This 6-ingredient banana bread has one unique special ingredient... Pancake mix! Banana Bread made with Pancake Mix is so easy to make and comes out moist and delicious every time!
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Is there anything better than a loaf of freshly baked banana bread? How about a banana bread that takes just 6 ingredients and is SO easy to make?
This banana bread is made with pancake mix and takes just a few minutes to whip up the batter, pour it into the loaf pan, and pop it into the oven.
Then it's just a waiting game (of 35-45 minutes) until your entire house smells like delicious banana bread. And that's basically my idea of heaven.
🍞 Can you make banana bread with pancake mix?
You most certainly can! Most pancake mixes are simply made up of flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt (some of them have other ingredients added in or variations of these, but they're all fairly similar).
And this means that if you're using a pancake mix to make banana bread, you have 3 ingredients in one. I say 3 because I do recommend adding more sugar to the batter as you generally want banana bread to be sweeter than the typical pancakes. The bananas do add some sweetness, but I still recommend an additional ¼ cup granulated sugar.
I do have to note that using pancake mix to make banana bread doesn't make baking them that much easier and if you have all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt in your pantry, you can easily make donuts from scratch without a mix!
You can also make banana bread with cake mix... And that only takes 4 total ingredients since cake mix already has plenty of sugar in it.
💜 Why you'll love this recipe
This recipe is great because it's SO easy and only requires you getting 6 ingredients out. You can make it in no time at all, pop it in the oven, and soon your house will smell like delicious banana bread!
As you can see in the photos, this pancake mix banana bread is a bit smaller than the typical one you might make in a loaf pan of the same size, but it still rises nicely and has a perfect crispy top!
🗒Ingredients
You only need 6 ingredients for banana bread with pancake mix (please view recipe card below to see exact measurements and instructions):
- Pancake mix
- Unsalted butter
- Granulated sugar
- Large eggs
- Mashed ripe banana
- Vanilla extract
🍌 How to make banana bread with pancake mix
You'll follow the same process for this banana bread as you would with most other quick breads!
Make sure your banana are nice and mashed! You'll likely need about 2 large bananas. You can mash with a fork, but I love using my potato masher!
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and lightly butter a 9x5" metal loaf pan.
In the bowl of an electric mixer or in a large bowl with a hand mixer, beat butter until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes.
Add sugar and beat to combine.
Beat eggs into mixture one at a time.
Add mashed bananas and vanilla extract and mix until combined. Batter may look a bit lumpy.
With the mixer on low speed, beat in pancake mix until just combined, taking care not to over-mix.
Pour the batter into your prepared loaf pan.
And bake for 35-45 minutes, until edges are turning golden and a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean.
See how the banana bread doesn't come up to the top of the pan? But don't worry... It's going to be delicious!
Turn out onto a rack and let cool a bit before slicing.
Oh my yum! I was so happy with the consistency of this banana bread. It has a nice crisp top, but the slices are so moist and wonderful.
The banana bread is absolutely packed with delicious flavor and is the perfect amount of sweet. Plus... Nobody will guess you used pancake mix to make it!
💡Add-in ideas
This is a pretty basic banana bread, but if you want to jazz yours up a bit, you certainly can! Here are some ides for ingredients you can add into the batter:
- Chocolate chips
- Walnuts, pecans, or the nut of your choice
- Cinnamon
- Coconut
- Toffee bits
- Dried fruit
There's so much you can do to make this pancake mix banana bread perfectly suited to your family's tastes!
⏲ How to store
Banana bread doesn't last very long in my house, especially if company is in town! But you still want to store it so it stays fresh as long as possible.
I recommend storing this banana bread in an airtight container on your counter. Putting a paper towel on the bottom of the container can help absorb excess moisture. You can also put the loaf on a plate and cover it tightly with plastic wrap. It should stay fresh for 3-4 days.
I don't recommend putting it in your fridge as this will actually suck moisture out of the bread and make it drier faster.
🧊 Can I freeze?
I've had pretty good results freezing pancake mix banana bread, which makes it easy to bake ahead and enjoy later. Be sure your loaf is cooled completely before freezing.
I recommend wrapping the banana bread (loaf or slices) really well in plastic wrap and THEN in foil and placing it in a large Ziplock bag. Make sure to remove as much air from the bag as possible before putting in the freezer.
You can simply thaw the bread on your countertop when you're ready to enjoy.
🥞 What else can you make with mixes?
