This cinnamon banana bread is so easy to make and tastes SO delicious and moist! With a ribbon of cinnamon sugar swirled throughout and a crisp cinnamon sugar crust on top, it’s a unique version of a classic recipe.
How to make cinnamon banana bread
You can’t have cinnamon swirl banana bread without the swirl! It took quite a few trials to get it just right and luckily, the easiest technique ended up being the most effective.
Between a homemade cinnamon streusel with sugar, butter and flour, to a buttery cinnamon sugar mixture, the best and most effective cinnamon swirl ingredients ended up being the classic cinnamon sugar.
To make the cinnamon sugar, simply combine 1/2 cup of sugar with 1 tablespoon of cinnamon. It’s definitely more cinnamon than a typical cinnamon sugar mixture, but I really wanted to make sure the cinnamon came through!
After half of the batter is added to the baking pan, sprinkle half of the cinnamon sugar on top in an even layer. It will seem like a lot, but the mixture soaks into the batter as the bread bakes so it’s just the right amount!
Then, my favorite part, the remaining batter is added on top and then the rest of the cinnamon sugar is sprinkled on the surface. As the bread bakes, it creates a delicious crackly crust on top to make this cinnamon banana bread THAT much better!
How to ripen bananas quickly for banana bread
If you need ripe bananas STAT but yours aren’t quite there yet, this is a quick trick you can use to speed up that process.
First, if you don’t have any bananas to start with, most grocery stores keep a small stack of almost-ripe bananas with the rest of the bananas. They’re usually individuals that either fell of the bunches or were plucked off by shoppers. I find mine on the bottom shelf.
To ripen them for baking, preheat the oven to 250F and place the bananas on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, peels and all. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the bananas are completely brown…borderline black.
Let the bananas cool completely then peel and mash. They’ll be a little liquidy but that’s OK. It’s just the juices released from the bananas under the high heat.
How to store your cinnamon swirl banana bread
Once the banana bread is baked, it won’t last long in your house! Whenever I bake it for my family, everyone fights over the last slice. That’s definitely the case for my chocolate chip banana bread and this recipe is no exception.
If you’re baking it a day ahead for an event, leave the bread unsliced and store in an air tight container or large plastic bag at room temperature. Without slices, the banana bread has a much better chance of not drying out.
If you’ve sliced it and need to store it, store it the same way but also cover the sliced end in plastic wrap. This keeps the air from seeping into the bread which can dry it out even faster.
To extend the life of your banana bread, follow all the same steps but store in the fridge. Room temperature can keep for about 3 days before it starts to dry out. The fridge will keep for about 1 week.
Cinnamon Banana Bread FAQs
If you’re just a smidge short, fill in the rest with apple sauce!
For this recipe, go for a true 9×5 loaf pan. Many loaf pans measure to about 4.5 x 8.5″ which doesn’t seem like much of a difference, but a more narrow pan makes it hard for the loaf to bake all the way through to the center. Also go for a light colored aluminum pan as these conduct heat the best!
Although I haven’t tested it, I think it could work well with gluten free baking flour! Simply sub the flour with a cup for cup gluten free baking flour.
For even more delicious banana bread recipes:
- Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
- Gluten Free Banana Bread
- Dark Chocolate Banana Bread
- Banana Bread Cinnamon Rolls
- Healthy Banana Bread Bars
Make sure to tag me @butternutbakery on Instagram and comment below if you make this Cinnamon Banana Bread. To pin this recipe and save it for later, you can use the button on the recipe card or on any of the photos above. Happy baking!
Watch how to make this cinnamon banana bread:
Cinnamon Banana Bread
- Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Yield: 1 loaf
Description
This cinnamon banana bread has a ribbon of cinnamon sugar swirled throughout with a crisp sugar crust on top! It’s also so moist, so soft, and loaded with sweet ripe bananas.
Ingredients
Cinnamon Banana Bread
- 1 1/2 cups (395g) ripe and mashed banana (about 3 large bananas, but still measure!)
- 2 cups (264g) all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup (55g) light brown sugar, packed
- 1/4 cup (55g) unsalted butter, melted
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup (120g) sour cream
Cinnamon Sugar
- 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
- 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F and grease and line a 9×5 loaf pan. Place a strip of parchment paper along the width of the pan so it’s easy to lift out once baked.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the mashed banana, sugars and butter until well combined.
- Whisk in the eggs, vanilla and sour cream.
- Pour in the dry ingredients and use a rubber spatula to fold to combine.
- Off to the side in a small dish, combine the cinnamon sugar.
- Pour 1/2 of the banana bread batter into the pan and spread it even. Sprinkle half of the cinnamon sugar on top then spoon the remaining batter on top. Spread it even and sprinkle on the rest of the cinnamon sugar.
- Bake for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick in the center comes out clean with a few moist crumbs. The loaf should appear puffed with a golden sugar crust and large cracks on the surface.
- Let the bread cool in the pan for about 20-30 minutes then lift it out and slice. It’s best to serve warm, but it’s delicious at any temperature! Enjoy!
