Baking/ Recipes

Chocolate Chip Banana Oat Loaf

I bought a 4.5-lb. bag of Toll House chocolate chips at Costco. Joke all you want about whether or not anyone needs 12 rolls of paper towels or 6 packages of toilet paper at one time, but come the holidays, it’s the place to go. Need a 10 lb. bag of sugar for about the same cost as 5 lbs. at the grocery store? Costco. You’re doing spiced nut mix for an office party? Costco. You need to restock your bar? Costco.

So when I bought that bag of chocolate chips, it was without a lick of regret. I even felt like I was being somewhat restrained, since there was a 10 lb. bag of another brand. The thing is, I made this chocolate chip banana oat loaf with the regular chips but it didn’t produce the “chocolate in every bite” effect I was looking for. For that, you need the minis. Good thing I have no problem with keeping a well-stocked chocolate chip pantry.

I always roll my eyes a little bit when cake recipes claim to be healthy. I won’t go that far, but this loaf cake has more to offer nutritionally than your average slice of banana bread. We’re chocolating it up here, so I’ve used whole-wheat pastry flour, oat bran and rolled oats to up the whole grain and fiber quotient. So texturally, yeah, it’s a little firmer. If you use all rolled oats instead part oat bran, part rolled oats it’s a little more tender, it’s up to you to decide what fits your taste. Either way, you could easily undercut the coffee shop around the block that’s charging $3 for a slice of loaf cake and make a killing. I’m not saying you should, but you know, you could. If you wanted to.

Print Recipe

Chocolate Chip Banana Oat Loaf

Serves: 1 loaf

Cooking Time: 1 hour 5 minutes

Ingredients

1 c. whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 c. unpacked light brown sugar
1/2 t. table salt
1/2 t. baking soda
1/4 t. baking powder
1/2 c. oat bran
1/2 c. rolled oats
3 t. canola oil
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 egg whites, lightly beaten
3 very ripe bananas, mashed (about 1 3/4 c.)
1/2 c. mini chocolate chips
Non-stick vegetable spray

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350F. Spray an 8 inch loaf pan with vegetable spray and set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, brown sugar, salt, baking soda, baking powder, oat bran and rolled oats.

In a small bowl, combine oil, egg and egg whites, and banana. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir just until combined. Set aside 1-2 T. of chocolate chips for the topping and fold the rest into the batter. Let the batter sit for 3-5 minutes to allow the oats to soften a bit.

Pour the batter into loaf pan and top the center of the loaf with the remaining chocolate chips. Bake for 45-55 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean.