My idea of a perfect morning includes a cup of coffee and a bite of homemade baked goods. And if that aroma comes from chocolate chip muffins or soft oatmeal chocolate cookies, I know it’s going to be a great day! Here we combine some of the best ingredients in those two desserts to make this ultra moist chocolate chip oatmeal banana bread. Like my easy recipe for banana cake, this loaf here is delicious and yet another favorite way to use overripe bananas that might otherwise go to waste. The addition of chocolate chips and hearty rolled oats takes it to the next level for breakfast.
Why You’ll Love this Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Bread
This loaf gets its texture and delicious banana flavor from simple ingredients you likely already have in your pantry, but I’m calling your attention to a few MVPs from the recipe card.
- Rolled Oats – Like I mentioned, I’m a fan of oats, and this loaf is full of them. You can read up on the nutritional value of them in this article from Healthline on the benefits of eating oats. Just a cup of oats contains 13 grams of protein and 8 grams of fiber. The recipe contains about two and a third cups of oats. That means oats add about 30 grams of protein and nearly 20 grams of fiber to this recipe. Not too shabby for a tasty breakfast treat!
- Bananas – Brown bananas provide sweetness and moisture as well as some nutritional value. Here they contribute a couple more grams of protein, fiber, and close to 1000 milligrams of potassium.
- Greek yogurt – Greek yogurt makes the loaf more moist and also gives it some added protein.
- Semi-sweet or Dark Chocolate chips – I used a combo of mini and regular-sized chocolate chips in this recipe. The small chips distribute throughout the batter more than larger ones do, meaning you get more chocolate in each bite. Who would be mad about that?! But regular-sized chips work great, too, if that’s all you have on hand.
Easy, Healthier Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Recipe
While I wouldn’t exactly say that is a healthy recipe for chocolate chip banana bread, it’s got more nutritional value to it than many other banana bread recipes. That’s a large part of why I’m sharing it.
Many banana bread recipes will call for at least 3/4 of a cup of sugar in one loaf. This loaf uses less added sugar, but it’s not at all lacking in sweetness. It uses only 1/3 cup of brown sugar, as well as the sugar from the chocolate chips.
There’s no granulated sugar here, and this loaf of banana bread is still nice and sweet.
As I create more recipes, I’m increasingly conscious of the amount of sugar I’m consuming and also including in recipes for you. This easy banana bread recipe is one where I minimized the added sugars because there’s still plenty of sweetness from bananas and semi-sweet chocolate chips.
How to Make This Oatmeal Chocolate Banana Bread
About an hour before beginning this recipe, place your large eggs, butter, and full-fat Greek yogurt on your kitchen counter so they warm to room temperature.
Preheat your oven to 350°F.
Prep your 8.5 x 4.5 x 2.5 inch aluminum loaf pan with butter and flour or a baking release spray. Alternatively, you may line a straight-sided loaf pan with parchment paper for easier removal.
If you don’t have oat flour on hand, you’ll need to make your own oat flour, which is what I do. Pulse your old fashioned oats in a food processor or blender. I hold back on grinding them completely so there’s a little more texture from full-sized oats scattered throughout the loaf.
In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine oat flour, baking soda, nutmeg, ground cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.
Using a hand mixer or electric mixer with a paddle attachment, cream butter, vanilla extract, and brown sugar together for 5 minutes on medium-high. Scrape down bowl halfway to ensure all ingredients are incorporated.
Into your bowl of wet ingredients, add Greek yogurt and mashed bananas. Mix for another 2 minutes on medium speed.
Pour your eggs into the bowl one at a time, mixing the first one before adding the next. Mix on medium-high speed for two minutes.
Scrape the sides of your bowl, and add your dry ingredients to it, mixing together with the hand or stand mixer for about 15 seconds on medium high.
Fold your mini chocolate chips into your oatmeal banana bread batter, and finish incorporating all ingredients manually with a spatula to avoid over-mixing.
Pour batter into prepared loaf pan. Bake in preheated oven for 45 – 50 minutes or until loaf is beginning to pull away from the sides of the pan. Let bread cool in pan for 10 minutes before inverting on a cooling rack.
Banana Bread FAQs
This chocolate oatmeal banana bread can be a healthier breakfast option than your typical banana bread recipes. It uses ground oats instead of all-purpose flour so it includes more fiber. It also contains less sugar than your average loaf of banana bread.
The secret to the sweetness and moisture of this loaf is that the bananas were very ripe (see the photos above). This made them easier to mush and incorporate into the batter. They also released more natural sugars in the baking process as a result of their ripeness.
While I love oats in banana bread, I don’t recommend adding them to just any banana bread recipe. If a recipe isn’t explicitly written to account for the use of old-fashioned oats instead of flour, your loaf may not bake correctly. Use a recipe like this one for incorporating oats into your loaf.
If you don’t keep your loaf in your oven long enough to finish baking, the center may be too wet and sink as it cools.
Excess amounts of leavening agents can also cause the bread to rise too quickly and then collapse in the middle. Measure carefully.
Also, if you often have issues with baked goods falling, this may mean your oven temperature is inaccurate. Use an oven thermometer to double-check.
