A few years back, I shared this incredible almond flour banana bread, and it got TONS of rave reviews from AK readers. After that, I figured it was time to try another version that was just as unbelievably delicious. So I set out on a quest to make a banana bread that tasted exactly like a fudgy brownie. It turned out even better than I could’ve imagined and has quickly become one of the most popular quick breads on Ambitious Kitchen!
That’s right, this healthy chocolate banana bread truly tastes just like a fudgy brownie, and you’re going to want to bake it up ASAP. I was blown away the first time I had a slice, and then immediately ate another one topped with peanut butter + a sprinkle of sea salt.
Yep, it’s that good.
What makes this chocolate banana bread better for you?
Traditional chocolate banana breads tend to be packed with oil and refined sugars, making them almost like a rich cake. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good slice of cake, but I wanted to lighten up this chocolate banana bread to make it a wonderful snack, easy breakfast, or even a healthier dessert. What makes this bread more nutritious? It’s:
- Oil-free: that’s right, this healthy chocolate banana bread is deliciously moist without having any excess oil.
- Naturally sweetened: with just ripe bananas and pure maple syrup. Dark chocolate chips add an extra touch of sweetness — feel free to use whatever brand you like.
- Gluten, grain & dairy free (and paleo-friendly): because this bread just uses almond flour + cocoa powder as the dry ingredients and zero butter or other types of dairy.
- Filled with healthy fats: almond flour also provides a good amount of healthy fats to keep you feeling satisfied when you enjoy the bread for breakfast or as a snack.
Ingredients in healthy chocolate banana bread
This incredible grain & gluten-free chocolate banana bread recipe is naturally sweetened, lower in carbs, and made with healthy fats. Here’s what you’ll need to make it:
- Overripe bananas: make sure to use bananas that have lots of brown spots on them. This will give the bread a natural sweetness.
- Eggs: the eggs keep this chocolate banana bread super moist and fluffy.
- Pure maple syrup: you’ll just need a bit of maple syrup so that the bread is perfectly sweet. Date syrup would also work well. I would not recommend using honey as it could cause the bread to burn.
- Almond flour: we’re using fine, blanched almond flour in this recipe to keep it gluten & grain free.
- Unsweetened cocoa powder: this gives the bread that rich chocolate flavor.
- Baking staples: gotta have baking soda, salt, and vanilla extract.
- Dark chocolate chips: is there anything better than bites of chocolate in every slice? Feel free to use dairy free chocolate chips, too.
- Fancy sea salt: I love sprinkling a little fancy sea salt on top of each slice. Optional, but so delicious!
Can I use a different flour?
Unfortunately, no, I can’t recommend an alternative flour in this bread recipe as the flavor and texture will turn out much differently.
Can I make it vegan?
I haven’t tried it with flax eggs, but let me know in the comments if you give it a shot! Then be sure to use dairy-free chocolate chips.
Tips for making this chocolate banana bread
Here are some of my best tips for ensuring your bread comes out perfect:
- Follow the recipe. The best way to ensure the success of this healthy chocolate banana bread is to follow the recipe and use the exact ingredients as written.
- Use overripe bananas. Using bananas that have LOTS AND LOTS of brown spots and are very soft will help keep this banana bread both sweet, perfectly moist, and delicious. Trust me.
- Use fresh baking soda. If your baking soda is older than 3 months, I suggest grabbing a new one for the best baking results.
- Enjoy it the next day. Banana bread is always best the day after it’s baked. As the sugars are released, the bread gets sweeter!
- Add your fav mix-ins. Feel free to add 1/2 cup of chopped walnuts or pecans for additional healthy fats!
Turn it into muffins
You can absolutely turn this gluten free chocolate banana bread recipe into muffins! Here’s how to do it:
- Line a 12 cup muffin tin with muffin liners and spray the insides with nonstick cooking spray.
- Prepare the batter as directed, then divide evenly between liners.
- Bake for 18-23 minutes at 350 degrees F or until a tester comes out clean.
Storing & freezing tips
- To store: this healthy chocolate banana bread should be kept well-covered in foil or plastic wrap at room temperature for up to 3 days, then I recommend transferring it to the fridge or freezer.
- To freeze: simply wrap in plastic, then tightly in foil, and finally place in a freezer-friendly bag for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature once you are ready to eat. You can also feel free to freeze individual slices for a quick on-the-go treat.
Tools you’ll need
Get all of our go-to kitchen essentials here!
