Dark Chocolate Banana Bread Bites

VEGAN & GLUTEN FREE

We’re turning chocolate chip banana bread inside out with these dark chocolate banana bread bites! Fresh baked banana bread gets sliced into squares, wrapped in dark chocolate, and topped with walnut pieces.

Flavor Profile

warm vanilla | dark cocoa | caramelized banana

Pairing Suggestions

vision boarding | hot tea | late nights

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Why You’re Going to Love This Recipe

• Everyone has a banana bread recipe, but I’m willing to bet you’ve never experienced bite-sized banana bread truffles like these before!
• The dark chocolate to banana bread ratio is idealllll! Seriously!!
• Easy to take on the go
• Makes plenty to save or freeze for later
• Vegan (obv)
• Gluten Free (you’d never know)
• No refined sugars (unless you’re using chocolate with added sugar)
• High in magnesium
• Over half your daily value for omega-3s
• Seed cycling friendly – follicular phase (1-14)

Ingredients to Make Dark Chocolate Banana Bread Bites

Bananas – the riper, the better! Ripe bananas have the same amount of starch as unripe bananas, the only difference is the structure of this starch has started to break down. The result? Sweeter, softer, more moist and delicious banana bread.

Oat flour – to keep this gluten free and to blunt the glycemic spike that would come from processed flours. Either make your own by grinding oats in a blender, or purchase a bag here!

Coconut sugar – to keep this recipe refined sugar free, we’ll use coconut sugar to sweeten the banana bread. We don’t need much because the ripe bananas are quite sweet on their own.

Unsweetened oat milk –  any other plant based milk you have on hand will work. Just be sure it’s not flavored so it doesn’t interfere with the banana flavor.

Flax seeds – we’re sneaking in a healthy dose of omega-3 fatty acids with this ingredient! The flax seeds are the “egg” replacement and double as a binding agent in this banana bread recipe.

Vanilla extract – there are few baked desserts out there that don’t taste better with a touch of vanilla. Banana bread is certainly not one of them!

Apple cider vinegar – only a teensy amount is needed to ensure there’s enough acid to trigger the reaction with the baking soda.

Baking soda – a leavening agent that reacts with the ac vinegar and the slightly acidic bananas and sugar. The reaction needs heat to start, so this leavener does its heavy lifting midway through baking process.

Baking powder – another leavening agent that will instantly react when added to the wet mix to kickstart the rising process

Cinnamon – the perfect seasoning to warm up the flavors of the banana bread

Salt – just a pinch to balance the sweetness and enhance the flavor

Dark chocolate – 72% dark chocolate is my ideal, but you do you. Be careful to ensure your chocolate is vegan if that’s important to you. I personally love using the 72% dark chocolate chunks from trader joes. Purchase them online with my link! For refined sugar-free dark chocolate, I highly recommend using Hu Kitchen vegan dark chocolate gems. 

Walnuts – (optional) such a cute little garnish! I thought using walnuts was a nice callback to one of the most popular banana bread mix-ins after chocolate chips. 

How to Make Dark Chocolate Banana Bread Bites

This is an adaptation of my favorite banana bread recipe. It’s perfectly moist, not too dense, and packed with bananas for an extra strong banana flavor. That said, if you want to use your own, I won’t stop you! The good news is that it should work just fine in this recipe, you might just have a bit of leftover batter, which is a pretty great problem to have. 

The wet mix

Mash the bananas first using a fork. Try not to leave any chunks. Then add in the sugar, flax seeds, oat milk, and vanilla. Mix the liquid ingredients until well combined. No need to soak the flax seeds before adding – they will form a gel with the wet ingredients as you measure and mix the dry. 

The dry mix

In a separate bowl, whisk together all the dry ingredients: oat flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Add to the wet ingredients and fold the batter gently until everything is just combined. 

The bake

Pour the batter into your lined square baking dish – not a loaf pan! We need a lot of surface area to cut these into little squares later. I used an 8×8 baking dish with a removable bottom like the one linked here. You can also use a traditional square 8×8 baking dish, just be sure to leave enough parchment paper overhang so that you can lift the banana bread out easily after baking.

Bake the banana bread bites at 350 for only about 20-25 minutes. Changing the shape means these bars will cook much faster than a traditional loaf of banana bread. Use the toothpick test or look to see when the sides of the banana bread start to pull away from the sides of the baking dish. 

