Easy Dark Chocolate Chip Raspberry Banana Bread Recipe

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!

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!

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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.

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.