The shredded coconut flakes paired with bananas are a perfect combination! I love how natural and fresh these flavors taste together. Pairing these two flavors together in banana bread is a great way to enjoy coconut and banana!
The inspiration...
I am going through a banana bread kick lately. I love baking and eating banana bread because it is so easy to make and it tastes AMAZING! I was inspired to make a slightly healthier version of banana bread by using whole wheat flour, coconut oil, and honey. Banana bread is easy to whip up when you are looking to make something tasty fast. There are not many ingredients and it just requires a bowl and a whisk. The best part is banana bread can last the whole week so you can enjoy a slice of warm banana bread every morning.
For this recipe, I decided to swap out sugar for honey. Honey is a natural sweetener with a lot of medicinal benefits. Honey is often sweeter than sugar so, I like to add less honey when I use it as a substitute for sugar. Also, I used both coconut oil and shredded coconuts for flavor and texture. Coconut oil is higher in fat but does contain a lot of health benefits as well. It is a great antioxidant source if you are looking to get a daily boost of antioxidants. Whatever the health benefits are, I do love the flavor of coconut. It tastes DIVINE mixed with the mashed bananas.
Melted chocolate chips, shredded coconut, and a touch of sweetness go a long way to making this banana bread extra special! It is so GOOD. I can't stop eating this banana bread.
A few tips...
Coconut oil - I buy my coconut oil in solid form because it is easier for storage. For this recipe, you will need to melt the coconut oil to become a liquid consistency.
Chocolate chips - I always try to find ways to add chocolate into everything because who doesn't love chocolate. I use semi-sweet chocolate chips in this bread. Any chocolate chip will do or you can leave it out.
Shredded coconut flakes - I use the smaller kind of shredded coconut flakes because I think it keeps the tastes well balanced throughout the bread.
Don't overmix - Once you have added in the shredded coconut and chocolate chips, don't overmix the batter. Don't worry if the batter is a little lumpy, it will still bake well.
Bananas - I use tons of bananas in my banana bread. I love the banana flavor and I want to get as much of that flavor to bake into my banana bread. It is what I believe makes one banana bread stand out from the other. Make sure to use extra ripe bananas to get even more banana flavor. The banana should look brown or even black before you bake it into bread.
Coconut Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
Serving size: 1 loaf
Total Time: 1 hour and 45 minutes
4 ripe bananas, mashed
1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
1/4 cup honey
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup coconut flakes
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x5 baking loaf pan or use parchment paper.
Step 2: In a large mixing bowl, whisk the oil, eggs, vanilla, and honey together. Then whisk in the mashed bananas until smooth.
Step 3: Fold in the whole wheat flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt until the batter is smooth. Next, fold in the coconut flakes and semi-sweet chocolate chips until combined.
Step 4: Pour the batter into the greased baking pan leaving some room on top for the bread to rise while baking. If you have leftover batter you can make extra muffins for tasting. Bake for 50-60 minutes until golden brown on the outside and a fork comes out clean. If it takes longer to cook, you can cover the bread with foil to prevent the top from burning as the inside bakes. Let cool. Serve warm and enjoy!
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