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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 made this for the first time and brought it to a holiday party. my boyfriend had the first slice and hid it from the rest of the crowd because he loved it so much and didn’t want to share with anyone lol. definitely my new favorite way to use up brown bananas at the end of the week!
Thanks so much, Jackie!! I am so glad to hear this recipe was enjoyed, I appreciate you making it! Have a great Tuesday! xx
This banana bread is delicious! I am still learning our new oven, so the sides ended up very browned, so note to self to cook at 50 minutes then check. Very excited to make the next recipe!
Hey Jordan,
Happy Weekend! Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try, I’m so glad it turned out nicely for you! xxT
I made this for the first time today and it is probably the best banana bread I’ve ever had and that’s saying a lot because I’m in my 70s and I’ve had a lot of banana bread over the years. You deserve it all~ Keep up the good work!!!
Hey Debbie,
Happy Sunday!! I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe, thank you so much for making it and your feedback! xx
we love it
Thanks so much, Tarra! Love to hear this! xx
Needing a new banana bread pan/loaf pan. What’s your favorite? Do you always bake it in a parchment lined pan? Love your recipes!
Hi Brooke,
Here are some of my favorites:
https://fett-weg.today/chocolate-chunk-coconut-banana-bread/%3C/a%3E%3Cbr /> https://fett-weg.today/chai-banana-bread/%3C/a%3E%3Cbr /> https://fett-weg.today/maple-banana-bread/%3C/a%3E%3Cbr /> I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions! xx
Hey! I’m looking for a new loaf pan, not recipes. 🙂
Oh gosh, so sorry! I misread your message, I thought you were asking for new banana bread recipes! This is my go to loaf pan:
https://cratebarrel.pxf.io/c/2340682/1761190/20651?subId1=user-32574-pin-9029287-puser-null&u=https://www.crateandbarrel.com/usa-pan-pro-line-non-stick-loaf-pan/s388019?storeid=763&a=1552&campaignid=10461646755&adgroupid=103999389299&targetid=pla-294680686006&pla_sku=388019&pcat=HSW&ag=adult&gad_source=1
Yay! Thanks so much! Just made this recipe today and it turned out perfect! Thanks always for the great recipes!
This is SO good. I’ve already made it 3 times already. It get’s better each time I make it.
Hi Kara,
Happy Monday!! I appreciate you trying this recipe and your feedback, so glad to hear it was enjoyed! XxT
So you think this will be ok cut in half? The measurements seem easy enough but any downsides that you can think of? I always have 2 bananas left out of a bunch and like small portions.
Hey Jody,
Totally, I think that would be just fine for you to do! I hope you love this recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! XxT
So half recipe was not as good but partly as you need the right size small pan and I couldn’t find one. Without a small deep pan, it was hard to mix in the 2 different cinnamon layers and the conversion on the print layout down to half servings has the salt wrong, too much. I thought it seemed high and I should have checked the original recipe versus just proceeding. Still very moist and I will remake the full version but think maybe a more basic recipe is better for 2 bananas and keep this one the full amount so you get the impact of the cinnamon layers.
I made this for my book club gluten free and it was THE BEST ever!! They all loved it! This will be on repeat for us! Super easy to make too!
Thank you!
Hey Merryll,
Wonderful! Thank you so much for making this recipe, I am so glad to hear it turned out nicely for you! Happy Halloween! 🎃
Absolutely delicious!
Hey Michelle,
Wonderful! Thank you so much for making this recipe, I am so glad to hear it turned out nicely for you! Happy Halloween! 🎃
This may be one of my favorite new recipes… and bonus is my son loves it and requested it again … for breakfast – guess I will be up early to deliver on this promise 🙂
Hey Lauren,
Thank you so much for trying this recipe! Love to hear that it turned out well for you:) Happy Thursday! xT
Hi can this bread be frozen after baking?
Hey Melissa,
Totally, that will work well for you! I hope you love this recipe! xT
Tieghan,
Best banana bread ever! My house smells amazing too!
Hey JoAnna,
Perfect! I appreciate you trying this recipe and your comment, so glad to hear it turned out well for you! xx
I’ve made this twice. It’s unbelievably good but I can’t get it out of the pan. The first time I tipped it over and the whole crumble topping fell off. The second time I used 2 spatulas to lift it out and the bread completely fell apart. Both times I allowed 30 minutes cooling time. How do I get it out of the pan?
Hi Karen,
So glad to hear you have been enjoying this recipe! Have you tried lining you pan with parchment paper? That would work nicely and then you could just lift it out. I hope this helps! xx
I had the same problem with all of the crumble falling off the loaf!
Another great recipe that is on repeat. I use cup4cup gluten free flour and it comes out amazing. I also live at 7000ft but make no modifications on this. Thanks so much!
Thanks so much, Christine! So glad to hear this recipe always turns out well for you! Thanks for making it so often! XxT
So so so good!! Will definitely be repeating this one.
Hey Michele,
Awesome!! Love to hear this recipe turned out nicely for you, thanks for making it! Hope you are enjoying fall! XxT
How would you suggest serving this a day later at a party? Should it get warmed up in the oven..? I love this recipe ive made it only once before and this is my second time. The kitchen smells amazing!!! So hard to resist eating it
Thanks so much, Laura! Sure, you could warm it in the oven on low or heat slices in a toaster. I hope this helps! xT