Chocolate Pumpkin Banana Bread

This Chocolate Pumpkin Banana Bread Recipe is moist, delicious and perfectly sweetened. It combines three of my favorite things - banana bread, the warm fall flavors of pumpkin spice and rich, chocolatey goodness. It's the best banana bread recipe around.

Ingredient Notes

• All Purpose Flour - this is the most versatile flour for baking and is perfect for all sorts of baked goods.
• Cocoa Powder - This recipe calls for unsweetened cocoa powder. Not to be confused with cocoa mix, which is sweetened with sugar.
• Light Brown Sugar - light brown sugar has less molasses that dark brown sugar. Dark brown sugar will give this Chocolate Pumpkin Banana bread a richer caramel flavor.
• Pumpkin Puree - For this recipe I used unsweetened canned pumpkin puree. The only ingredient should be pumpkin. It is not the same as canned pumpkin pie filling.
• Chocolate Chunks - You can use a chocolate bar and cut it into chunks, or you can use chocolate chips. Both will work just great.

Step By Step Instructions

How to make Chocolate Pumpkin Banana Bread

STEP 1: Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a 9”x5” loaf pan with parchment paper, grease, or coat with nonstick spray. Set aside. Whisk the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking soda and salt in a large bowl.

STEP 2: Combine the oil, eggs, smashed banana, pumpkin puree, sour cream, and vanilla extract in a separate bowl.

STEP 3: Add the wet mixture to the dry ingredients and fold in with a rubber spatula.

STEP 4: Once mixed, fold in ½ cup of the chocolate chunks.

STEP 5: Pour the mixture into to the prepared pan and top with the remaining chocolate chunks. Bake for 1 hour or until you insert a toothpick, and it comes out clean. Start checking at the 45 minute mark. Let the Chocolate Pumpkin Banana Bread cool before slicing.

Recipe Tips and Variations

• Storage: Store the leftover Chocolate Pumpkin Banana bread covered on the counter for up to 3 days, or refrigerate for up to 1 week. (These are my favorite storage and meal prep containers)
• Make Muffins: Pour the batter into a muffin tine to make chocolate pumpkin spice muffins. (Check out these Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes with Marshmallow Frosting)
• Make it gluten free: To make a gluten free version of this chocolate banana bread, simply swap out the all-purpose flour 1:1 with this gluten free baking flour.
• Sugar Free Alternatives: For a sugar free pumpkin bread recipe, swap out the light brown sugar with this brown sugar erythritol and use these sugar free chocolate chips.
• Make it dairy free: To make a dairy free version of this pumpkin banana bread, swap out the sour cream with dairy free coconut yogurt.
• Use applesauce: If you do not have any pumpkin puree or do not like pumpkin, you can substitute the pumpkin puree with apple sauce.
• Omit the pumpkin: Skip the pumpkin and just make chocolate banana bread. In place of the pumpkin, you can use an extra ¾ cup of mashed bananas. You can also use 1 medium avocado, mashed.
• Amp up the pumpkin flavor: To amp up the pumpkin flavor, add a tablespoon of this Pumpkin Pie Spice.

Recommended Tools

• Loaf Pan: For this recipe I used a 9x5" loaf pan. You can also use a silicone loaf pan for easier clean up.
• Parchment Paper: I like to use unbleached parchment paper sheets. They are handy for cutting into a variety of shapes and sizes and lining pans of all sizes.
• Baking Clips: Clipping the parchment paper to the sides of the baking pan, make it a lot easier to pour and spread the batter.
• Mixing Bowl: For baking, I like to use a nested set of clear glass mixing bowls.

Frequently Asked Questions

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