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Chocolate Oatmeal Banana Bread

Flourless Chocolate Oatmeal Banana Bread loaded with rich chocolatey goodness! This healthier double chocolate banana bread recipe is made using rolled oats instead of flour and is refined sugar-free with a dairy-free option. This delicious loaf is magical anytime the need for banana bread or a sweet treat arises!

Also try my Healthy Oatmeal Zucchini Banana Bread, Flourless Oatmeal Banana Pancakes, Banana Bread Overnight Oatmeal and my Flourless Oatmeal Banana Nut Muffins if you love banana bread recipes and are a big fan of oats.

Close up image of sliced chocolate banana bread.

If you’re anything like me, the chocolate, banana, oatmeal trifecta is an absolute dream no matter the context.

This healthier flourless Chocolate Oatmeal Banana Bread boasts rich chocolatey flavor with pockets of molten chocolate goo.

Made using blended up rolled oats instead of all purpose flour, the whole recipe is so easy to make in a blender for easy cleanup.

Plus, it is mostly sweetened with ripe bananas and is a great source of whole grains, so we can’t feel too guilty about it, right?

This double chocolate chip banana bread tastes just like classic banana bread with a chocolate cake twist but comes with some nutrition benefits. Some might say it is one of the healthier quick bread recipes.

Ideal for the chocolate lover!

Loaf and slices of banana bread with a white plate with a slice of chocolate banana bread on top and bananas to the side.

For those of you who are grain-free or prefer almond flour banana bread, make my Paleo Double Chocolate Banana Bread recipe.

My preferred method of making it is blending everything in a blender since we’re already using it to blend the oats.

If you’d rather use a large bowl, simply mix up the mashed bananas with the rest of the ingredients by hand or use an electric mixer.

Loaf of chocolate banana bread in a baking pan with two ripe bananas to the side, a bowl of chocolate chips, and a golden napkin.

Let’s chat about the ingredients for this delicious double chocolate oatmeal banana bread.

Ingredients for Double Chocolate Oatmeal Banana Bread:

Ripe Bananas: The majority of the sweetness and all that inviting banana flavor comes from overripe bananas.

Be sure to use brown bananas that have plenty of brown spots for the best flavor and texture! This ensures you’re getting a great deal of sweetness and moisture.

Eggs: Chicken eggs help fluff up this healthy banana bread recipe and ensure the slices stay held together nicely when the loaf is cut.

I haven’t tested the recipe using flax eggs, chia egg, or any other vegan egg replacer but I believe the loaf would turn out very dense with an egg replacer.

If you try it using something other than eggs, please do leave a comment below letting us know how it turned out.

Pure Vanilla Extract: A splash of vanilla extract goes a long way in generating a rich warmth. If you don’t keep it on hand, you can skip it and the bread will still be amazing.

Butter (or Coconut Oil or Avocado Oil): The fat portion of the recipe that makes this banana bread ultra moist! Melted butter, coconut oil or avocado oil all work.

To make dairy-free chocolate banana bread, use coconut oil or avocado oil; but for a richer, more iconic flavor use melted butter.

Rolled Oats: The backbone of this delicious gluten-free banana bread recipe! Rolled oats are blended up in a blender to create the flour for this banana bread. This brings amazing oat flavor to the loaf and also creates a nice dense yet fluffy texture. 

I use gluten-free sprouted rolled oats, which are also glyphosate-free. I recommend sticking with old fashioned rolled oats rather than using quick oats or instant oats for delightful texture and the best results.

If you’d like to use a gluten-free flour blend instead of oats, try The Best Gluten-Free Banana Bread Recipe, or my Double Chocolate Gluten-Free Banana Bread, which use GF all-purpose flour.

Coconut Sugar: For a lower glycemic sweet healthy breakfast, I use coconut sugar. You can easily replace the coconut sugar with any of your favorite granulated sweeteners.

Brown sugar, regular sugar, maple sugar, and any granulated sugar-free sweetener all work!

For those of you who love your sweet treats very sweet, be sure to add 1 to 4 tablespoons of additional sweetener, and/or more chocolate chips.

