Easy Banana Bread is the simplest homemade banana bread recipe ever! Made with ripe bananas, a cake mix & 2 other simple ingredients.
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Easy Banana Bread is the simplest recipe with the best results. If you need a tasty homemade snack in less than 30 minutes, look no further! With 4 simple ingredients it couldn’t be easier to make this light, moist banana bread.
How to make Easy Banana Bread
Here’s how you make Banana Bread: First, preheat the oven to 350º F.
Then, lightly spray an 8″ loaf pan with cooking spray. I like to use the non-stick spray made specifically for baked goods. It contains flour in addition to the oil, so breads and cakes don’t stick to the pan. Set the pan aside.
In a mixer, stir all the ingredients for the bread, starting with the ripe bananas, then the oil and eggs, then the cake mix. You won’t mix long- it takes only about 1 minute to get the batter ready!
Pour batter into your prepared pan. You can add fresh banana slices and a dust of cinnamon sugar. It looks gorgeous and adds even more banana flavor.
Bake for 50 minutes, until bread is golden and internal temperature registers 200º F. This is one of my favorite tricks for baking quick bread! If you test the internal temperature, you can be assured that the inside of your bread is sufficiently baked, which means it won’t collapse as it cools!
Remove bread from oven and let cool in the pan before you take it out.
How can I ripen bananas quickly?
Ripe bananas are used in banana bread because they have a stronger, more pronounced flavor. There are several ways to help bananas ripen faster so that you can make banana bread. Here are my preferred methods:
- Ripen bananas in the oven. Heat the oven to 350º F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place bananas peel and all on the parchment and bake for 30-40 minutes, until peels are black & shiny. Let cool 1 hour and proceed with banana bread recipe.
- Ripen bananas in a paper bag. If you have more time, place bananas in a paper bag with an apple. Fold and secure closed. I usually leave bananas like this for a full day, then proceed with the Yogurt Banana Bread recipe.
How to keep your banana nut bread from sinking in the middle
This happens all the time when making banana bread. Often it’s because I’ve over mixed the batter. Quick bread (referring to a bread recipe that doesn’t use yeast) does not like to be stirred too much, so try to just barely mix all the ingredients together. Another culprit could be overfilling the pan. The bread pan should be only half full each time. As always, make sure your leavening ingredients- baking soda and baking powder- aren’t too old. Baking soda should only be on your shelf for 6-9 months before purchasing new. I purchase it in bulk (I bake a lot!) and refrigerate it to help it last longer.
Directions for making Easy Banana Bread recipe:
- Preheat oven to 350º F. Spray pan and set aside.
- Peel ripe bananas into a mixer. Mix for 20 seconds, until mostly smooth.
- Add oil and eggs. Mix.
- Add cake mix. Mix for 1 minute.
- Pour batter into prepared pan, until the pan is 1/2 full.
- Bake for 50 minutes, until bread is golden and internal temperature registers 200º F.
- Let cool for 15 minutes, then remove bread from pan to cool completely.
AVOID SUNKEN BREAD
The easiest and best way to avoid sunken bread is to use a cooking thermometer to check the inside of the loaf. Fully cooked bread will register 200°F on a thermometer. My all-time favorite thermometer is the Thermapen. It’s super fast and incredibly durable. Another great cooking thermometer is the ThermoPop which is a more basic version that works just as well!
Easy Banana Bread Recipe
Ingredients
Ingredients
- 1 box yellow cake mix 15.25 oz
- 3 eggs
- 1/3 cup canola oil or coconut
- 4 ripe bananas plus additional banana slices for top, if desired
- 1/2 cup walnuts or pecans chopped, optional
Instructions
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350º F. Spray bread pan with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.
- Peel ripe bananas into a mixer. Mix for 20 seconds, until mostly smooth.
- Mix in oil and eggs. Mix an additional 10 seconds.
- Add cake mix. Mix for 1 minute. Pour batter into prepared pan, until the pan is 1/2 full.
- Bake for 50 minutes, until bread is lightly browned and internal temperature registers 200º F. Let cool for 15 minutes, then remove bread from pan to cool completely.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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Best Bread Pan?
I bake a lot of bread and the pans I prefer are either ceramic, glass or cast iron. These pans will bake bread more evenly and release the bread more easily after baking. I don’t like using dark or nonstick pans because the bread cooks unevenly. It darkens on the outside before the bread is cooked on the inside, so the coloring is uneven. Read more about which bread pan is the best here!
Can Easy Banana Bread be frozen?
I love freezing loaves of banana bread! How you prepare banana bread for freezing really depends on how long you intent to keep it frozen. If you just want to freeze it for a week or two, I’d wrap it in plastic wrap or foil and place the loaf in a large freezer ziplock bag. Most often, when I bake banana bread to freeze it, I’ll bake mini loaves so that they fit in the ziplock bag easier. If you want to freeze it for 2-6 months, I’d wrap it more securely, making sure it’s airtight and wrapping it in a double layer of foil or plastic wrap, then place it in a ziplock bag.
More amazing quick bread recipes that we love:
- Best Zucchini Quick Bread recipe
- Easy Lemon Quick Bread
- Yogurt Banana Bread recipe
- Dutch Apple Quick Bread
- Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Quick Bread
- Caramel Banana Nut Bread
- Best Ever Pumpkin Quick Bread
- Fresh Lemon Buttermilk Quick Bread
- Frosted Caramel Apple Quick Bread
- Best Cinnamon Raisin Quick Bread
- Peppermint Chocolate Quick Bread recipe
- Easy Cranberry Orange Quick Bread
- Cinnamon Roll Quick Bread recipe
This Easy Banana Bread is so easy and so tasty, it’s hard to believe it only has 4 ingredients. Made with cake mix this cake mix banana bread is a definite favorite.
Christine Johnston says
Can this be made with gluten free cake mix? Has anyone tried that?
Jessica says
I think it’s worth a shot!
Jenny A.D says
I made one of your Baking Recioe …Easy(white) Bread sooo amazing ,its my first time made it just NOW after i read some of the ingredients and instruction.I can tell ,lets say BOOSTFUL proud to say that my bread is very very Gorgeous ,and taste hmmm so yummy .thank you so much sharing with us your very easy ways of baking bread..im so happy and glad that so happen and coincedence i read your topic.
Jessica says
So glad you liked the recipes Jenny!!
Jessica M says
How long would you bake this in a 9 by 13 inch pan or glass dish?
Nellie says
I haven’t tried baking this in a 9X13, but I would guess the cooking time would be around 25-30 minutes. Just keep a close eye on it!
Mrs. Patricia karcher says
What kind of pan do you for the mini loaves? I am making the bread tomorrow and will let you know how it went! Thank you for all the information and different things to make. (I am 72 years young and) making bread for the 1st time!!!
Nellie says
There are mini loaf pans that you can buy. They are usually about 3″X5″.