It’s worth noting that with this recipe, your loaf may sink just a touch after baking. It is a wetter batter, but that’s what gives it nice moisture, too. Once you’ve flipped your loaf onto the cooling rack, it will literally fall back into place.
Pro Tip for High-Quality Baked Goods – Use a Scale!
Weighing your ingredients and writing or following a recipe using a standard metric like grams is the most accurate way to create the best results when baking. The sizes of measuring cups vary. Using them for a recipe can result in noticeable issues and differing end results for baked goods.
I highly recommend investing $30 or less in a kitchen scale.
Recipe Tips for Making Moist Oatmeal Banana Bread
- When possible, I recommend preparing it an evening or day before you actually plan to eat it. Allowing the flavors time to meld together in an uncut loaf makes the taste ultimately a stronger one.
- Hold off from cutting into this loaf immediately after baking. I know it’s tempting! But when you cut into a freshly baked loaf, you’re releasing the steam. That steam is key in giving you nice, moist banana bread.
How to Store Banana Oat Bread
When stored properly, this loaf will stay fresh for a few days (or even longer if you freeze it).
If you’ll be eating it in the next 2-3 days, it’ll remain flavorful and safe to eat if you wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and leave it on your counter.
Want to eat it throughout the week? Store the loaf in your refrigerator in an airtight container. When ready to serve, warm individual slices in the microwave for 10-15 seconds on low power.
If you aren’t sure if your container is airtight, cover it snugly in plastic wrap for added moisture lock.
You may also wrap this loaf tightly in wax or parchment paper and store it in the freezer. It’ll be freshest within two months, but I have definitely stretched that timeline. It’s nice to bake a loaf in advance, store it for a month or two, and bring it out to eat. Choose whatever works for you!
Additional Breakfast Recipes
If you liked this loaf cake, you may also want to try these homemade funfetti muffins! They’re as tasty as they are cute and colorful.
And if you’re more into lemon than chocolate, I recommend checking out these very cute mini lemon Bundt cakes. They’re great for sharing with a crowd, and everyone gets to enjoy his or her own mini cake!
Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Banana Bread
This chocolate chip oatmeal banana bread is filling and tasty, thanks especially to the Greek yogurt, chocolate, oats, and banana inside.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 50 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 1 loaf of banana bread 1x
- Category: Dessert
Ingredients
- 2 cups (195 grams) old fashioned oats (you’ll grind this amount into oat flour)
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 stick (114 grams) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1/3 cup (65 grams) tightly packed light or dark brown sugar
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 2 large ripened (brown on the outside) bananas, mashed
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp nutmeg
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 cup (65 grams) of whole milk, full-fat Greek yogurt, room temperature
- 2/3 cup (120 grams) chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F.
- Generously butter and flour your 8.5 x 4.5 x 2.5 inch aluminum loaf pan or coat it with baking release spray like Baker’s Joy or homemade equivalent. Alternatively, you may line a straight-sided loaf pan with parchment paper for easier removal.
- In a food processor or blender, pulse your old fashioned oats until finely ground. Alternatively, hold back on grinding them completely if you want a bit of texture for your loaf.
- In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine oat flour, baking soda, nutmeg, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.
- Using a hand mixer or electric mixer with a paddle attachment, cream butter, vanilla extract, and brown sugar together for 5 minutes on medium-high. Scrape down bowl halfway to ensure all ingredients are incorporated.
- Into your bowl of wet ingredients, add Greek yogurt and mashed bananas. Mix for another 2 minutes on medium speed.
- Pour your eggs into the bowl one at a time, mixing the first one before adding the next. Mix on medium-high speed for two minutes.
- Scrape the sides of your bowl, and add your dry ingredients to it, mixing together with the hand or stand mixer for about 15 seconds on medium high. Fold in your mini chocolate chips, and finish incorporating all ingredients manually with a spatula to avoid over-mixing.
- Pour batter into pan. Bake for 45 – 50 minutes or until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean and loaf is beginning to pull away from the sides of the pan. Cool loaf in pan for 10 minutes before inverting on a cooling rack.
Notes
- While freshly baked banana bread is delicious to eat, this kind of loaf is noticeably more flavorful the following day. If you can, I recommend preparing it an evening or day before you actually plan to eat it. Allowing the flavors time to meld together in an uncut loaf makes the taste ultimately a stronger one.
- Relatedly, hold off from cutting into this loaf immediately after baking. When you do, you’re releasing the steam in the loaf, which keeps it moist and delicious.
- This recipe makes about 3.25 cups of batter (900 grams).
Please note that the nutritional information is an estimate and based on one slice of this loaf, which would yield approximately 10 servings.
Nutrition
- Calories: 275
Keywords: banana bread, loaf cake
Bradly
Perfect for breakfast! Making it tomorrow
★★★★★
Susan
Your day is going to be off to a great start then. Hope you enjoy!
Aditi B.
Banana oh nah nah! Love this take on the classic banana bread. My heart is in Banana!
★★★★★
Susan
Yes to banana bread! I’m a big fan too – glad you liked!