With a few new projects in the works and taking up much of my spare time recently, I fell into the bad habit of ignoring the state of my desk. Up until last week, a precarious stack of notebooks sat one side, a messy pile of papers on the other, and multiple receipts lay scattered in between. As someone who’s typically very organized and a bit of a neat freak, it started to drive me nuts!
So this past weekend, I finally tackled all of those stacks. The notebooks found their way to a shelf, the papers tucked themselves away into binders, and the receipts slipped inside of folders. I even dusted off the desk, one of my least favorite chores….
It feels like spring here with temperatures consistently near (or above!) 70°F for the past two weeks, so that must have been my motivation for cleaning!
My mom must have felt the same inspiration from the warm sunshine because she took charge of the kitchen while I slowly moved through cleaning the rest of my office. She wiped lingering flour spills from the countertops, put away the clean dishes from the drying rack, and placed my photography props back on their shelves.
While she whirled about, Mom discovered a bunch of very ripe and speckly bananas tucked away next to the toaster. Although tempted to bake banana bread, I decided to make something else—something with a little more chocolate—as a thank you to Mom for helping me. (I inherited my chocoholism from her—she was a huge inspiration for my Healthier Chocolate Treats cookbook!)
So I baked these Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Brownies instead! They have the same familiar flavor as banana bread, warm and sweet and fruity, but the extremely fudgy texture of my favorite brownies. It’s quite a fun combination, and when my dad told me he took in a few to share with people at the office, he reported that they all raved about these treats.
Knowing the people my dad works with, that’s quite a compliment!
This easy recipe begins with white whole wheat flour. White whole wheat flour is made by finely grinding a special type of white wheat, whereas regular whole wheat flour comes from a heartier type of red wheat. This gives white whole wheat flour a lighter taste and texture, similar to that of all-purpose flour, which makes both the banana flavor and fudgy texture of these “brownies” really shine! Even better, white whole wheat flour still has all of the same health benefits of regular whole wheat flour. How’s that for a perfect combination?
Note: Whole wheat pastry flour would be the perfect substitute! I also include my preferred gluten-free flour blend in the Notes section beneath the Instructions.
Many typical banana bread or brownie recipes call for ½ cup or more of oil and a couple of eggs. Yikes! However… These sweet treats only contain 1½ tablespoons of coconut oil and absolutely no eggs! The rest of their fudgy texture comes from two key ingredients: mashed banana and Greek yogurt. Yes, the mashed banana provides both flavor and texture! It also replaces the eggs in this recipe, so it’s perfectly safe to eat the batter raw. (Not that I tried or anything…)
As for Greek yogurt, it’s one of my favorite ingredients in healthier baking! It provides the same moisture as extra oil or butter for a fraction of the calories, and it gives your healthy chocolate chip banana bread brownies a protein boost, too.
Note: For a vegan version of these healthy chocolate chip banana bread brownies, substitute additional mashed banana for the Greek yogurt! Or if your bananas are extremely large and you end up with more than ¾ cup of mashed banana, you can add the extra in place of the same amount of the Greek yogurt. This recipe is very forgiving!
To give these fruity brownies a little more sweetness than what’s simply in the bananas, you’ll use one of my new favorite ingredients: liquid stevia. Stevia is a plant-based, no-calorie sweetener that’s clean eating friendly, and it’s very concentrated. A little goes a long way! I buy this one because I love its sweet flavor and don’t notice any strange aftertastes like with some other brands, and you can find it in many health-oriented stores. However, I’ve found the cheapest price is online here! (You’ll use it in all of these recipes of mine, too!)
And finally, the most important part… (Well, at least to a chocoholic like me!) You’ll use miniature chocolate chips for this recipe because their smaller size ensures that every bite contains at least a morsel of chocolate. I love Ghirardelli’s because they melt really well, and when chocolate is warm and gooey straight from the oven…
It’s just so hard to resist! 😉 And when you make your own, remember to snap a picture and share it on Instagram using #amyshealthybaking and tagging @amyshealthybaking IN the photo itself! (That guarantees I’ll see your picture! 🙂 ) I’d love to see your healthy chocolate chip banana bread brownies!
| Healthy Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Brownies | | Print |
- 1 ¼ cups (150g) white whole wheat flour or gluten-free* flour (measured like this)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 ½ tbsp (21g) coconut oil or unsalted butter, melted
- ¾ cup (195g) mashed banana (about 2 large)
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ cup (120g) plain nonfat Greek yogurt (see Notes!)
- ¾ tsp liquid stevia
- 2 tbsp (30mL) nonfat milk
- 3 tbsp (42g) miniature chocolate chips, divided
- Preheat the oven to 300°F, and lightly coat a 9”-square pan with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl, stir together the coconut oil, mashed banana, and vanilla. Mix in the Greek yogurt, stirring until no large lumps remain.* Mix in the stevia and milk. Add in the flour mixture, stirring just until incorporated. Fold in 2 ½ tablespoons of chocolate chips.
- Spread the batter into the prepared pan, and sprinkle the remaining chocolate chips on top. Bake at 300°F for 17-20 minutes. Cool completely to room temperature in the pan, and let the brownies rest for an additional 3 hours before slicing for the fudgiest texture.
Whole wheat pastry flour or all-purpose flour may be substituted for the white whole wheat flour. In a pinch, regular whole wheat flour will work, but the brownies will have a slightly more wheat-y flavor that may mask some of the banana flavor.
Measure the mashed banana by grams or cups, NOT by bananas! Not all "large" bananas are the same size.
