocoa!). To add our first layer of chocolate flavor, you’ll use plenty of unsweetened cocoa powder. I’m using regular cocoa powder here rather than Dutch-processed/dark cocoa. There’s enough cocoa in the recipe that you still get that lovely chocolate look and flavor.
• Baking Soda. To neutralize the acidity of the cocoa and help the bread rise, we’re using baking soda.
• Salt. Next up is some sea salt to balance the flavor. So important!
• Chocolate Chips. To turn this into double chocolate banana bread, we mix chocolate chips into the batter AND sprinkle some on top. Between the cocoa powder + chocolate chips, this banana bread is loaded with glorious chocolate flavor!

How To Make Gluten-Free Chocolate Chocolate Chip Banana Bread, Step By Step:

1. Preheat The Oven & Prep Your Pan. Start by preheating the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9×5″ loaf pan with parchment paper. (I like to place it so the parchment hangs over the long sides. They can be used as handles later to lift the bread out of the pan.)
2. Start By Combining The Wet Ingredients. In a large bowl or stand mixer, combine mashed bananas, melted butter, brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Whisk or mix until well blended.
3. Add Dry Ingredients. Next, add gluten-free flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt.
4. Add Chocolate Chips. Sprinkle the 3/4 cup chocolate chips into the bowl and stir or mix until combined.
5. Pour Batter Into The Prepared Pan. Now, pour the chocolate banana bread batter into the prepared loaf pan. Use a spatula to smooth out the top.
6. Sprinkle With Chocolate Chips. Add the remaining 1/4 cup chocolate chips on top of the smoothed batter.
7. Bake. Put the banana bread in the oven and bake at 350 degrees for 60-70 minutes, or until the center registers 200-205 degrees F. or a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean with just a few moist crumbs (no wet batter!).
8. Cool Before Slicing. Let the banana bread cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes in the loaf pan, then transfer the banana bread to the cooling rack and let it cool at least 20 minutes before slicing into it for best results. (Better yet if you can wait till it’s completely cool!)

Our Favorite Pan For BAnana Bread (+Pan Tips!)

The type of pan you use can make a BIG difference in your bakes. Dark pans can scorch the exterior of your cakes or breads before the interior is done, while glass and ceramic bakeware can take longer to cook.

I recommend a coated aluminum pan. We love and recommend this 9×5 loaf pan. It’s affordable, lasts for ages, and has nice, crisp corners for stunning-looking bakes. Be sure you use the size loaf pan called for, as using a larger or smaller pan will impact your bake time.

FAQ + Tips And Tricks For The Best Gluten-Free Chocolate Banana Bread:

How Brown Should Bananas Be For Banana Bread? You want them to be spotty or even mostly brown! The more spotty bananas are, the sweeter and softer they are and the better they work for baking. This picture is a great example! If yours aren’t ripe enough yet, check out these tips for ripening bananas quickly! (There’s even a method that works in minutes!)

Do You Use Dark Cocoa Power or Regular Cocoa Powder For This Banana Bread? For this banana bread recipe, you want to use REGULAR unsweetened cocoa powder, rather than dutch-processed or dark cocoa powder. The amount of baking soda is calculated to match regular cocoa powder (which is more acidic). Swapping the cocoa powder without adjusting the other ingredients can mean your banana bread doesn’t rise properly.

What’s The Best Gluten Free Flour For Banana Bread? We LOVE this gluten-free flour blend from King Arthur Flour. It gives us really consistent results, especially when weighed or measured properly.

Why Is My Banana Bread Gooey In The Middle? Usually this means it’s underbaked. There are a few factors that can contribute to this–make sure you have the proper size & material loaf pan, you’ve checked your oven temperature (even new ovens can be 25-50 degrees off or more!), you’ve let it cool before cutting into it, and you haven’t adjusted any of the ingredients measurements. (Did you add extra banana, etc.) For more on this, check out our How To Check If Your Banana Bread Is Done post, which walks through all the best ways to test if your banana bread is truly done, like taking the internal temperature & the toothpick test.

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