It doesn’t happen TOO often around here…but once in awhile the bananas that I buy for smoothies and to put on top of cereal, or just for eating, end up looking like this. :-(
Now this isn’t a COMPLETE loss if you like banana bread…which we DO! But more times than not…I have good intentions to make banana bread with overripe bananas…but rarely ever get around to it.
But thanks to Lindsay at Artsy Fartsy Mama…I doubt we will ever toss another overripe banana in this house! Her recipe for “Easy Banana Bread” is, well, SO EASY! And yummy!
I was so taken with this idea…that I even made it with the chocolate chips, which I’ve never done before. I have nothing against chocolate chips mind you! I’ve just always made banana bread the way my Mom made it….no nuts, no chocolate chips….just bananas.
Shortcut Banana Bread
adapted from Artsy Fartsy Mama
(1) yellow cake mix
2 eggs
3-4 overripe bananas
(Optional) 1 cup chocolate chips, nuts, etc.
Add all ingredients to a large bowl (or stand mixer) and mix well. Fill two small, greased loaf pans, or one large loaf pan.
Bake at 350° for 35-40 minutes (bake longer if using larger loaf pan)
That’s it! In less than 50 words you have the entire recipe!
Right after I put this in the oven the house began to smell WONDERFUL! Right after I took it OUT of the oven….I had people coming out of the woodwork of my house wanting a piece! As a matter of fact I was hard-pressed to get some pictures of the finished product before it was consumed!
But I did manage to get a few……
Here are a few HELPFUL HINTS for baking a lovely loaf of this beautiful banana bread!
- Toss the chocolate chips in a little bit of flour before adding to the batter. This will help keep the chips from sinking to the bottom of the pan!
- Freeze overripe bananas until you have enough to make a loaf. Just throw them in a plastic baggie, peel and all! Thaw when ready to use.
- Another tip for freezing overripe bananas is to put the bananas in zip lock bag and smash the banana inside the bag. Mush the bag until it’s flat, and freeze it that way. Makes thawing fast and easy!
- Make it gluten-free with a gluten-free yellow cake mix…or sugar-free with a sugar-free yellow cake mix and sugar-free chocolate chips!
- Bake in muffin pans, mini-muffin pans, or a bundt pan for something a little different!
- Substitute half of the chocolate chips for peanut butter chips to make an “Elvis Banana Bread”. :-)
- Can’t eat it all at once? (Like us!) Freeze the second loaf. It defrosts beautifully.
Got overripe bananas??? Then what are you waiting for??? :-)
Wow! Whenever I find cake mix on sale I always pick up at least two yellow cake mixes because I love having them on hand for making birthday cake batter pancakes. From now on I will pick up a few extras because I LOVE this idea! I will have to make this soon. Thank you for the awesome idea.
BTW, did it turn out moist like good banana bread should?
Im wondering if this could also be done with pumpkin purée for pumpkin bread. I think I’ll have to try and see:)
We just made this recipe again yesterday!!! I use muffins tins instead of bread pans and in my oven it is about 18 min.. just a tiny bit of browning on the top… I like mine moist inside. They are soooo good. We gave these to the teachers on the last day of school! Such a great easy gift or to add to a meal you are making for someone!
But… it is 4 ingredients not 3!!! mix, bananas, eggs and chips! Threw me off at the grocery yesterday!
Its only 4 if you chose the optional ingredients :) By the way, great idea withthe muffin tins…I will definitely be trying that. My kids will so happy thanks to you and Jillee!!!
You can freeze over-ripe bananas to use in bread later. The peels will turn completely black in the freezer, but the fruit is fine for any use that a mashed or pureed banana would be used for. In fact, when you thaw, they are so soft that no mashing is necessary – just break the peel on one end and drop the fruit out of the peel, right into the mixing bowl.
I freeze bananas as well! I take it one step further and peel the bananas first, pop them into ziploc bags (3-4 per bag) and then freeze. I have found that this makes it easier to grab them out and use! ;)
this is such a clever idea! and it looks so yummy!
So glad I found your website! Just one amazing “good thing” after another. Thank you so much.
Yay!! So glad to see you share this recipe! Thanks for the mention :)
Thank YOU Lindsay! It is now a “keeper” in our house! No more wasted bananas! yay! :-)
This is a great idea! I wonder if you could do the same thing using a spice cake mix. It might give it a little more zing. I might have to try this very soon.
I’ve made this several times after finding it on Artsy Fartsy Mama and it’s sooo good! Never added chocolate chips until the other day, I added the minis and it was really good! I just couldn’t imagine putting chocolate chips in banana bread but I was pleasantly surprised. NOW! Peanut butter chips!!!!!!! OMW!! I’m doing that today!!! Thanks for the tip!
