Instant Pot Banana Bundt Bread

Got ripe bananas? Bake Instant Pot Banana Bundt Bread! This sweet treat comes together easily from kitchen staples and makes a nice accompaniment to a coffee break, or an easy breakfast, or a fruity dessert.

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Last summer I had nearly 2 dozen Instant Pot cookbooks from the library quarantined with me for several months. I thoroughly enjoyed reading them and was filled with so many ideas for future classes (Instant Pot Bowls! Instant Pot Pasta! Instant Pot Brunch!) as well as loads of recipes to try. This recipe is one of the keepers. It's from The Instant Pot Bible by Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough (I really like this book--it breaks down recipes by size & type of machine, so if you've got an Instant Pot Max especially be sure to check it out!)


I've included this recipe as a bonus one in several of my classes primarily because it's an excellent use of leftover ripe bananas. I'm notorious for buying a bunch (or getting some in my food share) and failing to eat them all before they're too ripe to eat. ((That sounds so silly--food is too ripe to eat? Crazy. Too ripe to enjoy out of hand, but perfect for baking with.) 

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What can you do with overripe bananas?

When I've got bananas that are past my favorite firmness I toss them in the freezer. No need to remove the peel--Mother Nature devised the perfect container for bananas. I take one out about 30 minutes before I wish to use it and simply squeeze one end to pop the banana out of the peel. They're great in smoothies like my Peanut Butter Spinach Banana Smoothie, in muffins like my sugar free Banana Date Pecan Muffins, but NOT good in my Ham & Banana Pizza. You need a just ripe banana for that so it caramelizes nicely in the oven or grill but doesn't get too mushy.

How could you vary this recipe?

In the summertime I will substitute a cup of shredded zucchini for 1 of the bananas to try making Banana Zucchini Bread. While I enjoy eating zucchini bread, I tend not to make it in August when the zucchini crop is overflowing because turning on the oven heats up my house. I stick with Zucchini Pancakes. The texture of this banana bread is nice--not gummy at all. I suspect this is because of the Bundt pan, that there are no thick areas of batter far from an edge of a pan.

What size pressure cooker does this recipe use?

If you've got a 6 quart or 8 quart machine, make this recipe as written using a 6 cup capacity (7 inch across) Bundt cake pan. If you've got a 3 quart machine (what I used in the photos) cut the ingredient amounts in half and use a 3 cup Bundt pan. I picked mine up at the Nordicware outlet in St Louis Park, MN for $9 over the winter, but you can order a 3 cup Nordicware Bundt pan online (Amazon affiliate link). The total cooking time remains the same regardless of Pot size.

What about ingredient substitutions?

Take this basic recipe and make it your own! I've not tried it with 1 for 1 or other GF all purpose flour blends but I'm sure it will turn out just fine. Avoiding dairy? Try a plant-based yogurt, vegan butter substitute or all vegetable oil or coconut oil. The original recipe did not call for any spice, but if you don't want to try Penzey's Baking Spice, how about cinnamon? Allspice? Mace or Nutmeg? Whatever spice you choose, just keep the total amount of spice equivalent to what I call for--½ teaspoon of ground spice. If you'd prefer to skip the nuts, or switch to a different kind of nut (walnuts or pistachios would be yummy) go for it. Need a little more sweetness? Try up to ½ cup raisins, toffee bits, dried cranberries or cherries, or chocolate chips.

For more recipes using the Instant Pot, please see my Instant Pot Recipes page. For more recipes using bananas, please see my Banana Recipes Collection. It's part of the Visual Recipe Index by Ingredient, a resource for folks like me eating from the farm share, the farmer's market, the garden, the neighbor's garden, and great deals on ugly produce at the grocery store.

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Instant Pot Banana Bundt Bread
By Kirsten Madaus

Got ripe bananas? Bake Instant Pot Banana Bundt Bread! This sweet treat comes together easily from kitchen staples and makes a nice accompaniment to a coffee break, or an easy breakfast, or a fruity dessert. Total time includes time for the Pot to come up to pressure and naturally release pressure.

Prep time: 00:10
Cook time: 00:25
Total time: 01:25

Yield: 1 bundt pan
Ingredients:
1½ cups water
baking spray
½ cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
3 Tablespoons softened butter or 1 Tablespoon butter + 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
2 very ripe medium bananas, peeled (about 1½ to 2 cups total)
½ cup plain yogurt (full fat, low fat, or fat free)
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1½ cups unbleached all purpose flour (6 3/8 ounces by weight)
1½ teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon Baking spice
1/2 cup chopped nuts (pecans or walnuts)
optional add-ins: up to 1/2 cup total of raisins, dried cranberries or cherries, toffee bits or chocolate chips

Instructions:

Pour water into pressure cooker. Add trivet/rack. Spray 6 cup Bundt pan with baking spray. Make aluminum foil sling by taking about 30 inches of foil and folding it in half and then into thirds, longways, until you have a long 2-3 inch wide strip of foil.

In a large bowl combine sugar, eggs, butter, and bananas until well-mixed. I use an immersion blender for this, but a whisk or really vigorous fork would do. Add yogurt, lemon juice, and vanilla then mix until smooth.

Add flour, baking soda, salt, spice to the bowl, and blend until a smooth batter forms. Stir in nuts and any optional ingredients.

Pour batter into prepared pan, smoothing the top. Set the Bundt pan on the foil sling and lift the sling to transfer the pan into the pressure cooker. Lay a paper towel over the top of the pan. 

Close and lock the lid, and turn the Keep Warm function off. Program the pressure cooker to cook at High pressure for 25 minutes. Allow a natural pressure release for up to 25 minutes (will probably take 15 minutes or less).

Remove pan from Pot using foil sling and let cool for 5 minutes on a rack before inverting cake to continue cooling on rack.

Cool at least 20 minutes before slicing into wedges.

Keeps 2-3 days on the counter, longer in the fridge.