Crockpot Chocolate Chip Banana Bread — Think slow cookers are only for soups and savory recipes? Think again because you can make this soft, tender, moist banana bread in your Crockpot and it’s SO EASY! This no-mixer banana bread is loaded with chocolate chips in every bite and a family FAVORITE! Now you know what to do with your ripe bananas!
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If you thought slow cookers were only for soups or pot roast, think again! You can make desserts and sweet treats in slow cookers too. And yes, I made this soft, tender banana bread in my slow cooker.
I adapted an older banana bread recipe of mine for Flour’s Famous Banana Bread, which is a copycat recipe of the famous bakery’s banana bread. And rather than baking it, I made it right in my trusty Crockpot. It couldn’t be any simpler!
To jazz things up, I added some pecans and chocolate chips. Nuts in desserts can be a questionable item for some folks so feel free to omit the nuts if you’re not a fan. Or use walnuts rather than pecans if you prefer.
But the chocolate chips? Please don’t omit those! Melted chocolate chips nestled in every bite of warm banana bread is the food equivalent of putting on a comfy blanket as you curl up on the couch! It shouldn’t be missed.
Why Make Banana Bread in a Crockpot?
I’ll give you a lot of reasons why you may want to try this unique way to make banana bread:
- You have ripe bananas to use! And if that’s the case, make sure to also check out my Six-Banana Banana Bread (which uses 6 bananas), my Cream Cheese Filled Banana Bread, and my Best Banana Cake. And just in case you need more ideas, I have 40+ banana bread recipes and banana desserts!
- It’s hot out and you don’t want to heat up your kitchen so it’s slow cooker to the rescue. I have friends who place their slow cooker on their porch or garage if they’re really serious about things.
- Your oven is going to be in high demand and you don’t have room. Imagine before the holidays, or a special occasion such as you’re cooking for a family birthday or Sunday dinner, and you need to free up oven space, here you go.
- A fun “baking” project with the kids of grandkids. They can almost watch the banana bread cook through the glass lid of the slow cooker which is fun for them.
- You’re curious how this works! This may be the best reason. I make a lot of things out of curiosity and intrigue because I want to see how or if it works. In this case, yes, it does and it’s fun.
Ingredients Needed
To make this easy Crockpot banana bread with nuts and chocolate chips, you’ll need the following very common and easy to find fridge and pantry ingredients including:
- Large eggs
- Granulated sugar
- Canola or vegetable oil
- Sour cream or Greek yogurt
- Pure vanilla extract
- Bananas
- All-purpose flour
- Baking soda (note there’s no baking powder in this recipe, just baking soda)
- Salt
- Cinnamon, optional
- Mini chocolate chips, optional but recommended
- Nuts, optional (walnuts or pecans)
Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for the ingredients with amounts included and for more complete directions.
A Note About Using Oil Vs. Butter in Banana Bread
I tested this recipe using both a stick of butter (1/2 cup) and using 1/2 cup oil. I used a hand mixer to beat the butter with the sugars and eggs. The butter version cooked through slightly quicker by about 15-20 minutes. Not terribly significant in a recipe that takes about 3 hours to cook.
But since I am a stickler for ease, I will always opt for using a whisk like I do when whisking together oil, sugars, and eggs for the oil-based version. To me, this version is moister and lacks for nothing in the flavor department – no ‘missing the butter’ here – so it’s my preferred method!
How to Make Banana Bread in a Crockpot
It doesn’t get any easier than this Crock-Pot banana bread recipe! You don’t even need a mixer. Prep time is no more than 10 mins!
- In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, ½ cup oil, sour cream, and vanilla.
- Mash the bananas, add them to the wet ingredients, and whisk to combine.
- Add the dry ingredients and stir to imporate.
- If desired, add chocolate chips, nuts, and fold to incorporate.
- Spray a 6-quart slow cooker very well with cooking spray, turn the batter out, add a few more nuts or chips if you’d like, and cook on HIGH for about 3 hours.
- Cool, slice, and serve!
FAQs
I use a 6-quart Crock-Pot. That’s the link to my pale green one that’s shown in my photos. Any other 6-quart slow cooker will work. Six quarts is the most common size, so chances are if you don’t know what you have and you have an oval shaped slow cooker, that’s that it is.
I don’t recommend using a smaller or round slow cooker as the bread may not cook through in the center before the edges burn. And I don’t suggest anything bigger because the bread will turn out very thin similar to the thickness of a waffle. As you can see from my photos, even in my 6-quart it’s still quite thin.
You can for easier cleanup if you’d like. I prefer inserts because they’re so easy and really save on cleanup. You can also line your slow cooker with parchment paper.
I don’t recommend doubling the recipe because you’ll have a lot of moist, heavy batter and I fear it will take too long to cook through in the center before it burns on the edges or bottom.
