This Cinnamon Banana Bread is a fall version of my favorite baking recipe. It’s a classic egg-free and dairy-free banana bread recipe with a crumb marbled with cinnamon dough and a crispy topping of cinnamon sugar.
I love making funky and surprising banana bread recipes, like my Gingerbread Banana Bread, Pistachio Banana Bread, or Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Bread. For winter, I wanted to combine my love for cinnamon with this classic recipe.
Believe me, this is absolutely delicious! With a combination of very moist and soft crumb and crunchy, crumbly topping, it’s the perfect dessert.
Ingredients and Substitutions
You only need a few wholesome ingredients for this recipe:
- Mashed Banana – Use very ripe bananas with brown spots for the sweetest flavor and moist texture. Overripe bananas, even with black spots, work best. You can ripen them quickly by placing them in a paper bag for 1-2 days or next to avocados.
- Sugar – Regular white sugar provides a classic taste and light color. For a richer flavor, try unrefined cane sugar or coconut sugar, which adds a hint of caramel and darker color.
- Coconut Oil – Choose refined coconut oil for a neutral taste or unrefined (virgin) if you enjoy a subtle coconut flavor. Any mild-flavored oil, like light olive oil, can also work well. Then you also need some softened coconut oil for the topping.
- Vanilla Extract – Vanilla adds flavor to enhance the banana and cinnamon taste.
- All-Purpose Flour – White spelt or white whole wheat flour can also work, providing a similar texture. Avoid almond or oat flour, as they won’t yield the desired consistency. I use more flour to add a slight crunch to the topping. For a gluten-free option, use a blend of 1 cup of Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 Gluten-Free Flour and ½ cup of almond flour.
- Baking Powder – Helps the bread rise, giving it a light, fluffy texture.
- Baking Soda – Works alongside the baking powder for optimal rise and texture.
- Cinnamon – Use freshly ground cinnamon if possible for the richest flavor but powder works just fine.
How to Make Cinnamon Banana Bread
This recipe is quite easy to make as you only need to make the batter once and split it. Here are photos of key steps to help you!
Mash your ripe bananas before measuring the quantity and placing them in a large mixing bowl.
Add the flour and other batter ingredients (but not the cinnamon ones).
Split the batter into two bowls. They don’t need to be exactly the same size.
Combine cinnamon and warm water in a small bowl and incorporate this in one of the bowls with dough.
Use an ice cream scoop to place alternate dollops of each dough in a loaf pan lined with parchment paper.
Use a skewer or stick to swirl the two batter without overly mixing them.
Combine the crumbly topping ingredients in a mixing bowl.
Crumble the topping on top of the unbaked batter.
Bake the bread for 45-55 minutes at 350 °F (180 °C).
You can then decorate the cake with some icing.
Carine’s Baking Tips
I have a few more tips for you to make the best bread you can!
- Banana Ripeness – Use bananas with plenty of brown spots for maximum sweetness and flavor.
- Oil Choice – Melted coconut oil gives a light tropical hint, but you can also substitute it with a neutral oil like light olive oil for a milder flavor.
- Cinnamon Batter Swirling – To achieve a beautiful marbled effect, swirl the cinnamon batter gently using a knife. Overmixing will blend the layers rather than keeping them distinct.
- Crispy Topping – For an extra crunch, the cinnamon-sugar topping is key! Rub the coconut oil well with the sugar and flour to create a crumbly texture before sprinkling.
- Alternate Flours – If using spelt or whole wheat flour, the bread may be a little denser. For a gluten-free version, use a 1:1 gluten-free flour blend mixed with almond flour for a balanced texture.
- Measuring the Bananas – After mashing, level off your banana measurement to ensure the right texture. Overly wet batter from too much banana can affect the bake.
- Room Temperature Ingredients – Using room temperature bananas and melted-but-not-hot coconut oil helps the batter mix smoothly without solidifying any oils.