Can you tell me what your ‘small sized’ pans are? and your regular size pans ? I have two small ones..7 1/2 x 4 and then 5 3/4 x 3, and then the traditional bread pan size 9 something.. Love your site, comments, recipes….love it all ! Denise
Great idea, so quick and easy! Wonder if this would work with other cake mixes besides yellow? Will have to experiment. Thanks for the tip!
If you thought that adding the chocolate chips were wonderful, next time add marachino cherries with the chocolate chips. Yumm Yumm!!!!
It’s in the oven as we speak (or read) I used french vanilla ( all I had) and 2 extra large eggs (all I had) chco chips and a few pecans. let ya know how it turns out.
Another thing you can do is if you have a muffin mix for banana bread, add the extra bananas, which is what I did… and it was simply wonderful! We all loved it and the kids absoloutly adored it!
Chrissy, do you use box muffin mix or does it come in a pouch? Is it BC ?
Wonderful…..I think this might just might have replaced my long standing favorite banana bread recipe…it certainly is easier, light, tasty, hmmmm….now WHY would I want to do the butter, eggs, flour,sugars, etc.???
Did this with Zuchini today in several different flavors. Caramel cake, Orange cake with Cranberries, Yellow Cake with Choc Chips, and Lemon with poppy seeds. I called my mom to tell her how great it was. We are so excited to have an easy way to use up the zuchini we have been overwhelmed with so far.
I love using a cake mix to make my banana bread. I discovered a similar recipe (http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Easy-Banana-Nut-Bread?cpi=2&sort=2) a few years back and I’ve never made another one from scratch since then. It’s so simple and delicious – alas, I have ALWAYS had to have pecans in my Banana bread. To me, it’s just not the same without it. Hahaha
Thanks for always posting great ideas! I love your blog :D
This is not banana bread. This is cake that you threw bananas in. Regular, old-fashioned, made from scratch banana bread is easy enough. Just freeze your overripe bananas for when you are ready, make the bread from scratch, and save money!
I just made this with a chocolate cake mix and I’m sitting here eating it hot as a midnight snack. It’s sooo good!
I have always frozen my overripe bananas for muffins, waffles, etc. I usually just throw the whole banana in the freezer. I tried your tip last nite-peel, put in a baggie & mush before freezing. The best tip ever!! I will never do it any other way, thanks sooo much!!
I have frozen bananas for years I use them to make my breakfast 1 frozen banana plus 1 cup fat free vanilla yogurt {shoprite] blend and drink. yum yum. So thick and rich! Ifreeze sans the peel as I find it too hard to peel frozen.
I made one yesterday and it was wonderful. I used three eggs (because I mix so many box cake mixes and it is just automatic for me. Didn’t mean to do it.) and raisins because I didn’t have chocolate chips in the house at that time. Oh wow it was good. Have one in oven not with chocolate chips. Thanks for such a great and easy recipe!
*Now with chocolate chips. If I could type I would be dangerous!
I can’t wait to try this. I live at 5500 ft. Can I follow the high elevation instructions on the cake mix to make sure it bakes correctly?
That’s clever :-) gotta love a shortcut to something delicious. Here’s another yummy reason not to toss those overripe bananas – http://allrecipes.com/personalrecipe/62570816/chunky-monkey-brownies/detail.aspx This recipe is great if you like chocolate and banana together AND it uses up THREE of those bananas sitting on your counter. It’s more work than the three ingredient recipe, but it’s worth it!
Made this morning, delicious!! But, apparently i didnt cook long enough :( only got 1 peice each (1 for me, and 2 kids). But gonna get more stuff today to make more!! We loved it!!
I have this in the oven right now and it smells great, thank you for the shortcut with the cake mix, makes life so much easier!
Not a banana bread fan. . . . but THIS!! Just came out of the oven and I managed to let it cool 10 minutes before slicing a couple of pieces. It masks that overripe banana flavor that I don’t like (I eat mine a wee bit green). I usually only buy a couple of bananas at a time so I don’t have leftovers, so I had to buy overripe bananas at the store (heavily discounted of course). I used some white chips that I had on the shelf. Husband gave it a 12 out of 10. He’s not a fan of the typical banana bread recipe either. He even put butter on his. I can see where this will freeze well. There’s only the two of us, so it will be a handy treat in the freezer.
YUM!!
FYI……Three medium bananas will produce about one cup of mashed banana, the same as 8 ounces of baby food bananas.
Read more: How to Make Banana Bread With Baby Food Bananas | eHow.com
something else you can do with frozen over ripe bananas… ICE CREAM. Yep. http://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-creamy-ice-cream-w-93414
its in the oven right now-
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Thanks for the recipe! My house smells great and they (I made them in cupcake liners) tasted wonderful.
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