The easiest, most delicious banana bread: Cinnamon Swirl Banana Bread! My great grandmother’s moist banana bread recipe with a cinnamon sugar mixture swirled inside and sprinkled on top! It’s perfect for breakfast, a snack or dessert…anytime of the year!
Mash those over-ripe bananas and break out the cinnamon, it’s time to make Cinnamon Swirl Banana Bread! This bread combines all the sweet deliciousness of banana bread with the coziness of warm cinnamon! Definitely a MUST BAKE!
THE ULTIMATE BANANA BREAD RECIPE
The first recipe I learned how to bake was my great grandmother’s banana bread. It’s pretty much the only banana bread recipe I’ll ever need. It’s moist, fluffy and full of banana sweetness.
I’ve made a chocolate chip version included in the link above. Since I love a good swirl bread like my Blueberry Cream Cheese Pound Cake made with blueberry sauce swirled inside and Orange Cranberry Pound Cake with cranberry sauce swirled in, I got the idea to add a swirl of flavor in this banana bread!
MAKING A CINNAMON SWIRL VERSION
Another one of my favorite recipes are my great grandmother’s Snickerdoodle Cookies. Their thick cinnamon sugar coating is insanely good!
That cinnamon sugar mixture turned out to be perfect swirled into a fluffy, moist loaf of banana bread! This warmly spiced bread is tender, moist, and perfectly delicious!
I hadn’t made a cinnamon swirl bread before, so I tried a few recipes to get the perfect cinnamon sugar recipe for this bread. I adapted the Tutti Dolci’s cinnamon sugar mixture and method from her Cinnamon Swirl Loaf Cake. The only thing I changed was I added a little brown sugar.
HOW DO YOU MAKE BANANA BREAD FROM SCRATCH?
To make this recipe, I used my great grandmother’s recipe with a couple of modifications:
- I omitted the nuts because I prefer my banana bread without nuts. You can definitely add nuts if you like. Walnuts or pecans would be delicious!
- I added cinnamon sugar.
- I used butter instead of lard! I think they did a lot of cooking with lard back then, but I wouldn’t know where to get it!
USE OVERRIPE BANANAS
The key to this recipe, like all banana bread recipes is: overripe bananas! Overripe bananas are sweeter and softer than regular bananas and are key in banana bread. I always have overripe bananas in the freezer so I can make banana bread anytime.
In addition to baking banana bread, overripe bananas are the perfect ingredients to make my Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins! Also, did you know sweet, spotty bananas make awesome brownies?! It’s true! Check out my recipe for Banana Brownies.
OTHER INGREDIENTS NEEDED FOR THIS BANANA BREAD
- Flour: Regular all purpose flour.
- Baking Powder
- Baking Soda
- Salt
- Water: Just a tablespoon gets mixed into the mashed bananas and sugar.
- Butter: Room temperature unsalted butter gives it a soft texture and delicious butter flavor.
- Granulated Sugar: I like to make this recipe more or less as is so I use granulated sugar. That said, I think brown sugar would add amazing flavor!
- Eggs: Two large, room temperature eggs.
- Cinnamon: For the swirl and topping.
- Granulated Sugar and Brown Sugar: For the swirl and topping.
STEPS FOR MAKING THIS BANANA BREAD
- Stir together the cinnamon sugar mixture by mixing the sugars and cinnamon. Set aside.
- Mash the bananas with the water and sugar. Let stand 15 min.
- Sift together the dry ingredients and set aside.
- Cream the butter then add banana mixture and beat well. Add the eggs one at a time then mix in the dry ingredients. Beat only until well blended.
- Pour half the batter into the prepared tin. Evenly sprinkle 2 1/2 tablespoons of cinnamon sugar over the batter. Spoon and spread the remainder of the batter over top. Sprinkle with the remaining cinnamon sugar.
- Bake at 350 F for 45-55 minutes.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Cinnamon sugar is just ground cinnamon and sugar combined. For the sugar, I used mostly granulated with a little light brown sugar mixed in for added flavor.
Wrap the banana bread with aluminum foil or plastic wrap or place it in an airtight container. Store it at room temperature.
If banana bread is kept in an airtight container at room temperature, it will last for 3-4 days. To keep it longer, freeze it.
This banana bread can be frozen as a whole loaf or by the slice. You’ll want to first wrap it with a few layers of foil or plastic wrap. Next, place the bread in a large freezer bag. It will last at least three months in the freezer. Leave it out at room temperature to thaw.
This Cinnamon Swirl Banana Bread is the kind of treat you’ll want for breakfast, a snack or dessert! It’s super moist, soft and fluffy. The cinnamon sugar mixture swirled inside and sprinkled on top is beautiful AND delicious. Best part: it’s a super easy to make!
Print
Cinnamon Swirl Banana Bread
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 55 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
- Yield: 1 loaf 1x
- Category: Bread
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
This easy recipe for The Best Banana Bread is my all time favorite! It’s super moist, has that sweet banana flavor, and a delicate, tasty crust!
Ingredients
- 2 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 mashed bananas
- 1 tablespoons water
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 2 beaten eggs
FOR THE CINNAMON SUGAR MIXTURE
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 3/4 tablespoons cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 F and grease and line a 9×5 loaf pan with parchment paper. In a small bowl, stir together the cinnamon sugar mixture by mixing the sugars and cinnamon. Break up any brown sugar lumps. Set aside.
- In a medium sized bowl, mash the bananas with the water and sugar. Let stand 15 min.
- In another medium-sized bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
- In a large bowl or the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter then add banana mixture and beat well. Add the eggs one at a time then mix in the dry ingredients. Beat only until well combined.
- Pour or spoon half of the batter into the prepared tin. Smooth it evenly with an offset spatula.. Evenly sprinkle 2 1/2 tablespoons of cinnamon sugar over the batter. Spoon and spread the remainder of the batter over top. Sprinkle with the remaining cinnamon sugar.
- Bake for 45-55 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean or with only a few crumbs.
- Set the pan on a rack for 15 minutes. Remove bread from pan and place it on a rack to cool completely before slicing. Store in an air tight container at room temperature.
Keywords: banana bread, banana, bananas, cinnamon, cinnamon swirl, bread, cake, quick bread, loaf
Possible the best bread ever. Cinnamon is a plus
★★★★★
It is the best thanks 🙂 The cinnamon sugar inside and on top definitely takes it over the top!!