Chocolate Orange Banana Bread

Chocolate Orange Banana Bread is mixed in one bowl, made without refined sugars, and is such an easy recipe to make for everyday banana bread! This great recipe uses oat flour and almond flour to keep it gluten-free. The mini chocolate chips add decadence to it, creating a really special, extra delicious banana bread with a hint of orange!

Delicious Chocolate Orange Banana Bread – Gluten Free

If you’re looking for a decadent banana bread then you are in the right place!

Anytime there is a chocolate orange dessert on a restaurant’s menu, chances are my hubby and I are going to get it and share it. It’s one of his favorite flavor combos, and I sure love it too!  It’s a go-to sweet treat favor combo and worked amazingly well in this luxurious-tasting dessert bread.

This chocolate orange banana bread recipe is one you can enjoy any day! It’s filled with better-for-you ingredients than what you’d typically find in a chocolate orange decadent dessert.

What makes this banana bread to great is that we’re adding more fiber, no refined sugar, and all the chocolate goodness you want in a chocolate dessert or snack!  It’s also a tasty way to use those overripe bananas sitting on your counter.

Why we love this chocolate orange banana bread

Naturally sweetened – While this orange chocolate banana bread recipe tastes like dessert, it’s naturally sweetened using over-ripe bananas and maple syrup! To increase the chocolate flavor, we’re also adding mini chocolate chips, but those are optional if you like keeping your quick bread even lower in sugar.

Naturally gluten free – While this recipe is gluten free, you can easily find the ingredients at a regular grocery store. We use a combination of almond flour and oat flour. And if you can’t find oat flour, you can easily make oat flour at home using oats!

Easy one-bowl recipe – I am all about using the least amount of bowls possible, so instead of mixing our wet ingredients in one bowl and then the dry ingredients in a separate bowl, I’ll show you how we get it done with just one bowl!

Here’s what you’ll need for chocolate orange spice banana bread

Scroll down to view the recipe card below for the full ingredients list, nutrition facts, and step-by-step instructions.

• ripe bananas
• maple syrup
• avocado oil
• eggs
• fresh oranges
• oat flour
• almond flour
• unsweetened cocoa powder
• baking soda
• sea salt
• mini chocolate chips

How to make chocolate orange banana bread

Step 1: Preheat oven to 325 degrees, prepare a loaf pan with oil and parchment paper along the bottom and sides of the pan.

Step 2: In a large bowl, mash the overripe bananas fully. Add the maple syrup, eggs, fresh orange zest, and orange juice. Mix fully.

Step 3: Add the oat flour, almond flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and sea salt to the banana mixture. Stir to combine to dry ingredients with the wet.

Step 4: Lastly, mix in the chocolate chips. Pour batter into the prepared loaf pan. Add extra chocolate chips on top of the loaf if you’d like.

Step 5: Bake for 55-60 minutes in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with a dry crumb. Let the bread cool at room temperature on a wire rack before serving.

Watch me make this easy banana bread recipe

The full how to video can be watched below, or on my YouTube channel!

How to store leftovers

With this being the best banana bread recipe, maybe you won’t have leftovers.  But if you do, here’s how to store it!

Let the bread fully cool to room temperature, and then either add it to an airtight container or wrap it in plastic wrap.  Either way, you want to ensure that excess air is not getting to the bread. This will dry it out more quickly.

It will keep well on the counter, or in the fridge.

You can also store it in the freezer for up to 6 months!

Substitutions

Below you’ll find a list of substitutions that will work well in this chocolate chip banana bread recipe.

If you try something different out, please leave a comment below letting us all know how it turned out!

Avocado oil – Melted coconut oil is a fantastic alternative to use. You can also use melted butter or olive oil in place of avocado oil.

Maple syrup – You can substitute honey for the maple syrup. Brown sugar should also work okay, but you may need to increase the liquid slightly.

Oranges – The orange flavor from the juice can come from fresh oranges or bottled orange juice.  You can get fancy and use blood orange juice here too!  If you have vanilla extract on hand, adding a little would be delicious too!

Oat flour – Don’t have oat flour on hand?  Here’s how to make oat flour at home.  You can also opt to use quick oats, rolled oats, or whole wheat flour in place of the oat flour.

Almond flour – Whole wheat flour will work as a substitute for almond flour, as well all purpose flour like used in traditional banana bread.  To keep this recipe gluten free, you can also use an all purpose gluten free flour mix.

Mini chocolate chips – You can always omit the chocolate chips to make quick breads less sweet.  Dark chocolate chips are a tasty choice here too.

More banana bread recipes you’ll love:

• No sugar banana smash cake
• Banana protein muffins
• Mini paleo banana nut muffins
• five ingredient banana bread
• Banana zucchini bread recipe

If you try this moist banana bread recipe, I’d love it if you left a star rating and comment below letting me know how it turned out!

XO

Heather

Originally published in July 2014. Updated January 2025.