Marbled Banana Bread is an easy recipe that bakes up moist banana bread with gorgeous chocolate swirls throughout. It’s made from scratch with no mixer needed. and it’s ready in just 1 hour—perfect for when you want banana bread with a little something extra.
This Marbled Banana Bread is the best of both worlds—classic banana bread meets rich chocolate swirls in a beautiful, easy-to-make loaf. Everything comes together in a few minutes with no mixer required, and it bakes up in just an hour.
The marbled effect looks impressive but is super simple to create, and the result is a moist loaf of banana bread with the perfect balance of banana and chocolate in every bite. Whether you serve it as breakfast, dessert, or a snack, this loaf is sure to disappear fast!
“Just made the marbled banana bread. Sliced a warm piece of banana bread and had it with cream cheese. It was fabulous!” – Lucky Me
Ingredient notes and substitutions
- Butter: The butter should just barely be melted. It shouldn’t be hot and sizzling. I melt it about 90% of the way and then whisk it until it is completely melted.
- Bananas: You’ll need about 2 very ripe bananas, peeled. I like to use bananas that are brown and spotted but not black.
- Flour: It’s important to properly measure the flour in order to avoid heavy or doughy bread. To properly measure the flour, stir it to break it up. Then lightly spoon it into the measuring up and level it off.
- Cocoa powder: I use regular unsweetened cocoa powder in this recipe.
How to make marbled banana bread
Here you’ll find instructions and step-by-step photos showing how to make this recipe. The full recipe, including ingredients, is given below.
Step 1: Melt the butter in a large, microwave-safe mixing bowl.
Step 2: Whisk in the mashed banana until well-combined.
Step 3: Whisk in sugars until incorporated.
Step 4: Add egg and vanilla, and whisk until well-combined.
Step 5: Stir in flour, baking soda, and salt until combined.
Step 6: Remove 1 cup of batter to a separate mixing bowl. Whisk in cocoa powder and milk until combined.
Step 7: Pour 1/4 of the plain batter into the prepared pan.
Step 8: Top the batter with 2 tablespoons chocolate batter. Continue alternating batters on top of each other until you’ve used up both batters.
Step 9: Give the pan a couple of gentle taps but don’t stir.
Step 10: Bake for 40-60 minutes, or until a wooden toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Recipe Tips!
- Mixing: I recommend mixing the batter by hand to avoid overmixing.
- Swirl: It’s important to layer the batters on top of each other and to tap the pan to level out the batter. Stirring the batter can muddy the swirls.
Storage
Store any leftover banana bread in an airtight container at room temperature. It will keep for up to 3 days when properly stored.
For longer storage, store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
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Marbled Banana Bread
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup salted butter 1melted
- 1 cup mashed banana
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar packed
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups sifted all-purpose flour properly measured
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 tablespoons milk
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease an 8×4-inch loaf pan. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk mashed banana and melted butter together until well-combined.1/3 cup salted butter, 1 cup mashed banana
- Whisk in sugars until incorporated.1/2 cup light brown sugar, 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- Add egg and vanilla, and whisk until well-combined.1 large egg, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Stir in flour, baking soda, and salt until combined.1 ½ cups sifted all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1/4 teaspoon salt
- Remove 1 cup of batter to a separate mixing bowl.
- Whisk in cocoa powder and milk until combined.1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, 2 tablespoons milk
- Pour 1/4 of the plain batter into the prepared pan.
- Top the batter with 2 tablespoons chocolate batter.
- Continue alternating batters on top of each other until you’ve used up both batters.
- Give the pan a couple of gentle taps but don’t stir.
- Bake for 45-60 minutes, or until a wooden toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. I check the bread around 30 minutes and tent with foil if it is browning too quickly.
- Let cool in pan for a 5-10 minutes.
- Remove bread to wire cooling rack, and let cool completely before slicing.
Notes
- Butter: The butter should just barely be melted. It shouldn’t be hot and sizzling. I melt it about 90% of the way and then whisk it until it is completely melted.
- Bananas: You’ll need about 2 very ripe bananas, peeled. I like to use bananas that are brown and spotted but not black.
- Flour: It’s important to properly measure the flour in order to avoid heavy or doughy bread. To properly measure the flour, stir it to break it up. Then lightly spoon it into the measuring up and level it off.
- Cocoa powder: I use regular unsweetened cocoa powder in this recipe.
- Nutrition values are estimates.
Nutrition
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Comments & Reviews
Lucky me says
Just made the marbled banana bread. Sliced a warm piece of banana bread and had it with cream cheese. It was fabulous!
Kate says
Thank you! I’m really glad that you liked it. Thanks for commenting!
Floranet says
Very innovative work. Great utilization of resources!!