Next Time You Make Banana Bread, Turn To Your Slow Cooker

There's never a bad time for banana bread, but you may not always have time to make it, and that's a conundrum. Not that it's difficult to make banana bread, but sometimes you are simply too busy to get around to it. Luckily, slow cookers let us prepare meals or snacks while we are out and busy for the rest of the day. And yes, that includes banana bread.

We've suggested banana bread as an unexpected food to make in a slow cooker before. If you've never tried it, you may be inclined to ask why make banana bread in a slow cooker at all? It's not like a roast or a pot of chili that needs hours to develop flavor, so what is the upside? Well, as we mentioned, it's a time saver. Toss all your ingredients in the slow cooker and head out. It can cook for up to four hours. That gives you plenty of time to get things done without feeling tethered to the oven for something like a brown butter banana bread that bakes in about an hour.

The other reason to make banana bread in the slow cooker is that the end product is far more moist and delicious. With the lid on, you're locking in all that steam. You might lose out on the crispy crust on top from an oven bake, but you never have to worry about the insides being dried out. Plus, parchment paper lining the cooker can help develop a crust, so it's a win-win.

If you're looking for a rich and cakey banana bread, you don't have to follow the traditional recipe when making it in your slow cooker. Adding sour cream is a great way to ensure a moist banana bread with added fat and richness, but you can experiment with things like buttermilk, yogurt, or even applesauce. All of this can enhance the texture as well as the flavor of the final product.

For a deeper color and flavor, try dark brown sugar instead of simple white sugar. Remember that this will also add a bit of extra moisture, so make sure your ingredients are adjusted accordingly. You may want to reduce the liquid you use by a tablespoon or so for every cup of brown sugar.

The slow cooker method really allows flavors to develop, so it's a great opportunity to play with some variations. Old standbys like chocolate chips or nuts can easily be added, but you can experiment further. Shredded coconut can add that delicious flavor and aroma throughout the entire bread, plus it enhances the texture. Banana bread can be a little one-note, especially if it comes out too dense, so the shredded coconut is a nice added element.

If nuts aren't your thing, blueberries, strawberries, or even a swirl of Nutella mixed into your batter can all add a new dynamic. We have plenty of banana bread tips to try. It's hard to make a wrong choice here.