Banana Chocolate Chip Cake
Got ripe bananas and some chocolate chips? It’s time to make banana chocolate chip cake with this easy recipe – it’s the best snack cake ever!
This easy Banana Chocolate Chip Cake is soft, moist and packed with sweet banana flavor and plenty of chocolate chips. It comes together in about 15 minutes with simple pantry ingredients, then bakes in one 8-inch pan for an easy snack cake that’s perfect for dessert, lunchboxes or an afternoon treat.
Jump to:
- 🔎 A quick look at this recipe
- Why this recipe works
- 🧐 What’s the difference between banana bread and banana cake?
- 🍌 Ingredients you need
- 📝 Ingredient notes
- 💡 Ingredient substitution ideas
- 👩🏻🍳 How to make this recipe
- 🤔 Recipe FAQs
- 🍽️ Want to round out your snack?
- Banana Chocolate Chip Cake
- Variations on this recipe
- ❤️ Other banana recipes we love!
- ⭐️ We want to know what you think!
- 🥣 Come on into our kitchen!
🔎 A quick look at this recipe
- What It Is: A soft and tender banana snack cake studded with chocolate chips and baked in one easy 8-inch pan.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Servings: 16 servings
- Calories: 197
- Cooking Method: Oven
- Good For: Afternoon Snack, Easy Dessert, Lunchboxes, Potlucks
Why this recipe works
- 🍌 Ripe bananas make the cake naturally sweet and tender. Those spotty bananas that nobody wants to eat are exactly what we want here.
- 🍫 Chocolate chips make every bite better. Because bananas and chocolate were meant for each other.
- 🥣 It’s wonderfully easy. The batter comes together in about 15 minutes with basic pantry ingredients.
- ⏱️ It’s ready in 45 minutes. Perfect when you want homemade cake without an all-afternoon baking project.
- 🎂 No frosting required! This simple snack cake is sweet and delicious exactly as it is.
This banana chocolate chip cake has an extra-special place in my heart, because it’s the very first recipe I ever wrote for Framed Cooks! And all these years later, I’m still making it whenever a certain familiar banana situation happens in my kitchen.
Every now and then I get into a Situation with some over-ripe bananas, and it usually begins like this. Someone who shall remain nameless says “Mama, I really really want bananas. Can we get bananas when we go to the supermarket?”
And so I purchase a lovely large bunch of bananas.
One gets promptly eaten. The rest of them languish on the banana hook. And as soon as they develop one infinitesimal speck of brown on them — well, that’s all she wrote. And out comes this recipe.
This banana snack cake is what I call a pantry recipe – it can be mixed together in about 15 minutes from ingredients you probably have in your pantry right this minute. Pop it in the oven and 30 minutes later…well let’s just say this cake will NEVER languish for long.
🧐 What’s the difference between banana bread and banana cake?
Both are delicious ways to use up those extra-ripe bananas! Banana bread tends to be denser, sturdier and a little less sweet, while banana cake is generally softer, lighter and sweeter. And in this case, a generous handful of chocolate chips definitely pushes things happily into cake territory.
🍌 Ingredients you need
📝 Ingredient notes
- Bananas: The riper, the better! Look for bananas with lots of brown spots on the peel. Extra-ripe bananas are softer, sweeter and have a stronger banana flavor.
- Chocolate Chips: Regular semisweet chocolate chips are perfect, but mini chips will give you little bits of chocolate throughout every bite.
- Baking Powder: Check that expiration date! Fresh baking powder helps give this cake its soft, light texture.
💡 Ingredient substitution ideas
Missing something or want to swap in something different? Check out the links below to find more ingredient substitution ideas. 👇🏻
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities and nutritional information.
👩🏻🍳 How to make this recipe
STEP 1: Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and spray an 8 x 8 pan with cooking spray (you can also butter it if you like).
STEP 2: In a large bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
STEP 3: In a separate bowl, combine bananas, egg, melted butter and milk.
STEP 4: Stir the banana mixture into the flour mixture just until combined. Gently stir in the chocolate chips.
STEP 5: Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the cake is lightly golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with no wet batter or crumbs. (A little melted chocolate on the toothpick is perfectly fine!)
STEP 6: Vow not to listen to children who swear they will eat all the fruit you buy. Until the next time they ask. In the meantime, enjoy some banana chocolate chip cake!
🤔 Recipe FAQs
I like to squish them up a little while they are still inside the peel and then squeeze the banana out on to a plate where I finish up the mashing with a fork. But you can also peel them without squishing and mash them with a fork or a potato masher.
You can, but the cake won’t have quite as much banana flavor or natural sweetness. For the best results, wait until the peels are generously speckled with brown and the bananas themselves are nice and soft.
You can! Or white chocolate chips. All chocolate works!
It will last for three to four days – cover it up with plastic wrap or keep it in a cake safe.
You can! Let the cake cool completely, then wrap individual squares in plastic wrap and pop them into a freezer bag or container. Freeze for up to three months and thaw at room temperature whenever you need a little banana-chocolate emergency snack.u003cbru003e
Pop your question or suggestion in the Comments section below and I will answer pronto!
🍽️ Want to round out your snack?
Here are a few of my favorite things to enjoy with a square (or two) of banana cake!
Banana Chocolate Chip Cake
Got ripe bananas and some chocolate chips? It’s time to make banana chocolate chip cake with this easy recipe!
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 16 servings 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegetarian
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups flour
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup melted butter
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1 cup mashed ripe bananas
- 3/4 cup chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350. Grease an 8×8 inch baking pan.
- In a large bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
- In a separate bowl, combine bananas, egg, melted butter and milk.
- Stir banana mixture into flour mixture until just blended.
- Stir in chocolate chips.
- Pour batter into pan and bake until toothpick inserted into center of cake comes out clean, about 30-35 minutes. (It may have some melted chocolate on it but no crumbs)
- Vow not to listen to children who swear they will eat all the fruit you buy. Until the next time they ask.
Notes
-
- Bananas: You need nice ripe bananas for this recipe so they will mush up softly into the cake batter.
-
- Chocolate Chips: You can use either regular or mini chocolate chips.
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- Baking Powder: It’s always good to check the expiration date on baking powder. Expired baking powder won’t give us the nice fluffy texture we want for our banana cake.
Variations on this recipe
- 🥜 Add some crunch: Stir ½ cup of chopped walnuts or pecans into the batter along with the chocolate chips.
- 🍫 Make it extra chocolatey: Swap some or all of the semisweet chips for dark chocolate, milk chocolate or mini chocolate chips.
- 🤍 Try white chocolate: White chocolate chips are delicious with the sweet banana flavor.
- 🫐 Add some fruit: Stir in ½ cup of fresh blueberries for little bursts of fruity flavor.
- 🧁 Make cupcakes: Divide the batter among lined muffin cups and start checking for doneness at about 18 to 20 minutes. In a filled-cupcake mood? Try these Boston cream pie cupcakes with creamy vanilla pudding and a glorious chocolate glaze!
- ✨ Give it a finishing touch: Sprinkle the top with a little confectioners’ sugar once the cake has cooled.
❤️ Other banana recipes we love!
Looking for more cake recipe inspiration? Here is our complete collection of cake recipes!
⭐️ We want to know what you think!
If you try this recipe, we would love to hear how it came out for you! I’d be super grateful if you could leave a star rating (you pick how many stars! 🌟 ) and your thoughts in the Comments section below the recipe card.
🥣 Come on into our kitchen!
Banana Fritters – Up-side Down Cake and Baked Bananas – Top and tail ripe bananas then place then on oven shelf. Cook until skin cracks. Peel and serve. Delicious with meat or fish instead of vegs.
Lee! Great banana ideas – thank you!
i love it.. looks delicious…I will defiantly try it soon
you can always check here for health benefits of banana..
http://www.doctor-advice.com/p/banana-health-benefits-you-dont-know.html
Can I try this recipe with a 9×9 pan?
You can! It will just be a smaller (height-wise) cake.
Just made this and it turned out delicious! These are ingredients I always have at hand and so easy to make.
Isn’t it the best thing to do with, well, elderly bananas? :)
Can’t wait to try this recipe! Just curious…I know everything tastes better …with BUTTER, but has anyone tried making this cake with 1/2 c vegetable oil instead of the 1/2 c melted butter?
Will these work in muffin form?
I don’t see why they wouldn’t – I’d just cut the baking time down to 12-15 minutes and do the toothpick test to make sure they are done. If you try it this way will you let us know how they come out?
Hello, I just tried them. They were great, made 14 muffins but I will say they cook very easily, next time I will certainly remove them before than 20 minute mark…
Thanks for letting me know – I’m going to try the muffin version myself now!
This recipe sounds so yummy! About how many mashed bananas are in one cup?
Well, it depends on the size of your bananas, but somewhere between two and three should do it! :)
I absolutely love your blog. I am going to make about 10 of your recipes for my Girl’s Night In Oscar Party next month. This is the exact kind of blog I would blog… if I had the time to blog… or cook. Of if I could actually cook. But I’m working on all of the above! Thank you!
I absolutely love your blog. I am going to make about 10 of your recipes for my Girl’s Night In Oscar Party next month. This is the exact kind of blog I would blog… if I had the time to blog… or cook. Of if I could actually cook. But I’m working on all of the above! Thank you!
this is the first recipe i’ve made from your blog, but it won’t be the last! i stumbled upon your blog today, and i already have a huge list of all the recipes i’m going to try. thank you so much!! :)
victoria
this is the first recipe i’ve made from your blog, but it won’t be the last! i stumbled upon your blog today, and i already have a huge list of all the recipes i’m going to try. thank you so much!! :)
victoria
Kate
You are remarkable, do you make your own pea soup too?
Kate
You are remarkable, do you make your own pea soup too?
I want!!! Mmmmmmmmmmmm
I want!!! Mmmmmmmmmmmm