Crock Pot Banana Bread
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Grab those ripe bananas off the counter and whip up this Crock Pot Banana Bread without having to heat up the kitchen using your oven. This banana bread recipe is a great way to use up bananas and have a delicious treat to enjoy with your cup of coffee.
It’s the age old question… what do you do with those leftover, ripe bananas. Banana bread is the logical and easy answer. In our case, we put our Crock Pot to use for the ultimate banana bread. Using the slow cooker frees up space in the oven for making lunch. Many recipes include baking the bread in a loaf pan inside the Crock Pot insert. We love this tasty recipe because the bread is cooked directly in the Crock Pot.
Crock Pot Banana Bread
There are several points to note about making tasty banana bread in the slow cooker.
1. During cooking, steam forms under the lid. To prevent the steam from falling back onto the bread, layer a kitchen towel or several layers of paper towels over the insert and under the lid.
2. You need to use an oval crock pot, not a casserole crock pot. If you try to use the casserole crock pot, the batter rises up and will touch the towel. For this recipe, I used an 8 qt. crock pot. You can use a smaller crock pot; just be sure to adjust the cooking times.
3. A slow cooker liner is essential to getting the bread out of the crock pot insert without breaking the bread. Spray the liner generously with nonstick cooking spray.
4. The edges of the bread will cook faster than the center. To ensure more even cooking, spread the batter higher around the edges with a more shallow well in the center (similar to the technique sometimes used when cooking hamburgers).
5. The size of this “loaf” is equivalent to 2 loaves in the oven.
After cooling, we like to cut the tasty crock pot banana bread loaf into half. Wrap one in plastic wrap and foil to freeze for later, and put the other one in the fridge to slowly graze on the entire week. Cut into thin slices like a normal loaf of quick bread. Or this would be just as tasty eaten at room temperature in cake-like square pieces.
Want a traditional Banana Bread recipe? Try our Classic Banana Bread or 4-Ingredient Banana Bread. Have leftover banana bread? Turn it into Banana Bread Biscotti.
Linking up to Weekend Potluck.
Crock Pot Banana Bread
Ingredients
- 1 stick margarine
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 or 3 ripe bananas
- 15.25 oz. boxed yellow cake mix
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
Instructions
- Line an 8-quart crockpot insert with a slow cooker liner. Spray generously with non-stick cooking spray.
- Using a mixer, cream margarine and sugar. Add eggs and blend until incorporated.
- In a separate bowl, mix flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Add to wet mixture, and blend until just incorporated.
- Add whole bananas to the batter, and mix on low until mashed.
- Add cake mix and oil to the batter, and mix until fully incorporated.
- Pour batter into prepared and lined crock pot insert. Spread the batter so that the center has a more shallow layer than the edges. Cover crock pot opening with a kitchen towel or several layers of paper towels. Seal with the glass crock pot lid.
- Cook on low for 3 1/2 to 4 hours or until the center is no longer wet to the touch. It is normal for the center to appear less cooked than the edges.
- Remove crockpot insert from the pot, and let sit on a cooling rack for 30 minutes.
- Remove the slow cooker liner from the insert. Gently remove the bread from the liner.