Cinnamon Banana Bread

An easy quick bread recipe — Cinnamon-Banana Bread— has a sugared streusel topping and cinnamon-swirl center.

Looking for a different type of banana bread? Try our original Easy Banana Bread recipe, this Healthy Banana Bread recipe, or this Banana Bread with Greek Yogurt in the batter.

Cinnamon-Banana Bread

While I love a good chocolate-chip or nut-studded banana bread, nothing compares to adding a cinnamon swirl and crunchy streusel on top! This banana bread is moist, cinnamon-y, and has a sweet fruity aroma. Cinnamon is a great complementary flavor to bananas — you’ll love it in this bread!

This particular recipe doesn’t have a high rise or a light texture; it’s very much a moist, dense hearty quick-bread loaf. 

Let’s talk bananas

• Use very ripe bananas. The riper the banana, the sweeter and moister the bread turns out. I wait until my bananas are pretty much brown and spotty all over. See the quick tip box below for speeding up the ripening process.
• Thoroughly mash the bananas to avoid unpleasant chunks in the cinnamon banana bread. If you don’t want to take the time to mash with a fork, use an electric hand mixer to mash them quickly.

QUICK TIP

To speed up the ripening of bananas, place a few on a  lined baking tray (they leak out!) and bake at 350 degrees F for 6-12 minutes (depending on how ripe the bananas are, to begin with). They’re ready to go when the skins turn black.

Greek yogurt

This Cinnamon-Banana Bread calls for Greek yogurt in the batter. Greek Gods® Honey Vanilla Yogurt is our all-time favorite in this bread. It adds an amazing flavor.

Do not try to use low-fat Greek yogurt or plain (non-Greek) yogurt in this bread. They won’t yield the same result. A full-fat sour cream will work in place of the Greek yogurt.

Cinnamon-Banana Bread Tips

• Don’t overmix. If you overmix the batter, the bread will end up very dense with less of a rise. Mix until ingredients are just combined.
• Generously grease bread pan.  I like to grease the bread pan with nonstick spray and then lightly dust with flour. There are few things as frustrating as trying to invert a loaf and having it fall apart or stick to the bottom. Take your time to generously grease the pan or line it with parchment paper.
• Wait about 10-15 minutes after baking to remove the bread from the pan.  When we pair sugar with the banana in the batter, the bananas caramelize and intensify in sweetness while baking. This caramelization process also creates a bit of a gooeyness in the bread if it’s sliced right out of the oven. It’s best to let your loaf sit in the pan to finish “baking” for about 10-15 minutes on top of the oven to finish solidifying.
• Always cool baked goods on a wire rack. Run a table knife along the edge of the pan and invert the loaf onto the wire rack. Cinnamon-Banana Bread needs to be elevated so air can circulate around all sides as it cools. Otherwise, moisture (from the heat of the bread) will condense on the bottom of the bread, making it damp and slightly sticky.

How to know when Cinnamon-Banana Bread is done

It can be tricky to know when quick breads are baked fully. There is a lot of variances in baking banana bread such as altitude, humidity, actual oven temperature, bread pan used, etc. Here are a few cues to look for and tips to keep in mind:

• Preventing under-baked banana bread: Make sure your oven is correctly calibrated; wait for the oven to fully preheat before adding the bread to the oven and position the loaf in the center of the oven.
• Visual cues for doneness: Bread has pulled away from the edges of the pan slightly and the top is caramelized and a deep golden-brown color.
• Physical cue for doneness: A toothpick inserted into the center of the bread comes out clean or with a couple of moist (not wet) crumbs.

More Quick Bread Recipes

• Healthy Zucchini Bread made with Greek yogurt
• Apple Fritter Bread with a cinnamon-sugar center and glaze
• Pumpkin Bread with a crunchy sugared topping
• Cornbread Recipe with a rich, buttery flavor
• Lemon Blueberry Bread with lemon Greek yogurt

FOLLOW ALONG! Subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for the latest updates, recipes and content.

Cinnamon Banana Bread

5 from 1 vote

- Review this recipe

An easy quick bread recipe --  Cinnamon-Banana Bread--has a sugared streusel topping and cinnamon-swirl center.

