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Instant Pot Banana Nut Bread [Grandma Mills]

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Instant Pot Banana Nut Bread was specialty of Grandma Mills. It’s a delicious dessert bread that cooks up fluffy and moist in the pressure cooker.

Instant Pot Banana Nut Bread

Banana Bread is one of those sweets that just about everyone loves. Jan Borden Freeman is a wonderful baker, as a result of her Grandma Mills teaching her to bake when she was in her 20’s.

Jan purchased an Instant Pot, Ninja Foodi or Pressure Cooker last year and has been cooking up a storm. Her most favorite and prized recipe from her Grandma is her Grandma Mills’ Banana Nut Bread. She realized that baked goods were not only possible in a pressure cooker, but they come out very moist and delicious.

Ingredients for Instant Pot Banana Nut Bread

Jan decided to convert her Grandma’s famous Banana Nut Bread and the very popular Instant Pot Banana Nut Bread was born.

Nordic Ware 6-Cup Bundt Pan

Nordic Ware 6-Cup Bundt Pan

Click to purchase this Nordic Ware 6 cup Bundt Pan.

The above photo of Jan’s cake is so beautiful, so I wanted to show case it. However, Jan says she gets her best results using this little Nordic Ware 6 cup Bundt Pan.

Instant Pot Banana Nut Bread is always a hit with Jan and her family. All the kids’ kids, still make this wonderful bread and remember their Grandma.

Lottie Bell Donnell Mills "Grandma Mills"

Lottie Bell Donnell Mills “Grandma Mills”

Jan wanted to give the history behind the bread and talk a little about Grandma Mills. She says:  “Lottie Mills was a dear Christian woman from Oklahoma City. She loved to cook meals and bake desserts. She loved to have people over for a meal and dessert, and to share her love of Christ and the gospel.”

Pressure Cooker Grandma Mills' Banana Nut Bread

Pressure Cooker Grandma Mills’ Banana Nut Bread

How To Keep Sweets from Taking on Taste From Savory Recipes

  • Easy.
  • Get yourself a second and third silicone gasket/seal. They are super cheap.
  • They come in colors. We use one for sweets, one for savory and one for strong smelling recipes like my incredible Instant Pot Butter Chicken recipe.

In a Medium Mixing Bowl, add butter, sugar and eggs. Using a Hand Mixer, beat until combined. Make sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl. There should be no sugar granules left in the bowl.

Place bananas in a Small Mixing Bowl and mash well. Add the mashed bananas to the butter, eggs, sugar mixture and gently beat to combine.

Some people like nuts in their bread, others don’t. This is a personal choice.

Don't Scoop from the Container or Bag of Flour

Don’t Scoop from the Container or Bag of Flour

If you don’t read anything else of this story, please at least read my article on How to Properly Measure Flour.

I don’t want you to end up with a rubbery or a brick Instant Pot Banana Nut Bread and then blame the  recipe. Proper measurement of Flour is essential!

Besides incorrectly measuring the flour, over working a batter will also lead to a heavy and dense bread.

Add the rest of the dry ingredients to the Flour

Add the rest of the dry ingredients to the Flour

So, now that you know How to Properly Measure Flour, measure out the two cups of Flour. You did read that article, right????

Okay, then, add the rest of the dry ingredients into the Medium Mixing Bowl and beat just until combined. Do not over work your batter. Doing so will cause a very heavy and dense bread.

If using walnuts or your favorite nut, gently fold them in now and combine by hand. If you want to use Chocolate Chips, hand fold them in now.

Grandma and Grandpa Mills with their Children

Grandma and Grandpa Mills with their Children

Grandma and Grandpa Mills had five children. The above photo shows the lovely couple with their children.

Jan goes on to say:  “This Instant Pot Banana Nut Bread is just one of her many recipes. She created this Instant Pot Banana Nut Bread many, many years ago. Her recipe was in her head and she measured the ingredients with the palm of her hand or by the pinch.

One day we made a loaf of banana bread with her. As she eyeballed the ingredients in the palm of her hand or by a pinch, we measured everything and wrote it down. I’ve been making Instant Pot Banana Nut Bread since the 1970s but she had been making it for decades before she shared the recipe with us.”

Pour the Batter into a 7 inch Cake Pan

Pour the Batter into a Cake Pan

If you don’t have a 6 cup Bundt Pan, grease a 7 inch Push Pan or 7 inch Cake Pan and place a Parchment Round in the bottom. Grease the Parchment Round too.

Pour the batter in and jiggle the Bundt Pan, so that the batter is even. You may need more time, if using a Cake Pan instead of a Bundt Pan. The Bundt Pan is the preferred pan and will give you better results, time and time again.

Jan continues:

“A few months after I got the Instant Pot, I saw a pressure recipe for a carrot bread or cake. I thought I would experiment with Grandma’s recipe. I love the way it turned out. The taste reminds me of Grandma Mills, but the Instant Pot Banana Nut Bread is more moist because cooking it in the pressure cooker.

