Banana Bread with Pancake Mix

This Banana Bread with Pancake Mix recipe is super soft and moist and full of delicious banana flavor. Fast and easy one bowl quick bread recipe with simple ingredients you might already have. 

Jump to:

• Why You're Going to Love This Recipe
• Ingredients
• How to Make Banana Bread with Pancake Mix
• How to Ripen Bananas in the Oven
• How to Make Banana Bread with Frozen Bananas
• Storage & Freezing Instructions
• Success Tips
• FAQs
• Stuff I Use
• More Delicious Recipes with Bananas
• Let's Stay in Touch
• Banana Bread Recipe with Pancake Mix

Craving banana bread, but you're all out of flour?  Guess what? You can use Bisquick pancake mix to make the most delicious banana bread recipe!

After all, Bisquick is made from all purpose flour, vegetable oil, baking soda, salt, and sugar -- things you were going to put in your banana bread anyway. 

Just add a few basic pantry ingredients, and you're minutes away from sliding a pan of banana bread into your oven. 

One bowl banana bread with Bisquick is such an easy recipe, and as moist and tender as any classic banana bread recipe, it just might become your new go-to!

No one will guess pancake mix is your secret ingredient ;). 

Be sure to try my Fluffy Banana Pancakes with Pancake Mix and Pumpkin Pancakes with Pancake Mix next! 

Why You're Going to Love This Recipe

• Easy one-bowl Bisquick banana bread recipe
• Quick recipe with minimal prep time 
• Great way to make soft and moist banana bread, even if you're out of flour!

Ingredients

Please see the recipe card at the bottom of the post for the full list of ingredients. 

Bananas. You'll need 3-4 large bananas. Overripe bananas with brown or black peels are ideal for banana bread because they are sweeter and have the best flavor.

⭐If your bananas aren't quite ready yet, you can "ripen" them in the oven. You can also use frozen bananas. Keep reading for tips on how to do both. 

Brown sugar. Brown sugar adds moisture and rich molasses flavor to the banana bread. 

Oil. I use canola oil, a neutral-flavored oil. But any kind of vegetable oil will work. 

Cinnamon. One teaspoon ground cinnamon perfectly complements the bananas and adds warm and cozy flavor.  

Bisquick Pancake & Baking Mix. This recipe has been tested with Original and Heart Smart Bisquick pancake mixes. 

Chocolate chips, optional. Chocolate chips are awesome in banana bread. If using chocolate chips, I recommend mini chocolate chips because they disperse more evenly throughout the bread and don't sink. 

Nuts, optional. If you like nuts in your banana bread, stir ½ cup of chopped walnuts, pecans, or macadamia nuts into the batter at the very end. 

How to Make Banana Bread with Pancake Mix

1. Prep the oven and loaf pan. 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9 x 5 loaf pan with parchment paper or nonstick cooking spray. 

2. Mash the bananas. 

Place bananas in a large bowl and mash them with a fork or potato masher. 

3. Add the wet ingredients. 

To the mashed banana, add the brown sugar, oil, eggs, vanilla, and cinnamon. Stir until well combined.

4. Add the pancake mix. 

Add the Bisquick mix one cup at a time, stirring after each addition. Stir until just combined. Optional, stir in ½ cup mini chocolate chips.  

5. Bake, cool, enjoy!  

Pour banana bread batter into the prepared loaf pan. If using chocolate chips, sprinkle a few over the top of the batter.

Bake until golden brown for 55-65 minutes. If the top gets too brown before it's done baking, loosely tent the top with foil.

Banana bread is done when the internal temperature reaches 200 degrees or a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with moist crumbs. 

Place the pan on a wire baking rack to cool for 10-15 minutes. Remove the bread from the pan and let it cool on the wire rack the rest of the way. 

Pancake mix banana bread is delicious with a simple smear of soft butter. For a fun twist, add a drizzle of maple syrup (it's made from pancake mix, after all!). 

If you can resist, try saving some banana bread for tomorrow -- it tastes even better the next day!

How to Ripen Bananas in the Oven

What to do when your sweet tooth craves banana bread, but your bananas are underripe? With minimal effort, you can use your oven to ripen your bananas. Here's how. 

• Preheat the oven to 300. 
• Place bananas (unpeeled) on a baking sheet lined with foil or parchment for easy clean-up. 
• Bake for about 20 minutes until the peels turn completely black. 
• Let the bananas cool completely, scoop out the flesh, and mash. If there's a lot of liquid, strain it off, or it can affect the texture of your baked goods. 
• Use your oven-ripened bananas for banana cake, bread, muffins, and pancakes. 

How to Make Banana Bread with Frozen Bananas

Feeling pressure to do something with all those overripe bananas? No need. Just throw them in the freezer -- whole, with peels on. 

Because you can use frozen bananas to make banana bread when you're good and ready. Just follow these easy steps!

• Defrost the bananas.Place the frozen bananas on a plate and let them sit at room temperature or defrost them in the microwave.
  • To defrost frozen bananas in the microwave, place them on a microwave-safe plate and heat them at 50% power for 3-4 minutes or until they're completely thawed. 
• Strain off the liquid. Thawed bananas are very soft and very watery, and all that liquid can make banana bread dense and heavy. Mash the bananas and strain off the liquid (unless you're following a recipe that specifically says otherwise). After straining off the liquid, the mashed banana you're left with should be about the same consistency as bananas that were never frozen.  

Storage & Freezing Instructions

Store banana bread in an airtight container or wrapped in plastic wrap at room temperature for 3-4 days or in the fridge for about a week. 

Bisquick banana bread freezes beautifully -- by the loaf or individual slices. 

• Let the loaf cool completely before freezing.
• Wrap a full or partial loaf or individual slices in 2 layers of plastic wrap and again in aluminum foil. 
• Place the foil packet into a large freezer bag or freezer-safe airtight container.
• Freeze for up to 3 months. 
• Thaw at room temperature or in the fridge. 

Success Tips

Measure Bisquick mix the same way you measure flour -- spoon it into a measuring cup and level off the top. Don't scoop straight out of the bag of pancake mix. 

Be careful not to overmix the batter, as it can result in a dense texture. 

Did you know banana bread is even better the next day? If possible, try to save a little for tomorrow and see just how moist and flavorful it gets overnight!

FAQs

Stuff I Use

I like to use a digital instant-read thermometer to find out what's going on in everything from lemon blackberry bread to BBQ ribs. This one is waterproof and magnetized. 

My Wilton loaf pan is nonstick and has nice big handles, so it's easy to hold onto the pan without putting your oven-mitted thumb in the batter :/. 

More Delicious Recipes with Bananas

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