SAVE TO RECIPE BOX

Print Recipe

Cinnamon Banana Bread

5 from 1 vote

- Review this recipe

SAVE TO RECIPE BOX

Print Recipe

An easy quick bread recipe --  Cinnamon-Banana Bread--has a sugared streusel topping and cinnamon-swirl center.

Course Breakfast, Dessert, Side Dish

Cuisine American

Keyword cinnamon banana bread

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 1 hour hour

Total Time 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes

Servings 12 slices

Calories 372kcal

Author Chelsea

Cost $4.12

Equipment

• 9x5 inch loaf pan
• Cooking spray or parchment paper for preparing the pan

Ingredients

• ▢ 1/2 cup (113g) unsalted butter at room temperature, NOT melted
• ▢ 1 cup (203g) white granulated sugar
• ▢ 2 large eggs
• ▢ 1 and 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• ▢ 1 cup (~2 medium) (234g) overripe bananas mashed with a fork
• ▢ 1/2 cup (120g) full-fat vanilla Greek yogurt (plain sour cream also works)
• ▢ 1 and 1/2 cups (192g) all-purpose white flour
• ▢ 1 teaspoon baking soda (NOT BAKING POWDER)
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

Cinnamon Swirl

• ▢ 1/4 cup (50g) light brown sugar lightly packed
• ▢ 1/2 tablespoon ground cinnamon

Streusel Topping

• ▢ 4 tablespoons (57g) unsalted butter melted and cooled to room temperature
• ▢ 1/2 cup + 3 tablespoons (75g) white, all-purpose flour
• ▢ 1/3 cup (63g) light brown sugar lightly packed
• ▢ 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ▢ 1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt

Instructions

• PREP: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Generously grease and lightly flour a 9x5-inch bread pan. Alternatively, line the pan with parchment paper.
• BUTTER AND SUGARS: In a large bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until light and creamy. Add in the eggs and vanilla. Beat to combine.
• BANANAS: In a separate small bowl, mash the bananas thoroughly with a fork. Stir in the well-mashed bananas and Greek yogurt into the bread batter and mix until combined.
• DRY INGREDIENTS: In another bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt. Mix.
• COMBINE WET AND DRY: Combine wet and dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Don't over stir the batter.
• CINNAMON-SUGAR SWIRL: In a separate small bowl, stir together the white sugar and ground cinnamon. Pour half of the bread batter in the prepared pan and then evenly sprinkle the swirl ingredients on top. Pour the rest of the bread batter on top and smooth the top of the bread with a table knife.
• STREUSEL: Melt the butter in the microwave and then let stand at room temperature until cooled (don't add hot butter to the streusel -- it will make it greasy). In a separate medium bowl, whisk together flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Add the cooled melted butter and mix (knead with hands if needed) until the streusel is evenly combined and forms small clumps. If clumps aren't forming or the streusel is too wet, add more flour, 1 tablespoon at a time. Sprinkle the streusel mixture evenly over the banana bread batter. Do not press the streusel into the batter. Use all of the streusel (yes, it's a lot).
• BAKE: Bake for 60-70 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a couple of moist crumbs.
• COOL: Allow to cool for 10-15 minutes before running a table knife along the edges of the loaf and then inverting the loaf onto a wire cooling rack.

Video

Recipe Notes

STORAGE: This bread stores 1-2 days at normal room temperature (wrapped tightly/stored in an airtight container). After 3-4 days, this bread is more prone to molding because of the ingredients used and the overall moistness of the bread.

Nutrition Facts

Serving: 1slice | Calories: 372kcal | Carbohydrates: 59g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Cholesterol: 63mg | Sodium: 234mg | Potassium: 143mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 34g | Vitamin A: 427IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 39mg | Iron: 2mg

We do our best to provide accurate nutritional analysis for our recipes. Our nutritional data is calculated using a third-party algorithm and may vary, based on individual cooking styles, measurements, and ingredient sizes. Please use this information for comparison purposes and consult a health professional for nutrition guidance as needed.

DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?

I love hearing from you when you've made one of my recipes! Tag me on Instagram at @ChelseasMessyApron or leave me a comment below.