Moist Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Recipe for Breakfast or Dessert Bread/Muffins Breakfast Snacks Desserts Fruit High Protein Recipes Brunch Gluten-free

Banana bread is one of my favorite things to bake (and eat). As you can tell from all the banana bread recipes on 30Seconds, we are big fans of it and enjoy trying different recipes. I guess it's our quest to find the ultimate banana bread recipe for breakfast, snacks or dessert.

As you know by now, I like to try and find ways to boost nutrition wherever I can. And lately, because I'm watching my cholesterol (thanks to my family history), that means incorporating a lot of oats. (Oatmeal is packed with soluble fiber, landing it at the top of Mayo Clinic's list of cholesterol-reducing foods.)

I wanted to see if I could make a more nutritious banana bread by adding oats, and I think I succeeded. The texture is different than the typical banana bread (more substantive and chewy), but it's equally delicious. My husband, who's my official taste tester, gave this chocolate chip bread recipe two enthusiastic thumbs up (especially because it's also loaded with dark chocolate, which has its own heart-health benefits).

Serve this moist oatmeal chocolate chip banana bread for breakfast, as part of a brunch spread, as an energizing snack or for dessert after dinner.

Cuisine: American
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 30 to 35 minutes, depending on your oven
Total Time: 40 to 45 minutes
Servings: 16 (makes 2 loaves)

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (I used gluten-free flour)
• 1 1/2 cups oats (I used gluten-free quick-cooking oats)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 4 - 5 overripe bananas, mashed
• 1/2 cup milk or nut milk (I used almond milk; you may need to add more or less milk to achieve the right consistency)
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups dark chocolate chips
• 1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Here's how to make it:

1. Coat two 9x5-inch loaf pans with cooking spray. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. In a bowl, combine flour, oats, baking soda, baking powder and salt. In another bowl, blend bananas, milk, vanilla and cinnamon.
2. In a third bowl, combine butter and brown sugar, stirring until blended. Add eggs, one at a time, to butter and sugar mixture. Combine banana mixture and sugar mixture, and stir until blended. Combine dry mixture and moist mixture, and stir until blended. Fold in chocolate chips and walnuts, if using. (You could use pecans, almonds, macadamia nuts or cashews instead of walnuts. Not a fan of dark chocolate? Use milk, semisweet or bittersweet chocolate.)
3. Pour batter, evenly divided, into the loaf pans. Bake at 325 degrees F for about 30 to 35 minutes, depending on your oven. You can use a toothpick to see if it comes out clean. Allow to cool in the loaf pans for about 10 minutes before removing and slicing. Store the banana bread loaves in an airtight container.

Recipe cooking times, nutritional information and servings are approximate and provided for your convenience. However, 30Seconds is not responsible for the outcome of any recipe, nor may you have the same results because of variations in ingredients, temperatures, altitude, errors, omissions or cooking/baking abilities. Any nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and it is up to the individual to ascertain accuracy. To ensure image quality, we may occasionally use stock photography.

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