I’m so excited to share another one of my favorite recipes from my brand new book The Paleo Kitchen (I allow you to go buy it now and then read the rest of this). I am actually getting teary eyed writing this post. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would ever know how to cook, never mind publish an amazing cookbook. I can honestly say I poured every ounce of work, love, passion, sweat and any other mechanisms you can think of into this book. Every page that gets turned has a story and a memory for us. Now, we get to share that with you. I am thinking of buying a baby carrier to always have my first ever book with me. Would you laugh at me? I hope you would because I am going to do it anyways and we can laugh together.
This banana bread recipe is just one of over 120 brand new recipes in the book and we picked it to share, well honestly because it makes us want to eat the screen. I am hoping that it carries the same effect with you, so you get to have the euphoric taste bud experience we are intending on. The book is over 340 pages and has everything you need to know from shopping lists, to tips of making cooking easier and even tear out guides to hang on your fridge and keep you on track. There may be some pictures of me shoving cookies in my face on the pages too, so have a nice laugh. Don’t forget to get the book here and start cooking.
Speaking of laughs, I figured I would share one more. I was feeling really free and powerful so I stepped out of my comfort zone and recorded myself singing Let it Go. Life is too short to not savor every moment and play big. If you’re scared to sing SING!!! If you’re scared to dance – DANCE!!! If you’re scared to love, open up your heart and pour love into the world. You get to be a difference every day. Here is your best laugh of the day, and when you are done don’t forget to grab our book!!!!
Cinnamon Chocolate Swirl Banana Bread - The Paleo Kitchen
Ingredients
For the pan
- coconut oil to grease the pan
For the banana bread:
- 4 medium bananas about 1 pound
- 4 large eggs
- ¼ cup ½ stick unsalted grass-fed butter, melted
- ½ cup almond butter
- ½ cup coconut flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Pinch of fine-grain sea salt
For the swirl:
- 2 tablespoons unsalted grass-fed butter
- 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
- ½ cup Enjoy Life Mini Chocolate Chips
- 1 tablespoon organic honey
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9-by-5-inch metal loaf pan and line it with parchment paper.
- Combine the bananas, eggs, butter, and almond butter in a food processor or mixing bowl and mix until the ingredients are well blended. Add the coconut flour, baking soda, baking powder, vanilla, and salt and continue to mix until all the ingredients are well combined.
- In a double boiler over medium-low heat, mix together the swirl ingredients. Heat, stirring often, until the chocolate has melted.
- Pour the bread batter into the prepared pan and spread it out evenly. As soon as you pour the batter, pour the chocolate swirl directly on top and use a knife to swirl the chocolate throughout the loaf pan.
- Bake for 45 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the middle. Remove from the oven and let cool in the pan on a cooling rack for 15 minutes before serving.
***Disclosure: If you purchase any of the products linked in this post or products through the links on the right side of my page, I receive a small percentage from the respected affiliate programs***
Le Creuset Kitchen Makeover Giveaway
The second time I made this great recipe, I “tweeked” your recipe, George. I took 2 bananas, and instead of the other two, I added 2 small zucchinis (pureed) and then when it came time to do the “swirl” part, I just added everything in the swirl part melted together to the main bread recipe with 1 tsp of cocoa powder and mixed it all together. It came out chocolatey like a chocolate pound cake. My hubby loved it and had 2 pieces, buttered lightly. It wasn’t quite as sweet as your 4-banana version but it was still good.
This was the first recipe I tried (today) since we went on our Paleo diet and my husband and I loved it. We actually had it for dessert after our dinner of burgers on lettuce leaves with homemade mayo (yours), Gouda cheese atop of the burgers along with avocado slices and tomatoes with homemade applesauce. (You’d think we had sirloin.) It all tasted so good! The flavors were wonderful. Now he can have it for breakfast as well. Looking forward to making more great recipes. Hubby said it’s being able to have things like this bread which will keep him from going off our new eating plan. Thanks a BUNCH, George!
We are SO glad that you are able to enjoy and love these recipes! And huge props to both of you for sticking it out!
Jeremy
Team Caveman
George, have never bought a book that has so many great recipes in it – your passion pours out into our kitchen, thank you!
Never made a recipe that I didn’t like – and they’re quick with everyday ingredients, this book is a winner.
