This bread machine blueberry banana bread recipe produces a moist & delicious banana bread. This is a “bluer” version of Grandma’s banana bread! 🙂
In case you didn’t know, traditional banana breads are a type of quick bread. Quick breads use baking soda and/or baking powder as a leavening agent (versus sandwich-type breads that use yeast). Quick breads are usually a sweeter muffin-like “bread” that is often eaten as a dessert. Our blueberry banana bread recipe helps you to create a wonderful dessert or delicious breakfast snack. Your family will love it.
Key Ingredients – Bananas & Blueberries
Since this blueberry banana bread recipe is done in a bread machine, it is simple & easy to make. It generally takes me about 10 minutes or so to prepare and then the bread machine does the rest of the work. Bread Dad also has a printable and “pin-able” recipe at the bottom of the page.
If you are looking for the non-bread machine version of this recipe, please visit my page that covers how to make an oven-baked Blueberry Banana Bread. Be aware that we use frozen blueberries in this recipe because they are less easily “broken up” in the mixing of the dough by the bread machine. This allows you to have more whole berries in your finished blueberry banana bread. You can use fresh blueberries but you might have more chopped up or crushed berries at the end of the banana bread making process.
FYI – If you have a small compact bread machine, you might like to try my recipe for 1 lb Bread Machine Banana Bread. The 2 lb version below is too big for many small bread machines.
Ingredients – Bread Machine – Blueberry Banana Bread Recipe – 2lb Loaf
- 3 – Mashed Bananas (Ripe & Medium Sized) – For the best/most consistent results use exactly 1 cup of mashed bananas
- 8 Tablespoons – Unsalted Butter (melted)
- 2 – Eggs (lightly beaten)
- 1 Teaspoon – Vanilla Extract
- 1 Cup – Light Brown Sugar (packed cup)
- 2 Cups – All Purpose Flour
- 1/2 Teaspoon – Salt
- 1 Teaspoon – Baking Powder
- 1 Teaspoon – Baking Soda
- 1 Cup – Blueberries (frozen)
Servings – Roughly 12 slices
Equipment Needed – Measuring cup & spoons, flexible spatula, oven mitts, cooling rack… and of course, a bread machine!
Frozen Blueberries – Helps Keep Berries Intact During Mixing
Instructions – Bread Machine – Blueberry Banana Bread Recipe – 2 lb Loaf
- Bread Machine Setting – Quick Bread/Cake, Light Color & 2 lb
- Beat the eggs.
- Mash bananas with a fork.
- Soften the butter in microwave.
- Add mashed bananas, butter & eggs into the bread pan and then add the other ingredients (except the blueberries). Try to follow order of the ingredients listed above so that liquid ingredients are placed in the bread pan first and the dry ingredients second.
- Enter the bread machine settings (Quick Bread/Cake, Light Color) and press the start button. FYI – Before making this recipe, please READ the tips section below for more information regarding the sweet quick bread setting used to make banana breads. On your machine, this setting might be called “quick bread”, “quick bread/cake”, “cake”, etc. However, some manufacturers use the “quick bread” setting for rapid sandwich-type breads that use yeast (and not for quick breads such as banana bread that use baking powder/soda). Therefore, this setting can be very confusing… but the tips section below will help you to find the right setting to use on your machine. You need to enter the correct banana bread setting used by your SPECIFIC bread machine model or the banana bread could be under or overcooked.
- After the first kneading and before the second kneading, add the blueberries.
- When the bread machine has finished baking the bread, unplug the bread machine. Remove the bread loaf pan and place it on a wooden cutting board. Let the bread stay within the bread loaf container for 10 minutes before you remove it from the bread loaf container. Use oven mitts when removing the bread machine container (bread loaf pan) because it will be very hot!
- After removing the bread from the bread loaf pan, place the bread on a cooling rack. Use oven mitts when removing the bread.
- Don’t forget to remove the mixing paddle if it is stuck in the bread. Use oven mitts as the mixing paddle could be hot.
- You should allow the banana bread to complete cool before cutting. This can take up to 2 hours. Otherwise, the banana bread will break (crumble) more easily when cut.
- Before using your bread machine, you should read the bread machine manufacturer’s instructions in order to use the bread machine effectively and safely.
- Please READ the tips section below for extra information on how to make this recipe successfully and to avoid common bread machine problems with moister “quick bread” recipes such as banana bread.
