16 Upgrades To Boxed Banana Bread We Swear By

Though homemade banana bread is one of the best ways to use up your overripe bananas, not everyone wants to go to the trouble of making a fresh baked loaf from scratch. This is where boxed banana bread mix comes in handy. Like boxed cake mix, this wonder food packages all the necessary dry ingredients to make a luscious loaf; all you add are eggs, oil, water, and a working oven and your appetite for banana bread is all but conquered.

Similar to its cake-based compatriots, boxed banana bread can sometimes come off as being a little stale, even when served fresh out of the oven. What can you do to give it a bake-over that doesn't require binging 10 seasons of "The Great British Baking Show?" There are more than a few ways to get the good stuff into the loaf without going to too much work in the kitchen. Whether you're a fan of chocolate, a lover of fresh fruit, or a devotee of the super-deluxe dessert, these easy upgrades will have you going bananas for your boxed bread mix.

There's no rule that says you can't incorporate other bananas into your boxed banana bread mix, you know. If you're going to the trouble of making a banana bread at all you might as well do the whole banana, which in this case means including one or two of the mashed-up fruit to provide maximum flavor. The softness of the banana flesh will also help make the texture more bread-like and give your boxed mix a more homemade personality.

Though overripe bananas are usually called for in fresh banana bread to ramp up the sweetness, your boxed banana bread mix will already include sugar, which means using bananas at their peak ripeness will ensure sure you don't sweeten your batter too much. You can also chop up a fresh banana and put slices throughout the batter to add texture and creamy banana flavor without overdoing the sugar. And for a tricky topper that adds a decorative touch, you can slice whole bananas lengthwise and lay them on top of your loaf before baking.

Few partnerships in the world of food flavors have ever captured the magic of bananas and chocolate, and adding chocolate chips to boxed banana bread is maybe the easiest way to show this off-the-shelf dessert the respect it deserves. The fact that there are bound to be bags of chocolate chips very nearby when you're grabbing your box of banana bread mix makes this recommendation a no-brainer for rushed shoppers looking for an easy and sweet indulgence.

Which chocolate chips you choose to include depends entirely on your taste. Milk chocolate chips will impart a candy bar-like flavor, while darker chips or chunks will imbue your bread with a more bakery-style personality. If you're good with putting all your chips on the table, why not mix chocolate and peanut butter chips for a full-fledged dessert fest? It's your bread, so feel free to experiment with white or cinnamon chips, or even candy bar pieces.

Why should carrot cake and cinnamon rolls have all the fun when banana bread is just as deserving of cream cheese icing as any baked treat? You can whip up your own homemade version with just a few ingredients and an easy recipe for a fresh take on banana bread topping. Add a sprinkle of cinnamon, chocolate chips, or chopped nuts for some visual interest to break up the stark surface, or do some slick piping to give it a bougie boutique spirit. If you're feeling super adventurous, you can toss in a little peanut butter and make your cream cheese frosting even more magical.

While fresh frosting is more deluxe, if your whole reason for going with boxed banana bread mix is to make the task easier, you can pick up a can of cream cheese frosting in the baking section that'll do the trick in much quicker fashion. Give it a little whip with your beaters to fluff it up before dropping it on to your banana bread and spreading it on as per usual. Disguise the straight-from-the-store personality of your frosting with a drizzle of chocolate sauce or melted jam and you'll be ready for action.

One of the easiest ways to enrich any boxed mix is to drop in a generous dollop of sour cream into the mixing bowl. Not only does it increase the moisture in the batter for a more luscious texture, it adds complexity to the flavor that simple cream or milk just can't accomplish. Similar to adding sour cream to a cake mix, a tablespoon or two blended with your other elements is all it takes to give your nondescript banana bread a decadent new lease on life.

If you're a little sour cream shy, you can work in Greek yogurt or plain yogurt instead. These do-everything dairy dynamos make great sour cream stand-ins and even provide a bit of a protein boost in your mix. Anyone who's unsure about adding something extra to the batter can also make a sour cream or Greek yogurt frosting using a little powdered sugar and vanilla extract for a finishing spread that adds moisture and flavor without challenging the chemistry.

Banana bread flavor is nice on its own, but what if you could ramp up the basic essence with a simple box of instant pudding? Spoiler alert: you can, and you can use any flavor you like for the job. The most obvious choice would be banana, which would really lay the tropical taste on thick. But vanilla or French vanilla would create a sophisticated blend that adds unexpected elegance. Even a box of lemon pudding would add delicious zing to the basic banana character and brighten up your bread in unexpected ways.

