This easy Bisquick banana bread is so tender and moist, and leans on an ingredient shortcut for a nice rise every time. Add your favorite quick bread mix-ins to this flavorful recipe, like nuts or chocolate chips, to make it your own. It has classic banana bread flavor and freezes very well!
After making perhaps the best pumpkin bread of my life with Bisquick pumpkin bread, I knew it wouldn't be long before I circled back around to that bread's inspiration: Bisquick banana bread.
Tender and moist and bursting with classic banana bread flavor, this easy quick bread gets an extra boost from Bisquick baking mix. Taking the place of flour, salt, and baking powder/soda, this one-stop-shop ingredient speeds up Bisquick chicken and dumplings, forms a great texture in zucchini pie, and comes in clutch when you're low in flour when a craving comes calling with Bisquick chocolate chip cookies.
Is it no surprise it can take a moist quick bread batter and produce a reliably rounded, risen loaf with a slightly crisp crust when fresh? If it tells you anything, I've printed this Bisquick banana bread recipe and added it to my personal recipe binder of frequent flyers - dishes I make so often I don't even want to open my phone or laptop to grab the recipe!
Recipe Ingredients
- Bananas: Plan to use bananas that are heavily speckled with lots of brown spots. These overripe bananas have a sweeter taste and are softer, making them easy to mash. You'll need 1 ½ cups of mashed banana, which is roughly the amount from three large bananas or four smaller/medium ones.
- Bisquick: An all-purpose baking mix that takes the place of flour, any sort of leavening agent like baking powder or soda, and salt. It also contains a small amount of fat, but not nearly enough to take the place of added oil.
- Sugars: This is a mix of brown sugar and granulated sugar. The hint of molasses found in brown sugar adds a subtle but complementary flavor.
- Oil: Use your preferred neutrally-flavored cooking oil, such as vegetable, canola, extra light olive oil, etc.
- Milk: Just a little bit to add extra moisture. No need for anything special - use what you have open. Dairy-free is fine.
- Spices: A trio of warm baking spices including cinnamon, nutmeg, and a pinch of allspice.
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Step 1: Mash bananas well in a large mixing bowl. Measure out 1 ½ cups to use in this recipe.
- Step 2: Mix the rest of the wet ingredients into the bowl with the banana, then whisk together the dry ingredients in a separate bowl.
- Step 3: Stir the wet ingredients into the bowl of dry ingredients until just combined - no dry flour streaks remain.
- Step 4: Pour into a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan and bake at 350°F for 55-65 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean.
Recipe Tips and Tricks
- Optional add-ins: A nice handful-and-a-half of chocolate chips or chunks, toasted pecans or walnuts, or dried fruit like raisins, cranberries, or blueberries. Because this Bisquick banana bread is quite moist, I'd be hesitant to add fresh or frozen/thawed berries for the added moisture they would bring.
- Loaf pan size: As a general rule you don't want to fill a loaf pan to the top to prevent overflow. A 9-by-5-inch loaf pan fits this batter without much extra room to spare, so I would recommend against using smaller-size loaf pans.
- Measuring Bisquick: Bisquick should be measured by the "spoon and level" flour method, however I find this to be a little tricky as it clumps more readily in the bag. I become so mindful of not packing it into the measuring cup that I sometimes come up light when I measure the weight to check my work. If possible I really recommend using a kitchen scale to weigh it out - besides being more precise, it's a whole lot easier.
- Storage tip: Quick breads can get moister over time. Covering the top and bottom surfaces of the bread in a paper towel helps absorb excess moisture. Replace the paper towel as needed.
- Ensure a good rise: There are a few tips to keep in mind when making banana bread with Bisquick to reliably produce a rounded loaf. Honestly these apply to lots of quick breads (sub in your leavening agent for the first point).
- Make sure your Bisquick is relatively fresh (not expired).
- Spray only the bottom and one-inch up the sides of your loaf pan to help the banana bread batter get a good grip on the sides of the pan to climb.
- Don't open the oven door during the bake time if you can help it. The cool air that enters can disrupt the rising process. Only open it near the end of the bake time to check for doneness.
More Quick Bread Recipes
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Bisquick Banana Bread
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups well-mashed overripe banana (about 3 large or 4 small/small-medium bananas)
- ½ cup packed brown sugar
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs
- ⅓ cup vegetable oil or other neutral oil, like canola
- ¼ cup milk your preferred kind
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 ¾ cups (338g) Bisquick baking mix spooned-and-leveled
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- Pinch of ground allspice
Instructions
- Arrange an oven rack to where a loaf pan sitting on it will be situated in the center of the oven, then preheat oven to 350°F. Grease the bottom and 1-inch up on the sides of a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan with butter or cooking spray and set aside for now.
- Mash the bananas in a mixing bowl with a fork until well broken down, then add the brown sugar, granulated sugar, eggs, oil, milk, and vanilla extract. Whisk well until combined.
- In a separate, large mixing bowl, whisk together the Bisquick, cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl with the dry ingredients and stir until just combined and no dry streaks remain. It won't be smooth - a lumpy texture is okay. Use broad, sweeping strokes to bring up the dry ingredients from the bottom of the bowl to do this efficiently.
- Bake on the middle rack for 55-65 minutes, or until a thin tester inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean. The bread should develop a nice and golden-brown crust, but if it's browning too much for your liking, loosely drape a sheet of aluminum foil over top of the pan and continue baking until done.
- Let the bread cool in the loaf pan for 10 minutes, then loosen the edges with a thin spatula and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before slicing or storing.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is provided as an estimate. As it can vary due to many factors (brands used, quantities, etc.), we cannot guarantee its accuracy.
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