Marbled Banana Bread
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With a gorgeous ribbon of chocolate running through it, this marbled banana bread is as impressive as it is delicious.
I haven’t been shy about offering up banana bread recipes on this site (pick your flavor: chai-spiced banana bread, chocolate banana bread, or coconut banana bread) but this one is such a beauty, I couldn’t resist adding one more. Tender and sweet with a gorgeous ribbon of melted chocolate running through it, marbled banana bread is as impressive looking as it is delicious. Plus, it’s fun to make: you spoon the banana and chocolate batters into a loaf pan alternately, then artistically swirl the two together with a knife.
Table of Contents
“I am pretty sure that my kids beg me to buy bananas at the grocery store, only to let them go brown, so that I have to make this banana bread. So delicious!”
What You’ll Need To Make Marbled Banana Bread
Step-by-Step Instructions
Begin by combining the flour, baking soda and salt.
Whisk to combine.
Set aside, then cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Add the eggs one at a time.
Beating well after each addition.
Add the dry ingredients.
Beat on low speed to combine.
Add the mashed bananas, sour cream, and vanilla extract.
Mix until just combined. The batter will be thick.
Place the chopped chocolate in a small microwave-safe bowl.
Microwave in short intervals, stirring in between so the chocolate doesn’t scorch, until the chocolate is almost melted. Stir, letting the residual heat melt the chocolate completely, then stir in the cocoa powder.
Add one cup of the batter to the melted chocolate.
Stir until well combined.
Spoon the two batters alternately into a greased loaf pan.
Then swirl with a knife. Don’t over-swirl or the colors will get muddled—four or five times up and back should do it.
Bake for about an hour and ten minutes.
Cool the loaf in the pan on a rack for about ten minutes, then remove and cool completely.
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Marbled Banana Bread
With a gorgeous ribbon of chocolate running through it, this marbled banana bread is as impressive as it is delicious.
Ingredients
- 1¾ cups all purpose flour, spooned into measuring cup and leveled-off
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 stick (½ cup) unsalted butter, softened
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup mashed very ripe bananas, from 2-3 bananas
- ½ cup sour cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped (a heaping ½ cup)
- 2 teaspoons natural unsweetened cocoa powder, such as Hershey's
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan generously with butter or nonstick cooking spray.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the flour mixture and mix on low speed until just combined. Add the mashed bananas, sour cream and vanilla extract and beat until just combined. Do not overmix.
- Place the chocolate in a microwave safe bowl. Cook on high power in 20 second intervals, stopping to stir in between, until about 80% melted. Stir until smooth, letting the residual heat in the bowl melt the remaining bits of unmelted chocolate. Add the cocoa powder and stir until dissolved. Add one cup of the banana bread batter to the melted chocolate and stir until well combined.
- Spoon the plain batter and chocolate batter alternately into the prepared loaf pan. Swirl the batters together with a knife (don't overdo it or the colors will get muddled -- up and back 4 to 5 times should suffice). Bake for about 1 hour and 10 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool in the pan on a wire rack for about 10 minutes, then remove the loaf from the pan and set on the wire rack to cool completely.
- Freezer-Friendly Instructions: The bread can be frozen for up to 3 months. After it is completely cooled, wrap it securely in aluminum foil, freezer wrap or place in a freezer bag. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before serving.
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (12 servings)
- Serving size: 1 slice
- Calories: 276g
- Fat: 13g
- Saturated fat: 8g
- Carbohydrates: 39g
- Sugar: 22g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 4g
- Sodium: 246mg
- Cholesterol: 56mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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Used a dark loaf pan but I forgot to lower the oven temp to 325.
So I have a delicious cake with a burnt bottom. Lesson learned.
Super yummy! And impressive to look at!
I packed an extra piece in my lunch to have at work and gave it to a coworker. They said it was incredible.
Modestly I think so too.
Easy to follow. I used chocolate chips and melted those and added extra whole chocolate chips into the “plain” part of the batter.
Backstory: I had bananas that had gone too far ripe… My husband wanted regular banana bread with chocolate chips and I wanted the chocolate banana bread from King Arthur. We compromised and made your recipe haha. This one is a winner!
Great recipe! The sour cream does make the cake super moist so don’t leave it out. Tnx Jenn
This is outstanding. We loved it. Perfect blend of flavors. Another great recipe from Jen!!
Hi! Is it possible to do this recipe without chocolate chips and just cocoa powder? Excited to try!
Hi Maya, I wouldn’t recommend it — sorry!
Probably but you’d need to add butter and maybe more sugar
I made it that way it came out great
I baked this in an 8×8” glass pan for 45 minutes. I didn’t have any chocolate left so I used 50g of ganache. Thank you for yet another amazing recipe. 🙂
Hi, can I use coconut sugar in this recipe. Thanks
Hi Vrishali, I’ve never worked with coconut sugar so I can’t say for sure, but from what I’ve read online, it looks like it’s possible. Please LMK how it turns out if you try it!
Hi Jenn, this recipe looks delicious! What’s the best way to store this once baked?
Hi Marya, I store it loosely covered with foil on the countertop. Hope that helps!
I had some overripe bananas and as I had loved the marble cake recipe so much, I decided to try this one out. It did not disappoint!! The perfect amount of sweet and banana flavor, it was a hit even with my fiancé who is not the biggest banana bread fan. I will definitely be making this again! I always use Valrhona unsweetened cocoa powder as it is my favorite, and ended up using 3 bananas because that is what I had, but otherwise followed the recipe exactly.
This recipe has become an all time favorite, especially for my grandson Riley after I changed the flour to a GF flour blend to accommodate his severe allergies to gluten! With its rich and decadent ingredients, no one else knows that I changed the flour contents and we all can enjoy it together!
Super easy. I didn’t have sour cream so substituted plain yogurt and it turned out perfectly.
Wow it smelled delicious cooking and it tastes even better. Gave my neighbours some otherwise, I might have eaten the lot!