I cook on HIGH because even on high, this is a 3 hour event. I don’t like the idea of eggs lingering for more time in a semi-cooked state, as would be the case if you attempted to cook this on low. Probably “fine” but why take the chance.
All slow cookers vary in their heat output, as does how warm or not your kitchen is, as well as the moisture content of the bananas, and so forth. Therefore, the total time will range. However, I would plan on about 3 hours, but definitely start checking at about 2 to 2 1/2 hrs into the cooking process to see how it’s looking. Bread is done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean and no wet batter.
If you want to make and bake in a loaf pan, sure can! Follow the recipe as written and rather than pouring the batter into your slow cooker, you’ll want to use TWO 8×4-inch pans like I do in my Flour’s Banana Bread recipe. Bake for about 35-40 mins at 350F. Read the baking instructions in the recipe card section for more details. Make sure to use 8×4 and not 9×5-inch pans!
No, of course not. Simply omit them. You can use pecans, walnuts, macadamia nuts, or whatever you enjoy in banana bread if you’re a nutty type. No pun intended!
I like to use mini chocolate chips in cakes and breads because they stay suspended in the batter better during the baking process and don’t sink to the bottom as easily as morsels do. Thus making for better chocolate distribution in every bite.
However, regular chocolate chips (or anything chip like white chocolate, peanut butter, or butterscotch chips) may be used.
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Slow Cooker Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup canola or vegetable oil
- 2 tablespoons sour cream or Greek yogurt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 medium/large ripe bananas, peeled and mashed (about 1 1/2 cups when mashed)
- 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt, or to taste
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon, optional
- ½ cup mini chocolate chips, optional but strongly recommended
- ½ cup chopped pecans, optional (walnuts may be substituted)
Instructions
- To a large mixing bowl, add the eggs, sugar, oil, sour cream or Greek yogurt, vanilla, and whisk to combine.
- Add the mashed bananas and whisk to incorporate.
- Add the flour, baking soda, salt, optional cinnamon, and stir to combine. Tip – Make sure to use a spatula to really get all the dry ingredients from the bottom of the bowl incorporated.
- Add the mini chocolate chips, nuts, and stir to incorporate. Tips – I prefer mini chocolate chips to regular sized chips (morsels) because mini chips don't sink to the bottom as easily and distribute better. However, if you only have regular sized that's fine. Nuts are totally optional and you can simply omit them if you don't like or want nuts.
- Spray the ceramic insert of a 6-quart slow cooker very well with cooking spray, or for easier cleanup consider lining it with parchment paper or a slow cooker liner. Tip – If you line with parchment paper or use a liner, it's much easier to lift the bread out of the slow cooker after it's done without mutilating the appearance.
- If desired, sprinkle a few more chocolate chips over the top for extra chocolate flavor and appearnce.
- Turn the batter out into the prepared slow cooker insert, place the lid on top, and cook on HIGH power for about 3 hours. Tips – All slow cookers vary in their heat output and so the cooking time is simply an estimate. I suggest starting to check after about 2 or 2 1/2 hours to see if your bread is done. If it takes longer than 3 hours, that's perfectly fine. Cook until done! Meaning a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean (there may be chocolate of course), or with a few moist crumbs but no batter. For more even cooking, I like to rotate the slow cooker insert midway through because I find the right side of my slow cooker cooks hotter than the left, so in order to even things out, I rotate it. You may or may not need to rotate.
- After the banana bread is cooled enough, you can slice and serve it.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Made this yesterday with hesitation lol ! Crockpot? Ok . Well it turned out amazingly!! Very moist and delicious! My crockpot must be really hot because it cooked in 1 1/2 hours on high. Some of the edges were dark brown but not burnt. I lined with parchment and sprayed it with bakers joy just in case. Definitely a keeper especially for the summer months here in Northern Florida!
Thanks for letting me know this turned out very moist and delicious for you, Diana! That’s great! For climates like Florida in the summer, this is perfect I bet for you since you won’t have to turn on your oven!
I’ve made this recipe twice and both times my slow cooker burn the edges around the outside of the bread. I wondered if switching it to low for the last hour in hopes that it might cook thoroughly to the center but did not want to deter from the original recipe. So far, I can only give this a 2-star rating. Please let me know if anyone else has had this problem. What are the instructions for baking it in the oven instead?
All slow cookers can really vary in their heat output. You could try on low like you suggested – that may work I did not test it though.
https://www.averiecooks.com/flours-famous-banana-bread/ is the recipe I adapted this one from. Go ahead and follow that recipe (in the recipe card section for ingredients, baking time, oven temp, etc.) for oven baking.
My personal favorite banana bread recipe of all time is this one https://www.averiecooks.com/cream-cheese-filled-banana-bread.html although you don’t need to add cream cheese if you don’t want to. I have adapted that recipe countless times for strawberry banana bread, caramel banana bread, zucchini banana bread, etc.