More ways to use ripe bananas
- Best Ever Healthy Banana Bread Recipe
- Chia Banana Bread Energy Bites
- Healthy Peanut Butter Banana Muffins (dairy free + gluten free)
- Peanut Butter Lover’s Banana Bread
- Cottage Cheese Banana Oatmeal Protein Pancakes
Get all of my recipes using ripe bananas here!
If you make this healthy chocolate banana bread recipe, be sure to leave a comment below and rate the recipe! You can also snap and picture and post it on Instagram using the hashtag #ambitiouskitchen. xo!
Ambitious Kitchen
Cookbook
125 Ridiculously Good For You, Sometimes Indulgent, and Absolutely Never Boring Recipes for Every Meal of the Day
Healthy Chocolate Banana Bread
Ingredients
- 3 very ripe medium bananas (ones with LOTS of brown spots), mashed (1 ¼ cups mashed banana)
- 3 eggs
- ¼ cup (78g) pure maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 ½ cups (280g) packed fine blanched almond flour
- ½ cup (40g) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup (90g) dark chocolate chips (dairy free if desired), plus 2 tablespoons extra chocolate chips for sprinkling on top
- Fancy sea salt, for sprinkling on top
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line an 8 ½ x 4 ½ inch loaf pan with parchment paper. Spray the pan with nonstick cooking spray to prevent sticking.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the mashed bananas, eggs, pure maple syrup and vanilla extract until well combined. Add in the almond flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. Use a wooden spoon to combine. Fold in the chocolate chips.
- Pour batter into prepared loaf pan, smoothing the top with a spatula. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of chocolate chips on top. Bake for 50 minutes-65 minutes or until the tester comes out almost clean in the middle of the bread. Cool bread for 10 minutes in the pan, then remove and transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling completely. Once cool, cut into 12 slices. The bread is best the next day (as are all banana breads!) Top with your favorite nut butter or butter and sprinkle with a little sea salt. Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Recipe by: Monique Volz // Ambitious Kitchen | Photography by: Eat Love Eats
This post was originally published on June 9th, 2020, republished on January 22nd, 2023, and republished on February 18th, 2026.
It’s delicious. Sweet but not too sweet. Intense chocolate flavor. I followed the recipe exactly. I only substituted honey for the maple syrup.
Perfect! So glad you enjoyed!
I have been experimenting with this recipe over the past month+ It is dangerous(ly)- good! Warning After you make them once you’ll keep revisiting this recipe -often! I made them into muffins recently but couldn’t get the unsweetened chocolate chips(Pascha) to stay on top even melted they were still tasty but didn’t quit have the high muffin tops I hoped for any suggestions?
These won’t bake up super high like bakery-style muffins because almond flour doesn’t have any gluten! I’m not sure why the chocolate chips on top were sinking – did that happen when you topped the loaf originally?
This is one of my favourites I make this on repeat.
Love it!!
Omg these are amazing. So light, not overly sweet, and such a nice texture despite them being made with almond flour. So good!
The perfect snack or treat!
This banana bread is so good and so moist. My husband and toddler are obsessed. This will be going in our snack rotation.
So happy to hear that! One of our favs, too 🙂
I was a little skeptical with there being no oil in this recipe but I was wrong. It fluffed up so beautifully, is healthy and delicious.
It’s magic! Glad you enjoyed 🙂
This recipe was seriously so delicious. I cannot believe how simple the ingredients are and how delicious it is. The texture and the crumb is perfect. Thanks for putting it on Instagram and enticing me to make it!
Absolutely! Glad you loved it!
This healthy chocolate brownie banana bread is amazing! I followed the recipe and it turned out absolutely delicious. It’s dangerously good for people who love chocolate! I love the chocolatey brownie flavor while still having healthy ingredients. Love this recipe so much and it will definitely get added into my banana bread rotation!
So good! Glad you loved it!
This is a keeper! Loved this bread. It has such a nice flavor.
So glad you loved it!
Loved this recipe! It was so easy to make (I’m a sucker for a one bowl recipe) and it is so delicious!! I skipped the parchment paper and the bottom got stuck in the pan 💔 so don’t skip that step and you won’t be disappointed!!!
So glad you enjoyed! And yes, be sure to line parchment paper next time to prevent that 🙂
Almond flour sub suggestions? Thanks!
I can’t recommend a substitute here – sorry!
