This tahini swirl banana bread is perfectly moist and has bits of gooey chocolate chunks inside. The tahini swirls on top give it an elevated look that’s sure to impress. Top it with extra tahini and flaky sea salt for a decadent treat!
Jump to:
Chocolate Chunk Tahini Swirl Banana Bread
It’s that time of the year again where everyone is baking banana bread. It’s easy, tasty, and it makes for a good breakfast or dessert. This tahini swirl banana bread is great for when you’re craving something a little bit different. Instead of butter, this recipe is made with coconut oil and tahini which both give it a super moist texture. The addition of dark chocolate chunks in the batter brings it up a notch and makes this bread even more delicious. And who doesn’t love chocolate?
Because we like our food to look just as good as it tastes, we added a beautiful swirl of tahini on top. It gives your banana bread a fancy touch with little to no effort at all. Once you’re ready to serve, add an extra drizzle of tahini (because why not?) and a pinch of flaky sea salt. It’s so good it’ll be hard not to reach for another slice!
Ingredients
- All-Purpose Flour: You’ll need 160 g or about 1 ⅓ cup of unbleached flour.
- Ground Cinnamon: This adds a little bit more depth to the banana bread. Just 1 tsp is enough without it being too cinnamon-y.
- Leaveners: We use both baking powder and baking soda for the best rise. The baking powder also helps to soften the texture of the banana bread.
- Salt: This enhances the other flavors in the bread, especially the chocolate.
- Sugar: You’ll need granulated AND dark brown sugar. For the best results, use dark brown sugar instead of light. It has a deeper more caramel-like flavor that tastes really good.
- Coconut Oil: Instead of butter, we use coconut oil in this recipe. Don’t worry if you don’t like the taste of coconut. You won’t be able to taste it and it makes the bread super moist.
- Eggs: You’ll need 2 large room temperature eggs.
- Tahini: This gives the banana bread a slight nutty flavor and adds a bit of healthy fats.
- Greek Yogurt: We wanted to make this banana bread as moist as we could, so we added a bit of Greek yogurt. You’ll need 120 g or about ½ cup.
- Vanilla Extract: You’ll need 1 tsp.
- Overripe Bananas: The browner they are, the sweeter they’ll be. Just as long as they’re not shriveled they should be ok to use. We use them when they’re covered in plenty of brown spots. It’s also easier to mash them the riper they are.
- Dark Chocolate: You’ll need about 120 g or 4 oz of dark chocolate. Our favorite brand is Guittard.
How to Create the Tahini Swirls
- Once you’ve made the banana bread batter, take 1 tbsp of tahini and place small dollops on top (pictured below). Be sure to space them out so you don’t have a big pool of tahini in one spot. It’ll be harder to swirl around if it’s all clumped together.
- Then take a knife or a skewer and swirl the tahini into the batter. You don’t need to insert the knife all the way down. Just use the tip of it to swirl the top layer. And be careful not to move it around too much as it may look muddy.
Note: bring the swirls all the way out to the edges. It can be easy to focus on the center and forget about the corners. It makes the top look much more homogenous so you’re not left with blank edges.
FAQ
Yes, just use the same amount of sour cream as you would the yogurt.
You’ll know it’s ready to come out of the oven when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. If the top is browning too quickly, place a tent of foil on top to prevent it from getting too dark.
Chances are the banana bread was not completely cooled when it was cut. Be sure to let it cool completely on a cooling rack before slicing it. Doing this allows the bread to set instead of being a crumbly mess when you cut into it.
Wrap it tightly with plastic wrap and store it at room temperature for up to 4 days.
Yes, wrap it in plastic wrap then place it in a freezer safe bag and freeze for up to 3 months. When you’re ready to eat it, set it on the counter to thaw completely.
More Quick Bread Recipes You’ll Love
If you like chocolate in your banana bread, try our double chocolate banana bread!