Naturally, for chocolate fiends, a package of chocolate pudding will entirely transform the body of your banana bread mix, giving the banana essence an equal dose of chocolate to play against. A move like this takes you squarely into banana-bread-as-cake territory, but it's unlikely anybody will be complaining about it. Blend the powder with your boxed banana bread mix, add a little water or milk if the batter gets too thick, and bake as usual for an elevated loaf.

There are never too many ways to work Nutella into your life, and adding it to your boxed banana bread is a perfect next-level hack. The silky smoothness will break up the bread texture of your loaf while the hazelnut chocolate blend will lend interest in a familiar yet entirely refreshing way. It doesn't take much to get the job done, just a tablespoon or two added to the top of your batter with a knife dragged through it to make a marbleized pattern will do. Instantly, you have visual interest and a tempting added dimension that's sure to make your banana bread lovers happy.

But what if you're so into Nutella you can't stop there? You can also use your Nutella as frosting and coat the entire top surface of your finished banana bread. If you'd rather have options, consider typing individual slices or mashing two slices together with Nutella in between to make a dessert sandwich. Dress it up with some real bananas or strawberries in between and serve it on a tray as a trouble-free gourmet nosh.

There's a reason banana walnut is one of the most popular muffin flavors around; the mix of earthy nuttiness and creamy banana sweetness makes a flavor friendship that everyone wants to get in on. To trick out your boxed banana bread, pick up a small bag of walnuts in the baking section of your grocery store or look in the produce section for snack packs instead. If all you can find are raw walnuts, toast them in your oven or toaster oven for a few minutes before adding them to your batter to maximize their tasty potential.

Maybe walnuts aren't your thing; there's no restriction on the type of nuts you can use, which means even a simple packet of peanuts folded into the mix can fancy up your store-bought bread batter. Toasted almonds, roasted cashews, and baked pecans will provide earthy flavor and exciting crunch, whether they're sprinkled on top or spread throughout the batter.

Coffee cake can't hog all the streusel opportunities for itself, especially when the top of your boxed banana bread mix is crying out for something incredible to top it off. The buttery brown sugar essence of a classic streusel is a perfect complement to the cake-like bread, which means the flavors won't compete and the textures will accent one another in a way that seems gourmet without taking too much trouble. It also doubles as edible decor, giving the impression of a sophisticated bake that doesn't take too much work to conjure up.

To create a simple streusel topping, combine butter, flour, brown sugar, and salt into a sand-like crumble that retains larger and small lumps for a variety of textures. Then, sprinkle the topping onto your banana bread loaf before it goes into the oven. What emerges will be a combination of a traditional streusel dessert and an authentic banana bread — in other words, the best of two unique dessert worlds fused into one supremely decadent creation.

The glorious goodness of a banana and peanut butter sandwich can be captured in your boxed banana bread mix with a generous dollop of creamy or crunchy peanut butter worked into the recipe. Because you will be adding oil to your box mix, premixed peanut butter works best for this type of upgrade. The extra oil in natural nut butters can thin your batter too much and make your finished loaf a bit greasy. If you find that your batter is a little too thick once you've mixed your nut butter in, thin it down with a little milk or water until it comes back to the right consistency.

If nut allergies are a concern, swap out peanut butter for almond, cashew, or even sunflower butter for a similar finished loaf with an entirely different type of delicious flavor. Adding a few chopped nuts to the top of your banana bread will alert anyone grabbing a slice that there's something extra adding to the appeal!

Literally any boxed baking mix can be turned into a pound cake with just a few additional steps, which means it can happen for your favorite boxed banana bread mix, too. It's a fantastic technique for giving what might ordinarily be a simple dessert the substance and presentation of a more thoughtful creation. It's also a great way to remove the boxed mix feel of your banana bread without requiring a full-blown homemade recipe.

To transform banana bread into pound cake, simply combine your boxed mix, a four-serving size box of instant pudding mix, 4 eggs, 1 cup of water, and ⅓ cup of vegetable oil. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for up to 55 minutes or until a toothpick sunk into the center comes out clean. The end result will be a denser and more decadent slice that can serve as the base for a more complex plate. Consider adding fresh fruit, syrups, or ice cream as toppings and let your dessert eaters sink their teeth into a delicious twist on traditional pound cake that comes with a bold banana punch.

For a more elegant presentation to finish off your boxed banana bread mix in style, try incorporating some sliced strawberries into the batter. They're a perfect candidate for shifting the usual banana bread flavor into something tangier and more intriguing. Pour half the batter into your pan before layering your slices, then cover with the rest of your batter. You can also dice your strawberries and stir in the cubes to give even more strawberry flavor throughout the entire loaf.