Cacao Powder: In order to give this delicious chocolate banana bread that decadent chocolate flavor, we add raw cacao powder.

If you typically use unsweetened cocoa powder, natural cocoa powder, or Dutch process cocoa powder in your baked goods, feel free to use this instead.

I simply like using raw cacao powder because it has a creamier flavor that is less bitter than regular cocoa powder.

If you have espresso powder on hand, feel free to add one tablespoon to give the bread even deeper, richer flavor.

Baking Soda: Our leavening agent here is baking soda, which helps bring rise to the loaf and ensures it bakes evenly. Don’t skip it, as the banana bread won’t be as fluffy without it.

Sea Salt: Salt brings out the flavor of any ingredient so here it enhances both the banana and the chocolate flavor as well as the cinnamon. Be sure to add it to your baked goods for the best tasting treats!

Chocolate Chips: For that amazing gooey chocolate, we add chocolate chips to the banana bread. For a lower sugar option (and less fat), you can skip the chocolate chips. Use any type you like.

I use semi-sweet chocolate chips, but sugar-free chocolate chips, dark chocolate chips, chocolate chunks, and milk chocolate chips all work great.

Horizontal image of sliced loaf of banana bread with a wooden plate to the side with a slice on top.

Now that we’ve covered the simple ingredients for this perfect banana loaf, let’s bake it!

How to Make Chocolate Oatmeal Banana Bread:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan with parchment paper.

Add the oats to a high-powered blender and blend until a fine flour forms.

Add the rolled oats to a blender and blend into flour

Transfer the rest of the ingredients to the blender except for the chocolate chips (bananas, eggs, vanilla extract, oil (or melted butter), coconut sugar, cacao powder, baking soda, and sea salt).

Ingredients for chocolate banana bread in a blender

Note: if you don’t own a blender, make this recipe in a mixing bowl by first mixing together the wet ingredients, followed by adding in the dry ingredients.

Blend until the mixture is completely combined and smooth. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Pour the banana bread batter into the prepared loaf pan and if desired, top with extra chocolate chips.

Chocolate banana bread batter with chocolate chips on top, ready to be stirred in

Bake on the center rack of the preheated oven for 45 to 55 minutes, or until the bread feels firm when gently poked and tests clean.

Allow the banana bread to cool for at least 1 hour before slicing and serving.

Loaf of chocolate banana bread in a loaf pan fresh out of the oven

How to Store Banana Bread:

Cover the loaf pan tightly with plastic wrap and keep it on the counter at room temperature for up to three days. Unless you live in a very hot or humid area, the banana bread can stay out for a few days without any issue.

You can also store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week or in a zip lock bag in the freezer for up to three months.

If freezing, cut the remainder of the loaf into individual slices so that you can simply remove one from the freezer any time you’d like, rather than having to cut the frozen loaf.

Close up horizontal shot of a slice of banana bread on a plate.

And that’s it! A great recipe for moist banana bread recipe anyone can enjoy!

The next time you have extra ripe bananas on hand, whip out this easy banana bread recipe!

If you’re crazy about oats, also check out these reader favorites!

More Healthy Recipes with Oats:

Enjoy this ultimate combination of chocolate, banana, and oatmeal!

Close up image of sliced chocolate banana bread.

Chocolate Oatmeal Banana Bread

Healthy flourless Chocolate Oatmeal Banana Bread made with rolled oats instead of flour. Rich in chocolatey goodness, refined sugar-free and delicious!
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Total Time: 55 minutes
10 Slices

Ingredients

  • 2 cups rolled oats
  • 4 large ripe bananas, about 2 cups when mashed
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
  • ½ cup butter, melted*
  • ½ cup coconut sugar**
  • 2/3 cup raw cacao powder
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • ½ tsp sea salt
  • 1 cup chocolate chips, optional

