Chocolate Chip Banana Bread with Caramelized Banana Topping
This classic, moist banana bread is loaded with melty chocolate chips and crowned with golden, caramelized banana slices that bake right into the top crust. It's the perfect use for overripe bananas — the darker and spottier, the sweeter and more flavorful your loaf will be. Simple enough for a first-time baker, impressive enough to share.
- Total time
- 75 min
- Servings
- 8
- Calories
- 320
Ingredients
- 3 large very ripe bananas (heavily spotted or black-skinned), peeled
- 1/3 cup (75g) unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
- 3/4 cup (150g) granulated white sugar
- 1 whole large egg, at room temperature
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1 1/2 cups (190g) all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup (130g) semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1 medium ripe banana, cut into 1/2-inch rounds (about 12–14 slices)
- 1 tbsp granulated white sugar (for sprinkling over banana slices)
Instructions
- 1
Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Line a 9x5-inch loaf pan with parchment paper, leaving a 2-inch overhang on both long sides — these act as handles for easy removal. Lightly press the parchment into the corners so it sits flat.
- 2
In a large mixing bowl, use a fork or potato masher to mash the 3 peeled ripe bananas until almost completely smooth with just a few small lumps remaining — this should take about 1–2 minutes of firm mashing. The mixture will look glossy and pale yellow. The riper the bananas, the sweeter and more aromatic your bread will be.
- 3
Pour the melted, cooled butter into the mashed bananas and stir with a rubber spatula until fully combined. The mixture should look glossy and uniform. Add the 3/4 cup sugar and stir again for about 30 seconds until dissolved into the mixture.
- 4
Crack the egg into the banana mixture and add the 1 tsp vanilla extract. Whisk together until the egg is fully incorporated and the batter looks slightly frothy, about 30 seconds.
- 5
Sprinkle the 1 tsp baking soda and 1/2 tsp kosher salt evenly over the wet ingredients and stir to combine. Then add the 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour all at once. Using the rubber spatula, fold the flour in with gentle, sweeping strokes — fold just until no white streaks of flour remain, about 10–12 folds. Do NOT overmix; overmixing develops gluten and will make the bread tough and dense rather than tender.
- 6
Add 3/4 cup of the chocolate chips to the batter and fold them in with 3–4 more strokes of the spatula until evenly distributed throughout the batter.
- 7
Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan, using the spatula to scrape every bit out of the bowl. Smooth the top of the batter into an even layer with the spatula. The pan should be about 2/3 full — this gives room for the loaf to rise.
- 8
Slice the topping banana into 1/2-inch rounds using a paring knife — you should get about 12–14 slices. Arrange the rounds in a single, slightly overlapping layer across the entire top surface of the batter, pressing each slice in very gently so it just barely sits in the batter. Sprinkle the 1 tbsp granulated sugar evenly over the banana slices — this helps them caramelize and turn golden as the loaf bakes.
- 9
Place the loaf pan on the center rack of the preheated 350°F oven. Bake for 55–65 minutes, until the top is a deep golden brown, the banana slices on top are caramelized and slightly shrunken, and the loaf has risen and domed in the center. The bread is done when a toothpick or wooden skewer inserted into the very center of the loaf comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs (not wet batter). If the top is browning too quickly after 40 minutes, loosely tent a piece of foil over the pan without pressing it down.
- 10
Carefully remove the pan from the oven — the pan and parchment will be very hot, so use oven mitts on both hands. Set the pan on a wire cooling rack and let the bread rest in the pan for 10 minutes. You'll hear the bread gently pull away from the sides as it cools.
- 11
After 10 minutes, grip the parchment paper overhangs and lift the loaf cleanly out of the pan. Set it directly on the wire cooling rack and allow it to cool for at least 20 more minutes before slicing — cutting too early causes the interior to gum together. Once cooled, use a sharp serrated knife and slice into 8 even portions. Serve as-is, or lightly toasted with a smear of salted butter.
Tools you’ll need
- 9x5-inch loaf pan
- parchment paper
- large mixing bowl
- medium mixing bowl
- fork or potato masher
- rubber spatula
- whisk
- wire cooling rack
- sharp paring knife
- measuring cups and spoons
- toothpick or wooden skewer
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