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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!
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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
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!
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Did you make this recipe? Please rate & comment below.
This might be the best banana bread I’ve ever made. It was so delicious and not much more complicated than other recipes I’ve tried. My boyfriend and I devoured a loaf in just a few days. Will definitely make again!
Hey Katie,
Happy Friday! Thanks a bunch for making this recipe, love to hear that it turned out well for you! Xx
Am I able to use the maple syrup that we use for our pancakes or is pure maple syrup different?
Hi Coby,
I prefer to use real maple syrup, but that will be just fine to use. I hope you love this recipe! xT
Can I make this in smaller loaves for gifting?
Hey Ellen,
Totally, that should work nicely for you! I hope you love this recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xT
This recipe is absolutely spectacular! I came across it a few weeks ago and made it for the first time. All you could hear were the ooohs and ahhhs coming from those of us who were lucky enough to be consuming it! I have since made it two more times (but made two loaves for each subsequent effort) and this is definitely a winner with family and friends! What’s nice is that I already had every single ingredient needed on hand and the batter and cinnamon crunch came together very quickly. Thank you Tieghan!!
Hi Amy,
Wonderful! So glad to hear this recipe turned out well for you, thanks for making it! xT
Fantastic!!!! Warm it a little and top with butter. We have a new favorite banana bread!
Hey Joanne,
Awesome! So glad to hear this recipe turned out nicely for you! Thanks a lot for making it:) xT
Best way to store this for the week? I covered it after I baked it and the crust got soggy. Shame on me.
Hey Victoria,
Thanks for giving this recipe a try! I store this in an airtight container at room temp. I hope this helps! xT
Can I replace the flour with Gluten Free flour?
Hi Maisoon,
Yes, that should work well for you. Please let me know if you give this recipe a try, I hope you love it! xT
Wow! Oh my gosh this cinnamon crunch banana bread is so good. It turned out perfect. I’m tired of the normal banana bread and this was a great alternative. If you love cinnamon make it!
Hey Kristy,
Wonderful!! Thanks so much for making this recipe and your feedback, so glad to hear it was a winner! Have a great week:)
If I make this and wanted to add some vital protein collagen would I need to adjust any other ingredients in the recipe?
Hi McKenzie,
I have never tried this, but I wouldn’t adjust anything. Please let me know if you give this recipe a try, I hope you love it! xT
Do you have a recommendation for a butter substitute to make this dairy free?
Hey Jessica,
You can use coconut oil in place of the butter. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xT
Made this last night. Absolutely delicious. Turns out I didn’t need as much cinnamon sugar as listed, only about half. Also my cook time was about 45 minutes. Definitely a keeper and maybe my favorite banana bread ever. Thanks
Thanks so much, Diana!! Love to hear that this recipe turned out well for you! Have a great day! xT
Hi hon , another great recipe ! I’m just wondering , to cool do you keep in pan or do you remove it ? Thank Angie ❣️
Thanks so much, Angie!! Either one, obviously it will cool faster if you remove it, but you can easily just leave it in the pan as well:) I hope you love this recipe! xT
My 9 year old son loves to bake, and he was set to make a different breakfast this morning, but when this recipe appeared in my inbox this morning, I had to share to see if he would be willing to switch gears/recipes, and thankfully he did! We didn’t have maple syrup so he used honey instead, and for the crunch topping, he only used 1/2 C of brown sugar and 1/4 C of turbinado sugar in order to really get that CRUNCH. It was ready after only 50 minutes for us, and we only cooled for 15 minutes because that’s as long as my boys could wait before tearing into it. The entire loaf was demolished within minutes and they all lamented the fact that we didn’t have enough bananas on hand to make a second loaf. It was absolutely scrumptious. They’re already requesting it for their birthday breakfast where they get half a loaf to themselves – ha!
Lol awww I love this! Thank you so much for sharing, Alex:) Love to hear that your boys enjoyed this recipe and thanks to your son for making, how cool! xT
Good Morning.
I ask questions and I never see a reply. Do I have to revisit this page or do you send it via email?
Banana Foster is a fav, so I always add Rum in some form to anything banana..so will do to this Bread. It looks lovely.Thanks
Thanks so much, Leslie!! We always reply to comments on the blog, so you should see a response to your questions. Please let me know if I can help in any other way. I hope you love this recipe! xT
Thanks much. Now I have to wait for my bananas to get ‘old’….lol
You can speed that up by putting the unpeeled bananas in the oven at 300 degrees F for 15-20 minutes until they are brown. That’s what I always end up doing to prevent the accumulation of fruit flies.
Amazing 😍 can this be frozen, either prior to or after cooking?
Thank you
Hi Eva,
Totally! I would freeze this after baking:) Please let me know if you give this recipe a try, I hope you love it! xT
Great thank you 🙂
I tried it – it tastes as good if not better than it looks and sounds! Not a huge fan of regular banana bread…but this is a different level! Thank you! 🤩 I froze it when it had cooled and then defrosted when we had visitors & warmed through gently and the top crisped back up…lather with butter – the best 👌
Hey Eva,
Happy Friday! Thanks a bunch for making this recipe, love to hear that it turned out well for you! Xx