If you liked this recipe, please leave a comment below (at the bottom of the page) & give us a 5 star rating.
Other Bread Dad Sections
- Bread Machines – My favorites
- Bread Machine Cookbooks
- Bread Mixes – Ingredient kits
- Bread Tools – Bread slicers, etc.
Tips – Bread Machine – Blueberry Banana Bread Recipe
- The tips below are designed to help bread machine “novices” and those who haven’t touched their bread machine in years.
- Love blueberries? Then you might also like to try our oven-baked recipes for Blueberry Cornbread, Blueberry Bread and Blueberry Banana Bread.
- Before making this recipe, please read the tips below especially the section focused on the “quick bread/cake” setting because bread machines vary & require you to be knowledgeable about your specific bread machine model when making a banana bread. For example, if you do not use the correct setting, you will have trouble with bread machine recipes (i.e. your banana bread may be potentially under or overcooked). The setting name used for banana breads differs on many bread machine models and may be called “Quick”, “Cake”, “Cake/Quick Bread”, etc. Therefore, you need to determine the specific setting on your bread machine model (READ YOUR MANUAL) that was designed for sweet quick bread recipes (i.e. banana bread) that use baking soda/powder and not yeast. I know that this can be confusing… but the “sweet quick bread” tips section below will help you to find the right setting for your machine.
- Warning – The number 1 error that people make when creating a bread machine banana bread is using the WRONG setting. The people who have a problem often use the “quick” or “quick bread” setting designed for fast/express sandwich bread recipes that use yeast… and NOT the “quick bread” or “cake” setting designed for moist quick breads (i.e. banana bread & pumpkin bread) that use baking soda/powder. These are two totally different settings with different mixing & baking lengths. You need to find the correct baking soda/powder “quick bread” setting used with YOUR specific make & model of bread machine. FYI – To avoid this error, please read the setting tips lower down in the tips section & read your machine manual.
- Important – To find the correct setting to use for many of the most popular bread machines, you should visit my Bread Machine Quick Bread Settings page. I set this up to help people find the correct setting for their particular machine (as bread machines & setting names differ). This page has comments/instructions from many of my visitors on how they “tweak” their machines in order to handle moister “quick breads” such as banana bread.
- Another common error – Not using RIPE bananas. Banana bread made with unripe bananas tastes very bland!
- Another common error – Using 3 bananas versus using exactly 1 cup of mashed RIPE bananas. Bananas vary in size and this can throw off recipes. If the banana is too large, it can add too much moisture and if it is too small, the banana bread can be too dry.
- Another common error – Not premixing or scraping the sides of the bread pan. If you do not premix/scrape, you are very likely to have flour stuck to the sides of the bread pan and banana bread. For more information, read the premixing/scraping tips lower down on the page.
- As I stated above, use RIPE bananas for the best results. If you use unripe green or hard yellow bananas, your banana bread might not be as tasty. Unripe bananas have more starch and less sugar than ripe bananas. The natural sweetness of ripe bananas works best when making banana bread recipes. Ripe bananas are soft and the yellow peel has many small brown/black spots.
- If you run out of blueberries, you can replace them with raisins, cranberries, etc.
- We use frozen blueberries in this recipe because they are less easily “broken up” in the mixing of the dough. This allows you to have more whole berries (non-crushed) in your finished blueberry banana bread. However, don’t add any extra ice crystals that might be attached to frozen blueberries (or you will be adding too much moisture and your banana bread bread might come out undercooked). FYI – I like to wash off the ice crystals. Of course, then I need to dry the frozen blueberries.
- “Sweet Quick Bread” Setting Details – According to Wikipedia and most bakers, banana bread is a type of “quick bread” (that uses baking soda/powder instead of yeast). Unfortunately, this term (quick bread) has led to some confusion as bread machine manufacturers often use similar setting names to make rapid/express/quick sandwich-type breads as well as completely different sweet quick breads (i.e. banana bread).
- IMPORTANT – Make sure to use the setting on your bread machine designed for QUICK BREADS/CAKES. This setting is for sweet quick bread recipes (i.e. banana bread or pumpkin bread) that use baking soda/powder (and not yeast). You can not use regular sandwich-type bread settings in order to make banana bread.
