This easy cranberry banana bread recipe takes classic banana bread and adds bursts of cranberry, nutty texture, and rich chocolate flavor to the banana bread batter. This delicious bread is the perfect treat to enjoy over the holiday season with a cup of coffee and can be adapted easily to suit personal preferences and dietary needs.
If you are looking for more easy baking recipes, we have delicious Cranberry Orange Bread With Glaze, Pumpkin Bread With Cream Cheese Frosting, buttery and chewy Cookies and Cream Cookies or Cinnamon Banan Bread With Raisins for something different.
We have plenty of baking recipes for breakfast or to enjoy as a quick snack to satisfy your sweet tooth.
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Ingredients
- Flour - All-purpose flour is a sturdy option for this chocolate banana bread recipe. You could use gluten-free flour, such as Bob’s Red Mill, or plant-based flour, like coconut flour or almond flour. I’ve sifted the flour to prevent lumps in the batter.
- Cocoa powder - Unsweetened.
- Baking powder - Check the baking powder's expiry date on the packaging so that it produces a good rise in the bread. You can take the extra step of sifting the baking powder to prevent lumps in the batter.
- Salt - I’ve used sea salt in this recipe, which helps draw out the bread's chocolate flavor.
- Bananas - You’ll need about 3 medium ripe and mashed bananas (about 1 ½ cups). Don't use large bananas otherwise, the ratio of ingredients will be different.
- Dried cranberries - Don’t use frozen or fresh cranberries in this banana bread. I find that they contain too much liquid and can cause the cookies to be soggy inside. They will also tend to bleed. raisins, dried blueberries, or dried cherries can also be used in addition to the dried cranberries or as an alternative.
- Egg - Room temperature is best for mixing the egg into flour, creating a smooth textured bread batter.
- Coconut butter - Let the coconut butter soften at room temperature before combining it with the rest of the ingredients. You could also use regular unsalted butter if you like.
- Oil - I’ve used canola oil, but you can also use vegetable oil or coconut oil.
- Sugar - Light brown sugar, packed, is great for adding sweetness and moisture to this banana bread.
- Vanilla extract - I use good-quality vanilla extract in most dessert bread and other baked treats.
- Walnuts - Chopped walnuts are my go-to for this chocolate dried cranberry banana bread but you could use chopped hazelnuts, chopped pecans, or chopped almonds. Chocolate chips could also be used as an alternative to the chopped nuts.
For the full list of ingredients, please scroll down where you'll find the recipe card.
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Grease a 9-by-5-inch or 8-inch loaf pan with nonstick baking spray and set aside. Or you can use parchment paper with overhangs to pull out the bread later.
In a medium bowl, combine flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and sea salt; whisk to combine, or if you have time, it is better to sift all the ingredients. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, mash the ripe bananas with a fork until no large chunks are left. Add the soft coconut butter, oil, vanilla, and eggs. Stir until fully combined.
Whisk in brown sugar until smooth.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and gently fold in with a spatula, careful not to overmix.
Stir in the tart cranberries and walnuts.
Transfer the batter to the prepared loaf pan.
Bake in the preheated oven for 60 minutes (mine took 59 minutes), or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out mostly clean, with no raw batter on it. Start checking on the bread at the 50-minute mark, and if it still needs to bake more, check on it every 5 minutes.
Once fully baked, remove the pan from the oven and set it on a wire rack while the bread cools in the pan for 15 minutes.
For easy removal, run a knife around the edges of the entire loaf and gently remove it from the pan onto the wire cooling rack; let it stand until slightly warm.
Cut into slices and serve. Store leftovers wrapped in plastic wrap in an airtight container.
Tips
- Most ovens differ, which is why it’s important to check on your chocolate cranberry banana bread at 50 minutes of baking. If the bread requires further baking but the top is getting too brown, cover the bread with aluminum foil for the rest of the baking.
- For the best taste and texture, eat this dessert bread within 2 days of baking.
