Next Post
Butternut Squash Orzo Salad with Candied Bacon.
This post may contain affiliate links, please see our privacy policy for details.
Cinnamon Crunch Swirled Banana Bread – made with extra-ripe bananas and vanilla and swirled with cinnamon sugar. Top this sweet banana bread with a sprinkle of homemade cinnamon CRUNCH topping and bake away. It’s especially delicious when eaten warm, right out of the oven! Each soft, sweet cinnamon banana slice has a little cinnamon crunch with every bite. Everyone loves this special banana bread!
I haven’t been excited about creating a new banana bread recipe for the last couple of years. I already have the perfect recipe that I adore so much. And honestly, I don’t think you need to overcomplicate banana bread.
It’s pretty delicious just as is – or maybe with walnuts or chocolate chips. Of course, chocolate chips are the house favorite over here.
Therefore, I haven’t made banana bread in a long time. But when I had a bunch of brown bananas staring me down the other week, I actually had some excitement and desire to bake banana bread! The weather was gross, and it felt like the perfect thing to bake!
I was very much in my autumn baking mode, as I’ve been preparing recipes for a cozy fall season for the last couple of weeks. My thought was to take the crunchy topping from my beloved cinnamon crunch bagels (that I used to order from Panera Bread as a kid). Then, swirl it through my go-to easiest banana bread recipe. It sounded so delicious.
I don’t know why I haven’t thought of this idea before now, but I think this might be the ultimate banana bread recipe—as in, maybe the only one you need!
Adding a rich and thick cinnamon swirl and topping with crunchy chunks of cinnamon sugar ensures the yummiest banana bread!
I fell head over heels for this recipe. It’s definitely a personal favorite!
The Details
Step 1: mix the cinnamon sugar
This is just cinnamon and sugar mixed together, nothing fancy.
The cinnamon sugar will be used in the middle and swirled through the bread.
Step 2: make the banana bread batter
The star ingredient in this banana bread is just that: overripe brown bananas. A deep, dark brown banana or heavily spotted brown banana will always give you the best loaf of bread with a nice banana flavor and sweetness.
Mash the bananas and mix with a little melted butter or coconut oil. These days, I’ve also been using melted ghee, which is also great!
Add pure maple syrup, a couple of eggs, and a splash of vanilla. Then, mix in some flour and baking soda to help the bread rise, and add a dash of salt. I like to use a small amount of maple syrup to sweeten this bread, but only a small amount.
The swirls of cinnamon sugar, in addition to the already sweet bananas, provide plenty of sweetness.
Once you’ve mixed the dough, spoon half into a bread pan, sprinkle the cinnamon sugar overtop, and then add the remaining dough.
Step 3: make the cinnamon crunch
The cinnamon crunch topping consists of brown sugar, cinnamon, flour, and butter mixed together until clumps form.
Step 4: create the layers.
Now sprinkle the cinnamon sugar from earlier in the recipe and the clumps of cinnamon crunch over the first layer of dough.
Cover the cinnamon with the remaining batter, then use the remaining cinnamon crunch mixture on top.
1st layer – banana batter.
2nd layer – cinnamon sugar + cinnamon CRUNCH.
3rd layer – another layer of banana batter.
4th layer – a very thick layer of cinnamon CRUNCH on top.
And then you bake. This banana bread will take about an hour in the oven. As the bread bakes, the cinnamon melts into the sugar and butter, becoming nice and gooey. At the same time, the cinnamon topping begins to caramelize, becoming crunchy.
Everything together creates a DELICIOUS warm, sweet, soft, and tender banana bread.
As the bread bakes, your kitchen will smell incredible. It’s going to put you into cozy mode. Suddenly, whether you’re ready or not, you’ll be craving everything you love most about fall.
This is a very quick and easy banana bread recipe —totally no fuss. Enjoy a slice or two with a pat of salted butter. It’s such a wonderful treat! Oslo and Asher both loved every bite of this bread.
Looking for other sweet recipes? Here are a few ideas:
Cinnamon Sugar Swirled Apple Butter Bread
Maple Banana Bread with Cinnamon Spice Butter
Baked Apple Cider Doughnuts with Cinnamon Maple Glaze
Brown Butter Apple Blondies with Cinnamon Maple Glaze
6 Ingredient Spiced Pumpkin Butter
Homemade Slow Cooker Maple Apple Butter
Lastly, if you make this Cinnamon Crunch Swirled Banana Bread, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Cinnamon Crunch Swirled Banana Bread
Servings: 8
Calories Per Serving: 369 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Watch the How-To Reel
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 4 overly ripe bananas, mashed (about 1 1/4 cup mashed)
- 1/4 cup melted salted butter or coconut oil
- 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
- 2 eggs, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
Cinnamon Crunch
- 3/4 cup dark brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons salted butter, melted
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Butter a (9×5 inch) bread pan.2. Combine the sugar and cinnamon.3. In a bowl, stir together the mashed bananas, melted butter, maple syrup, eggs, and vanilla until combined. Add the flour, baking soda, and salt, and mix until just combined. 2. To make the crunch. Mix the butter, brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon. 3. Spoon half the batter into the prepared bread pan. Sprinkle with the cinnamon sugar and 1/4 cup of the crunch mix, reserve the remaining crunch mix for topping. Evenly spoon the remaining batter over the sugar. Sprinkle over the remaining crunch mixture.4. Bake for 50-60 minutes or until the center is just set. Remove and let cool for 30 minutes before cutting…or eat it warm with a smear of cinnamon butter. Enjoy!