I use ambitious kitchen Recipe for all her baked goods once a week! They are the best ones online and so easy to follow and come out so super delicious! I love the almond flour chocolate chip banana bread! I make that on repeat. I also love the chocolate chip raspberry banana bread! So delicious. My family and I can’t make it last more than the day. Oh and I can’t forget about the oatmeal bakes, every flavor is so yummy and great for grab and go breakfast! If you’re looking for a really delicious dessert, muffin banana bread check out all of ambitious kitchen recipes!
So happy to hear that! I’m glad you’ve been loving the recipes here 🙂
I actually used this recipe as a smash cake for my son’s first birthday and it was perfect! He loved it. I searched the internet up and down for a healthy chocolate smash cake recipe that didn’t sound weird or gross but couldn’t find one. This one met all my requirements! It filled 4 4in spring form pans, took about 30 mins to bake, and I frosted it with unsweetened whipped cream. I left out the chocolate chips in order to minimize added sugar. Thank you for the healthy guilt-free recipe that let my little one have his first taste of chocolate! His older brothers fought over the leftovers 🙂
Amazing! So glad that worked out well!
So happy to have found this recipe! I used to make banana bread quite often, but since giving up refined sugars and flour,I haven’t come across a recipe that could replace my old ones until now! I adjusted the recipe using ChatGPT for the amount of almond flour I had left and am I glad that the last of it went toward this recipe. I used unsweetened chocolate chips a bit less than the recipe called for and it was still sweet enough.I can’t wait to try making muffins next time!
Perfect! So glad you found this one!
This bread turned out amazing!! Such a delicious sweet treat with clean ingredients! I was a huge fan and my family & friends loved it to!
Aw, yay!
This bread turned out amazing!! Such a delicious sweet treat with clean ingredients! I was a huge fan and my family & friends loved it to!
We can’t stop making this recipe our entire family loves it so much!
Yes!! Love to hear that!
This bread was easy to make and is really good! I’m on a strict diet and it curbs my sweet tooth!!
So happy to hear that!
I was looking for a healthier, more nutrient-dense banana bread during my pregnancy and tried this recipe. It was so delicious and hit my other goals too!
Thank you for sharing your recipe!
So glad you found this one! Perfect snack 🙂
Love the recipes!
I’m so glad!
How sweet would you say this bread is? (Maybe on a scale of 10?) To be honest, I (and my fam) love muffins and quick breads to be pretty sweet (big sweet tooth haha!) but I have been looking for healthier versions lately. Or is there a healthy bread or muffin on your site on the sweeter side you would recommend? Allergies are no issue. Thanks 🙂
The sweetness mostly comes from super ripe bananas, so I wouldn’t consider this bread very sweet! I might suggest one of my cake recipes (like this chocolate zucchini cake) because they still use more nutrient-dense ingredients but have more sweetness to them.
Easy and excellent! Thanks.
Glad you enjoyed!
Sadly these were not a hit in my household. Bland and dry 🙁
Sorry to hear that! Were your bananas VERY ripe? That will contribute to the sweetness and moisture.
This is probably the Ambitious Kitchen recipe I’ve made most often. Very moist and delicious. People always give me compliments on it. and I’ve also swapped the eggs for flax seed, and half of the almond flour for ground oats. Turns out great every time.
So happy to hear that! I’m glad those swaps work out well, too.
I loved it! Want to make again but do not have ripe bananas. Can I make with pumpkin puree? If so, should I add more maple syrup?
Hi! I’ve only made this bread with bananas, so I’m not sure how swapping them will affect the flavor and texture. Try this chocolate pumpkin bread instead!
I substituted the almond flour 1:1 with regular flour, and it was way too bready. The flavors were good, but in the future I would reduce the flour I use to make it more cakey.
This recipe is amazing! I wanted to make a decadent chocolate dessert with ripe bananas and I love how this truly is a blend between bread/muffins and what a brownie tastes like. I made it into 12 muffins and I added 2 scoops unflavored collagen for a boost of extra protein. Texture came out just amazing! They were done in 22 minutes for me, I love how basic and nutritious the ingredients are too.
This is the perfect recipe for that! I’m glad the collagen worked out well in there, too 🙂
Fantastic! I love the rich chocolate flavor. Nobody knew it had zucchini in it which not only made it healthier, but made it so incredibly moist.
Thank you for another delicious recipe Monique!
Such a great snack or treat! Glad you loved it!