Slicing

Slice the bread into 1×1 square bites – you should make 8 vertical and 8 horizontal cuts. To make sure these are as even as possible, I like to start with a center cut, then cut each half in half, then cut each of these quarters in half again. Wipe the knife clean with a damp cloth or paper towel between the cuts to ensure clean slices.

Chocolate Coating

Using a tall, microwave safe mug, heat the chocolate in 15-30 second intervals, stirring after the second interval and after each subsequent interval until the chocolate is melted. DO NOT OVERHEAT. This can cause the chocolate to “seize” which just means it gets dry, crumbly, and unusable.

Using two forks, dunk each banana bite into the chocolate pool, allowing the excess chocolate to run off into the pool. Transfer the coated piece to its final resting place – for me, this is a small, parchment paper lined baking sheet that can fit into the refrigerator. 

Garnish (optional)

I think these bites are so cute with a little walnut garnish on top! Use raw or roasted walnut pieces and place one on top of each bite before the chocolate has time to set.

My Top Tips for Perfect Banana Bread

FAQ

How should I store these banana bread bites?

Keep them in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or on the kitchen counter for up to three days. I personally prefer leaving them at room temperature after the chocolate has set – this prevents the banana bread from becoming gummy. 

Are these banana bread bites sugar-free?

This recipe can be made refined sugar free by selecting a dark chocolate brand that does not use refined sugars. Hu is a great brand – you can use my link to purchase their vegan and refined sugar free dark chocolate gems for this recipe!

What’s the difference between “sugar free” and “refined sugar free”?

Refined sugar free recipes do not use white sugar, caster sugar, powdered sugar, or brown sugar. Instead, you may see liquid sweeteners like honey or maple syrup or less processed sugars like coconut sugar, monk fruit, or date sugar. Let’s be perfectly clear, though: no recipe or food is completely sugar-free. Glucose (the simplest sugar molecule) is a monomer that gives structure to all plants in the form of starch. It is found in animal products as well, often as lactose or glycogen. Moreover, sugar is not inherently bad. Please be sure to read up on the health effects of naturally occuring sugars versus added sugars before swearing off fruits for good (spoiler: I promise you don’t have to).

Recipe Card

Banana Bread Bites

These dark chocolate banana bread bites are a fun twist on a classic recipe. Vegan and gluten free, these are the perfect healthy indulgence.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 25 minutes mins

Cook Time 25 minutes mins

Course Breakfast, Dessert, Snack

Cuisine American, British

Servings 16 1 serving = 4 bites

Calories 185 kcal

Equipment

• 1 8×8 square baking pan
• 1 mug
• 2 forks
• 1 Parchment paper

Ingredients

  

• 3 medium bananas
• 1 cup oat flour
• ¼ cup oat milk
• ¼ cup coconut sugar*
• 2 tbsp flax seeds ground
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp baking powder
• ¼ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 bag dark chocolate chips
• 16 walnut halves, broken into 64 pc optional

Instructions

 

• Preheat the oven to 350℉ and line an 8×8 square baking dish with parchment paper.
• In a large bowl, combine the mashed bananas, coconut sugar, oat milk, vanilla, and apple cider vinegar until smooth. Stir in the flax seeds and let the wet mixture sit for at least 5 minutes while you prep the dry ingredients.
• In a small bowl, whisk together the oat flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
• Gently fold the dry mixture into the wet ingredients, be careful not to overmix.
• Transfer the batter to the prepared baking dish.
• Bake the banana bread at 350℉ for 20-25 minutes or until you see the sides start to pull away from the side of the pan.
• Cool for at least 10 minutes, the remove the banana bread from the pan and slice into 64 1"x1" pieces. Start by slicing horizontally in half, then slice each half into half, and so on. You should make 8 slices in each direction.
• Melt the chocolate. Add the dark chocolate to a microwave safe mug and heat in 30 second intervals until the chocolate has melted. Stir between each interval. See blog post for more tips.
• Using two forks, gently dunk each banana bread bite into the pool of melted chocolate. Let the excess chocolate drain back into the mug, then transfer the coated piece to a parchment paper lined baking sheet or plate (you want this dish to be able to fit into your fridge or freezer).
• Top with a walnut piece before the chocolate has time to set (optional)
• Pop the banana bread bites into the fridge or freezer to speed up the setting time. Store at room temperature (once set) for up to 3 days.

Notes

* feel free to swap in white or brown sugar for the coconut sugar, but note that the recipe will no longer be refined sugar free

Keyword bananas, chocolate, dairy-free, desserts, gluten free, healthy, refined sugar free, vegan

Nutrition Data

Did you try this recipe? Let us know how it went in the comments below!