This easy stovetop recipe can cook an entire skillet‘s worth of banana bread in under 20 minutes, start to finish. Enjoy a slice of warm sweet bread and forget about the oven!
No Oven Banana Bread
Ever find yourself without an oven and with ripe bananas? It happens more often than we’d like to admit and while you could simply freeze those bananas for later, why not enjoy them now?
With this banana bread recipe you can enjoy the flavor of a freshly baked loaf in under half the time it would normally take to bake it. While it won’t be exactly the same, it is a good little snack in its own right.
Skillet banana bread ingredients
- Ripe bananas
- Oil
- Baking soda
- Salt
- Cinnamon
- Vanilla
- Egg
- Sugar
- Flour
What you’ll need to make this recipe
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Tips for making banana bread without an oven
If you don’t have a large skillet with a fitted lid, you want to use a large pot as I did.
Stovetop baking is different from oven baking in many ways. With oven baking heat goes from the top and bottom to bake goods and meats evenly while creating a firm crust that holds in moisture.
With stovetop baking we have heat coming up from the bottom and only a little residual heat coming in from the sides.
This banana bread won’t look like anything you’re used to because it was cooked solely from the bottom. With a fitted lid on the skillet, we trap heat to steam the top of the bread while the bottom bakes. Giving us a paler color and no golden-brown crust.
Making this banana bread on stove top ranges is easy but it happens quite quickly too so keep a watchful eye and don’t leave it unattended.
FAQ’s about stove top banana bread
I recommend eating it while it’s still warm for best tasting results. Due to the manner in which it is cooked the longer it sits out the less pretty it becomes. You could store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days, but it’s best served almost immediately.
How to make stovetop banana bread
Grease the bottoms and sides of your skillet or pot and set it on a stove burner over medium/low heat to preheat.
In a large bowl, mash your bananas.
Stir in the melted oil or butter.
Add in the bakgind soda and salt, mixing to combine.
Whisk in the vanilla, egg, cinnamon, and sugar until smooth.
Stir in the flour until no flour streaks remain.
Pour your batter into the preheated pan and place the lid on the skillet (or pot).
Set the timer for 15 minutes and keep a watchful eye during the last 7 minutes as it will go by quickly and your bread could be finished early.
During the first 6 minutes of baking the top appears raw, wet, and gooey with cooked edges (like a pancake waiting to be flipped).
During the last portion of time, the top becomes solid and dry-looking. Test with a toothpick shortly after. You want it to come out clean.
When the bread is ready turn off the burner and place an upside-down plate on top.
Flip the skillet so that the bread is on the plate. The bottom will be up and it will look a little darker/burnt in the center.
Serve with powdered sugar or flip the bread back over so that it’s upright and slice into wedges for serving.
More great banana recipes to try
- Banana Pound Cake with Brown Sugar Glaze
- Mango Banana Bread
- Red Velvet Banana Bread
- Yogurt Banana Split
- Banana Bread With Strawberries
- 3 Ingredient Cake Mix Banana Bread
Stovetop Banana Bread
Equipment
- 10" skillet with lid
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups mashed bananas (about 2-3 ripe)
- 1/3 cup oil (can use melted butter)
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
Instructions
- Grease a large 10" skillet or large pot with a fitted lid and set the stove to medium/low to preheat with the pot resting on the burner.
- In a large mixing bowl, mash bananas.
- Stir in oil or melted butter.
- Mix in the baking soda and salt.
- Mix in the vanilla, egg, cinnamon, and sugar until smooth.
- Stir in flour until no flour streaks remain.
- Pour into the prepared pan and place the lid on.
- Set the timer for 15 minutes and keep a watchful eye during the last 7 minutes as that's when the magic happens.
- During the first 6 minutes of cooking the center will appear unfinished and the edges will look cooked like an unflipped pancake, but within moments the top will glaze over and no longer look wet. Cook for an additional 3 minutes or so after that point. You can test the doneness with a toothpick. You want the toothpick to come out clean.
- Place a large plate upside down over the top of the pan, and lift the pan and plate to flip the banana bread onto the plate. Remove pan.
- The bottom of the banana bread may be toasted and a small section look overcooked/burnt but that's to be expected as we didn't stir anything while cooking. You can flip the bread over so that it's top up to avoid looking at it or dust it with powdered sugar. It shouldn't taste burnt.
- Slice into wedges and serve as desired.
Nutrition
