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Chocolate Espresso Banana Bread

Chocolate espresso banana bread with rich cocoa and espresso powder baked into a moist, bakery-style loaf. Melted-butter banana batter and chocolate chips create a mocha-like flavor in every slice.
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Cooling 10 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 25 minutes
Servings: 10 servings
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Calories: 340
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Banana Bread Base
  • 3 large ripe bananas Mash until smooth, with a few small lumps okay.
  • 0.5 cup unsalted butter Melt and cool slightly so it doesn’t cook the eggs.
  • 0.75 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 large eggs Use room temperature for best mixing.
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1.5 cup all-purpose flour
  • 0.33 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 tbsp instant espresso powder Dissolves without brewing.
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 0.25 tsp salt
  • 0.5 cup chocolate chips

Equipment

  • 1 sheet pan
  • 1 loaf pan

Method
 

Prep and combine wet ingredients
  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease a 9x5-inch loaf pan.
  2. Mash the ripe bananas until smooth, then whisk with melted butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla until the batter looks glossy and uniform.
Mix dry ingredients and fold
  1. Whisk the all-purpose flour, cocoa powder, instant espresso powder, baking soda, and salt in a separate bowl until evenly combined and no dry streaks remain.
  2. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients just until no flour pockets remain—do not overmix.
  3. Fold in the chocolate chips until they’re evenly distributed through the batter.
Bake and cool
  1. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and smooth the top so it bakes evenly.
  2. Bake for 55–60 minutes at 350°F, until a toothpick inserted comes out with a few moist crumbs.
  3. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes before slicing so the loaf finishes setting.

Notes

For a bakery-style dome, smooth the top and avoid overmixing once the flour goes in—overmixing can make the loaf dense. Store airtight at room temperature up to 3 days or refrigerate up to 5 days. Freeze sliced bread up to 2 months. For a lower-sugar option, replace granulated sugar with an equal-measure baking sugar substitute that includes a sweetener and bulk (no need to adjust baking soda/baking time if it’s designed for baking).