Slow Cooker Banana Bread with Brown Sugar Sauce — Soft, tender banana bread with a caramely, brown sugar sauce that develops while the bread cooks!! If you’ve never made a slow cooker dessert, start with this easy recipe!!
Table of Contents
This CrockPot banana bread is soft, tender, full of rich banana flavor, and the sauce that forms while the bread bakes is pure caramely heaven.
The sauce helps keep the banana bread extra moist because there’s nothing worse than dry bread or cake and in a slow cooker things can dry out if you’re not careful, but no worries about dryness here.
I adore banana bread and am no stranger to it with 40+ different original banana bread recipes, and it’s hard to pick a favorite, but this one ranks right up there. The next time you have ripe bananas, this is a must-make!
Ingredients Needed
To make this easy slow cooker banana bread, you’ll need:
- Eggs
- Canola oil
- Light brown sugar
- Granulated sugar
- Vanilla extract
- Ripe bananas
- All-purpose flour
- Baking powder and baking soda
- Salt
- Cinnamon
- Boiling water
Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for the ingredients with amounts included and for more complete directions.
How to Make Banana Bread in a Slow Cooker
- Whisk together the wet ingredients before adding in the dry.
- Turn the batter into your slow cooker.
- To the same bowl you mixed the banana bread batter in, stir together additional brown sugar and boiling water. Carefully pour this mixture over the batter in the slow cooker.
- Cover and cook on high for about 1 1/2 to 2 hours, or until the edges have set and are light golden brown and a toothpick inserted into center of bread comes out clean
Recipe FAQs
I don’t think so! If you made it in the oven, you’d need multiple loaf pans since slow cookers are quite large. If you’re craving baked banana bread, check out one of my (many) Banana Bread Recipes.
Probably, but since this is CrockPot banana bread I’m not sure how cooking the nuts in the slow cooker would affect their texture. If you try this out and enjoy the result, leave me a comment down below!
I recommend following my Crockpot chocolate chip banana bread recipe instead. I’ve tested that recipe and know that it works as written.
You MUST use a 6-quart slow cooker (or larger), otherwise this CrockPot dessert may overflow while it cooks.
Tips for Making This Recipe
Easy clean up: I highly recommend using a slow cooker liner when making this CrockPot banana bread. Liners make cleanup a breeze and ensures the bread doesn’t stick to the slow cooker insert.
Adding the caramel sauce: After you’ve poured the caramel sauce mixture over the banana bread batter do NOT stir it in! You want the sugar-water mixture to pool around the batter — this will create the caramel sauce as the CrockPot banana bread cooks.
Testing for doneness: Just like classic banana bread, you’ll know this slow cooker version is done when the edges have set and are light golden brown, and a toothpick inserted into center of bread comes out clean.
Storage Instructions
Bread is best warm and fresh but will keep in an airtight container for up to 5 days at room temperature, noting the sauce absorbs into the bread by the second day. I do not recommend freezing this banana bread due to the caramel sauce.
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Slow Cooker Banana Bread with Brown Sugar Sauce
Ingredients
Bread
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup canola or vegetable oil
- ½ cup light brown sugar, packed
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups mashed ripe bananas, about 3 large bananas
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt, or to taste
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon, optional and to taste (I’ve made it with and without, both versions are good depending on preference)
Sauce
- ½ cup light brown sugar, packed
- 1 ½ cups boiling water
Instructions
- Line a 6-quart slow cooker with a liner if using one. I prefer to use liners for easy cleanup and storage, see step 7. Spray liner or base and sides of slow cooker with cooking spray; set aside. Do not use a smaller slow cooker because the bread rises quite dramatically and it will overflow.
Bread:
- To a large bowl, add the eggs, oil, sugars, vanilla, and whisk to combine.
- Add the bananas and stir to combine.
- Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, optional cinnamon, and stir to combine. Turn batter out into prepared slow cooker and spread it into a smooth, even, flat layer; set aside.
Sauce:
- To a large bowl (the same one you already used is fine, just wipe it clean with a paper towel), add the brown sugar, boiling water, and whisk to combine.
- Carefully pour the hot sugar-water mixture over the batter in slow cooker. Do not stir. This mixture turns into the sauce while the bread bakes; do not stir.
- Cover and cook on high for about 1 1/2 to 2 hours, or until the edges have set and are light golden brown and a toothpick inserted into center of bread comes out clean. Start checking at just over one hour to ensure you don’t overbake. My bread was done in 95 minutes. All slow cookers vary so cook until bread is done. I have not tested the recipe using the low heat setting and can’t speak to baking time or results.
- Remove the top portion of the slow cooker (the ceramic bowl the cake is cooking in) from the base (heating element) to allow bread to cool momentarily before serving.
Notes
- Bread is best warm and fresh but will keep in an airtight container for up to 5 days at room temp, noting the sauce absorbs into the bread by the second day.
