Got bananas and chocolate? Then you’ve got the makings for a wonderful snack. Or breakfast. Or dessert. Make Instant Pot Banana Bread with Chocolate Chips!
Not only does the pressure cooker infuse the cake-like bread with rich banana flavor, but it “bakes” up super tender and moist. Bonus: It looks beautiful sliced for a breakfast buffet and is a welcome surprise in any lunch box.
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I never heard of Chocolate Chip Banana Bread until college. It was a “new thing” in 1990. What can I say? We didn’t have the internet back then.
One always knew when it was on the menu at the dining commons, though. Someone at the front of the line would peer in the window to read the menu and pretty soon the news had spread down the line.
And then there was a mad dash as soon as the doors opened! I remember seeing girls race to the bakery area in order to snag their fair share. And if they were already out? Oh dear.
Hell hath no fury like a woman separated from her chocolate-laden banana bread.
And so, here I am 20-some years later, watching my own daughter crestfallen if I don’t add chocolate chips to this Instant Pot Banana Bread.
It is really good, if I do say so myself. And making it in the Instant Pot makes it super easy and hands-free!
Why Make This
It helps you avoid waste. Instant Pot Banana Bread is a great way to use up brown bananas as well as that little bit of buttermilk left in the carton.
It’s super tender and flavorful. This is a huge hit with my family, especially now that I started cooking it in the pressure cooker. The pressure infuses the bread with banana flavor and makes it super moist.
Ingredients
Here’s what you need for Instant Pot Banana Bread:
Due to the sensitive balance of liquids required for instant pot “baking” I don’t recommend making much in the way of substitutions. An oven is a little more forgiving of extra liquid as the dry heat helps evaporation. No evaporation will be happening in the pressure cooker, so it’s really important not to have the batter be too wet.
flour – I recommend using unbleached, all-purpose flour.
baking soda – This brings lift to the bread and can’t be omitted.
salt – Salt acts as a leavener as well adding flavor.
chocolate chips – Use whatever baking chips you like or even substitute chopped nuts, just don’t add more than ⅓ cup total to the recipe.
sugar – I’ve tested this with granulated sugar, but you can most likely substitute brown sugar or demerara without too much issue.
oil – I used avocado oil in my testing, but you can also use margarine or butter if you prefer.
eggs – Beat the eggs well so that they fully incorporate into the batter.
buttermilk – As mentioned in the FAQ section, the buttermilk adds acid that helps the baking soda do its work. If you don’t have buttermilk, use yogurt or add a bit of vinegar or lemon juice to milk as a substitute.
banana – Again, don’t add too much banana. One-third cup mashed banana is sufficient. The instant pot really infuses the bread with banana flavor so a little bit goes a long way.
vanilla extract – You can swap vanilla out for another extract such as coffee, rum, or butterscotch.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Prep the pan: Grease a 7-inch fluted cake pan. Make sure that this fits inside your Instant Pot.
- In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and chocolate chips.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the sugar, oil, eggs, buttermilk, bananas, and vanilla.
3. Add the dry mixture and fold just until blended.
4. Spoon the batter into the greased pan. Cover it tightly with aluminum foil and place the pan on the bakeware sling.
5. Pour 1 ½ cups of water into the pressure cooker insert. Lower the pan on the sling into the insert. Place the cover on the pressure cooker and seal the pressure valve. Set to manual for 55 minutes. When the cycle ends, allow for a 15-minute natural release.
6. Carefully remove the cover, taking care not to get burned by the drips of condensation. The aluminum foil may be wet with condensation. Mop this up with a towel. Remove the pan on the sling from the pressure cooker.
Remove the aluminum foil and allow the banana bread to cool in the pan for ten minutes. Remove the bread from the pan and cool completely before slicing.
For longest keeping, stash the bread in the freezer. Just wrap the cooled loaves in plastic wrap and slide them into a ziptop freezer bag. You can also slice and freeze the bread, making it that much easier to get your fair share — or hide it in the deep recesses of the freezer so that you can snack on it secretly.
FAQs
There is no need to refrigerate this bread. You want to just keep it an airtight container or wrapped in plastic wrap in a cool place. However, refrigerating the bread may extend its shelf life for a few days over room temperature storage. For longest storage, freeze the bread.
The electric pressure cooker, aka Instant Pot, doesn’t actually bake, but it does cook by steam, making traditional baked extra flavorful and moist. Due to the amount of condensation and liquid under pressure, you won’t want too much liquid in your batter or dough, and you’ll need to make sure the dish is covered with foil or a silicone lid to prevent condensation adhering to the surface of the food.
Since this banana bread recipe contains baking soda, it needs an acid, like buttermilk, to help it react and do its work. If you don’t have buttermilk, you can add a little lemon juice or white vinegar to milk and let it sit for a few minutes. This will provide the acid the baking soda needs to be effective.
To help your chocolate chips suspend themselves in the batter, toss them in the dry mixture before mixing in the wet ingredients. This can prevent them from sinking.
Recipe Costs
Knowing how much it costs you to prepare a recipe can help you decide if it’s the type of recipe to make regularly or one you might want to save for special occasions. Let’s crunch some numbers and see how this recipe pencils out.
