This cake mix banana bread takes less than 5 minutes to put together. With just 5 ingredients, you can quickly make a sweet, banana-packed bread that is perfect for breakfast or dessert!
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Pin RecipeMy kids absolutely adore banana bread, but sometimes I don’t have all the ingredients (or time) to make recipes like Pumpkin Banana Bread, Double Chocolate Banana Bread, or Banana Nut Bread. Cake Mix Banana Bread to the rescue!
This quick banana bread recipe makes it so easy to make the perfect loaf. I whip up this recipe in the morning while I sip my coffee and, by the time my kids wake up, the fresh, homemade cake mix banana bread is just coming out of the oven. Waking up to a warm slice of banana bread is the best way to start the day.
Easy Cake Mix Banana Bread Recipe
Have you heard of the banana bread cake mix hack? It’s a baking trend that I absolutely love. Using yellow cake mix as the base of the recipe is such a smart way to make banana bread without a lot of ingredients. All you really need is a yellow cake mix, eggs, and ripe bananas! No need to measure flour or dig out your baking powder when you use this recipe!
I add some cinnamon and vanilla to add a little more flavor and really make the taste of the bananas pop. If you want especially decadent cake mix banana bread, add some mini chocolate chips to the batter. It will be hard to tell if the banana bread is a dessert or a breakfast! I say, just eat it all day long.
(Be sure to try my One-Bowl Banana Bread too!)
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Ingredients
See recipe card below this post for ingredient quantities and full instructions.
- Yellow cake mix – I like Duncan Hines classic yellow cake mix, as it’s very moist and flavorful. However, any brand of yellow cake mix will work!
- Eggs
- Ripe bananas – The more brown spots on your banana, the better. When bananas turn brown, it means they have a higher sugar content. The browner the banana, the sweeter it is. Brown bananas are also softer and mash better, blending into the banana bread batter perfectly. (Here’s how to ripen bananas!)
- Vanilla extract
- Ground cinnamon – Cinnamon and banana are a great match. However, you can skip the cinnamon if you’d like. The cake mix banana bread will still be delicious.
- Mini chocolate chips – I love banana bread with chocolate chips. Mini chocolate chips are nice and small, giving you lots of chocolate in every bite.
Variations
- Use white cake mix in place of yellow cake mix. If using white cake mix, increase the vanilla extract to 1 tablespoon to help boost the flavor.
- Four mashed bananas will be about 3 cups of mashed bananas. You can choose to measure the mash if you’d like!
- Replace the mini chocolate chips with 1 cup of chopped walnuts to make cake mix banana nut bread.
- Add 2 tablespoons of melted butter to the batter to make a really moist banana bread with cake mix.
How to Make Cake Mix Banana Bread
- Prep your equipment: Preheat the oven to 350ºF and then grease a 9” bread loaf pan.
- Make the batter: Whisk the cake mix, eggs, banana mash, cinnamon, and vanilla together in a large bowl. The batter will be thick. Stir in the chocolate chips.
- Bake the bread: Pour the banana bread batter into the prepared cake pan and bake the bread for 50 minutes. The top of the bread will be a deep golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the bread will come out clean.
- Cool and slice: Let the banana bread cool in the pan for at least 10 minutes before removing the bread from the pan and serving.
Quick Tip
This recipe can easily be doubled or even tripled. It freezes well, so bake a few loaves then freeze some for another day. You will be really glad when you have a ready-to-eat homemade banana bread loaf the next time a craving hits!
How to Store Banana Bread
Once your banana bread is cooled, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and store the bread at room temperature for up to 4 days. The soft, moist texture of the cake mix banana bread is best when kept at room temperature. You can store the bread in the fridge for up to a week but it will be a little more firm.
You can definitely freeze cake mix banana bread as well. Wrap the loaf in plastic wrap and then place it in a gallon-sized freezer bag for an extra layer of protection. Freeze the bread for up to three months. Let the frozen bread sit at room temperature for 2-3 hours to thaw, then slice and enjoy! I like to reheat banana bread slices in the microwave for about 15 seconds which makes the bread warm and soft.
FAQs
Too much flour is often the reason why banana bread is not moist. Using cake mix to make banana bread is a great way to solve this problem. Banana bread will also be more moist when you use overripe bananas. Be sure to use bananas that are almost completely brown and your bread will be soft and moist.
Too much banana will make the bread dense and chewy. It may even look undercooked. Use 4 regular-sized, ripe bananas for this cake mix banana bread recipe or 3 cups of mashed banana.
A heavy banana bread may indicate that the batter was over-mixed. This can happen very easily when making classic banana bread, but using cake mix should help with this issue. Banana bread may also be heavy when it is undercooked. Be sure to use a toothpick to check the center of the bread. The toothpick should come out cleanly and not be wet.
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Cake Mix Banana Bread
Ingredients
- 1 15-ounce box yellow cake mix
- 2 eggs
- 4 ripe bananas, mashed
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 3/4 cup mini chocolate chips (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9” bread loaf pan and set aside.
- Add the cake mix, eggs, mashed banana, cinnamon and vanilla to a large mixing bowl and stir into a smooth batter.
- Stir in the chocolate chips, if using.
- Pour the batter into the prepared bread loaf pan then bake for 50 minutes. The center of the banana bread should spring back to the touch and a toothpick inserted in the center of the banana bread should come out cleanly, with no sticky batter.
- Let the banana bread cool in the pan for at least 10 minutes. Then, flip the bread out of the pan to slice and enjoy while warm.
Notes
- Mash the bananas in a small bowl with a fork. You can also use a food processor to blend them into a smooth puree.
- Be sure to use very ripe bananas; the more brown on the banana peel, the better!
