Healthy Chocolate Banana Bread (Gluten-Free)

This Healthy Chocolate Banana Bread is moist, fluffy and flourless! It’s completely oil-free, nut-free, gluten-free, and vegan friendly. Loaded with chocolate chips too for double chocolate goodness!

Nothing will ever beat chocolate in my eyes. So when I was craving something chocolatey after dinner one night and all I had was my Vegan Banana Bread to snack on, I came up with a solution. CHOCOLATE BANANA BREAD. This banana bread did not only satisfy my chocolate craving, it left my house smelling like a brownie bakery!

How to Make Banana Bread Chocolate

I was tempted to title this bread, “Chocolate Banana Brownie Bread,” because it literally tastes like a brownie with banana undertones. I thought I’d keep the name simple though. We add two things to this banana bread to make it chocolate: cacao powder and of course, dairy-free chocolate chips (I specifically use dark chocolate morsels for extra decadence).

The health benefits of cacao powder are amazing! It’s loaded with antioxidants for glowing skin, rich in vitamins and minerals and so much more! If you want to know the difference between COCOA and CACAO read my 6 Low Cost Superfoods article. It will open your eyes!!!

One Bowl Easy Banana Bread

This recipe only requires one bowl! If you know anything about the Secretly Healthy Home, you know that I love one bowl recipes! If you don’t like doing dishes, just make my Chocolate Baked Oatmeal, Healthy Rice Krispie Treats, or Secretly Healthy Fudge Brownies!

Tips for the Best Chocolate Banana Bread

• Ripe Bananas: This recipe is absolutely perfect for using ripe bananas. The key is to have very speckled, and soft bananas. The more speckled and ripe they are, the sweeter they will be! What if your bananas aren’t ripe, but YOU NEED this banana chocolate bread now?! I learned a very helpful tip for how to ripen your bananas in just 15 minutes from my friend Liv @keepupwithliv. 

• Banana ripening trick: Place bananas in the oven at 300 F. for 15 minutes until they turn black on the outside and soft. Now you’ll never have an excuse NOT to make healthy banana bread!

• Mix Baking Powder in last: This tip is a vital one and I use it for recipes like my Gluten-Free Carrot Cake Muffins. Instead of adding the baking powder to the batter along with the dry ingredients, this recipe instructs you to add the baking powder last, after mixing all the ingredients together. This step ensures the baking powder doesn’t get over mixed. The result: the fluffiest and most beautiful healthy banana bread you’ve ever laid eyes on.

How to Make Healthy Chocolate Banana Bread Moist

A lot of vegan, “healthy”, and gluten-free recipes, call for a ton of nut flours and coconut oil. Although these ingredients do contain healthy fats and nutrients, the fats and calories definitely add up. In the Secretly Healthy Home, we like to make recipes healthy without having to make it calorie packed! That’s why I made this chocolate banana bread oil-free! But how is it so moist then?! Here’s my secret…

Plant Based Milk: Just like my original Secretly Healthy Banana Bread Recipe, this gluten-free chocolate bread is completely oil-free! We use plant-based milk instead of oil. This healthy swap cuts down the fat content drastically, while still achieving a very moist bread!

More Easy Banana Recipes

• Vegan Raspberry Brownies (Gluten-Free)

• Healthy Banana Chip Muffins

• Vegan Banana Bread (Gluten-Free)

• Chocolate Baked Oatmeal

I cannot wait for you to give this Double Chocolate Banana Bread a try! Please snap a picture and share it with me! 

Seeing your kitchen creations makes my day and encourages me to keep creating new recipes for you!

Happy Banana Bread Bakin’!

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Yield: 10 slices

Chocolate Banana Bread (Secretly Healthy)

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This Healthy Chocolate Banana Bread is moist, fluffy and flourless! It’s completely oil-free, nut-free, gluten-free, and vegan friendly. Loaded with chocolate chips too for double chocolate goodness!

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 35 minutes

Total Time 45 minutes

Ingredients

Wet

• 1 Cup Mashed Ripe Banana (2 medium very speckled bananas)
• 1 Egg or Flax Egg (See Note 2)
• ½ Cup Plant Based Milk (or any milk of choice)
• 3-4 Tbs Honey or Pure Maple Syrup (See Note 1)

Dry

• 1½ Cups Oat Flour (I make my own in 3 steps)
• ⅓ Cup Cacao Powder
• ¼ tsp Pink Himalayan Salt
• 3 tsp Baking Powder
• ¼ Cup Dairy-free Dark Chocolate Chips or Chopped Dark Chocolate Bar (opt. more for topping)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven 350 F. and line a 9x5 loaf pan with parchment paper (or line 12 muffin tins with silicone liners, paper liners, or grease with coconut oil).

2. In a medium bowl, mash the ripe bananas with the back of a fork. Add in the rest of the wet ingredients and mix until well combined.

3. To the bowl, add the dry ingredients except baking powder and chocolate chips. Mix until well combined.

4. Fold in chocolate chips and baking powder then pour batter into loaf pan (batter will be thick). If desired, top with additional chocolate chips or a chopped dark chocolate bar.

5. Bake at 350 F. for 30-40 minutes (or 15-20 minutes for muffins) until a toothpick comes out with a few moist crumbs.

6. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 10 days or freeze for up to 3 months.

Notes

1. Sweetener: Depending on how ripe your bananas are and how sweet you like your foods you can add more or less honey to taste.
2. Flax Egg: Grind up 1 Tbs whole flax seeds in a coffee grinder (or use ground flax seeds). In a small bowl, combine ground flax with 2 Tbs water and stir. Let sit 3-5 minutes until thickened. 
3. What if your bananas aren’t ripe, but YOU NEED this chocolate bread now?! I learned a very helpful tip for how to ripen your bananas in just 15 minutes from my friend Liv @keepupwithliv. Here’s her banana ripening trick: Place bananas in the oven at 300 F. for 15 minutes until they turn black on the outside and soft.

Be sure to tag @secretlyhealthyhome on Instagram, Facebook or Pinterest with a picture of your chocolate banana bread!

I love seeing your kitchen creations so please leave a comment and rate the recipe if you make it! It really helps support me and encourages me to keep making recipes for you!

Recommended Products

There are affiliate links on this site. I do earn from qualifying purchases, at no cost to you the buyer. Thank you for supporting Secretly Healthy Home!

• 
  KitchenAid Stand Mixer
• 
  Dairy-Free Dark Chocolate
• 
  Pink Himalayan Salt
• 
  Gluten-Free Rolled Oats
• 
  Oat Flour
• 
  Coconut Flour
• 
  Loaf Pan
• 
  Cacao Powder
• 
  100 % Pure Maple Syrup

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

10
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 181Total Fat: 5.3gCarbohydrates: 26.4gNet Carbohydrates: 20.8gFiber: 5.6gSugar: 7gProtein: 5.7g

Did you make this recipe?

Be sure to tag @secretlyhealthyhome on Instagram, Facebook or Pinterest with a picture of your recipe creation! Please leave a star rating and or comment! It really helps support me and encourages me to keep making recipes for you!