Trying out GoNanas Chocolate Chip Banana Bread mix

This mix was found at a Raley’s, which separates gluten free baking mixes from regular mixes. This product was sitting with the regular mixes but upon further inspection it is gluten free and has the option to be vegan so no eggs or dairy are required to mix up the batter. I haven’t seen or tried GoNanas brand before but the packaging was nice and the picture on front looked good so I gave it a try.

I was bummed when I got home and found that it required bananas as an ingredient. I didn’t have any on hand and had to go back to the store to get some. With banana bread it seems a lot of mixes do require you to use your own bananas so it makes sense but after making banana nut muffins, and different fruit muffins like blueberries and raspberries that included the fruit or fruit flavor in the package, I was caught off guard. One of these days I’ll learn to read the package before I leave the store but when that day comes, what will I write about?

This mix requires bananas, maple syrup, milk (non-dairy works for the vegan route), and melted coconut oil (can be subbed with oils, butter, yogurt, etc.). I used regular dairy milk since it’s what I keep on hand in my non-vegan household and melted butter instead of coconut oil. The steps on the package are simple, whisk together the ingredients until smooth, then add in the dry mix until just combined. I however had the hardest time mixing up my bananas. I assume they were not as soft as they needed to be because after what felt like forever of mashing them with a rubber spatula, they still weren’t smooth. With chunks still visible, I moved on. Dear reader, do not make this mistake. No chunks are allowed. I wish I had used an immersion blender or an electric mixer to smash these bananas up but alas, I did not.

I poured my lumpy batter into the bread pan and put it in the oven to bake. The packaging calls for 50-60 minutes but the loaf was done at 45 minutes. Once it cooled down, I cut into the chocolate chip banana bread. It was super soft like it was overly moist, which made it hard to cut. This middle was still a little warm so I’d hoped that it was soft due to that but after refrigerating the bread, it was still awful to cut through. The knife practically smooshed the bread going down no matter what cutting motion I made. I eventually got some ugly pieces cut and found that the lumps of banana did not incorporate and I now had bread with banana chunks along with my chocolate chips.

Taking a bite, I found that the flavor was nice. I thought the cinnamon notes were an interesting addition, and the huge amount of chocolate chips were a big bonus for me. I could not tell that this product was gluten free. The consistency, however, was terrible. I will note this may be due to user error and chunks of bananas but, eating this bread was similar to a mouthful of peanut butter. You just keep trying to get through it and it just keeps sticking to your mouth. For me the texture was a huge turn off and explained why it was so hard to cut. I really couldn’t move past that and would not try this mix again. My experience may not be your experience but for $7.49 at Raley’s, I will not purchase this mix again to find out if I was the reason for the poor consistency.

As prepared, this mixture totaled 2006 calories. If divided into 12 slices, it comes down to 167 calories per slice.

Here are the links to products used today:
Rubber Spatulas – https://amzn.to/3JWDtAA
Tablespoon set – https://amzn.to/4agFQsK  
Oven Mitts – https://amzn.to/3JYq5Mg
Glass Measuring Cup – https://amzn.to/44IuX1B
*These are affiliate links meaning if you click on the link and buy the product, I will earn a small commission, but you will not be charged a penny more.