Everyone has a favourite recipe for banana bread. This Chocolate Chip Banana Bread with Crunchy Topping is a variation that you will enjoy trying – it ticks all the boxes for moistness, flavour and texture. The crunchy sugar-cinnamon topping is a flavourful addition. Although walnuts are traditionally used in this loaf, pecans pair very well with banana. Don’t forget to toast the nuts first.
CHOCOLATE CHIP BANANA BREAD with CRUNCH TOPPING
CHEF TALK: I like to freeze mashed banana in 1-cup measurements. It makes it much simpler to prepare this easy-to-make banana bread – you can have the mixture prepared in about five minutes. Banana bread typically takes over one hour to bake in a large loaf pan. Another tip is to bake the quick bread in mini loaf pans. One banana loaf recipe will yield four mini loaves: one to share over a cup of tea, one to give away to your favourite neighbour and two loaves for the freezer. Note the dairy and gluten-free alternatives in the recipe ingredients.
Yield: 4 mini loaf pans (5.5” x 3” x 2” high) or 1 large loaf (9” x 5”)
INGREDIENTS:
Wet Ingredients:
- 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
- 1 cup mashed ripe banana (about 3 medium bananas)
- ¼ cup milk or dairy alternative
- 1/3 cup butter or coconut oil, melted
Dry Ingredients:
- 2 cups flour or gluten-free flour blend (I use Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 Baking Flour)
- ½ cup granulated sugar or brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon fine salt
- 1 cup chocolate chips (8 oz.)
- ½ cup toasted pecans or walnuts, chopped
Topping:
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
METHOD:
- Heat the oven to 350oF (325oF if using convection setting).
- Prepare the pans by spraying with pan spray and coating with flour. Tap out the excess flour. Place the mini loaf pans on a baking sheet.
- In a medium-size bowl, stir together the wet ingredients until well blended.
- In a small bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
- Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, stirring just until moistened. CHEF TIP: Overmixing of a quick bread batter could cause the baking powder to go flat. In addition, the loaf will be tough rather than light in texture. A light hand at mixing is required.
- Stir in the chocolate chips and the toasted nuts.
- Portion the banana bread batter into the prepared pans. For the mini loaves, use a scale to weigh out 300 g batter/10.5 oz. into each mini loaf pan or portion the batter evenly between the four pans.
- Sprinkle a little of the topping over the top of each of the four mini loaf pans. CHEF TIP: Spray a knife or plastic bench knife with pan spray and insert it into the center of the cake as shown in the photograph. This helps the dense batter bake evenly and creates a natural break in the center of the loaf.
- Bake the mini loaves for 30 minutes. Test the banana bread for doneness by inserting a wooden pick into the center of the loaf – it should come out clean. NOTE: If you are making one large loaf, bake the banana bread for 60 to 70 minutes. Check for doneness as outlined above. Cool the banana bread in their pans for five minutes then remove them to continue cooling on a rack. For best results, store up to one day at room temperature, otherwise, freeze to maintain moisture and freshness. Enjoy!
Here is your visual step-by-step in photographs CHOCOLATE CHIP BANANA BREAD with CRUNCH TOPPING :

Preparation of the mini loaf pans by pan spraying and dusting with flour

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Batter

Sprinkling the Crunchy Topping on top of the Banana Bread Batter

The mini Banana loaves are getting their special magic touch by inserting a greased plastic scraper into the center of the batter for more even baking

The Chocolate Chip Banana Bread recipe makes four mini loaves

Mini Banana loaves sliced showing the profile of the chocolate chips and pecans
Chocolate Chip Banana Bread with Crunchy Topping
Prep
Cook
Total
Yield 4 mini loaves
Everyone has a favourite recipe for banana bread. This Chocolate Chip Banana Bread with Crunchy Topping is a variation that you will enjoy trying – it ticks all the boxes for moistness, flavour and texture. The crunchy sugar-cinnamon topping is a flavourful addition. Gluten-Free and Dairy-Free Options are provided
Ingredients
Wet Ingredients:
- 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
- 1 cup mashed ripe banana (about 3 medium bananas)
- ¼ cup milk or dairy alternative
- 1/3 cup butter or coconut oil, melted
Dry Ingredients:
- 2 cups flour or gluten-free flour blend (I use Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 Baking Flour)
- ½ cup granulated sugar or brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon fine salt
- 1 cup chocolate chips (8 oz.)
- ½ cup toasted pecans or walnuts, chopped
Topping:
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 350oF (325oF if using convection setting).
- Prepare the pans by spraying with pan spray and coating with flour. Tap out the excess flour. Place the mini loaf pans on a baking sheet.
- In a medium-size bowl, stir together the wet ingredients until well blended.
- In a small bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
- Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, stirring just until moistened. CHEF TIP: Overmixing of a quick bread batter could cause the baking powder to go flat. In addition, the loaf will be tough rather than light in texture. A light hand at mixing is required.
- Stir in the chocolate chips and the toasted nuts.
- Portion the banana bread batter into the prepared pans. For the mini loaves, use a scale to weigh out 300 g batter/10.5 oz. into each mini loaf pan or portion the batter evenly between the four pans.
- Sprinkle a little of the topping over the top of each of the four mini loaf pans. CHEF TIP: Spray a knife or plastic bench knife with pan spray and insert it into the center of the cake as shown in the photograph. This helps the dense batter bake evenly and creates a natural break in the center of the loaf.
- Bake the mini loaves for 30 minutes. Test the banana bread for doneness by inserting a wooden pick into the center of the loaf – it should come out clean. NOTE: If you are making one large loaf, bake the banana bread for 60 to 70 minutes. Check for doneness as outlined above. Cool the banana bread in their pans for five minutes then remove them to continue cooling on a rack. For best results, store up to one day at room temperature, otherwise, freeze to maintain moisture and freshness. Enjoy!
Notes
For further information and details, please refer to the original post: https://urbnspice.com/my-recipes/chocolate-chip-banana-bread-with-crunchy-topping/
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Courses Breakfast
Cuisine American
You Might Also Enjoy These Urb’n’Spice Baking recipes:
Apple Cinnamon Streusel Muffins
The Ultimate Breakfast Pastry – Bostock
Please CLICK the link above to access my UrbnSpice LEARNING TIPS, which are listed alphabetically on the Learning Tips blog post under the following subheadings:
- Preparing Your Pans
- Vanilla Extract
- Oven Temperature Accuracy
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Denise Paré-Watson
The Urbnspice Chef
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I love the addition of the yummy topping to this banana bread! It’s a great little extra to make the classic loaf into something special!
Thank you very much, Vanessa. The yummy topping sure brings this loaf over the top. I love the mini loaves too – they are just the right size for sharing. 🙂
I have such a weakness for banana bread… this one looks amazing! Great tip on freezing the bananas… thanks for sharing. Have pinned to try ♥
Thank you very much for your comments, Maria. I am the same – banana bread is just one of those baked goods that gives you a virtual warm hug, isn’t it? This version is really quite different and our family favourite, for sure.