Equipment
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- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cooling Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: cinnamon banana bread, cinnamon swirl banana bread, banana bread, cinnamon banana bread recipe, cinnamon sugar banana bread
My favorite kind of banana bread! Gotta try your recipe, Jenna! Looks amazing 🙂
★★★★★
I made this for the first time and my toddler ate 4 slices in one sitting! Seriously it’s SO good! Make this!!
★★★★★
Thank you so much Katie!!
Hi I’m in Scotland and am unsure about “cup” measurements is there a conversion ?
If you measure by weight in grams, here’s a great conversion chart! http://dish.allrecipes.com/cup-to-gram-conversions/
Hi Jenna,
I have been eyeing this bread and the chocolate chip one to decide which to make first and I noticed that this one calls for fewer bananas, while the rest of the recipe is the same.. out of curiosity, why is that?
I have been saving three bananas to get very ripe to make one of these breads and I just noticed the difference and got intrigued.
Could I use the third banana here too, or it’s a definite no-no?
Thank you!
Its because of the butter and cinnamon mixture swirled throughout. If I added the same amount of bananas as the chocolate chip recipe, the bread would turn out too soggy with the excess butter all throughout.
Hi Jenna!
I’m in Peru and I recently started to follow you!!! All your recipes look delicious! I have some questions, I made the better than boxed chocolate brownies and this banana bread and I got the same problem: some parts in the middle of the pan were still uncooked.
Here we have conventional oven and is in celsius not F so I used 170-180 and I’m constantly looking when it’s the cook time you recommend. I try with the toothpick in the middle and in both recipes it came out clean but when I took them out I noticed that some parts were not cooked. I have pictures I’ll love to share with you in order to get some advice from you and get it well done next time 🙌🏼
Even though they were like this, they were absolut delicious and everyone love them!!
Thank you!
★★★★★
Hi Maria, This could be an issue that your oven runs a little bit cooler and you may need to bake these 15-20 degrees warmer. Also make sure to slice into the brownies and bread once they’ve completely cooled. Sometimes they can look underdone in the center when they’re still hot, but will set once cooled.
Hiii. I made this today with some overly ripe bananas I had. TURNED OUT REALLY WELL! Everyone loved it. 😄❤️
★★★★★
Hi! I really want to make this however I’m all out of sour cream and only have flavored yogurt :/ would it work without or should I use more butter or oil?
Thanks!:)
Flavored yogurt should be fine! It might turn out a little bit sweeter depending on the yogurt but it shouldn’t change the bread too much.
Instead of using Greek yogurt, I substituted that for a 1/2 cup of 2% milk that had a teaspoon of lemon juice mixed in. Other than that, I was very precise with the recipe’s ingredients. Although 45 minutes may had sufficed, I gave it another 5 minutes. The bread turned out lovely. It has the right balance of cinnamon and banana, a texture like no other, and is moist like it should be. Truly a recipe to be shared.
★★★★★
Yay! Thanks for sharing!
This is the best banana bread I’ve ever made! The crumb is so refined – like a sophisticated banana bread – and the recipe wasn’t too fussy or time consuming. Often I have issues with banana bread being raw in the middle and overcooked on the edges, but that didn’t happen here. Definitely adding this to my regular rotation. Thank you!
★★★★★
Hi Jenna, do you use light or dark brown sugar? I love your recipes so much!! Always perfect!!
Is there a way to make this with oil instead of butter?
I wanted to make this in small loaf pans. Could you please advise on the cooking time and temperature for that. Thank you.
Hmmm I’m not sure as I haven’t tested it, but fill each loaf tin about 2/3 full and bake at 350F for 20 or so minutes. That would be my best guess!
I made this today and it bubbled all over the edges and started to burn even though the middle was still wet! The scraps I peeled off were delicious but I’m not sure what happend??
Oh no! It could be that the pan was too small? Next time only fill it about halfway with batter.
This is delicious! It’s light and fluffy and has the best cinnamon flavor! I didn’t have yogurt or sour cream, so I subbed buttermilk and it worked like a charm. Needed about 5 extra minutes to bake through. Highly recommend!!
★★★★★
Tried making it gluten free and worked a treat! I used the back of a soup spoon to mash up the cinnamon butter in a small bowl and it worked really well. My first recipe of BB 😀
★★★★★
Yay! Thanks for sharing!
This is absolutely delicious and the only banana bread I’ll make from now on. I adjusted the amount of sugar because we like things less sweet and it was perfect. The cinnamon sugar in the middle was a great addition and the sugar crust top is genius. LOVE LOVE LOVE this recipe. Thank you Jenna!
★★★★★
Yay! Thank you!!
The bestest 🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩
★★★★★
This is delicious!
★★★★★
Jenna you have done it again! I made this exactly as you said too BUT, I added walnuts. D.E.L.I.C.I.O.U.S!!!! You have become my go-to for recipes…you just don’t disappoint. Thank you.
The best recipe!
I wanted to make this ASAP and did not have sour cream. Used a plain greek yogurt I had. Amazing! Surprised at how high it rose too. Had to bake 15 minutes longer with the glass loaf baking dish.
Thank you.
★★★★★