Easy Chocolate Walnut Banana Bread

This Chocolate Walnut Banana Bread is so delicious, moist and tender with a chocolatey and nutty flavor and wonderful aroma. Either as breakfast, dessert or mid-day snack, it will make you feel cozy and heartwarming.

A Spiced and Nutty Chocolate Banana Bread

We recently visited the National Gallery of Denmark in Copenhagen and had a delicious slice of chocolate banana bread at their coffee shop. Just one thin slice was full of crunchy nuts with a chocolatey flavor and an amazing aroma of winter spices. Totally hyggelig(t) (hygge-like)!

If you wonder what “hygge” means, let’s talk a little bit about this concept. I usually don’t talk about non-food stuff in the post like this, but this is a pretty interesting concept. Please feel free to scroll past to the next section about ingredients and methods if you already know about hygge.

Denmark is among the happiest countries in the world according to many rankings, and hygge is perhaps one of their secrets to happiness. There is no direct equivalent word in English, but some explanations include “social coziness” or “coziness of the soul”.

Hygge is humble and slow. And if you could taste it, the taste of hygge would be almost always familiar, sweet and comforting (The Little Book of Hygge – The Danish Way to Live Well, Meik Wiking).

So in short, the chocolate banana bread we tried was so delicious that I wanted to make it at home. And baking is also a hyggelig activity itself :)! My version includes banana, chocolate, walnuts, cinnamon, and nutmeg – they make such a perfect flavor combination that it is so difficult to eat only one slice.

Recipe Video

The bread is very moist and tender, even on the next day. You can watch how quick and easy it is to make it in the video below.

Ingredient Notes

I modified Simply Recipe’s banana bread recipe to come up with this easy chocolate walnut banana bread. No electric mixer or fancy tools is needed.

To make this banana bread, you will need the following ingredients (please note this is the summary, and detailed measurements are in the recipe card at the end of the post):

• Ripe bananas: if possible, use those very ripe one with brown spots for a stronger banana flavor.
• All-purpose flour: I use unbleached all-purpose flour.
• Unsweetened cocoa powder
• Sugar, baking soda, egg, walnuts
• Cinnamon powder: you can easily find McCormick ground cinnamon, which is affordable and works great, at any grocery stores. I also like Simply Organic Ceylon ground cinnamon a lot, love its sweet and floral notes.
• Nutmeg powder: I often buy ground nutmeg from McCormick (organic version), Simply Organic and Frontier Co-op.
• Butter or oil: I have tried making the bread with both butter and oil and it turns out delicious either way.

We like the banana bread made with butter slightly more than the one with oil because it seems to have lighter crumbs and more richness. If you don’t eat dairy, it is still very yummy with oil and I include both options in the recipe card.

I think the nuts and spices are essential ingredients you should not omit. The walnuts add a crunchy texture and the spices add a warming and sweet aroma. They give the bread more soul, characteristics and it is way more fun to eat. Chocolate chips will be a good addition too.

Easy Chocolate Walnut Banana Bread

This Chocolate Walnut Banana Bread is so delicious, moist, and tender with a chocolatey flavor, crunchy nuts and wonderful aroma. Either as breakfast or dessert, it will make you feel cozy and heartwarming.

Author: Sophie

4.55 from 20 votes

Print Pin Rate

Prep: 10 minutes mins

Cook: 55 minutes mins

Total: 1 hour hr 5 minutes mins

Servings: 6 people

Ingredients

 

1x2x3x

US Customary – Grams

• 1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon powder
• 3/4 teaspoon nutmeg powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• pinch of salt
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
• 3 ripe bananas
• 1/3 cup melted butter (see Notes for non-dairy substitute)
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup sugar

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

 

• Preheat the oven to 350F (175C) and butter a loaf pan.
• Gather dry ingredients. Sift cocoa powder into the all-purpose flour, then add baking soda, cinnamon powder, nutmeg powder and salt to that same bowl. Mix to combine them evenly.
  
• In a mixing bowl, mash bananas until there's no big lumps. Add the melted butter and stir well to combine. Then stir in the egg and sugar. Alternatively, you can quickly combine the bananas, eggs and melted butter in a blender for a few seconds.
  
• Add the flour mixture and chopped walnuts to the wet ingredients. With a wooden spoon or spatula, gently mix to combine. Do not over-mix.
  
• Pour the batter into the loaf pan. Bake for 50-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
  
• Remove from the oven and let the bread cool in the pan for 5-10 minutes. After that, remove the bread from the pan and let it cool completely on a cooling rack.

Video

Notes

For a dairy-free option, you can use 1/4 cup of oil instead of melted butter. The bread made with oil is also very delicious, but the one made with butter will have lighter crumbs.

I use a 4”x8” loaf pan. You can also use this recipe to bake into chocolate muffins. Adjust baking time as needed.

I personally think half a cup of sugar provides enough sweetness for the bread. Consuming less sugar will make our body happier :).

If you want more or less spice aroma, you can increase or reduce cinnamon powder and nutmeg powder by 1/4 teaspoon each. Also feel free to throw in some chocolate chips.

Nutrition

Calories: 335kcal | Carbohydrates: 40g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 54mg | Sodium: 284mg | Potassium: 135mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 17g | Vitamin A: 355IU | Calcium: 33mg | Iron: 2.2mg

Course: Breakfast, Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: chocolate banana bread, easy banana bread

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