One Banana Bread with Chocolate Chips and Walnuts is the best banana bread recipe ~ made with just one banana! You’re welcome.

Only got one banana? Make this fabulous one banana banana bread!
This bread makes great use of that one lone banana that got left a little too long on the counter. It’s got a wonderfully moist texture and even though it only uses one banana it still has that classic-banana bread aroma and taste.
It’s perfect for those of you who appreciate banana flavor but don’t want to be hit over the head with it.
The scent of banana bread baking in the oven has to be one of the most comforting smells in the world. I love the idea of making the batter for this bread the night before, and baking it up fresh the next day. Just be sure to add the mashed banana just before baking, so it doesn’t brown. You can basically roll out of bed and enjoy thick slices of fresh-out-of-the-oven banana bread ~ score!
check to see that you have everything:
- banana ~ just one!
- butter
- egg
- milk
- flour
- sugar
- vanilla
- baking soda
- salt
- chocolate chips ~ optional
- walnuts ~ also optional
Tips for the perfect banana bread
- Ripe bananas yield the best flavor, although you can use bananas at any stage.
- Don’t over mix your batter. Blend it just until everything is combined.
- Use a heavy duty aluminum loaf pan. I don’t like glass or dark coated pans, which tend to cook too quickly or unevenly.
- Line your loaf pan with a long sheet of parchment paper so you can lift the cooked bread out for cooling and neater slicing.
- Invest in an inexpensive oven thermometer so you can be sure of your oven temperature. A few degrees either way can make a big difference in the success of your banana bread.
- A little bit of good vanilla extract really brings out the banana flavor.
- Did you know that you can make this batter the night before, and bake it fresh in the morning? Just leave out the banana and add it in the morning to prevent browning.
- Banana bread freezes well, just cool it completely before wrapping. I like to double wrap my bread, first in plastic or foil, and then in a sturdy zip lock freezer bag.
Featured comments on one banana bread
“I absolutely loved this recipe! It is a great mixture of banana and chocolate. I tried making it with half brown sugar and half white sugar instead of all white and I think this will be our familyโs to go chocolate chip banana recipe.โ ~Nazanin
“Thank you very much for this recipe for my lone banana. I think this is the way Iโm going to make it from now on. I made this recipe last night and everyone loved it.โ ~Hilary
craving more banana?
One Banana Banana Bread
Video
Equipment
- 9×5 loaf pan
Ingredients
- 1 ripe banana
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1 large egg
- milk Note: you'll add the milk to the egg to equal one cup.)
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 pinch salt
- 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips, optional
- 1/2 cup roughly chopped walnuts, optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 9×5 loaf pan.
- Add the softened butter and banana to the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment, and mix until blended and smooth. (Or, if you don’t have a stand mixer, mash the banana by hand with a fork, and add in the softened butter along with the rest of the ingredients)
- Add the egg to a liquid measuring cup and then add milk to make one cup.
- Add the egg and milk, vanilla, flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt, and mix until no lumps remain.
- Fold in the chocolate chips and walnuts until evenly distributed.
- Pour the batter into a prepared loaf pan, and bake for about 40-45 minutes, until risen and golden brown on top, and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out without batter clinging to it. (Moist crumbs are fine.)
Notes
- The add-in’s are optional, so feel free to choose your own mix! Pecans would be great in place of the walnuts, and peanut butter chips can be used for that classic banana-and-peanut butter vibe.ย Try 1/2 cup of sweetened shredded coconut, too.
- Use tangy buttermilk or yogurt in place of the milk.
- Got 2 bananas?ย Try chopping an additional banana and folding it in with the chips and nuts.
- Bake the batter in a muffin tray for delicious banana bread muffins.ย Reduce the cooking time and keep an eye on them in the oven.
This is absolutely the best banana bread, especially with the added chocolate chips! I am so glad I found ur website. I have made ur orange cake and tangerine scones. Both are easy 2 make and equally delicious. I will definitely making more of ur recipes!!
So glad you found us Susan, thanks!
You are the coolest! ???
๐ thank you!
i usually put my over ripe bananas in the freezer…then they are really mushy…are those suitable
Yes, I sometimes do that too.
Hello Sue…do any of your recipes have a Weigh Watchers point value?.
thanks, Fran
I’m so sorry they don’t Fran, I bet there’s a calculator somewhere on the web.
Hi. I got 6 full muffins from it … perfect for 1 over ripe banana left behind… delicioso
Nice!
So good! I made this vegan with a flax egg and used about 6 tablespoons of earth balance. Ran out of milk and sugar so substituted the milk with the forgers probiotic cashew โyogurt drinkโ and sweetened with 1/4 cup of sugar and about 1/2 tablespoon of liquid stevia… followed everything else and still turned out so great and moist!! Also added poppyseeds and almonds instead of walnuts and chocolate chips – highly recommend
Tastes good, but I had to cook it nearly twice as long as recommended. It was just liquid inside even after an hour.
Karen that sounds like an oven temperature problem, is it possibly yours is running low?
So good, I made some last night super sweet I did not have to add any nuts or chocolate chips it was good just like that, Thank you.
Super easy and tasty but alllll my chocolate chips sunk and hardened on the bottom of the pan. Any tips?!
Wow, I’ve never had that happen. Was your batter thin? Remember that you’ll use an egg and then only enough milk to make a cup, so crack the egg in a liquid cup measure, and add the milk up to one cup. Hope that helps!
Hi, had the same issue with chips running to bottom. Mrs. loved it anyway, but I’d rather have them floating around. Looked up few suggestions, flouring chips lightly, toss on top instead of mixing in. Would over or under mixing contribute to this problem? (New to the whole baking thing) tia
Hey Mike ~ not sure why the chips sank, but you can certainly try lightly flouring them, that should help next time. Also heavier chips will sink more, so you could use minis. In my experience banana bread has a fairly thick batter that should keep the chips suspended, but there are so many tiny variations in every batch, it’s hard to generalize.
Try dusting your chocolate chips in flour before adding to the mix
Thank you for the this recipe. Put my one ripened banana to good use. Had to use some milk chocolate had no dark chocolate . Still tasted great.