Hi! Just wanted to ask if I could use rice syrup instead of maple? Or would that influence taste & texture of the bread?
Much love, Jasmine
Hi! I haven’t tested this with rice syrup, so I’m not 100% sure how it will affect the flavor. Let me know if you experiment with it!
This was awful. Dense, barely sweet, I took a bite and gagged. What a waste of expensive ingredients.
Sorry to hear this didn’t turn out for you! Were your bananas SUPER ripe? That’s what sweetens and adds extra moisture to the bread.
So tasty, great as muffins.
Can I use regular flour instead of Almond flour?
I wouldn’t recommend it – sorry!
I’ve used this recipe many times and it’s one of my favorite sweet snacks that I don’t feel guilty eating. Do you think this would work in a 13×9 rectangle pan? I’m looking for an option for a party that’s still a little healthier than other desserts.
This is not keto.
But can be marketed as gluten free.
I made some modifications to make it at least low carb friendly.
Maple extract instead of maple syrup plus sweeteners.
I still used overriped bananas hence not keto.
Added some chopped walnuts and sugar free chocolate chips.
Hi! I didn’t mention that this was keto, but yes, it is gluten-free.
That’s absolutely the best banana bread ever ♥️
I make it once in a while for our forest school and
the kids love it.
xxx
So happy to hear that!!
There must be a typo in the recipe? Followed exactly and batter is all wrong. Super dry and crumbly. Perhaps flour amount is wrong??
So strange! I’ve made this one countless times and haven’t run into that issue. The batter will be thick because it’s gluten-free – were your bananas VERY ripe, and did you make sure to measure them out after mashing?
This is my go-to chocolate banana bread recipe! I make this banana bread every single week! It’s so easy to make and comes out perfect every time. My whole family loves cuz it is so super delicious! I find ambitious kitchens baking recipes to be the easiest to follow and they always come out perfect. I also make her pumpkin bread recipe and the plain banana bread recipe which are both delicious! Thanks so much for this recipe I’ll keep making it every week!
So happy to hear that!!
These are amazing! My go to! Would they work without the cacao powder if I wanted a non chocolate version?
So glad you love it! Unfortunately, no, as the cacao powder is one of the main dry ingredients. Feel free to try any of my other regular banana breads 🙂
I was asked to bring a vegan/vegetarian dessert! I swapped the eggs for unsweetened applesauce (3/4 cup) and used Ghirardelli’s dairy-free chocolate chips – These were a huge hit! Very fudgey – I think the loaf may have risen a bit with the eggs – but these came out like rich decadent brownies. Everyone loved them – even the non vegetarians! lol. I shared this page with a few folks who asked. I will try with eggs as well.
Amazing! So glad that worked out well!
Quick question can we use oat flour instead of almond
Love your recipes
I haven’t tested it so I’m not sure if the texture will be the same!
Could I use oat flour sub for almond flour? Has anyone tried this? Thanks in advance (-;
I haven’t tested it in this recipe so I’d recommend sticking with the almond flour!
Yeah I don’t think anyone has ever made this recipe. The ratio of dry to liquid can’t be correct as I just made this and it didn’t “pour” into the loaf pan. It was just a dry lumpy mass. I believe the flour should be 1 1/2 cups, not 2 1/2 and you should repay me the $10 in ingredients I just wasted.
Hi! I can assure you that the measurements here are correct. I know they seem odd, but almond flour is just much more absorbent (which makes the batter thicker than traditional, non-gluten-free banana bread) and provides a fat source so that the bread doesn’t need as much liquid. Your bananas should be VERY ripe and measured out, as this will provide the moisture the bread needs.
I tried the chocolate banana bread recipe. It makes absolute no sense. There’s not even close to enough liquid the ratio of the eggs banana and map syrup is not enough liquid for 3 cups of powder dry ingredients not even close.
I know it sounds off but I’ve made this bread dozens of times with success! The key is super ripe bananas, and the almond flour provides necessary fat that doesn’t dry out the batter like all purpose flour would. The batter will be thicker than traditional banana bread batter, but will bake up well.
These turned out tasting like a not too sweet chocolate cake!
I baked these as muffins and it turned out so delicious!
I did not use almond flour, however, so to make sure it’s still moist I decreased the amount of flour to 210 gr.
Also, I used honey instead of maple.
You don’t really taste the bananas because of the rich chocolatey flavor.
So glad you enjoyed!