Coconut Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
Chocolate chip banana bread with shredded coconut. This banana bread is made with coconut oil, mostly whole wheat flour, and greek yogurt. 4 whole bananas are jam-packed into this bread with loads of chocolate chips!
Banana bread loaded with chocolate chips and toasted coconuts. The only cure for a Monday.
After a weekend filled with LOTS going on, i’m almost enjoying the dreary, cold, lazy, and rainy Monday weather that we’re having in Houston today.
I know I say that i’m obsessed with recipes and I say it a lot. This probably leads to 1 of 2 thoughts in your mind, that either 1.) i’m out of my mind, like all the time or 2.) that food is not my passion, it’s more like my obsession. But let me ask you this, can it be both? Oh please let it be both!
This banana bread is made with whole wheat flour (mostly) and greek yogurt. I think I can say it’s on the healthier side other than the chocolate chips. My favorite banana bread recipe actually contains both apple sauce and sour cream, but I wanted to swap the fat calories for um.. chocolate calories? And hence this chocolate chip banana bread was born.
Classic banana bread with walnuts is my most favorite way to consume over ripe bananas. But because of the lack of chocolate, the hubby usually doesn’t have more than a slice of two and I end up consuming the ENTIRE bread in one week. Just because you could, doesn’t mean you should.
And this time, I was craving something a little different and something with chocolate, definitely something with chocolate.
I had a bunch of over ripe bananas in the freezer that would launch them selves at me every time I opened the freezer door. They were pleading me to make something scrumptious out of them, and I just had to.
We usually bring home bananas with the best intentions to make banana smoothies and to top our cereal with in the morning. But 9 times out of 10 i’m left with a handful of over ripe bananas that you couldn’t even pay me to eat. They get stored in the freezer until the need for space comes along.
Ah, the cycle of life for bananas in our house.
A few notes on ingredients for this moist banana bread:
Chocolate chips. I have to tell you right off the bat the this recipe for chocolate chip banana bread calls for a lot less sugar than other recipes. This is because of the addition of chocolate chips. I highly suggest using bittersweet chocolate chips as the flavor pairs so well with the bananas and doesn’t make it overly sweet. If you’re someone who likes your dessert super sweet, then opt for the semi-sweet chocolate chips.
Oil. I used coconut oil for my banana bread. Because 1.) I love making baked goods with coconut oil. 2.) I enjoy the flavor of coconut oil and 3.) coconut oil helps intensify the flavor of the shredded coconut that is called for in this recipe. You don’t have to use coconut oil if you don’t want to. Canola oil of vegetable oil are both good options to replace the coconut oil with.
Greek Yogurt. Greek yogurt is one of my favorite ingredients to use in baked goods to help keep them moist, tender, flakey, and delicious. Thought greek yogurt is what I used, buttermilk or sour cream are great alternatives to make this banan bread a little more rich and decadent.
Keep in mind that every oven is different. My new oven tends to brown the tops of baked goods fairly quickly, so after 45 minutes of baking, I used a foil tent to cover my chocolate chip banana bread to keep it from getting too dark on top.
Tender crumbs of banana bread that are almost cake-like. This banana bread is completely fool proof, only requires 2 bowls and a whisk, no electric mixer needed and uses up 4 bananas in one recipe!
I made this banana bread studded with coconut and chocolate chips for a movie night that the hubby and I hosted this weekend. It was a hit all around!
You have just got to give this one a try!
Coconut Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
Chocolate chip banana bread with shredded coconut. This banana bread is made with coconut oil, mostly whole wheat flour, and greek yogurt. 4 whole bananas are jam-packed into this bread with loads of chocolate chips!
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cup whole wheat flour (or white whole wheat)
- 1/2 cup all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon powder
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
- 1 container (5.3 oz) greek yogurt
- 1/2 cup coconut oil (vegetable or canola is fine too)
- 4 very ripe bananas, mashed
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup bittersweet chocolate chips (or semi-sweet for more sweetness)
- 1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
Instructions
- Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350ºF. Spray a 9x5 loaf pan with cooking spray, set aside.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the whole wheat flour, all purpose flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon, set aside. In a medium bowl, combine the eggs and brown sugar. Whisk until combined. Add the greek yogurt and coconut oil, continue to whisk until completely mixed. Add the bananas and the vanilla extract and fold.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and just fold until combined. Do not overmix. Fold in the chocolate chips and the coconut flakes. Transfer the batter to the loaf pan and bake for 50-60 minutes or until a tooth pick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean with just a few crumbs. Let the banana bread cool in the loaf pan for at least 30 minutes before transferring to a wire cooking rack.
Yum! I bet this smelled amazing when it was baking!
This looks fantastic – the addition of shredded coconut sounds marvelous! The life cycle of bananas in your household sounds remarkably similar to that in mine 🙂