- Make double chocolate banana cranberry bread by adding chocolate chips to the banana mixture.
- Ripe bananas are usually slightly soft with some brown spots. Don’t use bright yellow bananas, as they contain a higher level of starch with much less flavor. Overripe bananas may be overly sweet for this banana bread recipe.
- An easy way to get your baked banana bread out of the bread pan is to add parchment paper to the pan with overhangs of parchment paper on either side. This will make lifting the baked bread out of the pan much easier.
- You can dust powdered sugar or chocolate glaze over the cooled sweet bread.
- For a healthier twist, try this refined-sugar free and no butter banana bread next!
Freezing and Storing Instructions
- Allow your Banana Bread With Dried Cranberries to cool completely and wrap it tightly in plastic wrap. Store at room temperature for 2-3 days.
- You can keep it longer, for about 4-5 days as well but the texture may not be the same and moist anymore.
- Freeze in an airtight container, preferably wrapped individually in parchment paper, for up to 3 months.
Frequently Asked Questions
Absolutely! Dried cranberries are great in baked goods, so I love adding them to this quick bread recipe. You do need to adjust the quantity used, though. For example, if a recipe calls for 1 cup of fresh or frozen cranberries, use only ¾ cup of dried cranberries. There is a ¼ cup difference when substituting.
Soaking your dried cranberries is not a step necessary in this recipe. The only time I would recommend soaking dried cranberries (or any dried fruit) before adding it to a recipe is if you are trying to make the fruit plump so that it doesn’t absorb much moisture from the batter.
Yes you can but there is a ¼ cup difference when substituting. For example, if a recipe calls for 1 cup of fresh cranberries, you will only need ¾ cup of Craisins.
Without a doubt! Chocolate and banana are dynamite flavor combinations. Considering mashed banana is already quite sweet, you are better off using dark chocolate which is why I have used unsweetened cocoa powder in this banana bread.
Homemade banana bread is always a healthier option than store-bought alternatives since you have control of the ingredients used. That said, just because you are adding a whole food to the recipe doesn’t automatically make it a healthy treat. Most banana bread recipes are loaded with sugar and high in fat.
Like everything, enjoy this sweet treat in moderation.
One of the main reasons for dry banana bread is from using too much flour. Too much flour will remove moisture from the batter while too little will result in an overly wet bread. It’s important to measure your ingredients accurately when baking.
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📖Recipe
Banana Bread With Dried Cranberries
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 ½ cups mashed bananas about 3 medium bananas
- ¼ cup dried cranberries
- 1 large egg room temperature
- ¼ cup coconut butter, soft (or can use regular unsalted butter)
- ¼ cup canola oil
- 1 cup light brown sugar packed
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup walnuts chopped - optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Grease a 9-by-5-inch or 8-inch loaf pan with nonstick baking spray and set aside. Or you can use parchment paper with overhangs to pull out the bread later.
- In a medium bowl, combine flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and sea salt; whisk to combine, or if you have time, it is better to sift all the ingredients. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, mash the ripe bananas with a fork until no large chunks are left. Add the soft coconut butter, oil, vanilla, and eggs. Stir until fully combined.
- Whisk in brown sugar until smooth.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and gently fold in with a spatula, careful not to overmix.
- Stir in the tart cranberries and walnuts.
- Transfer the batter to the prepared loaf pan.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 60 minutes (mine took 59 minutes), or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out mostly clean, with no raw batter on it. Start checking on the bread at the 50-minute mark, and if it still needs to bake more, check on it every 5 minutes.
- Once fully baked, remove the pan from the oven and set it on a wire rack while the bread cools in the pan for 15 minutes.
- For easy removal, run a knife around the edges of the entire loaf and gently remove it from the pan onto the wire cooling rack; let it stand until slightly warm.
- Cut into slices and serve. Store leftovers wrapped in plastic wrap in an airtight container.
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Can self-rising flour be used in place of the all-purpose, salt and baking powder?
I haven't tried this yet!