A note about the whole wheat: You can definitely tell this bread is made with whole wheat flour. I like this addition because it gets some fiber into my kids! You can generally use any of these flour combinations in this recipe:
If you want a more dessert-y bread and dont care about the whole wheat, try my Cinnamon Swirl Banana Bread. If you want a refined sugar free, whole wheat banana bread, try my Healthy Banana Bread. And if you want an in-depth guide on making banana bread with whole wheat flour in general, my guide to making whole wheat banana bread is for you!
Stirring the batter: Do NOT overmix the batter, or youll end up with a dense and chewy banana bread. Use a wooden spoon or a spatula to combine it, never a whisk or a mixer.
Muffins: This bread recipe also works great as muffins, bake for around 20 minutes.
Moisture: This recipe has a few healthy swaps. They dont make it super special health food But the Greek yogurt in there especially helps to make a moist banana bread even though I make this bread with 100% whole wheat flour!
Its also important not to overmix the batter, or youll end up with a dense and gummy loaf vs a fluffy and moist one.
Crumb toppings and streusels are some of my favorite things on top of a baked good.
I love them on Banana Crumb Muffins, on Pumpkin Streusel Bread, on Cinnamon Crunch Zucchini Bread See? Favorite thing ever ?
The keys to a good topping are to
Pretty ripe definitely soft with lots of brown spots.
However, I do NOT like banana bread made with extra super ripe bananas you know, the entirely black ones. They just turn too alcoholic for my taste.
Banana bread keeps quite well. Wrap it tightly in foil or stick it into an airtight container to keep it moist.
I like storing it in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Wrap the cooled bread tightly in plastic wrap, then in aluminum foil. Label and freeze for up to 3 months.
Defrost on a wire cooling tray on the counter. You can warm it in the oven for a few minutes, if you like.
TIP: I like freezing quick breads in individual slices, separated by parchment paper. That way I can always pull out just as many as I need, AND they defrost a lot faster than an entire bread!

These cookies wont spread too much so I put all 15 cookies on one baking sheet, so I wont have to bake 2 batches.
For this recipe I used a 1.5 tablespoon cookie scoop.
**These cookies are almost entirely sweetened by bananas, so make sure your bananas are really overripe!**
Substitutions:
Regular Flour
Im unable to test regular flour because of my gluten allergy so I cannot guarantee your results, but others have tried it and said 1 1/4 cup of regular flour worked well. However, others have also tried the 1 1/4 flour substituiton and not liked it. So bake at your own risk. I would recommend following the recipe as written.
Nut Free
This recipe was orignially published on July 11, 2019 and was updated and republished on March 11, 2024.

Notes Storage: Store your banana bread in a ziploc bag or in another airtight container on the counter for a few days. Refrigerating it will help it last a day or two longer. But after about 5 days banana bread starts tasting stale, even if it has been wrapped tightly or kept in an airtight container in the fridge. Baking time: If your bread pans are larger or smaller than mine, your bake time might be on the shorter or longer side, respectively. Muffins: This banana bread recipe can also be made as muffins. Just divide between the cups of a muffin tin and bake for 20-24 minutes until muffins are done and a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. This recipe can be found on page 50 of my cookbook, House of Nash Eats Everyday!

If you need to make any substitutions or swaps in this recipe, please see the section in the post above on ingredient substitutions.
These chocolate chip banana bars can be made in advance! They can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for a few days, in the fridge for up to a week, or in the freezer for up to a month.
Just be sure to separate them a bit and place parchment between each layer of bars! This will help prevent them from sticking to each other if theyre stacked.
This recipe can also be doubled and made in a quarter sheet pan (9x 13). Bake for 37-42 minutes, or until the edges look golden brown and the center looks set.
These bars bake up best in a light-colored metal pan.
However, if you need to bake these bars in a glass baking pan, reduce the baking temperature by 25 degrees (to 325 F) and bake them for about 5 minutes less. Glass doesnt heat up as quickly as metal, but becomes very hot once heated up.