Tips for the Best Chocolate Chunk Tahini Swirl Banana Bread
- When using cups, don’t pack in your flour. This could lead to a dense, dry banana bread. To prevent this, use the spoon and level method. First, fluff up your flour with a spoon then spoon it into your measuring cup. Then level it off with a straight edge. You can use the straight side of a butter knife for this. If you can, use a kitchen scale for the best results.
- Remove the top rack from the oven before preheating. The banana bread gets pretty tall and ours tends to touch the top rack just slightly. This makes it hard to place foil over it when needed, so we recommend taking out the top rack before turning on your oven. That way you’ll have plenty of room to let the bread rise.
- Don’t swirl the batter too much or you’ll end up with a muddy looking surface instead of nice little swirls. A max of 4 times up and down the batter should do the trick.
- Be sure to stir your tahini before using it. Like peanut butter, it tends to separate with the oil sitting on top.
- To get your eggs to room temperature faster, place them in a bowl of warm water for about 5 minutes.
📖 Recipe
Chocolate Chunk Tahini Swirl Banana Bread
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 35 minutes
- Yield: 12 slices 1x
- Category: Quick Bread
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
This tahini swirl banana bread is perfectly moist with bits of gooey chocolate chunks inside. The tahini swirls on top give it an elevated look that’s sure to impress. Top it with extra tahini and flaky sea salt for a decadent treat!
Ingredients
- 160 g (1 ⅓ cup) all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- 67 g (⅓ cup) granulated sugar
- 67 g (⅓ cup) dark brown sugar, packed
- 110 g (½ cup) + ½ tbsp coconut oil, melted and slightly cooled, divided
- 2 large eggs, room temp
- 120 g (½ cup) full-fat plain Greek yogurt*, room temp
- 90 g (⅓ cup) + 1 tbsp unsalted tahini, divided
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 310 g (1 ¼ cup) overripe bananas, mashed
- 120 g (4 oz) dark chocolate, chopped
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Brush the inside of a 9×5″ loaf pan with ½ tbsp melted coconut oil then line with parchment paper. Leave a couple inches of overhang on the sides for easy lifting. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- In another large bowl, whisk together the granulated sugar, dark brown sugar, and 110 g (½ cup) melted coconut oil until combined.
- Add the eggs one at a time, whisking each one completely before adding the next.
- Add the Greek yogurt, 90 g (⅓ cup) tahini, and vanilla extract. Whisk until smooth.
- Whisk in the mashed bananas.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and fold the mixture with a rubber spatula until almost combined. There will be a few pockets of flour left.
- Fold in the chopped dark chocolate just until there are no more bits of flour. Be careful not to overmix.
- Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan, smoothing out the top.
- Measure out 1 tbsp of tahini and place small dollops on top of the batter. Leave a bit of space between each one.
- Using the tip of a knife or a skewer, swirl the top until you’re satisfied with how it looks. Be careful not to over swirl as this could lead to a muddy top.
- Bake for 60-70 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. If the top is browning too much, place a tent of foil over the banana bread.
- Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes before lifting it out to cool completely on a wire rack.
- Once it’s completely cooled, it’s ready to slice and serve.
- Top it with a drizzle of tahini and flaky sea salt if desired. Enjoy!
Notes
Greek Yogurt Substitute: you can substitute the Greek yogurt with the same amount of full-fat sour cream.
Don’t over mix the batter or you’ll end up with a gluey, dense banana bread. This happens when you work the flour too much and gluten starts to develop.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice
- Calories: 335
- Sugar: 18.5 g
- Sodium: 138.2 mg
- Fat: 19.6 g
- Carbohydrates: 35.4 g
- Fiber: 2.4 g
- Protein: 5.7 g
Keywords: tahini banana bread, banana bread recipe, easy banana bread recipe, chocolate chip banana bread, chocolate chunk banana bread, chocolate tahini recipe, tahini swirl banana bread
Leave a Reply