This Mexican Chocolate Banana Bread is exotic, sweet, and supremely moist with the addition of sour cream. It is everything you love about classic banana bread with a few additional favorites—chocolate, pecans, and cinnamon.

chocolate banana bread sliced with a pad of butter and served with coffee

When it comes to baking I usually try and find the easiest method to make a recipe. Another words – if I can bake something without having to lug out my stand mixer or dust off my food processor, then I will always find the lazy way out.

banana bread ingredients ripe bananas

Don’t get me wrong, I love, ok; maybe love is a strong word – I like to bake. But I also like to find shortcuts and dirty the least amount of dishes possible.

No fancy baking tools needed

This banana bread is the perfect example of an easy no-mess recipe. All you need is two bowls to make this bread, one for the wet ingredients and one for the dry ingredients. This is a super simple recipe and the best part is that it is crazy-ridiculous-delicious.

grated mexican chocolate to make banana bread

Did you know that you could ripen bananas in the oven?

I always used to freeze my overripe bananas in hopes to make banana bread with them, but I can’t tell you how many times I have thrown away freezer burned bananas. I learned a really cool tip: Did you know that you could ripen bananas in the oven?

All you have to do is place the bananas on a cookie sheet with the peels on and bake at 250 degrees for about 15 minutes. The bananas ripen, soften, and sweeten. Learn detailed techniques at thekitchn.

rich and moist banana bread made with Mexican chocolate

Exotic flavors

When making this banana bread I didn’t want to make traditional banana bread – I wanted to make something a bit more exotic and the Mexican chocolate in this recipe gave it just the right flavor I was hoping for. I also added sour cream and melted unsalted butter making this bread extra moist and decadent, but not gooey and messy.

There’s nothing quite like warm bread with a small pad of butter — decadent! 

chocolate banana pecans bread with a pad of butter

Why This Recipe Works

  1. Butter and sour cream in the batter results in an incredibly moist and tender bread;
  2. Mexican chocolate (or chocolate chips) gives the bread a decadent melted chocolate texture;
  3. A hint of cinnamon complements the deep chocolate flavor perfectly.

mexican chocolate banana bread sliced on a plate with a cup of coffee

Frequently Asked Questions

  1. Can I freeze chocolate banana bread? To freeze this bread, let it cool fully, then wrap it in plastic wrap. Place it in an airtight freezer safe bag and seal tightly.
  2. How to thaw frozen banana bread? Remove it from the freezer and let it thaw in the fridge overnight. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 5 minutes to warm it.
  3. How long will banana bread last? It will last about 3 to 5 days wrapped in plastic (zip lock bag) stored at room temperature. 

More easy bread recipes

Have you made this banana bread? Rate the recipe and leave me a comment below to let me know how it turned out! 

Mexican Chocolate Banana Bread

5 (14 ratings)
This Mexican Chocolate Banana Bread is exotic, sweet, and supremely moist with the addition of sour cream. It is everything you love about classic banana bread with a few additional favorites—chocolate, pecans, and cinnamon.

Ingredients

Instructions 

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  • Grease a 9x5-inch loaf pan with 1 tablespoon butter and dust with flour, tapping out any excess.
  • Using a potato masher, mash peeled ripe bananas until smooth.
  • Melt remaining butter and add to mashed bananas.
  • Stir in crema, sugar, salt, beaten egg, and vanilla extract.
  • In a separate bowl, vigorously whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, ground cinnamon, and grated chocolate.
  • Add the flour mixture to the banana mixture and stir until just incorporated and then fold in pecans.
  • Transfer batter to prepared pan and smooth top with a spatula.
  • Bake, rotating halfway through, until batter is set and sides are starting to pull away from pan, and a toothpick inserted into center of bread comes out clean, 60 to 65 minutes.
  • Cool in pan on a wire rack at least 15 minutes.
  • Run a butter knife around the perimeter of the pan to loosen loaf, then tap pan gently on its side until loaf releases. Transfer to a cutting board or plate and let cool completely before slicing.

Notes

  • No very ripe bananas? Place bananas on a cookie sheet with the peels on and bake at 250 degrees for about 15 minutes. The bananas ripen, soften, and sweeten. 
  • No Mexican chocolate? Substitute with chocolate chips or omit. Double the amount of cinnamon if not using Mexican chocolate. 
  • No nuts? Feel free to omit.
  • Can I freeze chocolate banana bread? To freeze this bread, let it cool fully, then wrap it in plastic wrap. Place it in an airtight freezer safe bag and seal tightly.
  • How to thaw frozen banana bread? Remove it from the freezer and let it thaw in the fridge overnight. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 5 minutes to warm it.
  • How long will banana bread last? It will last about 3 to 5 days wrapped in plastic (zip lock bag) stored at room temperature. 
Calories: 406.31kcal, Carbohydrates: 56.06g, Protein: 4.72g, Fat: 20.19g, Saturated Fat: 10.22g, Cholesterol: 54.87mg, Sodium: 352.4mg, Potassium: 306.64mg, Fiber: 3.51g, Sugar: 32.48g, Vitamin A: 455.19IU, Vitamin C: 5.13mg, Calcium: 30.96mg, Iron: 1.74mg

Originally published: November 2016.