This post was originally published on September 10, 2024
I substituted GF flour and my batter turned out very thick- is there something different i should do next time? Thanks !
Hey Jenna,
Thanks for trying this recipe. The batter is a bit thick….what did the bread end up like? Are you able to use all purpose flour? If not, you could try using less of the GF flour next time. I hope this helps! xT
Wow. Just wow. This was so easy and so delicious! I’ve been making banana bread for over 25 years and this is hands down the best one I’ve ever made. I only had light brown sugar (not dark) and it still came out amazing. I also took the suggestion of a past review and added a few chopped pecans to the top layer. I was going to share the loaf with the neighbors but they’ll have to wait for the next one. There’s not enough left. 100 stars!
Hey there,
Awesome! Thank you so much for trying this recipe, love to hear that it was enjoyed! x
So yummy and smelled amazing while baking!
Thanks so much, Emily! So glad you enjoyed this recipe! xT
This recipe is a favorite! Added pecans, super yummy!
Hey Laura,
Happy Sunday! I appreciate you trying this recipe and your feedback, so glad it was enjoyed! xx
I have made many banana breads in my day. This may be my very favorite one of all. That swirl in the middle is the game changer. And it’s so moist. Best one yet!!!
Thank you so much, Lauren:) Love to hear that this recipe was a hit! xT
Made this! Loved it, though, very very sweet. I would have like a bit more of the cake layers to go with all the sweet crunch. Don’t get me wrong I thinking this a complaint, I just want more cake. I will def make again.
Hey Nan,
Awesome! So glad to hear this recipe turned out well for you, thanks for making it! Have a great weekend! xT
How long should I bake at 350° if I am making banana bread cupcakes?! Thanks!
Hey Jordan,
I would bake for 22-25 minutes. Please let me know if you give this recipe a try, I hope you love it! xT
Just made this and it’s SO yummy!!
Hey Virginia,
Awesome! Thank you so much for trying this recipe and your feedback, so glad to hear it turned out well for you! Xx
Would it be ok to use frozen bananas in this recipe? Thanks for sharing!
Hey Patricia,
Totally, I would just let them thaw first:) I hope you love this recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xT
Wow so amazing, I will be making this over and over again. Best banana bread ever! Thanks for sharing
Hey Kris,
Yay!! So glad to hear this! Thanks so much for making this recipe and your comment! xT
Do you think it would hurt the end result if I omit the maple syrup? I’m not a big fan of that flavor sneaking into other foods.
Thanks for all your work – every recipe I’ve made from you has been a hit!
Hey Sam,
I would use honey in place of the maple syrup, you will want some kind of sweetener here:) I hope you love this recipe! xT
This banana bread is so yummy! Not your typical boring banana bread! The cinnamon crunch in between and on top adds a gorgeous layer of sweetness. Thank you for another wonderful recipe!
Thanks so much, Tracey! Love to hear this recipe turned out well for you! Have a great day! xT
I am trying to print the recipe also with no luck. It takes me to Jupiter but does nothing.
So sorry! You are going to have to press the “print” button on the Jupiter page as well. I just tested it and it worked for me! xx
Love your recipes. But can you replace banana with zucchini? I am allergic to bananas.
Hey Veronica,
Thanks so much! I have never tested this recipe with zucchini, I think it might work nicely for you but don’t have those exact instructions. You might like this recipe:
https://fett-weg.today/chocolate-chunk-almond-butter-zucchini-bread/%3C/a%3E%3Cbr /> I hope this helps! xT
Made this tonight, smells and tastes amazing!!
Hey Jasmine,
Happy Monday! So glad to hear you enjoyed this recipe, thank you so much for trying it! Have a great week! xT
Hi! I love and use your recipes all the time! I wanted to comment because I think there’s an issue with all the links for printing recipe, I’ve been experiencing this for a couple weeks! Only commenting to bring to your attention if you didn’t already realize!
Hey Lindsay,
Thanks so much for bringing this to my attention! I just looked into and tried to print this recipe and a few others and didn’t have any issues. If you click “print” on the recipe card it should go to the Jupiter page and then you just click “print” button there as well and it should work. Please let me know if you continue to have trouble! xT