Instant Pot Banana Nut Bread cooks for about the same amount of time as in the oven. As I said, it’s more moist…and it’s fun being able to use my Instant Pot. During the scorching hot summer months, I can still make Banana Nut Bread without heating up the house. Instant Pot Banana Nut Bread freezes well. I cut it and wrap each piece, individually.”

Place Pan into Pressure Cooker

Place Pan into Pressure Cooker

Jan also uses a 6 cup Bundt Pan (which I find gives a more even bake) for this recipe to change things up a bit. Grease and flour the bottom of the pan, since parchment paper wont work well.

Add some water to the bottom of your Instant Pot, Ninja Foodi or Pressure Cooker and place a Trivet inside.

Place the cake pan of batter on top of the Stainless Steel Trivet. You are all ready to bake!

Banana Bread will rise quite a bit

Banana Bread will rise quite a bit

Tips and Tricks for Instant Pot Banana Nut Bread

  1. A 6 cup Bundt Pan works best.
  2. If you don’t measure the Flour properly, you WILL end up with a rubber/brick Banana Bread. Please read my article How to Properly Measure Flour.
  3. Over working the batter will cause a dense and heavy bread.
  4. Allow the pressure to release for a bit. Grandma Mill’s Banana Nut Bread will rise nicely.
  5. Allow it to cool, before slicing.
Pressure Cooker Grandma Mills' Banana Nut Bread, Bundt Style

Pressure Cooker Grandma Mills’ Banana Nut Bread, Bundt Style

Jan hopes you will enjoy her Instant Pot Grandma Mills’ Banana Nut Bread, as much as she and her family have been enjoying this for years.

One of my readers, Elisa, says:  “I just made the best banana bread I have ever had. Used this recipe with following adjustments. Added 1 tsp of vanilla, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, dash of cloves and 1/4 cup of apple sauce. UNBELIEVABLE!!!”

Thank you, Elisa. I am so thrilled that you enjoyed this recipe. 🙂

More Instant Pot Dessert Recipes to Make:

Enjoy this recipe from the oven or from the Instant Pot, Ninja Foodi or Pressure Cooker.

Kitchen Equipment and Essentials

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Here is the handy printable recipe:

Pressure Cooker Grandma Mills' Banana Nut Bread, Bundt Style

Instant Pot Banana Nut Bread

4.98 from 41 votes
Print Pin Save Rate
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 55 minutes
Pressure Release: 10 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
Servings: 8 servings
Calories: 157kcal
Author: Jill Selkowitz

Ingredients

Optional Add Ins

US Customary - Metric

Recommended Products

Instant Pot Electric Pressure Cooker
J.A. Henckels Classic 8 inch Chef's Knife
Stainless Steel Measuring Spoons
Potato Masher
Kitchen Scale
6 cup Bundt Pan

Instructions

  • Add bananas to a small bowl and with a potato masher, mash bananas well. Set aside.
  • In a medium bowl add butter, sugar and eggs.
  • Beat at high speed until light and creamy, making sure to scrape the sides of the bowl, so that all sugar is mixed into the butter and eggs.
  • Add the mashed bananas and beat at high speed to combine.
  • Add all dry ingredients, except walnuts and beat using medium speed just combined. Do not over mix the batter.
  • With a spatula, gently fold in walnuts and/or chips, if using.

Conventional Oven

  • Pour into greased/floured 8 inch loaf pan.
  • Bake at 350° 60-70 minutes.
  • Remove from pan and cool on rack.

Pressure Cooker

  • Grease a 6 cup Bundt Pan.  Line the bottom with a parchment round or paper, if you like.
  • Pour in batter and smooth it out so batter is level.
  • Add 1.5 cups of water into Pressure Cooker cooking pot.  Place Trivet in Pressure Cooker cooking pot.
  • Place cake pan on Trivet. Lightly cover the pan with a piece of paper towel and then a piece of foil.
  • Lock on lid and close Pressure Valve.  Cook at High Pressure for 55-60 minutes.
  • When Beep sounds, allow a 10 minute Natural Pressure Release.  Allow cake to cool in pan.

Notes

How to Serve Instant Pot Banana Nut Bread

  • Hot coffee
  • Hot Tea
  • Hot Cocoa
  • Scoop of vanilla ice cream
  • Toasted with a slather of butter
  • Turn it into French Toast!

Nutrition

Nutrition Facts
Instant Pot Banana Nut Bread
Amount Per Serving
Calories 157 Calories from Fat 99
% Daily Value*
Fat 11g17%
Saturated Fat 1g6%
Cholesterol 52mg17%
Sodium 371mg16%
Potassium 242mg7%
Carbohydrates 12g4%
Fiber 2g8%
Sugar 5g6%
Protein 4g8%
Vitamin A 105IU2%
Vitamin C 4mg5%
Calcium 24mg2%
Iron 0.8mg4%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Tried this recipe?Mention @ThisOldGalCooks or tag #thisoldgalcooks!
© ThisOldGal.com - Sharing the recipe link to any of my recipes posts are both encouraged and appreciated. Unauthorized and improperly attributed or non-attributed use of this material, including screen shots, copy/paste of full recipes to any social media site, website, mobile application or service (e.g., copymethat, recipe keeper, pepper) or cookbook, without the requisite attribution or otherwise with express written permission from Jill Selkowitz is strictly prohibited. You may share a photo with a link back instead.

