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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Hi, I made this and it tasted so good! So soft and moist! Everybody loved it. Thanks for sharing!
Thankyou for a fantastic recipe. I usually bake plain banana bread, but when I saw this marbled version, I had to bake it. I wasn’t disappointed. Tastes and looks beautiful. I am very impressed and your site has just been added to my favourites. Great job, thanks for sharing your amazing recipes with us.
I made this banana bread for my Airbnb guests and they loved it. It seems I can always find the perfect recipe on this site for impressing my guests. Thank you!
Hi! Can you substitute plain greek yogurt for sour cream?
Yes Jackie, that would work. Enjoy!
I wanted to love this banana bread, I really did, but I didn’t find it to be either chocolate-y or banana-y enough. Maybe more sugar and more banana?
Hi Jen,
I loved this bread, very moist, great flavor but I had a problem and I know it was because I did not swirl enough in the middle section. I kept checking the bread for temperature and with a cake tester. It was not cooking in the middle. The outer surface of the cake is very brown and crusty, and I decided to remove it from the oven so it would not burn. When I tried removing it from the pan after about 15 minutes, it left a large chuck in the bottom of the pan. I realized that the section was almost 100 % chocolate and still a bit runny. I put it back together the best I could and we are loving it anyway. Next time I make it should I lightly cover the pan with foil or should I simply make sure I get my batter swirled better? Thanks in advance for your suggestions.
Glad it tastes good despite you having some challenges with it! Next time I would do both things you mentioned– swirl the batter more thoroughly and, if you notice the top is browning before the inside is done, cover it with foil for the remainder of the baking time.
Thank you, again. I love your recipes by the way.
I missed the part where it said to add one cup of the banana batter to the melted chocolate and cocoa powder until after I started spooning. I imagine that it will not look pretty, but fingers crossed it still tastes good!
Very tasty, came out looking very pretty. However, my marbling technique could use some work, ended up with just a chocolate core to the loaf. I made the mistake of doing one layer plain batter, one layer chocolate then one layer plain and swirling that with a knife (they said careful to not over swirl, I was too careful I think) next time would literally alternate spoonfuls of each. Also, even though my bananas were VERY ripe (like I mean, almost completely brown skins) and I was on the side of generous with the 1 cup measure, it wasn’t very “bananaey” lol. I would probably up it to 1 1/2 cups of mashed banana. Still very flavourful though thanks to the sourcream and the chocolate. Worth the effort.
Made this when was my daughter was home from college on spring break — it’s delicious! Very easy to make, but the rich chocolate flavor definitely takes it up a notch from standard banana bread. Great as a snack, but also pretty enough to serve to company. I’ll definitely make this again!
Loved the recipe, it was great morning snack. I didn’t have ripened bananas, so I cheated and put them in the oven (300 for 40 minutes) until the skin turned shiny black. So much for my diet… Thank you for sharing this with us.