- Storing Tips – For best results, store at room temperature for up to 3 days in an airtight container or refrigerate for up to 5 days. Freeze any extra slices and thaw them in the fridge overnight or at room temperature the day you plan to eat them.
More Banana Bread Flavors
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Cinnamon Banana Bread
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cup Mashed Banana - note 1
- ½ cup Sugar - note 2
- ⅓ cup Melted Coconut Oil - note 3
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 1 ½ cup All-Purpose Flour - note 4
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- 2 teaspoons Baking Powder
- ½ teaspoon Baking Soda
Cinnamon Batter
- 1 tablespoon Cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons Lukewarm Water
Topping – optional
- ¼ cup Sugar - note 2
- 1 tablespoon All-Purpose Flour
- 1 tablespoon Coconut Oil - softened
- 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 °F (180 °C). Line a 9-inch x 5-inch loaf pan with parchment paper. Slightly oil the paper and pan with oil spray. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, mash the ripe bananas with a fork or the paddle attachment of your stand mixer until almost no lumps show. Measure 1 cup + 1/2 cup of mashed bananas. Sweep off the excess and freeze any extra for a smoothie later.
- Whisk in melted, cooled coconut oil, vanilla extract, sugar, and salt.
- In another bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, and baking soda.
- Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and stir with a wooden spoon or silicone spatula until the batter is consistent.
- Divide the batter in half, place in two different bowls.
- In a small bowl, whisk the tablespoon of ground cinnamon with 2 tablespoons of hot water until well dissolved.
- In one of the bowl prepared before, stir in the cinnamon mixture to form the cinnamon batter. You now have two mixing bowls: one with cinnamon batter and one with plain banana batter.
- Fill the loaf pan alternating cinnamon and banana bread batter until the pan is full.
- Use a knife to swirl the batter 2-3 times to form a lovely effect on the banana bread.
- In a small mixing bowl, rub the coconut oil with flour, sugar, and cinnamon to form a crumb.
- Sprinkle the crumbs on top of the banana bread.
- Bake the bread for 45-55 minutes at 350 °F (180 °C) until a toothpick inserted in the center of the bread comes out clean.
- Let it cool down on a wire rack for 2 hours before slicing.
Can I use a Bundt cake pan instead of a loaf pan. If so what should I do differently if anything?
A bundt pan is usually larger than the loaf pan I am using here, it will result in a less tall cake. It means your baking time will be different, expecting less baking time. I can’t recommend much more since I didn’t try yet.
Excellent recipe, the only thing I would leave out it the topping that was too sweet for my taste. Thank you.
Thank you!! Yes, I made the topping optional when I saw how fast my kids munched it
my husband is my in-house critic for anything and everything i make in the kitchen while i am for when he does other things around the house that i have no skill nor interest in doing, lol. With every recipe that requires sweetener, especially white sugar I’ll either substitute dates/syrup or maple syrup. This one i couldn’t so i simply cut the light brown sugar by 1/2. Grated a little piloncillo on top after making the topping without the sugar. Hubby’s review? THIS IS THE BEST BANANA BREAD YOU”VE EVER MADE!!!
That’s the most beautiful comment I read today, thank you!
Great recipe. Everything is exactly as described, I had absolutely no problem making it. The only thing I changed was that 1/3 of my flour was almond flour. Oh, and I replaced the sugar with coconut sugar. Thank you!
Thank you so much for the lovely feedback! I am so happy you love it.
Have you tried to make this oil-free?
Not yet, usually applesauce is a great swap to oil. You may want to try this option.
For GF version, we swap with 1/2 cup fine blanched almond flour… is that right?!
I didn’t try the recipe gluten-free. If you want to try, you can’t use 100% almond flour, it will not hold. You can try a ratio of 70% all-purpose Bob red mill gluten-free flour, 15% oat flour and 15% almond flour
My family loved this!
Huge fan of banana bread, adding the cinnamon swirl in this is inspired because it’s to die for. It’s moist and cruchy at the same time. Great recipe
Oh my, it’s now on my list of favorite recipes. So delish!!!