I found this recipe a couple of months ago and have made it four times now. The first 3 times I used almond butter but yesterday I realized I was out halfway through, so I used some peanut butter that I had on hand(no added salt/sugar). It was still delicious, and not super peanut-y! I’d venture to say this recipe would work with most nut butters.
I love this recipe, and so do my kids and the hubby! It is gone within 24 hours after making it. Do yourself a favor a lick the spoon after making the chocolate sauce…Mmmm
Just made your original banana bread according to the video because I could not find a link to this page. The video says to use 1/2 c melted butter, not 1/4 cup as in the emails I got. It still tasted good. And I wish I had used the parchment paper to line the pan because the loaf stuck to the bottom even though I had greased it liberally. :/
It was not super sweet, but even my boys seemed to like it. But the chocolate or the addition of other things for muffins has me wanting to make this again. Chocolate and honey will make it a tad sweeter and hopefully closer to the usual (for us – I used to use brown sugar in my old recipe, it gives it a depth of flavor; wondering if the honey will do that too) flavor of banana bread. Now I need to buy extra bananas again so that when they get spotty I can make the chocolate
if using banana or plantain flour, would it be used in the same amount as coconut flour? (can’t use coconut in our household…)
thanks!
So good!! But it went fast. Everyone who came over, paleo or not was blown away by this bread. It’s going into my regular rotation. Thank you!
Hi George-
First off… Thank you. Just for everything and for not being afraid to show the world who you are. People can be pretty damn mean sometimes. Second-YUM! I just made your plain banana bread with a tablespoon of cinnamon and it was epic. I ran out of Ghee and didn’t have any unsalted butter in the house so i just skipped the second part. Granted I already had my eggs for breakfast but I needed to sample this… you know to make sure my husband would like it. ;)
Thanks again, this was super-duper awesome! (it wont let me make it 5 stars… but it is a 5 star recipe for sure)
I made this for an event it was YUMMY! Got rave reviews all around
Woohoo
Do you bake for the same time if you pour them in muffin tins?
I bake 23 min at 375 for muffins
this recipe sounds yummy– however I have a serious nut allergy in my household. Was wondering what could be substituted for the almond butter? Thanks for your help.
I don’t substitute ingredients in the recipe because it would make it a different recipe altogether. I am sorry about your issues with nuts, but I have nothing to offer as a suggestion.
Someone else posted that they used sunbutter and it turned out delicious. You could try that since you have nut allergies.
Sunbutter is sunflower seed.
I make mine with sunflower seeds too in order to be ‘nut free’. Still nutty…. and very delicious!
I’ve used tahini–if you’re not allergic to sesame it works nicely.
I just received my book via Amazon here in Australia. Can’t wait to make this it looks and sounds amazing. I’m new to paleo and am hoping to share similar recipes here in oz soon. Thx for being so inspirational and sharing your experience with us.
Oh dear. I LOVE that you really can’t sing and yet you still posted that. Fabulous. You just need a couple or three kids in the back to get full enjoyment out of it. Love your work.
A really want to mk this! It look delicious. But my ques is, can coconut flour be substituted for almond flour? After trying coconut
Flour numerous times I really dont like it at all.
Thanks!
You could try it, but I am not sure what the ratios would be if you were to substitute the almond flour.
As much as I hate this song (sorry every one) but you made me actually listen to it. Hahaha that was hilarious. And I though am the only one sing like this on the car.
Oh the banana bread turned to be awesome. Thanks
One more thing. You are agreat cooker, forget about singing :))
Jk
HAHAHAHA Thank you for the laughs… I will stick to my day job!
This is the first recipe we’ve tried from The Paleo Kitchen book that arrived yesterday and it is soooo good! Will definitely make it again. We’ve substituted butter for coconut oil and added some pecans. Thank you!
Thank you so much…. great idea to add some crunch!
I’ve made your regular paleo banana bread & love it. It is a breakfast staple for me, so thank you very much!
Do you think either of the banana bread recipes could be made with zucchini?
How are Enjoy Life chips paleo? Don’t they have cane sugar? Sorry if this has been asked before but didn’t get an answer from Google.
You can always replace with your favorite dark chocolate. This is so people have options, we personally use enjoy life chips ALL the time.