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan with parchment paper.
  • Add the oats to a high-powered blender and blend until a fine flour forms.
    Add the rolled oats to a blender and blend into flour
  • Transfer the rest of the ingredients to the blender except for the chocolate chips (bananas, eggs, vanilla extract, oil (or melted butter), coconut sugar, cacao powder, baking soda, and sea salt).
    Ingredients for chocolate banana bread in a blender
  • Note: if you don't own a blender, make this recipe in a mixing bowl by first mixing together the wet ingredients, followed by adding in the dry ingredients.
  • Blend until the mixture is completely combined and smooth. Stir in the chocolate chips.
    Chocolate banana bread batter with chocolate chips on top, ready to be stirred in
  • Pour the banana bread batter into the prepared loaf pan and if desired, top with extra chocolate chips.
    Chocolate banana bread batter in a loaf pan.
  • Bake on the center rack of the preheated oven for 45 to 55 minutes, or until the bread feels firm when gently poked and tests clean.
    Loaf of chocolate banana bread in a loaf pan fresh out of the oven
  • Allow the banana bread to cool for at least 1 hour before slicing and serving.
    Horizontal image of sliced loaf of banana bread with a wooden plate to the side with a slice on top.

Notes

*You can also use avocado oil, coconut oil, or canola oil in place of the melted butter for a dairy-free option.
**Replace the coconut sugar with any granulated sweetener, such as brown sugar, maple sugar, or sugar-free sweetener.
Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week or in a zip lock bag in the freezer for up to three months.
If freezing, cut the remainder of the loaf into individual slices so that you can simply remove one from the freezer any time you'd like, rather than having to cut the frozen loaf.

Nutrition

Serving: 1Slice (of 10)Calories: 366kcalCarbohydrates: 50gProtein: 6gFat: 18gFiber: 5gSugar: 31g
Course: Breakfast
Cuisine: American
Keyword: chocolate chip banana bread, chocolate oatmeal banana bread, double chocolate banana bread, flourless banana bread, gluten free banana bread recipe, healthy banana bread, healthy breakfast, healthy snack, oatmeal banana bread
Servings: 10 Slices
Calories: 366kcal
Author: Julia

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Recipe Rating




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Leesha

Saturday 7th of October 2023

I wanted to love this but it didn't taste very nice. Next time I will add half the cacoa powder and definitely add the chocolate chips or increase the sugar. Thank you

Julia

Saturday 7th of October 2023

Hi Leesha! Thank you for your feedback! This is helpful to others who are looking for a sweeter treat. In general, I make my baked recipes less sweet and add notes to increase the sweetener if you know you like a sweeter bread. It looks as though I didn't make that note in this recipe so I appreciate you bringing this to my attention so that I can add a note. Happy baking! xo

Kelsey

Saturday 11th of March 2023

Wonderful! Moist and rich chocolate banana flavour. I only had 2 ripe bananas so I halved the recipe and it made 24 mini muffins exactly. I baked about 13 minutes. I stuck to the recipe except used a little less sugar and did add a dash of coffee to help enhance the chocolate. They definitely taste better the longer they sit. Kid-approved :)

Julia

Monday 13th of March 2023

I love this! Mini muffins sound amazing! Thanks so much for sharing your changes as this is helpful to others who want to try the same things. xo

Anne

Tuesday 4th of October 2022

Where is the actual recipe with the list of ingredients??

Julia

Tuesday 4th of October 2022

Hi Anne! Scroll down. The recipe card is at the bottom of the blog post. Let me know if you have any other questions! I hope you enjoy the bread. xoxo

Camila

Monday 3rd of October 2022

This turned out SO good! So chocolatey! I loved it!

Julia

Tuesday 4th of October 2022

Right?! I just love how rich the bread is in both banana and chocolate flavors. It's an absolute dream for me too, and I'm psyched you enjoy it as well! xoxo

Randy

Saturday 17th of September 2022

Terrific recipe! I omitted the cacao and added apple pie spice. Worked beautifully, such a cozy fall recipe! I also omitted the coconut sugar because we don’t like things too sweet and the bananas were sweet enough. And so easy, just a blender. I didn’t even mash the bananas before hand :). Loved it. Thank you!

Julia

Monday 19th of September 2022

That's great to hear it turned out well without the coconut sugar! I'll make it without next time, myself. I prefer my sweets less sweet but assumed the bread would need the addition of sweetener due to the cocoa. So thrilled the bananas make it sweet enough :) xo

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