Quick Banana Nut Bread

Who can argue with a dessert that takes five minutes to throw together? The cake mix here eliminates the need for measuring dry ingredients and the inevitable flour-dusted floor. -- Kate Merker, Associate Food Editor, Real Simple

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Fresh, warm banana nut bread is a simple way to keep loved ones happy. Just bake a couple of loaves, put on a pot of coffee, and voila: You've got the perfect morning, midafternoon, or bedtime snack for family and houseguests any time of year.

Ingredients:
1 box yellow cake mix
1 package Jell-O Instant Banana Cream Pudding & Pie Filling
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 ripe bananas, mashed
4 eggs
1 cup chopped pecans

Step 1: Grease

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease 2 large or 4 small loaf pans.

Comments

[kevinvalente89]

 I tried this recipe, and it worked out really well. I took the advice given above about adding a 1/3 cup more of vegetable oil and it really moistened it up. The only draw back was that it was pretty difficult to cut it and keep the pieces from crumbling apart. I found that if you refrigerated it a little, it helped. 

Also, i did this a couple of times with different variations. The best tasting so far was adding a cup of chocolate chips and two more bananas into the mix (for a total of four). I feel that the bananas made it more banana-bread-like rather than the banana-cake look this recipe has going for it. So if you like chocolate, you should try adding some. It tastes really good. 

Overall, this really is a great recipe. The prep work is super fast and the idea of using cake mix is ingenious. Thanks. 

[Kzmak]

I just tried the recipe with 4 bannanas but left everything else as listed. It made 3 mid size loafs and they are fantastic.
Thank you for the posting the recipe!

[kyawmintun]

i love banana cake. thank for teaching me.

[Rfinley01]

could you take out the nuts to just make a banana bread?

[KILLER 151]

NO IT TASTE NASTY

[jimbom]

Alternate ingredients - I made a pumpkin bread version using Jello Pumpkin Spice Instant pudding (out for a limited time), spice cake mix, 1 cup canned pumpkin, pistachio nuts, eggs, and oil. It turned out quite well although I think next time I want to tweak it a little for moistness (maybe more oil or pumpkin?) and I might leave out the pistachios. If I get a chance I'll try to post a related Instructable with the exact details.

[cchayes123]

I saw your suggestion and went immediately to the pantry to make your version (with walnuts vs. pistachios) but, discovered I didn't have spice cake mix. But, I did have cinnamon swirl. This too came out divine. I increased the oil to 1/3 cup based on your moistness notes. Give it a try.

[mrmackin]

Hey good looking, so thats what you got cookin' ! ;D

[1cynda]

This is a recipe worth trying. It's quick and delicious!! I've given copies of the recipe to my friends and they have all thanked me for it. If you haven't tried it yet, you should.

[trebuchet03]

I made this a little earlier... Without the nuts, using white cake and using vanilla pudding... It came out great :) The reason for the ingridient change? I realized I sort of had everything :p I've already sent half a loaf home with a friend :D

[Belong12]

I have two loaves of this recipe in the oven now! For those looking for a twist on this type of recipe, try: 1 box yellow cake mix, 2 small boxes of pistacio pudding, 1/2 c. water, 1/2 c. milk, 1/2 c. oil, and 5 eggs. Bake in well oiled bundt pan at 350 F. for about 45-50 minutes or until cake springs back when poked. This is a Pistacio Pudding cake and turns out green and yummy! Great for St. Patrick's Day parties! Fill hole inside of baked bundt cake and cover outside of cake plate with pistacios if you are one of those who likes to have a little protein with their carbs! ( I know I should probably make this an instructable, but I am new and don't know how to do that yet!)

[Belong12]

Yes. Any large grocery store should carry it. Look for the INSTANT pistacio pudding mix amongst the other Jello pudding mixes. It comes in a pastel green box. Fancy that! :}

[shutdown_exploded]

is pistacio pudding mix a common flavor these days? Would I find it with other mixes at a decent grocer?

[susyn]

I live in a low budget "un"efficiency with no stove; I baked two loaves of this bread (in cake pans) in my countertop toaster oven, and they came out great! AND delicious!! Thank you for sharing this!!

[jessidee]

This is a great recipe! I made two loaves a few days ago, and my mom took one to her quilt bee. She said it was the only thing that the ladies all liked, and everyone was amazed when she told them how easy it was. I'm going to try it with chocolate and raspberry ingredients next.

[haptotrope]

the only tip I have is that the bananas should be the ripest possible for the sweetest bread, like when they turn blackish, toss them in the freezer, and they will become uber-black and frozen... then when you are ready to make bread, pull them out, thaw them a little, rip off the stem, and squeeze out the middle... kinda gross euphamistically... but damned tasty.

[RaNDoMLeiGH]

When I was in high school cooking class (20 years ago) we used baby food. I didn't like the banana baby food, but the carrot cake was fantastic! Super quick coz you didn't have to cook the carrots to mush. This would be one of those things you can just throw together if company pops by, if you kept the jarred fruit on hand. I wonder how a can of strawberry or blueberry pie filling would work instead...? If you could find one without that stupid high fructose corn syrup crap in it. Wonder if you could make pancakes from this like you can with the Krusteaz brand blueberry muffin/bread mix.

[fortgeorge]

It tastes good, but I will stick with regular ole scratch made banana bread, doesn't take but a few minutes longer and it's worth it. Good instructable though, my brother will find it useful.

[zzpza]

gotta try this :D mmmmmmmm....

[Ke11iente]

This is a neat idea. Like Jimbom, it's also got me thinkin about what kinds of crazy breads I could make by combining different cake and pudding mixes. Just two little comments: First off, I've always used walnuts in my banana nut bread. It's one of the few things I actually use walnuts in, not some other nut, because it's one of the few dishes where their strong flavor just seems to fit the bread really well. So, why the pecans? Just changin' it up a bit? Just curious. :P And secondly, If you're gonna do dry mix anyway, why not just go ahead and buy the "banana nut bread" dry mix they sell in the store and make it even faster?? Thanks for the tut. Can't wait to make some interesting cake mix/pudding mix frankenstein breads/cakes! :)

[jimbom]

I'm tempted to try a different combination of cake mix and pudding mix. It wouldn't be banana bread, but I bet you could come up with a unique, tasty "bread".

[mensmaximus]

I don't buy packaged food ingredients and am living proof of no health problems but thanks very much for posting a food idea.

[gijoebob]

I just cooked up a batch. I made muffins instead of loaves. Wonderful flavor and very moist! I recommend it.

[Deborah Marcotte]

That seems my kind of easy..I'll give a try for sure... www.deborahmarcotte.com

[Uthman]

cool fake-it !

[tazdev]

Can't wait to try this. Looks Good!!

[Brennn10]

I love banana nut bread! I always buy it from my local Amish guy, but this recipe looks right down my alley!