Coffee Banana Bread Recipe: Moist Loaf With Espresso and Dark Chocolate
Share
Banana bread already loves coffee: you eat it with a cup. This coffee banana bread recipe puts the coffee inside the loaf. A little espresso and instant coffee in the batter deepen the banana’s caramel notes and make dark chocolate taste richer, without turning the loaf into a coffee cake. The result is moist, deeply browned and mocha-ish, and it uses one bowl.
Below you will find the recipe with US and metric amounts, a dairy-free version, a two-ingredient coffee glaze and fixes for the most common banana bread problems.
In this article
- Coffee banana bread recipe
- Tips for a moist loaf
- Variations and dairy-free option
- Troubleshooting
- A quick history of banana bread
- FAQ
Coffee banana bread recipe
Makes: one 9×5-inch (23×13 cm) loaf, about 10 slices. Prep: 15 minutes. Bake: 55 to 65 minutes.
Ingredients
| Ingredient | US | Metric |
|---|---|---|
| Very ripe bananas, mashed (about 3 medium) | 1½ cups | 340 g |
| Unsalted butter, melted | ⅓ cup | 75 g |
| Light brown sugar, packed | ⅔ cup | 135 g |
| Large egg, room temperature | 1 | 1 |
| Strong espresso or very strong coffee, cooled | 2 tbsp | 30 ml |
| Instant coffee | 2 tsp | about 2 g |
| Vanilla extract | 1 tsp | 5 ml |
| Baking soda | 1 tsp | 5 g |
| Fine salt | ½ tsp | 3 g |
| All-purpose flour | 1½ cups | 190 g |
| Dark chocolate, chopped (optional) | ½ cup | 85 g |
| Walnuts or pecans, toasted and chopped (optional) | ½ cup | 55 g |
Steps
- Heat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease a 9×5-inch loaf pan and line it with a strip of parchment that hangs over the long sides.
- Bloom the coffee. Stir the instant coffee into the cooled espresso until fully dissolved. This prevents gritty specks in the crumb.
- Mash the bananas in a large bowl with a fork. Leave a few small lumps for texture.
- Add the wet ingredients. Whisk in the melted butter, brown sugar, egg, coffee mixture and vanilla until smooth.
- Add the dry ingredients. Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the batter and stir well. Add the flour and fold with a spatula just until no dry streaks remain. Overmixing makes the loaf tough.
- Fold in the chocolate and nuts, keeping a small handful for the top.
- Bake. Pour into the pan, scatter the reserved chocolate and nuts on top, and bake 55 to 65 minutes, until a skewer in the center comes out with moist crumbs but no wet batter. If the top browns too fast after 40 minutes, lay a sheet of foil loosely over it.
- Cool. Leave it in the pan for 10 minutes, then lift it out by the parchment and cool on a rack for at least 1 hour before slicing.
Optional coffee glaze
Whisk 1 cup (120 g) powdered sugar with 1½ to 2 tablespoons (22 to 30 ml) strong coffee until thick but pourable. Drizzle over the cooled loaf and let it set for 15 minutes.
Tips for a moist loaf
- Use really ripe bananas. Heavily speckled or black skins mean more sugar and more banana flavor. To ripen fast, bake whole unpeeled bananas at 300°F (150°C) for 15 to 20 minutes until black, then cool.
- Measure bananas by weight. Banana sizes vary a lot; 340 g keeps the batter consistent.
- Keep the coffee strong but small. Adding more liquid coffee makes the loaf gummy. If you want more coffee flavor, add another teaspoon of instant coffee instead.
- Do not skip the cooling. Banana bread finishes setting as it cools; cut it hot and the center looks underbaked.
- It tastes better the next day. Wrapped overnight, the coffee and banana flavors blend and the crust softens.
Variations and dairy-free option
| Variation | What to change |
|---|---|
| Dairy-free | Replace butter with ⅓ cup (75 ml) neutral oil or melted coconut oil; use dairy-free chocolate. |
| Egg-free | Replace the egg with 1 tbsp ground flaxseed mixed with 3 tbsp water, rested 10 minutes. The loaf will be a little denser. |
| Lighter | Cut sugar to ½ cup (100 g) and skip the glaze; very ripe bananas still keep it sweet. |
| Mocha swirl | Stir 2 tbsp cocoa powder into one third of the batter and swirl it through the rest in the pan. |
| Cinnamon coffee | Add 1 tsp ground cinnamon with the flour and top with a sprinkle of cinnamon sugar. |
| Muffins | Bake in a lined 12-cup muffin tin at 350°F (175°C) for 20 to 24 minutes. |
Troubleshooting
- Sunken middle: usually underbaked or too much liquid. Test with a skewer and keep the coffee to 2 tablespoons.
- Dry loaf: too much flour. Spoon flour into the cup and level it, or weigh it.
- Dense and gummy: overmixed after adding flour, or cut while hot.
- Bitter taste: too much instant coffee or baking soda that was not mixed in evenly.
- Burnt top, raw center: oven running hot or a dark metal pan. Tent with foil and lower the heat by 25°F (about 15°C) next time.
A quick history of banana bread
Banana bread is younger than you might think. King Arthur Baking notes that bananas became widely available in American homes only around the turn of the 20th century, as refrigerated shipping improved. The other key ingredient was chemical leavening: as baking powder and baking soda became mass-produced and common, quick breads that did not need yeast took off. By the early 1930s, during the Great Depression, when nobody wanted to waste overripe fruit, banana bread recipes were appearing in cookbooks from Better Homes and Gardens, Pillsbury and the United Fruit Company. Adding coffee is a modern twist, but serving banana bread with coffee is as old as the loaf itself. For a cake with a longer coffee story, see our history of coffee cake.
What coffee to use
For the batter, a strong shot of our Italian Roast brings a dark, smoky depth that matches the chocolate, and our Instant Coffee, in a resealable 30-serving pouch, dissolves easily for the extra boost. For the slice-and-cup moment, a smooth Breakfast Blend with its nutty notes is hard to beat, or try the flavored Mocha coffee to double down on chocolate.
Coffee banana bread FAQ
Can I use brewed coffee instead of espresso?
Yes. Use 2 tablespoons of very strong brewed coffee and keep the instant coffee for flavor. Do not add more liquid.
Will kids taste the coffee or get caffeine?
The flavor is noticeable but gentle. The whole loaf contains roughly the caffeine of one or two cups of coffee spread over about 10 slices, so a slice holds a small amount. Use decaf if you prefer none.
How do I store coffee banana bread?
Wrap it and keep it at room temperature for up to 3 days, or freeze slices for up to 3 months. Toast frozen slices straight from the freezer.
Can I use espresso powder?
Yes. Replace the instant coffee with 1 to 2 teaspoons of espresso powder. Our article on espresso powder explains the difference.
Sources
- A short history of banana bread, King Arthur Baking, 2017.
Facts checked in October 2026.
Keep reading: Espresso brownies · Coffee walnut cake · Shop flavored coffee