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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Can I use 3 mini loaf pans instead of the one 9 x 5 loaf for this recipe? If so, what should temperature be ? and approximately how long? Thank you.
Hi Lily, Sure, that will work. The oven temp should remain the same; bake time will be less, but I’m not sure by how much, so keep a close eye on them. Hope you enjoy!
Dear Jenn,
Your readers might be interested in how I served this Marbled Banana Bread. In between two thinly sliced pieces, I put a slice of vanilla ice cream, and then dripped chocolate sauce over the masterpiece. It was a hit!
I made this bread and everyone loved it. I especially loved the chocolate parts, such a beautiful moist and intense chocolate taste that I think is thanks to the addition of chocolate and cacao powder. I know that you have a chocolate banana bread recipe that uses chocolate chips and cacao powder, but what would I have to do to adapt this recipe to make it a fully chocolate banana bread one? Double the amount of chocolate and cacao or triple it? Thanks for all your recipes! Everything I have tried is really tasty.
Hi Shoko, I’ve never tried it, but if you want to give it a whirl, I’d use 8 ounces of chocolate and 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder. I’d love to hear how it turns out!
Baked this morning. My chocolate portion of batter was very thick and hard to swirl. Followed recipe exactly, except used FAGE plain yogurt instead of sour cream. Using chocolate is always a bit of a challenge
Hey Jenn I haven’t made this yet but definitely will be trying it because I always love trying your recipes because they are always awesome. But I’m trying to reduce sugars in my diet and wondered if apple sauce could be substituted in equal amounts for the sugar? I understand apple sauce is a great substitute but I don’t know if it would change the flavour profile. I’ve never cooked with apple sauce before. TIA!
Hi Judy, I wouldn’t recommend using applesauce in place of the sugar — I think it would make the bread too moist — sorry! You could bake this as is but reduce the sugar by 1/4 cup. Hope that helps!
I had some overripe bananas sitting on my counter (again) that I needed to use up. I found this recipe and as I know that your recipes always work, I whipped it up.
I had to upscale the amount to fit my pan a made some minor tweaks (a little less sugar, used milk for the missing 1/4 cup sour cream, and used dutch processed cocoa, as this is what I have). I had to cover the cake with foil after 30 minutes, but baked it as indicated for 70 minutes.
My marbling was not as pretty as yours, but I love the taste. I tasted it still slightly warm from the oven (couldn’t resist :-D), it had a nice crunch on the outside. I stored it in refrigerator, so the next day, it had no crunch at all, but it is super moist and especially my vanilla extract came through. The chocolate part of the batter has also benefited from the night in the refrigerator, as all chocolate cakes do 😀
Kids loved it too, and I think I will “have to” do this again soon 😉 😀
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!
Excellent
Doubled the recipe and shared with neighbors.it was delicious and moist. This is a keeper. I love the addition of chocolate when you get tired of just banana bread .
Our oldest son is now “adulting” and started baking a few years back – just basic stuff. However, he’s beginning to venture out and cook more complex recipes from scratch (the way we taught him). He dropped by yesterday with this banana-chocolate bread and shared the recipe. It was really good! Proud of him for cooking it and thankful to whoever shared it!
That’s wonderful that your son has gotten more into cooking (and that you got to enjoy the byproduct of it yesterday)! 🙂