- flour – $0.25
- baking soda – $0.02
- salt – $0.01
- chocolate chips – $0.33
- granulated sugar – $0.22
- oil – $0.21
- eggs – $0.30
- buttermilk – $0.20
- banana – $0.15
- vanilla extract – $0.13
While your prices may vary depending on where you shop, you can expect to pay somewhere around $1.82/loaf of Instant Pot Banana Bread or 15 cents/serving!
Save Even More
Here are some of the strategies you can use to make this recipe more economical:
- Bake it yourself from scratch – Don’t buy mixes. Don’t buy pricey bakery bread. You can make your own better and cheaper at home!
- Stock up on ingredients when they are on sale. When I find regular kitchen staples on sale, I buy a lot. I’m currently using a price book to track prices and that’s saving me money. For this recipe, keeping an eye on the price of flour and chocolate can help keep the price down. Bananas are often marked on clearance or go on great sales, so watch for them.
- Buying in bulk – It’s rare that I would buy one bag of flour. I usually stock up when there are good baking sales. I also have gotten into the habit of buying cases of flour from Bob’s Red Mill.
More Ways to Use Bananas
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Instant Pot Banana Bread with Chocolate Chips
Equipment
- large mixing bowl
- rubber spatula
- wire whisk
- instant pot bakeware sling
- aluminum foil
- wire rack
- Electric pressure cooker
- 7-inch fluted cake pan
Ingredients
- 1 ⅔ cup unbleached, all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ⅓ cup chocolate chips
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ⅔ cup neutral oil
- 2 egg beaten
- ¼ cup buttermilk
- ⅓ cup mashed ripe banana about 1 small
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
Instant Pot Directions
- Grease a 7-inch fluted cake pan.
- In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and chocolate chips. In a large mixing bowl, combine the sugar, oil, eggs, buttermilk, bananas, and vanilla. Add the dry mixture and fold just until blended.
- Spoon the batter into the greased pan. Cover it tightly with aluminum foil and place the pan on the bakeware sling.
- Pour 1 ½ cups of water into the pressure cooker insert. Lower the pan on the sling into the insert.
- Place the cover on the pressure cooker and seal the pressure valve. Set to manual for 55 minutes. When the cycle ends, allow for a 15-minute natural release.
- Carefully remove the cover, taking care not to get burned by the drips of condensation. The aluminum foil may be wet with condensation. Carefully mop this up with a towel.
- Remove the pan on the sling from the pressure cooker. Remove the aluminum foil and allow the banana bread to cool in the pan for ten minutes. Remove the bread from the pan and cool completely before slicing.
Oven Directions
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease a 10×4-inch loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and chocolate chips. In a large mixing bowl, combine the sugar, oil, eggs, buttermilk, bananas, and vanilla. Add the dry mixture and fold just until blended.
- Spoon the batter into the greased loaf pan. Bake for about 60 minutes or until tester comes out clean. Cool the loaf on a rack before slicing.
Freezing Directions
- Wrap the cooled loaf in plastic wrap and then place in a ziptop freezer bag in the freezer. Thaw, wrapped, at room temperature.
Notes
Nutrition
This post was originally published on June 3, 2010. It has been updated for content and clarity as well as for instant pot cooking.
Karen
Is the pressure cooker setting at high or low?
Jessica Fisher
High. That’s typically a default, since low should only be used for very delicate dishes, like eggs.
Andi
This was my go-to banana bread recipe for so many years. What happend to the oats and whole wheat flour? Also just one banana? Looks like you made this less healthy. Is there anyway you could link the original recipe? Thanks
Jessica Fisher
Glad you liked that recipe. We actually deleted it from the site and redirected the link to this one. You can find the one you’re referring to in my cookbook here: https://amzn.to/3L5qE5p. It’s currently on a tremendous sale!
Pat
I’ve been using your banana bread recipe for a long time. Typically I make muffins out of it for better portion control and my grandkids make less of a mess in muffin form. The baby still makes a mess tho.Lol!
Thanks for the great recipe!!
Jessica Fisher
So great to hear. The muffins are a good idea!
JenniferB
You had me at oats and buttermilk! This was super good. I used mini chips, and made two mini loaves and nine muffins. I just tell my husband it’s a “Jessica” recipe and we know it will be good!
Jessica Fisher
Ahh, so cool! Glad you liked it!
Alicia
I made these today as muffins and our regular banana chocolate chip muffins and these won the taste test hands down. They were much lighter and fluffier than the other ones we make!
Keri
Could you use coconut oil instead of the canola oil?
Jessica
yes, I’ve done that before. We loved it!
Hattie
I have a very similar recipe. and I also sometimes substitute 1 cup of frozen or fresh (depending on what I have) blueberries or strawberries for the chocolate chips. It’s yummy that way, too! Although I have to admit that my hubby and three year old son like chocolate chips the best!:)
Juana
I tried this recipe and doubled it to make 1 loaf, 12 muffins and a round one. I didn’t need to freeze it because by the 2nd day it was all gone. My kids didn’t even notice the quick oats 🙂 This time I’m going to quadruple and freeze some…Thanks!
AllieZirkle
We made these last night, tripled the batch to make 2 loaves & 18 muffins. Yum!
Sharon
Great! Thanks, I can't wait to try it!!
FishMama
Yes, that is fine.
Sharon
Can you substitute regular flour for the unbleached and whole wheat flour?