- Be aware that the setting name used for banana bread recipes can vary by bread machine manufacturer. Here are some examples of settings used to make banana bread on various bread machines – the Sunbeam Breadmaker 5891 uses the “Quick” setting, the Zojirushi BB-PAC20 Bread Maker uses the “Cake” setting and the Cuisinart CBK-100 Bread Maker uses the “Cake/Quick Bread” setting. Therefore, you must check your bread machine’s instructions for the exact setting used to make banana bread on your specific bread machine model.
- Don’t be fooled by setting names like Rapid or Express Bread (as these settings are often used for very rapid baking and are not used for sweet quick breads). They will leave your banana bread undercooked. For example, on my Sunbeam, the sweet quick bread setting lasts for 1:43 hours versus the express setting which lasts for only 58 minutes. Be aware that some bread machine manufacturers even label the rapid/express bread setting as “Quick Bread” and this can cause lots of confusion (because they use the name in order to describe a setting that makes a rapid sandwich-type bread and not a sweet quick bread recipe such as banana bread).
- Moreover, in many bread machines, the “sweet bread” setting is used for sweet breads that use yeast (not banana breads that use baking soda/powder). “Sweet bread” recipes are different from sweet quick bread recipes (i.e. banana bread) and utilize different mixing & baking times. Therefore, a bread machine banana bread recipe is unlikely to work on the “sweet bread” setting.
- If you are still having trouble finding the sweet quick bread setting, check your bread machine manual for details regarding the “Cake” setting on your machine. Some bread machines have a cake setting that states that they can be used for banana breads & sweet quick breads (and the mixing & baking will last roughly for 1 hour 40-50 minutes). However, other bread machines have a cake setting that is not designed for sweet quick breads. For example, my bread machine (Sunbeam) has a cake setting (that lasts for 2 hours 50 minutes) and a “Quick” (used for quick breads such as banana bread) setting (that lasts for 1 hour 43 minutes). Therefore, this banana bread recipe would probably not work well with the cake setting on my machine.
- I know this can be super confusing… but always read your bread machine manual and look for the specific setting designed for banana breads & sweet quick breads (that use baking soda/powder).
- If you have lost your bread machine manual, you can usually find it by searching online. For example, I can find my manual by typing “Sunbeam bread machine manual” into Google.
- Many bread machine manufacturers also have recipe booklets where you can also find more information on how to make a banana bread with your specific bread machine model.
- However, be aware that some basic bread machines have only a very limited number of settings and may NOT have a setting that can be used for sweet quick breads (i.e. banana bread). These basic machines are primarily focused on making sandwich-type breads. If your bread machine can’t make banana breads, you might like to try our oven-baked Quick & Easy Banana Bread recipe.
- You need to leave the bread in the bread pan for 10 minutes after you take it out of the bread machine. Denser quick breads take a little longer for the interior dough to be fully baked.
- Be careful when removing the banana bread from the bread loaf pan. Banana breads are much softer than sandwich-type bread loaves. Therefore, they can break or “dent” more easily when you remove them from the bread loaf pan. When removing the bread, you should be careful not to let the handle of the bread pan damage the bread.
- We use aluminum free baking powder in our bread machine banana bread recipes. Read the label of your baking powder because some brands may use ingredients such as sodium aluminum sulfate. Making your own banana bread allows you to screen out unwanted chemicals.
- If the top center of the bread looks too moist when you take it out of the bread machine, you can try the classic baking “toothpick test”. Gently push a toothpick/chopstick/skewer into the top of the bread and see if any batter sticks to the toothpick/chopstick/skewer. Make sure to wear oven gloves because the bread pan and bread machine will still be hot. If batter is sticking to the toothpick/chopstick/skewer then it hasn’t completely cooked. Place the bread loaf pan back into the still warm bread machine for another 5 minutes. After the 5 minutes, remove the bread pan and test the banana bread again with a toothpick/chopstick/skewer. FYI – Given variability in banana sizes, banana breads tend to have more moistness variability than many other recipes. Moreover, since most bread machines turn off automatically after a specified time and you can not adjust the baking temperature, they are little less flexible than ovens in dealing with baking “variances”. Thus the need to use the toothpick test if the banana bread top looks too moist (or you can skip the toothpick test and just leave the banana bread in the still warm bread machine for an extra 5 minutes if the top looks a little too moist).