The combined amount of mashed banana and Greek yogurt should equal 1 ¼ cup. If you have slightly more than ¾ cup mashed banana, you can substitute some of the extra for some of the Greek yogurt, and vice versa.
I highly recommend using the liquid stevia! I buy it online here because that's the cheapest price I've found, and you'll use it in all of these recipes of mine, too. (I promise it's not a one-time-use ingredient!)
The best substitute I can recommend in place of the liquid stevia is 2 ¼ teaspoons of this powdered stevia. If substituting a different sweetener (i.e. coconut sugar, honey, maple syrup, etc.), you’ll need 5-6 tablespoons, and the baking time and texture will be different.
If the coconut oil or butter re-solidifies upon adding the Greek yogurt, microwave the mixture for 10-14 seconds to re-melt it (ONLY if your bowl is microwave safe!).
VEGAN + DAIRY-FREE VERSION: Use the coconut oil option, your favorite non-dairy yogurt (ie soy-based, almond-based, coconut-based, etc) or additional mashed banana in place of the Greek yogurt, your favorite non-dairy milk in place of the nonfat milk, and vegan-friendly miniature chocolate chips (these are my favorite!).
{gluten-free, vegan, clean eating, low fat, low calorie, lower sugar}
View Nutrition Information + Weight Watchers Points
Hi how many brownies is one serving size?
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Naomi! The full nutrition information, including serving size, is actually included directly underneath the recipe box. I know it can be easy to miss! 🙂 I’d love to hear what you think if you try making these banana bread brownies!
I just did these brownies and they are delicious. Even though I don`t like banana, I loved the taste. I don`t know what I did wrong, but for some reason I only got about 6 brownies 😀
Thank you for this recipe 🙂
I’m SO glad you loved these banana bread brownies Christine! That’s the sweetest and best compliment, if you don’t usually like banana but enjoyed these. I’m so honored — thank you for taking the time to let me know! 🙂 And there’s definitely nothing wrong whatsoever with just getting 6… I’ve been tempted to cut them the same way before too! 😉
what can be used instead of vanilla creme stevia ?
I’ve actually covered this exact question in the Notes section of the recipe (located directly underneath the Instructions). I know it can be easy to miss! 😉 I’d love to hear what you think if you try making these banana bread brownies Alisa!
Hi these look delicious! Is there a way for me to replace some cocoa powder for the flour here so I can make them double chocolate? I am having a serious chocolate craving!
I’m honored that you’d like to try my recipe, Lisa! If you’d like to make them double chocolate, and if you’re a huge chocoholic, then I’d recommend using ½ cup (40g) of cocoa powder and reducing the flour to ¾ cup (90g) to compensate. That much cocoa powder will definitely make these taste chocolaty! But it may mask some of the banana flavor, so if you’d rather have more banana flavor, then just use ¼ cup (20g) of cocoa powder and 1 cup (120g) of flour instead. Does that make sense? 🙂 I’d love to hear what you think of these banana bread brownies if you try making them!
They look so delicious. I will definitely give them a try soon..thank you Amy.
I can’t wait to hear what you think of these banana bread brownies, Kyra!
I don’t know if they turned out well or are raw, will it be a bad idea to put them back in the oven? I put baking paper and when I unmold it was all soaked
It means a lot that you tried my recipe, Rocio! I’m happy to help figure out what happened, so I’d like to make sure I fully understand what you’re describing. When you say that you unmolded them and they were soaked, do you mean that the bars didn’t hold their shape when you sliced into them after cooling to room temperature and letting the bars rest for 3+ hours? (That’s usually at least 5+ hours after removing them from the oven!) And the bars started to spread at that point?
If so, I have some follow-up questions for you as well!
Did you make any substitutions or modifications to the recipe, including those listed in the Notes section?
Did you use a kitchen scale or measuring cups/spoons to measure all of the ingredients, especially the flour, mashed banana, Greek yogurt, and milk?
Did you use the same exact liquid stevia that I did? (I linked to it in the Ingredients list and Notes section!)
Can you describe the consistency of the batter before you transferred it to the pan?
How long did you bake your brownies?
If you felt the center after removing them from the oven, was it wet and liquidy or mostly firm?
I know I just asked a LOT of questions, but I’ll have a much better idea of what happened and how to fix it once I know your answers to all of them! 🙂
They did not come apart, they are all fine, but I do not know if I left them for a short time or not and I feel that they were raw on the inside, that they were missing, and about what is soaked is that I put baking paper underneath before pouring the mixture into the mold and When I took out this paper it was all wet, so it gave me the feeling that it was raw too. My question is, if they are going to spend 4-5 days in the refrigerator, can they be frozen? And if so, how do I defrost them? My last question is that if the next time I feel they are undercooked or raw, could I put them back in the oven? Thank you
Thanks for sharing, Rocío! Whenever I line a pan like this with baking paper (whether parchment paper or wax paper), it always ends up damp, even when the brownies are fully baked all the way through, so I personally wouldn’t use that detail to determine whether the brownies were done.
I seem to be missing the answers to the rest of my questions. I can’t determine the issue about rawness / underdone brownies or how to fix it until I know the rest of that information. I know I asked a LOT of questions, but they’re all important and necessary for me to best help you! 🙂
For your next two questions, yes! You can freeze them, even after 4-5 days in the refrigerator. My favorite way to defrost them is to place individual brownies in the microwave and reheat on 30% power until they’re warmed through.
Finally, if you’re able to answer all of the questions I previously asked, then there shouldn’t be an issue about them turning out underdone or raw, so placing them back in the oven shouldn’t be necessary. 🙂