If you're preparing your boxed banana bread mix out of strawberry season but you're still longing for that burst of berry flavor, you can use strawberry jam instead. Try scooping a few tablespoons into the batter as it goes into the pan and dragging a knife through to make a swirl pattern that will give every slice a bit of strawberry pizzazz.

All it takes to add chocolaty magic to your basic banana bread composition is a ¼ cup or so of unsweetened cocoa powder. It's a natural addition to what's already in the box, and you probably already have some sitting in your pantry waiting to be called up into active kitchen duty, which means no extra shopping. You'll end up with equal parts chocolate cake and banana bread in a hybrid treat that feels like it came straight from the bakery.

To spice up the situation even more, add a teaspoon of cinnamon to your cocoa powder for a warmer flavor blend that gives your banana bread a distinctive coffee shop essence. If you find that having additional dry ingredients thickens your batter too much, you can add a little milk or water to thin it down again. Remember that different types of cocoa powder will yield different results, so experiment with that dark Dutch cocoa you've been saving for a special occasion. Now's the time.

Take your boxed banana bread mix into the realm of gourmet cakes by adorning the surface with an indulgent glaze of creamy caramel, glitzed up with a sprinkle of large flake sea salt. Though you can cook up a batch of your own caramel glaze a la Nigella Lawson if you're feeling particularly enterprising in the kitchen, it's easy enough to grab a jar of caramel ice cream topping from the ice cream section of your grocery store and let it do all the hard work for you. The gooey texture will help provide moisture and flavor while creating a sleek sheen on top of your loaf.

Looking for an even more luscious touch to get your batter into the upper echelons of baked amazement? Try poking holes into your banana bread with a skewer and drizzling some of the caramel sauce throughout. This will draw the gooey typing into the substance of each slice to ensure that every bite gets a little bit of glam.

You're used to seeing maraschino cherries top a classic banana split, so why not recreate the ice cream counter favorite by throwing some of these candied fruits into your boxed banana bread plans? You can use anything from a spoonful to the entire jar, depending on how much you favor that sweet cherry flavor. Because maraschino cherries are usually whole, be sure to slice most of them in half so you can make them go as far as possible throughout your loaf, leaving a few whole as a juicy bonus.

For serious cherry lovers, if bejeweling your banana bread with bits of fruit just isn't enough to make your heart sing, consider adding some of the maraschino cherry juice into the batter as well. This will infuse the whole loaf with that candy essence that makes everything taste better. Be careful not to thin your batter too much, or the texture of your finished loaf may be less than ideal. And if you're looking for an upscale option, try Amarena cherries instead of maraschino for a more potent pop of flavor.

It's easy to get locked into using a loaf pan to create your banana bread, but baking it in a Bundt pan is just as easy and provides a more cake-like finished appearance that scales up your boxed mix beautifully. In fact, if you're looking for a dessert centerpiece that combines the down home comfort of banana bread with the more traditional appearance of a cake, using a Bundt pan is a move that delivers both in a single stroke of sweet inspiration.

Depending on the size of your Bundt pan, you may choose to double your boxed banana bread mix. To make things even fancier, fill your Bundt pan halfway then sprinkle in a layer of coconut, banana slices, chocolate chips, or nuts to make a filled banana bread cake that keeps its sweetest secrets hidden until it's ready to be sliced and served. As with other Bundt cakes, you can also adorn the top with a drizzle of simple milk and powdered cinnamon roll icing or add a tablespoon of cocoa powder to give it a chocolaty twist.

Turn that tame box of flour, sugar, and banana flavoring into a brilliant baked beast that goes wild with tropical flavor by working crushed pineapple into the mixing bowl. The finished product will be moist and tender, with a twisted taste of creamy and zingy that takes regular banana bread out of the realm of the ordinary. And all it takes to make the island magic happen is a 20-ounce can of crushed pineapple, which you can grab on your way out of the grocery store. Convenient! There's no reason you couldn't slice up a fresh pineapple and drop chunks into your batter as well, as long as you don't mind the additional work.

To keep your batter from getting too thin, be sure to drain the pineapple well before incorporating it into your box mix. Use a fine mesh strainer and let the juices seep through for a few minutes. If it still seems too juicy, try pressing the pineapple with a spoon against the mesh to expel the remaining fluid. You should be left with pineapple pulp that's just damp enough to soften the batter without making it runny.