Baking easy dark chocolate chip raspberry banana bread is a great way to use overripe bananas. This chocolate chip raspberry banana bread recipe may be made with fresh or dried raspberries. You can even change up the flavor of the chocolate chips you use. If you are in need of an easy recipe to help you use some ripe bananas, you are in the right place. Get the simple steps for making dark chocolate chip raspberry banana bread right here!
Table of Contents
My Dark Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Backstory
Around my house, the optimum banana-ripeness window is very narrow. I usually purchase the greenest ones I can find, but sometimes they get left out on the counter for too long.
No one will eat them once they ripen past a certain point.
That’s why I’m so thankful for a trusty banana bread recipe that was handed down to me from my dad. As a college student in southern California, he worked for a catering company. Apparently, their banana nut bread was quite popular. In my family, we usually omit the nuts and I have added in a few extra goodies to increase the appeal. Thus, the super moist Chocolate Chip Raspberry Banana Bread was born. Here you go, Fluxing Well family, my favorite easy banana bread recipe!
This post contains affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission from qualifying purchases at no additional cost to you. Please read my Policies page for more information.
Equipment for Dark Chocolate Chip Raspberry Banana Bread
To make this dark chocolate chip banana bread the easy way, you will need a stand mixer. Mine was handed down to me by my sweet mother-in-law, and I think of her every time I use it. Although you won’t be able to find my retro gold-colored model unless you are at a second-hand store, you can get a similar one. Mine has the bowl-lift lever like this one.
You will also need two bread pans. Both the glass pans and the metal non-stick pans work well.
A spatula and a mixing spoon make the job easier. To mash the bananas, my favorite masher is a round masher like this one.
Ingredients for Dark Chocolate Chip Raspberry Banana Bread
Most of the ingredients for this dark chocolate chip raspberry banana bread are kitchen basics. One ingredient that might surprise you is the cinnamon. It really does add an interesting flavor note.
1/2 cup shortening (I use Butter Flavor Crisco)
1 cup sugar
2 eggs (well beaten)
3 large ripe bananas
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips
1/2 cup dried raspberries
Directions for Dark Chocolate Chip Raspberry Banana Bread
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease two loaf pans. Mash the bananas and set aside. In a stand mixer, cream the shortening with the sugar.
Add the beaten eggs and mashed bananas. Mix and set aside. In a separate bowl, add the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Stir to combine. (Some people might prefer to use a sifter, if they have one, but I don’t have one.) Add the dry ingredients to the mashed banana mixture and stir. Fold in the chocolate chips and dried raspberries. Pour into greased loaf pans and bake for about 45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Easy Dark Chocolate Chip Raspberry Banana Bread
Equipment
- 1 stand mixer
- 2 loaf pans
- 1 Masher
Ingredients
- ½ cup shortening Butter Flavor Crisco is a great choice.
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 eggs well beaten
- 3 large, ripe bananas
- 2 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ cup semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup dried raspberries
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Grease two loaf pans.
- Mash the bananas and set aside.
- In a stand mixer, cream the shortening with the sugar.
- Add the beaten eggs and mashed bananas. Mix and set aside.
- In a separate bowl, add the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Stir to combine.
- Add the dry ingredients to the mashed banana mixture and stir.
- Fold in the chocolate chips and dried raspberries.
- Pour into greased loaf pans and bake for about 45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
A Note About the Dried Raspberries in Easy Banana Bread
The reason I have dried raspberries on hand is because we have some raspberry bushes in our garden. They produce a good crop nearly every year, and in past years I tried to freeze all of the extra berries. However, my freezer space is limited. I used to stress out about this, because I didn’t want any of our berry crop to be wasted. I even wrote a blog post about avoiding berry buildup in the freezer. Then something amazing happened. I was given a wonderful Nesco Gardenmaster Food Dehydrator, and my freezer space problem was solved!
I still freeze berries, but now that I dry some of them before I freeze them, I can fit many more berries into my freezer. Hooray! I also dry a lot of other items from our garden. Some of my dehydrating experiments have been more popular than others. I wrote about the best ones in another blog post, in case you’re interested.
What About Using Frozen Berries?
