Chocolate Tahini Swirl Banana Bread
the best banana bread you'll ever have 🍌
One of my favorite cookies is a chocolate chip tahini cookie. The way chocolate and tahini balance each other is unbeatable. Over the weekend when I had some ripe bananas to use, I felt inspired to try that same combo in banana bread.
It worked even better than I expected. The loaf turned out soft, subtly sweet from the bananas, and perfectly balanced by the savory, nutty tahini. It’s ideal for breakfast, dessert, or a mid-day snack. It’s the best banana bread I’ve ever made and I’ve made A LOT of banana bread. You should definitely try it too! 🍌✨
Ingredients
Dry
205 g (about 1½ cups + 2 tbsp) all-purpose flour
1¼ tsp baking soda
½ tsp of kosher salt
Wet
90 g (½ cup, packed) dark brown sugar
60 g (¼ cup) tahini, well-stirred
40 g (3 Tbsp) unsalted butter, room temperature
70 g (⅓ cup) Greek yogurt, room temperature
2 large eggs (~100 g total), room temperature
400–420 g (about 4 medium) very ripe bananas, mashed (≈1½ cups)
1 tsp vanilla extract
Tahini–Chocolate Swirl
2 Tbsp tahini
2–3 Tbsp chocolate spread (I use Nutella)
Pinch of salt
👩🍳 Preparation
1. Prep and Mix Dry Ingredients
Preheat oven to 185°C (365°F).
Grease an 1lb loaf pan (I use this one) and line with parchment paper.
Whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl.
2. Cream wet ingredients
Beat together the brown sugar, tahini, butter, and yogurt in a stand mixer (or by hand) light and fluffy (3–4 minutes in a mixer). Add eggs one at a time, mixing after each. Stir in vanilla. Make sure all your ingredients are at room temperature.
3. Combine
Add dry ingredients, mixing just until combined. Fold in the mashed bananas gently until fully combined. Avoid over-mixing.
4. Make the swirl
In a separate bowl, whisk together tahini, chocolate spread and salt until smooth and pourable. Pour half of the batter into the pan, drizzle half the swirl, then layer the remaining batter and swirl again. Use a knife or skewer to make gentle figure-eight motions for a marbled look.
5. Bake
Bake for 65–75 minutes, tenting loosely with foil after 45 minutes if the top browns quickly. The loaf is ready when a skewer inserted in the center comes out with just a few moist crumbs.
6. Cool
Let cool in the pan for 30 minutes, then transfer to a rack. Cool completely before slicing to allow the crumb to set.
This banana bread keeps well wrapped at room temperature for up to 3 days or a week in the fridge. I usually freeze slices and warm them up when I want one, it tastes freshly baked every time