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Banana Bread with Chocolate and Crystallized Ginger

By Katie Workman

5 from 9 votes

on Apr 06, 2016, Updated Jan 15, 2025

Because I find myself with overripe bananas pretty much every other week, our family eats a lost of banana bread. The freezer has also become sort of a halfway house for wayward over-ripened bananas (these are usually destined for smoothies).

But if you like to cook (I do) and you hate throwing food away (again, me), then over-ripened bananas are a gift, a gateway ingredient to something delicious.

Mashing Bananas

You can mash bananas with a fork or a potato masher if you are mashing more than one. This is a very good kid task.

Crystallized Ginger

Crystallized ginger is fresh ginger (or ginger root) that has been peeled, sliced, and cooked in a sweetened syrup until soft. It is then coated in crunchy sugar. It’s amazing for snacking, and for shopping up and using in baked goods.

This particular banana bread came about because I have a big thing for crystallized ginger. My father’s father introduced me to it when I was a kid – he adored it, and even though he was born in Brooklyn in 1903 he was somehow attuned to the fact that ginger had healing properties, which in those days was not something all that widely known outside of Eastern cultures.  Bernie Workman, ahead of his time. He would have loved this bread studded with nuggets of chewy sweet ginger and bits of melty chocolate.

Once you start baking with crystallized ginger, you will not want to stop. Try Pumpkin Gingerbread with Crystallized Ginger or Crystallized Ginger Shortbread. Also, add some to this cookie recipe for another level of happiness.

Mini Banana Breads Loaves with Chocolate and Crystallized Ginger

And I have a deep and meaningful relationship with my mini loaf pan. Mini loaves of quick bread, banana bread in particular, are one of the easiest ways to say I love you, thanks so much, hope you have a good day, or you’re a very nice person that I know of. This bread baked up into full-on cuteness in the mini loaves.

How could you resist one of these?

These are almost a guaranteed good day in the making.

This recipe also makes great banana muffins. Line 12 regular-sized muffin tins with liners. Fill them evenly with the batter, filling them about 3/4 of the way full. Bake for 23 to 27 minutes or until the muffins spring back when pressed lightly in the center. Let them sit in the tins on wire racks for 5 minutes, then gently turn them out of the tins, and cool them upright on a wire rack. Eat warm or at room temperature.

More Banana Recipes

• Best Banana Cream Pie
• Mini Banana Bread Loaves
• Banana Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
• Chocolate Banana Cake

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5 from 9 votes

Banana Bread with Chocolate and Crystallized Ginger

By: Katie Workman

Chunks of crystallized ginger and chocolate give this banana bread tons of personality.

Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes minutes

Cooling time: 30 minutes minutes

Total Time: 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes

Servings: 8 People

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Ingredients 

1x2x3x

• ▢ 2 cups all-purpose flour
• ▢ 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ▢ ½ teaspoon salt
• ▢ ¾ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• ▢ ½ cup chopped crystallized ginger
• ▢ ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter (at room temperature)
• ▢ ¾ cup sugar
• ▢ 2 large eggs
• ▢ 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• ▢ 2 large very ripe bananas (peeled and mashed; about 1 cup mush)
• ▢ ½ cup sour cream or plain Greek yogurt

Instructions 

• Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease or spray a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan (see Note).
• In a small bowl, mix together the flour, salt, and baking soda. Mix in the chocolate and the ginger.
• In a large bowl with an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then add the vanilla. Blend in the mashed bananas and sour cream.
• Switch to a wooden spoon and add the flour mixture in batches to the batter, mixing just until each addition is incorporated. At the end the batter should be barely blended (it will be thick). Pour the mixture into the loaf pan. Bake until a toothpick or wooden skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean, about 45 minutes (see Note). Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then turn the loaf out of the pan and finish cooling the bread upright on the wire rack.

Notes

Banana Muffins or Mini Banana Bread Loaves

This recipe also makes great banana muffins or mini loaves. Line 12 regular sized muffin tins with liners (or spray mini loaf pans with nonstick pray or butter them). Fill them evenly with the batter, filling them about 3/4 of the way full. Bake for 23 to 27 minutes or until the muffins spring back when pressed lightly in the center. Let them sit in the tins on wire racks for 5 minutes, then gently turn them out of the tins, and cool them upright on a wire rack. Eat warm or at room temperature.

Nutrition

Calories: 485kcal, Carbohydrates: 66g, Protein: 6g, Fat: 22g, Saturated Fat: 13g, Cholesterol: 80mg, Sodium: 315mg, Potassium: 270mg, Fiber: 3g, Sugar: 36g, Vitamin A: 531IU, Vitamin C: 3mg, Calcium: 42mg, Iron: 3mg

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