Easy Banana Bread with Pancake Mix

Get ready to elevate your baking game with our yummy Banana Bread with Pancake Mix! We've simplified the process with the help of pancake mix, ensuring a fun and fuss-free baking experience!

Enjoy the burst of sweet banana flavors blended into a moist quick bread that'll have you reaching for seconds. It's the perfect treat to brighten up any day!

Are you like me and you always have the best intentions when it comes to bananas? I'll buy a bunch, my kids will eat one or two, and then the rest just keep getting browner and browner on my counter. When that happens, turn those overripe bananas into banana bread!

Homemade banana bread is so fun to make and so easy! There are also so many different variations of it! You can make banana bread without butter, add your sourdough discard to sourdough banana bread, and double chocolate banana bread for the chocoholic in your life!

Wondering what to serve with banana bread? I compiled a list of recipes to serve with banana bread to help you out!

Why You'll Love Banana Bread with Pancake Mix

• It's made with a few simple ingredients. This easy recipe is made with your favorite pancake mix which takes a lot of time and ingredients out of the equation. No need to run around the kitchen searching for tons of ingredients, the pancake mix is the secret ingredient in this easy recipe! This pancake mix recipe isn't the only thing you can make with pancake mix! You can make delicious cookies like peanut butter cookies with pancake mix. Double chocolate pancakes with pancake mix is perfect for the chocolate lover and pumpkin waffles with pancake mix is amazing during the Fall!
• It can be made ahead of time. This is a great quick bread recipe to make on the weekends and to enjoy with a little bit of butter for a delicious breakfast, afternoon snack, or dessert. In no time at all you'll have the smell of fresh baked banana bread in your house with minimal effort!
• It's made in one bowl! This one bowl wonder is fantastic. Just like my one bowl chocolate chip banana bread, you don't have to worry about a lot of bowls and measuring cups. Mix everything together in one bowl and then bake it up.

What Bananas are Best for Banana Bread?

We all buy that bunch of bananas, and there are inevitably two or three left over that get too soft and brown to eat. I know my kids refuse to eat them unless they are perfectly yellow. A little brown and forget it!

To make banana bread though, those bananas are perfect! Brown, spotty, and a little mushy have the perfect amount of sweetness and are easily mashed, to make the most delicious banana bread.

Ingredients to Gather

• Bananas. We'll be using 3 overripe bananas. You want them to be very brown and spotty, but not black.
• Sugar. Both brown sugar and white sugar will be used in this recipe. The bananas will add some natural sweetness to the recipe too.
• Melted butter. To add a little bit of fat to the banana bread. This will keep the bread soft and fluffy.
• Bisquick. Feel free to use one of your favorite pancake mixes in this delicious banana bread recipe. You can use Kodiak cakes, Aunt Jemima, homemade Bisquick, or your favorite store brand. Pancake mix is great because it already have all purpose flour, your leavening agent, and salt for a little extra flavor. I love making funnel cake with pancake mix too!
• Flavorings. We will be using a teaspoon vanilla extract and two teaspoon ground cinnamon.

See printable recipe card for full recipe information on ingredients and quantities.

How To Make Banana Bread with Pancake Mix

Lynn's Tip! Use a potato masher to mash the bananas. This will make quick work of getting those bananas to be pureed. A hand mixer will also work and can be used to mix the batter together.

Variations

• Add 1 cup of chocolate chips to make a chocolate chip banana bread.
• Mix in one cup of chopped walnuts for banana nut bread.
• Instead of brown sugar and white sugar, make this classic banana bread recipe with maple syrup.
• Substitute ½ cup of coconut oil, canola oil, or vegetable oil for the butter to make a dairy free banana bread.
• Swirl in ½ cup of peanut butter for a peanut butter banana bread.
• Add ½ cup of white chocolate chips or cinnamon chips for added sweetness!
• Use a bag of pancake mix! To make this even easier, use a bag of your favorite complete pancake mix and mix in the mashed banana. Pour it into a prepared loaf pan and bake, just like my 4 ingredient banana bread which uses cake mix.

Tips and Tricks

• Banana bread is known to stick to the sides of the loaf pan, so it's really important to grease it well. To make it even easier to get the banana bread out of the pan, line the loaf pan with parchment paper. The parchment paper will make it really easy to lift out the bread when it's done.
• If the top of the banana bread is browning too fast in the oven, take a piece of aluminum foil and tent it over the loaf pan. That will stop the browning on the top of the bread.
• Though it might be tempting to cut this bread as soon as you take it out of the oven, it's really important to let it cool. If you don't allow the bread to cool, it will likely fall apart when you cut into it.

How to Quickly Ripen Bananas

• To ripen bananas faster than they normally would, place the bananas in a brown bag with an apple. The gases from the skin of the apple speeds up the ripening process. This way will take about a day to ripen.
• If you are in a pinch and want to ripen bananas quickly, preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Place the whole banana on a baking sheet and place them in the oven for 15 minutes. When the skins turn completely black they are ready! Carefully peel the banana and let it cool, then proceed with the recipe.
• Otherwise you can do what we do, leave them out on the counter at room temperature until we forget about them and then make banana bread! Those bananas are great for banana bread with cake flour or banana pancakes with Bisquick too!

Storage Tips

Place the leftover banana bread in an airtight container and it will stay fresh on the counter for 3-4 days. You can also keep the banana bread in a Ziploc bag on the counter.

This banana bread freezes beautifully. Allow the banana bread to cool to room temperature on a wire rack and then wrap the bread in plastic wrap, and then place the loaf of bread in a Ziploc bag. Freeze for up to 3 months. To defrost, take the banana bread out of the freezer and allow it to defrost on the counter.

Banana Bread with Pancake Mix FAQs