- Since a toothpick can be too short, I like to use a long chopstick or wooden skewer instead. Remember always wear oven mitts when dealing with a hot bread pan.
- If you have a problem with a banana bread recipe, please make sure that you are following the recipe exactly. You will need to make sure that you are inputting the correct bread machine settings, using the exact ingredient measurements (i.e. don’t eyeball the measurements versus using a measuring cup), using the exact ingredients called for in the recipe (i.e. baking soda/powder versus yeast or all purpose flour versus bread flour), etc. Please don’t “wing” things with recipes unless you are willing to live with your experiments!
- In addition, you should try to use relatively fresh baking soda & powder for the best results. For example, using baking soda from an open container (that has been deodorizing your refrigerator for months) may lead to subpar results. Old & hard baking powder/soda may lead to the rising problems and/or leave small bitter clumps in your banana bread.
- Please read the instructions/manual included with your bread machine in order to use it safely and effectively. Recipe instructions & settings may differ slightly depending on the brand & model of bread machine utilized.
- Always wear oven mitts when dealing with a bread machine, hot bread pan, etc.
- For more easy bread machine recipes (i.e. banana bread, pizza dough, cornbread, French bread, whole wheat bread, etc.), please visit Bread Dad’s main Bread Machine Recipes section.
If you liked this recipe, please leave a comment below (at the bottom of the page) & give us a 5 star rating.
Reference Sources
- Wikipedia, Bread Machine
- Wikipedia, Banana Bread
Bread Machine - Blueberry Banana Bread
This bread machine blueberry banana bread recipe produces a moist & delicious banana bread. This is a "bluer" version of Grandma's banana bread! 🙂 This recipe is for a 2lb loaf. Please visit Bread Dad (BreadDad.com) for more great banana bread recipes (oven-baked & bread machine versions).
Servings: 12 Slices
Ingredients
- 3 Mashed Bananas (Ripe & Medium Sized) - For the best/most consistent results use exactly 1 cup of mashed bananas
- 8 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter (melted)
- 2 Eggs (lightly beaten)
- 1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 1 Cup Light Brown Sugar (packed cup)
- 2 Cups All Purpose Flour
- 1/2 Teaspoon Salt
- 1 Teaspoon Baking Powder
- 1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
- 1 Cup Blueberries (frozen)
Instructions
- Bread Machine Settings – Quick Bread/Cake, Light Color & 2 lb
- Beat the eggs.
- Mash bananas with a fork.
- Soften the butter in microwave.
- Add eggs, bananas & butter into the bread pan and then add the other ingredients (except the blueberries). Try to follow order of the ingredients listed above so that liquid ingredients are placed in the bread pan first and the dry ingredients second.
- Enter the bread machine settings (Quick Bread/Cake, Light Color) and press the start button. FYI - Before making this recipe, please READ the tips section below for more information regarding the sweet quick bread setting used to make banana breads. On your machine, this setting might be called "quick bread", "quick bread/cake", "cake", etc. However, some manufacturers use the "quick bread" setting for rapid sandwich-type breads that use yeast (and not for quick breads such as banana bread that use baking powder/soda). Therefore, this setting can be very confusing... but the tips section below will help you to find the right setting to use on your machine. You need to enter the correct banana bread setting used by your SPECIFIC bread machine model or the banana bread could be under or overcooked.
- After the first kneading and before the second kneading, add the blueberries.
- When the bread machine has finished baking the bread, unplug the bread machine. Remove the bread loaf pan and place it on a wooden cutting board. Let the bread stay within the bread loaf container for 10 minutes before you remove it from the bread loaf container. Use oven mitts when removing the bread machine container (bread loaf pan) because it will be very hot!
- After removing the bread from the bread loaf pan, place the bread on a cooling rack. Use oven mitts when removing the bread.
- Don’t forget to remove the mixing paddle if it is stuck in the bread. Use oven mitts as the mixing paddle could be hot.
- You should allow the banana bread to complete cool before cutting. This can take up to 2 hours. Otherwise, the banana bread will break (crumble) more easily when cut.
- Before using your bread machine, you should read the bread machine manufacturer’s instructions in order to use the bread machine effectively and safely.
Notes
This is a Bread Dad recipe and may not be copied or reproduced. This recipe is copyright protected under the US Digital Millennium Copyright Act.
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Related Recipes
- Blueberry Banana Bread – Oven-baked
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