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This chocolate loaf bread is soft and moist with cocoa powder and mini chocolate chips giving you chocolate in every slice. It’s a quick bread, so there’s no yeast or rising time, and everything comes together with basic baking ingredients. I like using mini chocolate chips because they spread through the batter better than larger ones. Save some for the top so you get a little melted chocolate in almost every bite.
Why You’ll Love It
This chocolate bread recipe combines cocoa powder and mini chocolate chips in a soft, moist loaf that’s mixed by hand and baked in a 9 x 5-inch pan.
Double chocolate: Cocoa powder flavors the batter, while mini chocolate chips add little pockets of melted chocolate throughout the loaf.
No mixer needed: The batter can be mixed by hand, which also makes it easier to avoid overmixing.
Soft and moist: Oil, milk and hot water give the loaf a moist texture that stays soft after it cools.
Easy to freeze: Slice the cooled loaf before freezing so you can thaw a piece or two at a time.
You might also like pumpkin crunch bread, chocolate chip bread, banana bread crumb cake, apple pumpkin bread or one of my all-time favorites, this cherry bread!
Chocolate Loaf Bread Ingredients
A complete list of ingredients and amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
All-purpose flour: Provides the structure for the loaf. Measure it carefully so the bread doesn’t turn out dry.
Unsweetened cocoa powder: Gives the batter its chocolate flavor without adding extra sweetness.
Baking powder and baking soda: Both are used to help the loaf rise and keep the crumb light.
Mini chocolate chips: I like mini chips here because they distribute more evenly through the batter. Some go into the loaf and the rest are sprinkled on top.
Oil: Keeps the loaf moist even after it cools. Use a neutral-flavored oil.
Eggs: Add structure and richness to the batter.
Granulated sugar: Sweetens the loaf and balances the unsweetened cocoa.
Milk: Adds moisture to the batter.
Hot water: Loosens the batter and helps bring out the cocoa flavor.
Vanilla extract: Rounds out the chocolate flavor without making the loaf taste strongly of vanilla.
How to Make Chocolate Loaf Bread
For more detailed instructions with weights and measurements, jump to the printable recipe card.
Combine the dry ingredients: Whisk the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt together. Stir in ½ Cup mini chocolate chips.
Mix the wet ingredients: Whisk the oil and eggs together in a separate large bowl, then mix in the sugar.
Combine the mixtures: Mix half the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, followed by the milk and vanilla. Add the remaining dry ingredients and mix just until incorporated.
Add the hot water: Stir in the hot water just until the batter is evenly combined.
Fill the pan: Pour the batter into a greased 9 x 5-inch loaf pan and sprinkle the remaining mini chocolate chips over the top.
Bake: Bake at 325°F for 50 to 60 minutes, until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out without wet batter.
Cool: Let the loaf cool before removing it from the pan and slicing.
Substitutions and Variations
Change the chocolate chips: Semi-sweet mini chocolate chips work well here, but dark or milk chocolate chips can be used instead.
Use regular chocolate chips: Roughly chop them before adding them so they’re closer in size to mini chocolate chips and less likely to sink.
Add nuts: Fold chopped walnuts or pecans into the batter along with the chocolate chips.
Try a different extract: Replace some or all of the vanilla with almond extract if you like chocolate and almond together.
Serving Suggestions
For brunch: Chocolate loaf bread is wonderful for brunch, perhaps paired with a breakfast skillet or banana split with berries.
As a snack: Enjoy a slice of this decadent chocolate bread with pumpkin spice Dalgona coffee.
As a dessert: Serve it with whipped cream and sliced strawberries, some homemade bourbon peach ice cream and candied pecans.
How to Store
Store: Keep the cooled loaf wrapped well or in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days.
Freeze: Freeze the whole loaf or individual slices for up to 3 months. Put parchment paper between slices if you want to remove them individually.
Thaw: Thaw individual slices at room temperature or thaw the whole loaf overnight in the refrigerator.
Reheat: Warm a slice briefly in the microwave if you want the chocolate chips soft and melty again.
Top Tips
Don’t overmix: I mix this batter by hand rather than using a hand mixer. Once the flour goes in, mix only until you don’t see dry streaks.
Use mini chocolate chips: They distribute more evenly through the loaf and are less likely to sink than full-size chips.
Save some for the top: Keep ¼ Cup of the chocolate chips aside and scatter them over the batter just before baking.