- Storage is much easier if you use a liner because you can lift the entire liner out, bread and all, and place in an airtight container.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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More Slow Cooker Desserts:
Crockpot Chocolate Chip Banana Bread – Think slow cookers are only for soups and savory recipes? Think again because you can make this soft, tender, moist banana bread in your Crockpot and it’s SO EASY! This no-mixer banana bread is loaded with chocolate chips in every bite and a family FAVORITE!
Slow Cooker Peanut Butter Cup Cake — Yellow cake is spiked with peanut butter, hot fudge, topped with a peanut butter glaze, more hot fudge, and sprinkled with peanut butter cups before being slow cooked!
Crockpot Lava Cake — This is an easy, no-mixer cake that’s super soft, gooey, moist, rich, and fudgy. As the cake cooks, it creates its own hot fudge sauce! For the full experience, serve with ice cream or whipped cream!
Great recipe! I don’t have a slow cooker so I used an oven for this, 350F for about 35 minutes and it ended up great! I also added a little more vegetable oil than I normally would so it wouldn’t dry out. Very yummy!
Thanks for the five star review and I’m glad it turned out great for you based on how you ended up making it!
What size is used for slow cooker? Says over flow if it is too small but doesn’t say size….unless I missed that part!?
Yes you did miss it. Listed in step 1. Enjoy the cake!
great recipe, works every time with or without cinnamon. this is one of my daughter’s favorite cakes (and mine)
Thanks for the five star review and I’m glad it’s one of your and your daughter’s favorite cakes!
Can this be made in an oven? If so, what temperature and what other adjustments should I make
Not sure since I have not done it that way. You would need many loaf pans since they volume of a 6-quart slow cooker is significant.
Followed the instructions, to the letter.
After 2 hours, my knife comes out doughy.
I don’t have tooth picks it seems.
Then your slow cooker just runs cooler than mine. Cook it until it’s done and set, whatever that means in your machine.
Yes I made this for the first time & it was moist & very tasty & i will be making this again as it was yummy …
Glad you will make it again!
Delicious!!! I am making it a second time, this tiem I addeed chocolate chips. This tastes a lot better than the breads cooked in the oven.
Thanks for the 5 star review and I’m glad that you’re making it a second time!
Hi, i was looking for slow cooker dessert recipes and found this. I want to try it today, do you think i can use alumunium foil for lining the slow cooker? I don’t have plastic lining which is safe for food
I wouldn’t use foil. They sell liners in the section of the store where ziplock baggies, clingwrap, etc. are kept.
I think this is foolproof! I didn’t intentionally try to screw it up but first I turned it on and it wasn’t plugged in for 20 min the I plugged it in but the plug was loose. Then I set it to low instead of high for a hour. Realized the mistake and change it to high for about a hour and came out great!
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you even with a few goofs :) Most of my recipes are written with lots of flexibility, you just took it a little farther…haha! Glad it still came out great!
I made this this afternoon and it turned out great! Would be great with a scoop of ice cream on top as well! This is my first ever “dessert in a crock pot” and I would say, it is quite the success!
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you!
Try this slow cooker dessert next! https://www.averiecooks.com/2016/02/slow-cooker-hot-fudge-chocolate-cake.html So good!
I just made this last night in my 3.5 quart oval crock pot. Worked just fine for me with no overflowing! There was 1″-1.5″ still from the finished cake to the top of the crock pot. It was thicker though and took 3.5 hours to cook. It was delicious, my whole family loved it!
This is our first summer in Arizona’s heat so I’ve been using my electric appliances more than when we lived in Indiana. I started looking at slow cooler recipes including desserts and found several good ones but this is the one in my slow cooler right now. We can’t wait to try it and other recipes from your site.
I am so glad you tried this and I hope you enjoy! Great way to beat the heat by not firing up your oven!
Hubby and I read this on my phone first. We thought you were using foil paper. This is probably why it’s not done even though it’s been cooking for 2h15min. Don’t know what to do to fix this. :(
All slow cookers, ingredients, and climates vary. Just cook until it’s done. You’ll be able to see and know when that is and it’s set and cooked through. My slow cooker runs on the hot/fast side…yours may not be like mine. Enjoy the banana bread cake!
What size crock pot should I use? Is 3 Quart too small?
Step 1. of the directions I mentioned the size.
Yes a 3-qt would be too small.
I tried this last week and my family loved it! My only complaint was that there wasn’t enough sauce in the bottom. the cake was moist and great but I kinda wanted more. :) So, do you think I could double the sauce and it would still turn out? Do you think it would make the bread soggy at the bottom?
I think that you could add a bit more sauce, maybe not quite double it, but do like 1.5x the amount. I haven’t played around with it so can’t say for sure. Also some slow cookers are just hotter than others and things can dry out easily. Maybe you could cook a few minutes less, add a bit more sauce, and see what happens. With slow cookers, it’s never quite an exact science but glad you loved the recipe!
Slow cooker desserts! The most wonderful combination of 3 words. I have found my new obsession! Love it!