I LOVE banana bread. There's just something really comforting about it, right?
Another thing I love? Chocolate.
Another thing? Peanut butter.
So heck - why not combine all 3? And that is how this Chocolate Peanut Butter swirl banana bread was born. The swirl may look intimidating but it's super easy, all you really need to do is glob the peanut butter on the chocolate mixture and swirl it with a toothpick. Gourmet ;)
As for ingredients - here's what I used!
Peanut butter: Well, it's not really peanut butter. I've been using PB&Me powdered peanut butter (they are the sweetest by the way) in my recipes lately to cut out some of the fat and it works GREAT. It's perfect for this recipe because it's not sweet, and the chocolate banana bread is so #balance.
Butter: I used dairy-free butter for this one! Melt Organic has always been my go-to.
Brown Sugar: I always use Rogers sugar! Produced in Canada so I feel good about it. 😎
Flour: Same same. I used Rogers flour, too. I've recently switched to unbleached flour and it works great in all the recipes I've tried so far. Not as shelf-stable but at least it contains some nutrients.
Brown and spotty bananas: This is KEY. When your bananas look nasty, they are the best for this recipe. Bananas are the main part so...no cheating. The more ripe, the sweeter they are, giving your banana bread all that banana-y flavour 😍
*I always buy organic bananas now since the price is only teensy bit more and I feel better knowing they haven't been sprayed with synthetic fertilizers, herbicides, and other harmful chemicals - gross.
Chocolate Chips: I use Lily's fair-trade chocolate baking chips - they are the best! They work great in every recipe I've used.
Ingredients
1 cup all-purpose flour 3/4 cup cocoa powder 1 tsp baking soda 1/2 tsp salt 4 brown bananas (about 2 cups mashed) 1/4 cup canola oil 1/4 cup Melt organic butter (melted) 3/4 cup brown sugar 1 tsp vanilla extract 1 cup of chocolate chips (vegan) 1/2 cup of PB&Me + ~4 tbsp of water (so it's thick but still drizzles off your spoon)
Method
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and grease and line a loaf pan (9x5 inches is best)
In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt together. Set aside.
In a large bowl, mix together your bananas, canola oil, and melted butter until evenly incorporated. Add brown sugar and vanilla and mix.
Slowly add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix until *just* combined and the flour is barely saturated by the wet ingredients - don't overmix! Gently fold in chocolate chips.
Pour half of the batter into your prepared loaf pan. Take your PB&Me mixture and make about 6 big globs of it spaced out on top of your batter. Use a toothpick to gently swirl it around. Continue with the remaining other half of your banana bread batter and glob the remaining PB&Me mixture on top, swirl with a toothpick again.
Bake for around 50 minutes and check the batter with a toothpick until it comes out mostly clean. You may need to bake it longer than this, I found I needed to add another 5 minutes - every oven is different.
That's it! Enjoy a fat slice of this vegan banana bread whenever your heart desires ❤️