Check more than one spot: Melted chocolate on a toothpick can look like uncooked batter. If you’re unsure, test another spot near the center of the loaf.
Watch the pan size: Use the 9 x 5-inch loaf pan called for in the recipe. One reader’s loaf rose over the pan, so I wouldn’t use anything smaller.
Chocolate Loaf Recipe FAQs
Buttermilk should work in place of the milk, although I haven’t tested that substitution in this recipe. It will add a little tang and may slightly change the texture of the loaf.
A loaf can sink if the center isn’t completely baked before it comes out of the oven. Avoid opening the oven too early, and check the center in more than one spot because melted chocolate chips can make the toothpick test confusing. High altitude can also affect how a quick bread rises and bakes, so adjustments may be needed if you bake at a high elevation.
Chocolate Loaf Bread Recipe
Chocolate Loaf Bread
Equipment
- Loaf Pan 9 x 5-inch
Ingredients
- 1¼ Cups all purpose flour
- ½ Cup cocoa powder, unsweetened
- 2 Teaspoons baking powder
- 1 Teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ Teaspoon salt
- ¾ Cup mini chocolate chips
- ½ Cup oil
- 2 eggs
- 1 Cup granulated white sugar
- ¾ Cup milk
- ¼ Cup hot water
- 2 Teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325°F.
- Grease a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan and set aside.
- In a mixing bowl, whisk the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix well.
- Add ½ cup of the mini chocolate chips. Mix so they are coated with the dry mixture. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk the oil and eggs.
- Add the granulated sugar and mix well.
- Add half of the dry mixture to the egg mixture and mix just until combined.
- Add the milk and vanilla extract. Mix well.
- Add the remaining dry mixture and mix just until no dry streaks of flour remain.
- Add the hot water and mix just until incorporated.
- Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and spread evenly.
- Sprinkle the remaining ¼ cup of chocolate chips on top of the batter, don’t mix.
- Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs. If you hit melted chocolate, test another spot.
Notes
Use mini chocolate chips: They distribute more evenly through the loaf and are less likely to sink than full-size chips.
Save some for the top: Keep ¼ Cup of the chocolate chips aside and scatter them over the batter just before baking.
Check more than one spot: Melted chocolate on a toothpick can look like uncooked batter. If you’re unsure, test another spot near the center of the loaf.
Watch the pan size: Use the 9 x 5-inch loaf pan called for in the recipe. One reader’s loaf rose over the pan, so I wouldn’t use anything smaller.
Nutrition
This chocolate loaf bread is somewhere between a quick bread and a chocolate cake, with a soft crumb and plenty of chocolate chips throughout. I like it best once it’s completely cooled and easy to slice, although warming a piece later makes those little chocolate chips melty again. Keep a few chips for the top and don’t overmix the batter once the flour goes in.
Other Recipes to Try
Bella Bucchiotti
Bella Bucchiotti is a Canadian-based syndicated food, travel, and lifestyle writer, photographer, and creator at xoxoBella. She founded xoxoBella in 2015, where she shares her love for food, dogs, sustainability, fitness, crafts, outdoor adventures, travel, and philanthropy to encourage others to run the extra mile, try new recipes, visit unfamiliar places, and stand for a cause. Bella creates stress-free and family-friendly recipes for weeknight dinners and festive feasts.
Wish I had put a cookie sheet under this as it raised over the top and dripped onto the bottom of the oven. Has a good flavor. Mine did not turn out very well. It sank in the center. I have to consider that the issues were my fault as I made it as written and did not make any adjustments for the 6,300 altitude that I live at. Another thing I was confused about is that the directions said to add the oil at two different times. Confusting.
The oil goes in with the eggs. There was a typo in the recipe. I do think the altitude might have affected the way yours came out.
Can you use buttermilk instead of whole milk for this recipe?
I don’t see why not. That would add an interesting tang!
OK……..what do you do with the 1/4 cup of water? In the instructions it never says to add the water……am I just to look at it in the cup??????
So sorry, there was a mistake in the instructions. All fixed now!
This chocolate loaf was so rich and moist! My friends raved about it and they were even asking me for the recipe.
Can’t rate it yet
Can I use Oat Milk as an alternative for dairy milk?
While I have not tried oat milk in this specific recipe, being dairy free for many years and tried a whole lot of substitutions, I think it should work in this recipe. Let me know how it goes.