Certainly, frozen berries may be used. I’m always trying to find ways to use frozen berries. Just bear in mind that frozen berries, especially frozen raspberries, are a bit messy to work with at times. Frozen berries would be a delicious addition to this recipe, though.
Dark Chocolate Chip Raspberry Banana Bread Variations
Easy dark chocolate chip raspberry banana bread is very versatile. Here are some of my favorite variations you could try. There are many options!
Dark Chocolate Chip Blueberry Banana Bread
You could change up the berries in this recipe. Since we also grow blueberries, making blueberry banana bread is an easy variation. Simply substitute the raspberries with fresh, frozen or dried blueberries in this recipe. Keep all other ingredients the same, especially the cinnamon, and you are in for a treat.
White Chocolate Chip Raspberry Banana Bread
Another great combination is white chocolate chips with the raspberries. Since I like to eat white chocolate raspberry scones this variation seemed like a good idea. White chocolate and raspberries seem to go very well together.
Milk Chocolate Chip Raspberry Banana Bread
Some people prefer milk chocolate chips over dark chocolate chips. If you prefer milk chocolate chips, just substitute them for the dark chocolate chips in this recipe. Delicious!
What Are Your Favorite Mix-Ins?
Thanks for taking the time to read through this recipe post. I hope you get the chance to try making this dark chocolate chip raspberry banana bread recipe sometime, with or without my added mix-ins. What do you like to mix into your favorite recipes? I sometimes like to mix in (sneakily) extra vegetables with certain casseroles or soups, which I wrote about in my sneaky vegetable blog post. I’d love to know about any favorite mix-ins you like to add.
This dark chocolate chip raspberry banana bread is fabulous. Never added raspberries but will do so again.
Great! It’s a terrific combination.
This dark chocolate chip raspberry banana bread looks fantastic! I love banana bread and it is a wonderful variation of the classic recipe! Thanks for sharing.
You are most welcome. I’m glad you like it.
Looks amazing! I love this dark chocolate chip banana bread recipe and all the variations to a favorite treat. I especially want to try adding the white chocolate. Yum!
Oh, I’m glad you liked the recipe. Have fun trying the white chocolate chip version!
This dark chocolate chip raspberry banana bread is delicious! Thank you for sharing the recipe.
I’m so glad you like it! I’m going to make some more soon, as I have some ripe bananas on the counter.
I love banana bread. I haven’t tried adding extra things like berries before. I will definitely try it!
Nina,
I love adding extra things. Some experiments turn out better than others, but I always have fun testing out new combinations. Thanks for reading and commenting on my post. Happy baking!
Lisa
Yum. Love banana bread and love the new twist you put on it. I am never adventurous with my recipes but should be. Also love the food dehydrator used to do it all the time.
Marna,
What were your favorite things to dry in the dehydrator? I’m always looking for new ideas. Thanks for reading and commenting on my post. I wish you great success if you try to be adventurous with recipes!
Lisa
We make it with oats and raisins. BUT this variation sounds very delicious too. I will try it. Thanks!
Andrea,
Mmmmm, oats and raisins sounds yummy! Thanks for sharing your favorite variation. If you try it with dried raspberries, I’d be interested to know what you think. Thanks so much for reading and commenting on my post. Have a super day!
Lisa
Looks delicious 😍 love the raspberry twist to your recipe!
Jenn,
I’m glad you think the raspberry twist is appealing. I have dried strawberries, too, and I might try those next. Thanks for your comment!
Lisa
Sounds delicious. And that dehydrator is an interesting gadget.
Marie,
Yes, I am really enjoying the fruit I dried last summer, and I’m looking forward to using the dehydrator again when I have fresh produce to dry. I hope you get to try the recipe sometime. Thanks for your comment, and have a marvelous day!
Lisa
Interesting combo Lisa. I would never have thought to add raspberries. Thanks for the tip about dehydration. I love that!
Wendy,
I decided to add raspberries mainly because I needed to find a way to use up the dried raspberries in my freezer, so it was kind of a happy accident! I’m glad you liked the tip about dehydration. It really has saved me a lot of freezer space. Thanks for commenting, and have a super week!
Lisa