Nutella Banana Bread

Super moist banana bread swirled with Nutella® and chocolate chips. This Nutella Banana Bread is my all-time favorite sweet bread; It’s flavorful and loaded with chocolate!

This banana bread recipe is sure to be a hit in your family! After trying this version, be sure to try this Cinnamon Banana Bread, Zucchini Bread, or this Healthy Banana Bread.

Nutella Banana Bread

This bread begins like most banana bread but is totally the best with a couple of additions: a generous swirl of Nutella and plenty of chocolate chips. Nutella Banana Bread is simple to make and will be a hit with whoever tries it!

It’s:

• Melty
• Chewy
• Soft
• Tender
• Insanely moist
• Chocolatey
• And completely irresistible!

Is your mouth watering yet? I can hardly control myself looking at these pictures and I only have ONE SLICE left! Must.Make.More!

How to speed up the banana-ripening process 

Super-ripe bananas are the key to delicious Nutella Banana Bread. The riper the bananas are, the sweeter the bread will be! The best bananas to use have a peel that’s browned all over.

Want to make this Nutella Banana Bread, but your bananas aren’t super ripe yet? No problem; it’s easy to do this. Below are a couple of options:

• Take some regular bananas, place them, unpeeled, on a baking sheet, and then bake them for 7-8 minutes in a preheated 350-degree F oven.  You’ll know the bananas are ready when the skins turn a nasty black color (make sure the whole skin is black; flip the bananas if needed). Let the bananas cool and they are ready to be mashed for this bread.
• Put the bananas in a paper bag and close it loosely. This will speed up the ripening process without using the oven, but it does take 12-24 hours to get the banana to its desired ripeness. Tip: place a ripe fruit in with the banana to further speed up the process.

How to mash bananas quickly

To make sure the banana is mashed really well and you don’t end up with big chunks of banana throughout the bread, mash the ripe bananas with a hand or stand mixer.

Peel the bananas, break them into large chunks, and beat them with the mixer until well mashed. Then add in the rest of the wet ingredients.

Ripe bananas: About 2 large (or 3 medium) bananas equal one cup. Thoroughly mash the bananas in a separate bowl with a fork and then pack them tightly in a measuring cup to get an accurate measurement for Nutella Banana Bread.

Nutella Banana Bread Tips

• Use a good, flavorful Greek yogurt. A tasty full-fat yogurt will yield the best texture and flavor. Greek Gods® Honey Vanilla Yogurt is our favorite in this bread (not sponsored). Do not try to use low-fat Greek yogurt or plain (non-Greek) yogurt in this bread. They won’t yield the same result. 
• Same-temperature ingredients. Use ingredients that are the same temperature. I recommend having all the ingredients at room temperature before beginning. The melted coconut oil and butter will seize up if cold yogurt and eggs are added in.
• Don’t over-mix. If you over-mix the batter, the bread will end up very dense with less of a rise. Mix until ingredients are just combined.

Tips continued

• Use the right size loaf pan for best results following this recipe.
• Generously grease the bread pan.  I like to grease the bread pan with nonstick spray and then lightly dust it with flour. There are few things as frustrating as trying to invert a loaf and having it fall apart or stick to the bottom. Take your time to generously grease the pan or line it with parchment paper.
• Wait about 10-15 minutes after baking to remove the bread from the pan.  When we pair sugar with the banana in the batter, the bananas caramelize and intensify in sweetness while baking. This caramelization process also creates a bit of a gooeyness in the bread if it is sliced right out of the oven. It’s best to let your loaf sit in the pan to finish “baking” for about 10-15 minutes on top of the oven to finish solidifying.
• Always cool baked goods on a wire rack. Run a table knife along the edge of the pan and invert the loaf onto the wire rack. Nutella Banana Bread needs to be elevated so air can circulate around all sides as it cools. Otherwise, moisture (from the heat of the bread) will condense on the bottom of the bread, making it damp and slightly sticky.

How to know when Nutella Banana Bread is done

It can be tricky to know when loaves of quick bread are baked fully. There is a lot of variances in baking banana bread such as altitude, humidity, actual oven temperature, bread pan used, etc. Here are a few cues to look for and tips to keep in mind:

• Preventing under-baked banana bread: Make sure your oven is correctly calibrated; wait for the oven to fully preheat before adding the bread to the oven and position the loaf in the center of the oven.
• Visual cues for doneness: Bread has pulled away from the edges of the pan slightly, the top is caramelized and a deep golden-brown color.
• Physical cue for doneness: A toothpick inserted into the center of the bread comes out clean or with a couple of moist (not wet) crumbs. This can be a little tricky with the Nutella and chocolate chips — you may need to pierce the center a few times to be sure you’re going through the bread, not just chocolate and Nutella.

Freezing this banana bread

Freeze the freshest bread you have. If you just baked it, allow the bread to cool completely before freezing to avoid soggy bread or mold.

To freeze: Freeze individual slices of bread, completely wrapped in plastic wrap and then stored in a large freezer-safe bag or container. Bread freezes safely for 3 months. Individual slices of this banana bread defrost in under 10 minutes at room temperature and take slightly longer to defrost in the refrigerator.

More delicious banana treats:

• Banana Cupcakes with cream cheese frosting
• Banana Pancakes with vanilla sauce
• Immune Boosting Smoothie with frozen banana
• Banana Crepes with a vanilla bean custard
• Chocolate Banana Muffins reader favorite recipe!