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Marbled Banana Bread

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By Jenn Segal
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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.

Marbled Banana Bread

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!”

Connie

What You’ll Need To Make Marbled Banana Bread

ingredients for marbled banana bread

Step-by-Step Instructions

Begin by combining the flour, baking soda and salt.

dry ingredients in mixing bowl

Whisk to combine.

whisked dry ingredients

Set aside, then cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

creaming butter and sugar

Add the eggs one at a time.

adding the eggs

Beating well after each addition.

eggs beaten into creamed butter mixture

Add the dry ingredients.

adding the dry ingredients

Beat on low speed to combine.

dry ingredients incorporated into batter

Add the mashed bananas, sour cream, and vanilla extract.

adding bananas, vanilla, and sour cream

Mix until just combined. The batter will be thick.

Bowl of batter.

Place the chopped chocolate in a small microwave-safe bowl.

chocolate pieces in 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.

adding cocoa powder to melted chocolate

Add one cup of the batter to the melted chocolate.

adding banana batter to chocolate

Stir until well combined.

finished chocolate batter

Spoon the two batters alternately into a greased loaf pan.

spooned batters in 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.

swirled batters in loaf pan

Bake for about an hour and ten minutes.

baked marbled banana bread

Cool the loaf in the pan on a rack for about ten minutes, then remove and cool completely.

Marbled Banana Bread

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Marbled Banana Bread

Metric Cup Measures
By Jenn Segal

With a gorgeous ribbon of chocolate running through it, this marbled banana bread is as impressive as it is delicious.

Servings: 1 (9 x 5-inch) loaf
Prep Time: 20 Minutes
Cook Time: 1 Hour 10 Minutes
Total Time: 1 Hour 30 Minutes

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

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan generously with butter or nonstick cooking spray.
  2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.
  6. 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

Powered by Edamam

  • 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
Nutritional Data Disclaimer

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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Comments

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  • One of my 3 yrs old favorite and she loves helping me making it! Not overly sweet and great balance between the chocolate and the banana

  • Hi Jennifer,
    Can I add chocolate chip? Or it will change the consistency?
    Thank you dear

    • Sure, Erlina, it would be fine to add some chocolate chips to the batter. Hope you enjoy!

  • Hi, I am making this in Sponge cake pan, I don’t have the other kind. How long should I cook it? Looks yummy

    • Hi Lora, It’s a little hard to say but I’m guessing the cook time will be about the same.

      • Hi can I substitute the sour cream with plain yogurt?

        • Sure, Karen – that will work. 🙂

        • I substituted sour cream with 2% Fage yogurt and bread was delicious.

  • Jenn. this was wonderful. I am nibbling away at it…Have to practice my marbling, I tended to under marble it. After 50 minutes I covered with foil and then another 10 and it was beautiful. After adding the dry ingredients, I folded in the banana and sour cream. If I added the banana and sour cream before the dry ingredients, it would look curdled, but would be fine, wouldn’t it. All your recipes a are so great. My favorite food blog!

  • I am new to your site and would like to ask two questions: 1. Why “spoon in” the flour to a measuring cup ass opposed to “scooping” it out with the measuring cup? 2. Why add eggs one at at time instead of all together? Thanks for your time. I am going to try the chocolate marbled banana bread recipe.

    • Hi David, Regarding the flour, I use the “spoon and level” method to ensure an accurate measurement. Scooping the flour out of the container with your measuring cup packs the flour down and you’ll end up with more than you need. And the reason for adding one egg at a time is because it’s best to add any liquid ingredients slowly to give the mixture time to thicken and emulsify. Hope that helps and that you enjoy the bread!

  • I love this recipe so much, the kids have now started cooking it and they love making the swirly patterns! I have to say, it doesn’t normally get to cool as it is so delicious warm.

  • Everyone loves this recipe. It is so moist and delicious! I put strips of foil around the edge towards the end of baking so they don’t get overly brown.

  • I’m planning on using this recipe tonight. Can I substitute the sour cream with cream cheese? Thank you!

    • Hi Noor, Unfortunately that won’t work – sorry!

    • You can substitute the sourcream with a combination of buttermilk and butter. I know to get 1 cup of sourcream, it’s a combination of 3/4 cup of buttermilk and 1/4 cup of butter. This recipe requires half a cup of sourcream so I guess you will have to put some maths skills to use in order to work it out. Good luck

  • Is it possible to swap greek yogurt for the sour cream?

    • Yes – that will work. Enjoy!

  • I just made this loaf step by step……after an hour and 20 min. let it cool and still raw in middle???? this is twice now………so frustrating!

    • I’m sorry you’ve had a problem with this! Have you made any changes to the recipe or pan size? Is there any chance that you’ve mismeasured something?

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