Anna Louise Every time I have three very ripe bananas sitting on the counter going spotty and soft, I make this. And every time I make it, I wonder why I ever leave bananas to get to that stage without having this plan ready from the beginning.
The basic banana bread recipe on this site is wonderful. But this version — with a generous handful of chocolate chips folded through the batter — is the one that disappears fastest. The bananas and chocolate have a natural affinity.
The banana gives sweetness and moisture. The chocolate gives richness and little pockets of melted intensity throughout every slice. Together they are genuinely hard to resist.
Mary Berry’s chocolate chip banana bread is the version I make for school bake sales, for visiting friends, for Monday morning when the week needs a good start.
It uses the ripest bananas you have — the ones that are almost entirely black on the outside and completely soft inside. Those bananas are the secret ingredient. The riper the banana, the sweeter and more intensely flavoured the bread.
The Riper the Banana, the Better the Bread
This is the most important thing to understand about banana bread and it is worth saying clearly.
A yellow banana with a few brown spots gives a mildly banana-flavoured bread. A deeply speckled, almost completely black banana gives a bread that is intensely, unmistakably, wonderfully banana-flavoured — sweeter, more complex, and considerably more moist.
If your bananas are not ripe enough, put them in their skins on a baking tray in a 180°C oven for fifteen minutes. The skins go completely black and the bananas inside become soft and intensely sweet almost immediately. It is a very useful trick.
Ingredients for Mary Berry Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
For the Banana Bread
- 3 very ripe bananas (about 300g peeled weight) — the riper the better
- 175g unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
- 150g soft light brown sugar
- 2 large eggs, beaten
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 225g plain flour, sifted
- 1½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp fine salt
- 150g dark or milk chocolate chips — or a mixture of both
- 50g walnuts, roughly chopped (optional — they add a wonderful crunch)
Optional Topping
- A few extra chocolate chips and walnut pieces scattered over before baking
- A dusting of icing sugar once cool
How to Make Mary Berry Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
Step 1 — Preheat and Prepare
Preheat your oven to 170°C / 150°C fan / Gas 3. Grease a 2lb (900g) loaf tin generously and line with baking parchment, leaving overhang at both long sides.
Step 2 — Mash the Bananas
Peel the bananas and place in a large bowl. Mash thoroughly with a fork until almost completely smooth — a few small lumps are fine but it should be mostly smooth. The more thoroughly mashed, the more evenly the banana flavour distributes through the bread.
Step 3 — Add the Wet Ingredients
Add the melted butter, soft light brown sugar, beaten eggs, and vanilla extract to the mashed bananas. Stir together with a wooden spoon or spatula until well combined. The mixture will look a little rough — this is fine.
Step 4 — Add the Dry Ingredients
Sift the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, cinnamon, and salt directly into the banana mixture. Fold gently with a large spatula until just combined — stop the moment no dry streaks of flour remain. Do not overmix. A few lumps in banana bread batter are completely fine.
Step 5 — Add the Chocolate and Walnuts
Fold in the chocolate chips and walnuts if using. Again — gentle folds, not enthusiastic stirring. The less you work the batter at this stage, the more tender the finished loaf.
Step 6 — Bake
Pour the batter into the prepared tin. Scatter a few extra chocolate chips and walnut pieces over the top if you like — they look beautiful and give extra chocolate on the top crust. Level the surface.
Bake for 55 to 65 minutes. Check at 55 minutes — a skewer inserted into the very centre should come out clean or with just a few moist crumbs. The top should be deep golden and cracked slightly down the centre — that crack is characteristic of a loaf cake and completely normal.
Cover the top loosely with baking parchment if it is browning too quickly before the centre is done.
Step 7 — Cool Before Slicing
Leave to cool in the tin for fifteen minutes. Lift out using the parchment overhang and cool on a wire rack for at least thirty minutes before slicing. Banana bread sliced warm tends to squash rather than cut cleanly.
My Top Tips For Mary Berry Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
Use the blackest bananas you have. I know I already said this but it bears repeating every time. A yellow banana in banana bread is a wasted opportunity. Wait for the black ones. Or use the oven trick — fifteen minutes at 180°C in their skins.
Melted butter rather than softened. Most cake recipes use softened butter and a creaming method. Banana bread works better with melted butter stirred through — it gives a denser, more moist, more bread-like texture that is exactly what banana bread should be.
Brown sugar rather than white. Soft light brown sugar gives a slight molasses quality that suits the banana and chocolate combination beautifully. White caster sugar gives a slightly flatter, sweeter result.
Do not overmix. Banana bread is a quick bread — the leavening is from baking powder and bicarbonate of soda rather than from air beaten in. Overmixing develops gluten and gives a tough, dense loaf. Mix until just combined and stop.
The crack on top is good. The slightly cracked top of a banana bread loaf is not a problem — it is completely characteristic. The crust sets before the centre has finished rising, causing the natural split. A loaf without a crack is usually a loaf that was not given enough heat.
Serving Suggestions
Sliced at room temperature and eaten as it is — it needs nothing. Spread with cold salted butter for something more indulgent. Toasted the next day and spread with peanut butter — genuinely exceptional. Warmed briefly in a low oven and served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream as a quick dessert.
How to Store Mary Berry Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
At room temperature: Wrap in baking parchment and store in an airtight container for up to 4 days. It actually improves on day two as the flavours meld and the texture settles.
In the freezer: Slice and wrap each slice individually in cling film. Freeze for up to 3 months. Toast from frozen or defrost at room temperature. This is one of the best things to keep in the freezer for a quick breakfast or snack.
Mary Berry Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Recipe
Ingredients
Method
- Preheat oven to 170°C / 150°C fan / Gas 3. Grease and line a 2lb loaf tin with a parchment sling.
- Mash bananas thoroughly in a large bowl until almost smooth.
- Add melted butter, brown sugar, beaten eggs, and vanilla. Stir to combine.
- Sift in flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, cinnamon, and salt. Fold gently until just combined — stop at the last streak of flour.
- Fold in chocolate chips and walnuts if using.
- Pour into tin. Scatter extra chips and walnuts on top if using. Bake 55–65 minutes until a skewer comes out clean. Cover top loosely if browning too quickly.
- Cool in tin 15 minutes. Lift out. Cool on wire rack 30 minutes before slicing.
Notes
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use oil instead of butter?
Yes — sunflower or vegetable oil in the same quantity gives a slightly more moist result that keeps for an extra day. I prefer the flavour of butter but oil is a good alternative.
Can I use white chocolate chips instead of dark?
Yes — white chocolate and banana is a wonderful combination. Use the same quantity. Milk chocolate is also excellent. I sometimes use a mixture of all three types.
Can I make this without eggs?
Yes — replace each egg with a flax egg (one tablespoon of ground flaxseed mixed with three tablespoons of water, left for five minutes). The texture is slightly denser but still very good.
Why has my banana bread sunk in the middle?
Usually because it was underbaked. The skewer must come out clean from the very centre. Given the density of banana bread, this can take longer than expected. Always do the skewer test before removing from the oven.
Can I make these as muffins?
Yes — divide the batter between 12 muffin cases and bake at 180°C for 20 to 22 minutes. They are excellent as muffins and considerably faster than the loaf version.
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