***I tried to send this to you through your “Contact” link, but the email failed to send so I’m just posting it as a comment here instead! :)***
Hi! I just listened to the podcast from Paleohacks that you were a guest on. I had never heard of you before (I’m fairly new to this Paleo thing myself – one month in and LOVING it!), but you so strongly impacted me that I felt compelled to contact you and share. Your positive outlook on life and contagious spirit is amazing!! I absolutely love your attitude about life. I don’t know if you truly realize how inspiring you are and how many people you can help with the message you bring. It was exactly what I needed to hear!
I also have recovered from an eating disorder. I struggled with anorexia along with self-harm for several years, been in treatment several times, and have basically lived through the hell that goes along with all of that. I finally got to the point where I could be semi-“normal” with food and eating, but now I can say that I’ve gone a step further and have been truly embracing my health and my body, and caring for and nourishing it like it deserves. It’s such a different mindset than just “eat normally and be recovered.” I am the happiest I’ve ever been! I’ve been married to the love of my life for almost 3 years now (who is actually joining the Marines! Shipping to basic in August), and life couldn’t be better. :) I dream of making a difference in other people’s lives much like what you’re doing now. It’s hard to know where to start, but I figure I can’t go wrong starting with me. :) Anyway, just wanted to tell you that you inspired the heck out of me today and I really connected with everything you were saying! So thank you, and I look forward to following you and being inspired some more!! And who knows, maybe someday I’ll have my own blog or something (since I loooove to cook!), and I can inspire you back. :)
Have an amazing day!
-Bethany
Hi George, I just wanted to say that I love your blog–it was very helpful to me when I started Paleo over a year ago. I have made so many of your recipes and love them. This banana bread is fantastic! I made it as written the first two times (except I bake it in 3 mini loaf pans for about 35 minutes.) This last time, I used coconut oil to make it dairy free. I omitted the chocolate swirl and stirred 1 teaspoon cinnamon and the 1/2 cup of enjoy life chocolate chips into the batter. It was a big hit with my sister-in-law, who can’t have dairy. I like to mix this up in the blender–it gets the batter really smooth and then is easy to pour into the bread pans. Thanks again for the great recipes. I am excited to get your new cookbook!
My mom and I baked this earlier and just had a slice of it! Omggg it’s delicious! We used coconut oil instead of the butter and sun butter instead of almond butter. It’s so moist, it’s awesome :) We will definitely be making this again.
That sounds amazing. And yes, I’m glad you were able to make this dairy free by not using the butter.
This is wonderful bread! However, to increase the cinnamoniness (is that a word?), I will put a tsp of cinnamon into the banana batter as well. Thanks!
That sounds amazing. I love extra cinnamon
Tried your banana bread and it is delicious. Is your book going to have a Kindle or ny other digital format? I’m done buying paper.
Not at the moment :(
I bought the kindle version yesterday!
George…you are so awesome!! I just thought you should know…because you are! Thanks for all you do. Can’t wait to get the new book!!! And this recipe right here…oh boy…I want to try it this weekend…it looks uh-MAI-zing!
I came across this recipe and watched your Frozen video! I showed it to my 3 year old daughter! She thought it was so cool and she giggled the whole time! You’re awesome!!
Hehehe, glad I can make you both laugh :) Thanks!
I must’ve done something wrong! After 45 minutes bake time, my bread was a little jiggly so I baked it another 10 minutes. It looked much less jiggly when I took it out and let it cool in the pan for 15 minutes. When I turned it out, the outer edges were lovely but the center had the consistency of pancake batter! I looked up the recipe to make sure I’d copied it correctly and everything was as printed! Any ideas are very welcome because the cooked corners were delicious!
Two thoughts – first, have you checked your oven temp? Many are calibrated incorrectly. Second, what size eggs did you use? I use extra large, so I often add a small amount of extra coconut flour to George and juli’s recipes.
Hi, I have made this two times and both times had to cook it for an hour. So delicious though!
Well done, George and Juli! This bread is great! The chocolate cinnamon swirl makes it extra special. :) My favorite way to eat it is cold out of the fridge. Mmm…
OH YUM!! Just had a bit (from the middle) of this fabulous bread. Have you tried it with adding protein powder? This will become a favorite regular. Thanks!!
You’re so welcome. I don’t usually eat protein powder, so no. But let me know how it turns out :)
Made this last night, and it’s delicious! Just like the original recipe, my fear is I’m going to eat it all today! :)
The chocolate does make it a bit messier, though. I packed it for post-workout snacking and ended up with chocolate all over my fingers. Nom.