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Comments

  1. Terri says

    5 stars
    Made this tonight.. first time baking in the instant pot!Great not to turn the oven on when it’s 100 degrees!
    I subbed applesauce for butter and used 1/2C sugar….turned out delicious..
    Thank you!

    Reply

  2. lizaanne says

    You make a really big deal about measuring flour, but then you don’t give the measurement in grams in the recipe. Very frustrating.

    Reply

  6. Tanna says

    5 stars
    I just made this in a 7” round instant pot baking pan and cooked 60 minutes. It was perfectly cooked in the middle. Covered loosely with parchment and foil as someone else recommended. Also used 1/2 c. Truvia baking sugar (cane blend). Yummy!!!

    Reply

    • Carol says

      Doing the same thing with the Truvia. Hopefully will come out just as good. I always cover with foil and use a sling I got on Amazon. Using the InstaPot Bundt Pan I just got. It looks like it will hold up better than the other one I have.

      Reply

  7. Lora says

    What am I missing? As per your instructions: “Grease a 6 cup Bundt Pan. Line the bottom with a parchment round or paper, if you like”. How do I line a bundt pan with parchment?

    Reply

  9. Christina says

    5 stars
    OMG this Banana Bread recipe rocks!! I didn’t have a bundt pan small enough to fit in my 6qt IP so I used a 6 cup Corningware dish. Cooked on high pressure for 1 hr. Moist and delicious. The only things I added were 1 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp vanilla, and 1/2 chocolate chips.

    Reply

  10. Tatiana says

    5 stars
    My daughter told me (last minute) she was supposed to bring banana bread to the youth group at church. I made this recipe exactly how it says, I added walnuts and chocolate chips and even though I didn’t try it, my daughter said it was a huge success with the teens (no leftovers for me 🙁 ) my niece said this is her new favorite cake/bread.
    Mind you that my daughter dislike banana bread in general but she said this was delicious!

    Reply

  11. Sue Dorroh says

    Hi! This is the first baked goods recipe I tried n the Instant Pot and it turned out great! We are eating Keto or low carb so I substituted the sugar and used Swerve Granulated sugar. For the flour substitute I used 1 cup Almond flour and 1 cup Coconut flour. For the nuts I had some almonds that I put in the chopper instead of walnuts. Everything’s substituted well and the banana bread got rave reviews! We all need a little banana bread some time! Thanks for the recipe!

    Reply

  12. Annette says

    If I use a 7 inch cake pan how much more time do I need to add to the 55 – 60 minutes? Or if I use two 3 cup bundt pans how much time do I use?

    Reply

  13. BRIDGETTE G says

    5 stars
    My 1st baking adventure in my instant pot! And, of course, I had to get a little off path – added 1/8c unsweetened cacao powder, and substituted the ap flour for almond flour. Holy moly was this a great recipe! I even used the flour measure tip with the almond flour. 🙂 ty for an easy, terrific record recipe!

    Reply

  14. tamara says

    5 stars
    I used all purpose gluten free flour by weight and it worked perfectly! It’s so light and fluffy you would never know it’s gluten free! Thank you!!

    Reply

  15. Heather Harrington says

    Help!! I can’t have dairy but your recipe looks amazing. I don’t bake, ever ? so this seems like a perfect alternative to make some delicious banana bread… my family survives off the instant pot. Lol

    Do you have any suggestions for butter replacement in this recipe?

    Thank you! ?

    Reply

    • Toni says

      I made it in an IP it was delicious although the center didn’t cook through(didn’t use Bundt pan) Just scooped it out and ate the done part.

      Reply

  16. Rose says

    This bread looks amazing and who doesn’t like banana bread. I appreciate all the time and effort you put into your blog. However, I hate to waste my time and ingredients. Cover or don’t, cover the pan which one?

    Reply

    • Sheila says

      I always cover. Otherwise the top is wet. Cheesecake I don’t cover. I take a paper towel and carefully ‘wick’ the moisture off around the edges where it tends to
      Pool.

      Reply

  18. Tamara Lund says

    5 stars
    I made this and it was the best banana bread I’ve ever made. I read all about how to measure flour (thank you). I only had a springform pan so I used that. I had to put in back in And cook it for another 20 minutes and it was perfect. I would leave off the paper towel and use parchment covered with foil next time. Thanks for the recipe.

    Reply

  19. K. McCollom says

    5 stars
    Spectacularly delicious! Used a 6 cup ceramic bundt pan, added chopped walnuts and Ghirardelli dark chocolate chips per the recipe, vanilla, and a rounded teaspoon of Penzey’s Baking Spice. About a third of the flour was King Arthur white whole grain. Also gave it about a teaspoon of a natural banana extract to enhance the flavor. Allow plenty of time for it to cool in the ceramic pan. Will definitely make again.

    Reply