Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray an 8” x 4” loaf pan. Remember to start preheating first thing, so that the oven is sitting at 350°F for a while instead of right after it’s done preheating (because ovens LIE about being ready)!
In a mixing bowl, mash the ripe bananas until completely smooth.
Stir the melted butter into the mashed bananas.
Mix in the baking soda and salt.
Stir in the sugar, beaten egg, and vanilla extract.
Mix in the flour. Do not overmix.
Slap in those chocolate chips!
Pour the batter into your prepared loaf pan. Bake for about 45 minutes at 350°F, or until a toothpick or wooden skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. A few dry crumbs are okay; streaks of wet batter are not. If the outside of the loaf is browned but the center is still wet, loosely tent the loaf with foil and continue baking until the loaf is fully baked.
Note: Wrapped well, the banana bread will keep at room temperature for 4 days. For longer storage, refrigerate the loaf up to 5 days, or freeze it .
Note: Look into the other mixing methods, like combining melted butter and sugar separately before adding or combining all wet ingredients then all dry ingredients at the end at once. Makes the bread a little different each time!