Yeah, I could see how it could melt. Throw it in the fridge? :)
This banana bread is amazing! My husband, who says that he doesn’t like banana bread at all, has been gobbling this up. My 3 year old helped me make this, and he loves it too! I did have to cook it for a few minutes longer than the recipe stated, but that could be because we live at a high altitude. Baking is always a little tricky here, but this turned out perfectly. Thanks for a great recipe that everyone in the family is loving.
Hehe I’m glad we could turn him ;) you’re so welcome ! ENJOY
Yoursinging made me smile-
I want to make this for my son. Can I make muffins ?
How long and what temp
Thank you
I made this last night, 2 loafs. Instead of doing a swirl, I added chunks of 100% cocoa and it was AMAZING. Also, no grass-fed butter, I substituted coconut oil, DELICIOUS!
Great Job on all of the baked goods. For those of us with a sweet-tooth, these recipes help out a lot. My current struggle is……… can I have a slice of banana bread & a lemon poppy seed muffin for breakfast?
Mmmmmmmmmmm so darn tasty!!!!!
I’m hiking this weekend up in the White Mountains (NH) and this banana bread looks like it will be a great pre-hike breakfast! I can’t wait to make it. Just wondering does it have the same consistency as your other banana bread? I make your other banana bread to pack for hikes etc. and it holds up pretty well. Thanks for all the great recipes!
Yep, it should hold up similarly :)
Made this with the kids last night. Cut down the cinnamon a little and it was amazing!!
Awesome thank you :)
I pre-ordered your new cookbook this weekend. I am so making this for my grandkids coming into town this weekend.
Can’t wait to start mine and my husbands new way of eating. I finally have got him on board.
Thanks
so making this tomorrow. will have to use almond flour as i make it from my bulk almonds while i never buy coconut flour. might come back w/ measurements on that for those w/ that question!
chocolate and cinnamon?! yes please! i’m in a paleo scone rut for simplicity, but this is whatever the equivalent to ear-worm for the recipe side of my brain!
I make his original banana bread recipe often and I always use 1/2 cup almond flour in place of coconut flour. Some might say this will throw the consistency off and won’t work but try it and see for yourself.
I thought sugar was not allowed on paleo. The chocolate chips have sugar (evaporated cane juice).
I don’t eat 100% strict Paleo. I like to indulge once in a while
I really want to make this tonight but I don’t have the chocolate chips. Can I just use some cocoa powder with the honey?
You could try that. Let us know how it turns out :)
Sounds delicious. Can I use almond flour instead and do I need to make any adjustments and what if I want to make muffins?
Thank you
Can I use clarified butter in place of grass-fed butter? This looks amazing and I can’t wait to make it! Thank you so much for sharing
Yes, go for it!
I just made this bread this afternoon, and it’s amazing. Super easy to make, which is good because I’m not the greatest in the kitchen! This recipe sealed the deal – I preordered my copy of The Paleo Kitchen today!
AWESOME! I hope you love it :)
This looks delicious and I can’t wait to make it! If I wanted to make this nut free for my son to bring to school, could I use sunbutter instead of almond butter?
You sure can. Love sunbutter. It may change the coloring a little bit though :)
I want to try this! Unfortunately I cannot have Enjoy Life since I’m allergic to evaporated cane juice (or any cane sugar). What can I use instead for the chocolate chips?
Also I’m assuming I can use coconut oil instead of grass-fed butter? I’m also allergic to dairy.
You sure can :) let me know how you like it!
I’m going to use cocoa instead… we use it a lot.
Kudos to you for having the nerve to sing!! You are adorable, and have the unique talent of being able to sing the melody, the harmony, and completely off key at any given time!
Thanks for the inspiration to live a healthy life, take risks, and not be afraid to be silly in public.
That’s all I can hope for. Thanks so much. Hugs and love… and bacon ;)
This bread… oh, this bread! I brought it to a BBQ yesterday and, truth be told, I was a little nervous. I sat the bread down the the rest of the desserts (cakes, brownies, cookies, etc), none of which were paleo. I had SO many people come up to me asking about the bread and wanting the recipe. It was a huge success.
(I also want to note that I ran out of coconut flour mid-assembly so I used some tapioca starch and it worked fine)