Whole Lotta Good Stuff Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

When I really think about it, the act of making banana bread serves a few important purposes in my life.

Stress relief, family bonding, plain and simple comfort after a long week… so often when I need to unwind on the weekends, I check our fruit bowl in the kitchen to make sure we’ve got some overripe bananas leftover from the week, and I break out the mixer and head to my happy place.

Of course, being the type of baker that loves to experiment and can rarely make the exact same recipe twice, I’ve tried just about every version of banana bread one could imagine. Gluten-free, vegan, black sesame, this one has an espresso mascarpone... some have definitely turned out better than others, but thanks to banana bread’s inherent crowd-pleasing nature, they almost always get gobbled straight from the oven, gifted to neighbors, and popped in the freezer for on-the-go breakfasts during the school year.

With all that experimentation, you’d assume I would have landed on a favorite – and you’re right. This version (as the name suggests) is chock full of healthy, nutritious ingredients, nothing artificial, and only a little gluten. It gets its texture from a mix of whole wheat flour and almond flour, and it’s got enough butter and nuts to feel really satisfying but not so much sugar that it becomes dessert, as banana breads so often do. It’s morning (or afternoon, or pre-bedtime) fuel at its most comforting. And my favorite thing about this bread is that it has FIVE whole bananas, which keeps it moist for days.

The chocolate chips are totally optional – you could omit, or sub in more nuts or coconut or dried fruit instead. But I’ve found that there’s something about that slightly melty chocolate when you take a slice out of the oven that really takes this bread over the top.

Scroll on for the recipe, and I’d love to hear if y’all give this one a try!