If you have a plethora of pancake mix and are looking for things to make with it, besides pancakes, I have lots of ideas for you! I also have lots of ideas for making more than just muffins with muffin mix. Here are some of my favorite recipes:
- Donuts with Pancake Mix
- Crepes with Pancake Mix
- Cookies with Pancake Mix
- Muffins with Pancake Mix
- Funnel Cake with Pancake Mix (from Love from the Oven)
- Pancakes with Muffin Mix
- Cookies with Muffin Mix
👩🍳 More banana recipes
And if you're looking for more ideas for what to do with ripe bananas (why do they always go from green to super duper ripe SO fast?!), I have some yummy ideas for you to try:
- Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
- Banana Bread with Cake Mix
- Banana Crepes with Nutella
- Bubble Waffle Banana Split Tacos
- Banana Split Cookies
- Banana Donuts for Dogs
- Banana Pancakes for Dogs
- Peanut Butter Banana Pupcakes
- Banana Crumb Muffins (from The Girl Who Ate Everything)
The options of what you can make with pancake mix are really endless and it can easily replace the flour, baking powder, and salt in so many recipes! even if you're all out of flour, you can still enjoy homemade banana bread, as long as you have a box or bag of pancake mix on hand!
Do you ever get creative with pancake mix?
📖 Recipe
Banana Bread with Pancake Mix
Ingredients
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pan
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup mashed ripe banana, from about 2 large bananas
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups pancake mix
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees and lightly butter a 9x5" metal loaf pan.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer or in a large bowl with a hand mixer, beat butter until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes. Add sugar and beat until well blended.
- Beat eggs into mixture one at a time. Add mashed bananas and vanilla extract and mix until combined. Batter may look a bit lumpy.
- With the mixer on low speed, beat in pancake mix until just combined, taking care not to over-mix.
- Pour into prepared loaf pan and bake for 35-45 minutes, until edges are turning golden and a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Turn out onto a rack and cool.
Notes
- Note that this banana bread is a bit smaller than the typical bread made in a 9x5 loaf pan, but makes 8 delicious slices.
- Feel free to add any of your favorite ingredients into the batter, like chocolate chips, nuts, coconut, etc.
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Vanessa says
It didn't seem like enough batter when first added to the pan but it rises nicely and like mentioned is a smaller but delicious banana bread. New go to recipe!
Allen Slaughter says
I’ve made this bread now, a few times always turns out good and really moist , I try different add ins each time so every thing works out pretty to well .I usually make several loaves at a time it freezes pretty well ,, two with chocolate chips. One plain ,one withe little buckeyes in the center ,and one with raisins.
Vega says
It came out fluffy and delicious! thanks 😀
Tori G says
I made this recipe with a few adjustments today and it came out delicious! We used the Cinnamon Toast Crunch pancake mix, subbed brown sugar instead of white and peaches instead of bananas. Used the whole box of pancake mix which was about 2.5 C, so added an extra .5 stick of butter to the mix as well. Topped it with brown sugar cinnamon and crushed up Cinnamon Toast Crunch pieces and pads of butter. Turned out fantastic!
zee says
it is very delicious. thanks for sharing!
Shannon says
This is so light and fluffy! I had some pumpkin spice pancake mix and I added a few white chocolate chips. So good!!
Becky Lynn says
This was delicious! I ran out of flour and my husband wanted Banana Bread. This was SO good, we both loved it. Made a delicious cream cheese frosting to go on top and added in blueberries to one side.
Sofurry says
Delicious, it was perfectly sweet and very fluffy. I made mine with choco chips which made it extra good!
Megan Mayeux says
Great recipe! Was skeptic at first but the banana bread came out moist. Will use this again! Best pancake mix recipe I have found
Jo says
I used this today, doubled it, and made muffins. Baked for about 22 minutes, and they were perfect. My very picky 6 yr old gave them a thumbs up and ate 2 or 3 muffins.
Melissa says
this was so delicious! I didn't have an electric mixer so I did it by hand. I didn't whip the butter but creamed the butter and sugar because the butter alone kept clumping inside my whisk. my first egg mixed in fine but with my second one the batter seized. I kept churning away with the whisk and eventually decided to move forward with the other ingredients and as I mixed in the pancake mix it started to look normal again. I used an 8x8 pan bc that's what I had, added cinnamon. It is the softest and lightest banana bread I've ever made and I will be using this as a standby recipe from now on! some are way too dense and chewy. this was like banana cake 🎂 I like knowing it's only 1/4 cup of sugar. I added a little peanut butter on top of some pieces and crushed cinnamon toast crunch cereal and it was a nice lil treat 😋
Ritz says
I've made this loaf for my family a couple of times, and they've loved it! Of course, I added different spices each time or nuts for extra flavor. One variation that I highly recommend is adding a crumble topping and dividing the batter so you can add extra banana or any other fillings in the middle.
Daniel says
made this today without adding extra sugar, but i did do a tablespoon or so of honey and i also only did 1/3 c. butter (melted) it turned out exactly how i wanted for a breakfast go item. Outside is almost a soft biscuit texture and inside is like a muffin. The Banana flavor was able to shine without too much sweetness! I plan to heat up and maybe add butter in the mornings. Ate three pieces right after making! SO good!
Paige Riemer says
It was delicious!I had seconds.
Sarah says
OMG THIS IS MOUTHWATERING!!! I just tried it today, best banana bread I ever eaten! 10/10 Thank You!!!