This Cinnamon Swirled Banana Bread is full of buttery cinnamon sugar throughout the moistest banana bread that’s out-of-this world delicious!
Banana Bread with a Cinnamon Swirl
Please tell me you have some ripe bananas on your counter?! I sure hope so, because this Cinnamon Swirled Banana Bread is the best and it’s calling your name! I’ve baked and consumed a lot of banana bread in my days and this loaf of love is right up there with the greatest I’ve ever eaten. It’s incredible!
Watch Me Make Cinnamon Swirled Banana Bread
Join me in the kitchen as I make a loaf of this amazing banana bread with a cinnamon swirl.
The Best Banana Bread Recipe
Swirls of buttery cinnamon sugar swim throughout the moistest banana bread with the most amazingly sweet crust that’s out of this world delicious! It’s like a cinnamon roll crashed into a loaf of banana bread and it turned into one of my tastiest banana bread recipes ever!
Cinnamon Swirled Banana Bread Ingredients and Supplies
(see recipe card below for measurements and details)
Ingredients:
- Unsalted butter, melted
- Granulated sugar, dark brown sugar
- All-purpose flour and baking soda
- Eggs and vanilla
- Cinnamon
- Ripe bananas
Supplies:
- Loaf pan and non-stick cooking spray
- Whisk
- Small or medium mixing bowl
How to Make Cinnamon Swirled Banana Bread
- First, preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease and flour a 9×5-inch loaf pan and set aside. Then, in a large bowl, melt the butter and let cool slightly.
- Next, whisk in the sugar then the eggs and vanilla before stirring in the dry ingredients. Fold in the mashed bananas with a spatula until just combined.
- In a small or medium bowl, use a fork to stir together the cinnamon sugar swirl ingredients until thick and well combined. If your swirl is too thick to swirl, add an additional tablespoon of melted butter until it is thin enough to swirl. Note: if it’s too thin, it will just spread and not hold its swirl as the loaf bakes.
- Spread 1/4 of the batter evenly into the bottom of the prepared pan. Dollop 1/4 of the cinnamon sugar mixture over the batter in the pan and then make a nice thick swirl through the batter with a table knife or bottom of a wooden spoon. Place 1/3 of the remaining batter evenly over the first layer and swirl with 1/3 of the remaining cinnamon sugar mixture. Place 1/2 of the remaining batter evenly over the second layer and swirl with 1/2 of the remaining cinnamon sugar mixture.
- Spread the rest of the batter evenly over the top and dollop with the remaining cinnamon sugar topping. Make large swirls throughout the entire loaf. Place six thin banana slices down the middle of the batter.
- Place loaf pan on a baking sheet in the middle rack of the oven and bake for 60-70 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. If the top of the bread is browned before the middle is finished baking, tint the loaf with foil and let it continue baking until the bread is cooked all the way through.
- Let the bread cool in the pan for at least 30 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.
Tips for This Recipe
- Bananas: The riper the banana, the sweeter the bread will be. Learn more about baking with bananas.
- Oven temperature: If you’re unsure about the fidelity of your oven temperature, use an oven thermometer.
- Tenting with foil: If your bread is browning too quickly while the inside is still undercooked, create a tent with aluminum foil to place over the top while the inside finishes baking all the way through.
- Let it rest: Banana bread keeps cooking for a little while after it comes out of the oven. A toothpick inserted in the center should come out with moist crumbs.
- Review the images and watch the video: Take time to browse the recipe blog post and look at the step-by-step images as well as watch the video of me making this Cinnamon Swirled Banana Bread so that you can see exactly how it should look each step of the way.
How to Store leftover Banana Bread
I can’t wait to bake it again and again for breakfasts, snacks, parties and gifts. It’s pure love from the oven! I hope you have some bananas on hand so you can bake this beauty as soon as possible! Enjoy!
Store any leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for up to three days. To freeze, cover in a layer of plastic wrap and a layer of foil to keep in the freezer.
More Banana Bread Goodness
- Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Banana Bread: The irresistible combo of chocolate chips and peanut butter does it again. It’s next-level delicious!
- Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins: Made with pantry staples and some overripe bananas, you can have these delicious muffins in and out of the oven in minutes!
- No bananas? If you have a can of pumpkin languishing in your pantry, try this Cinnamon Swirled Pumpkin Bread instead!
If you make this Cinnamon Swirled Banana Bread, be sure to snap a picture and share it with me or tag me on Instagram @thebakermama so I can see. 
I love seeing how inspired and creative y’all get with the recipes I share. Enjoy!
xoxo,
The Best Banana Bread Recipes
From classic banana bread to flourless to chocolate and everything in-between, you won’t want to miss any of The Best Banana Bread Recipes!
Cinnamon Swirled Banana Bread
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 70 mins
- Total Time: 1 hour 30 mins
- Yield: 8-10 servings
- Category: Dessert
Description
Swirls of buttery cinnamon sugar swim throughout the moistest banana bread that’s out of this world delicious!
Ingredients
Batter:
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 and 1/2 cups mashed ripe banana (about 4 bananas)
Cinnamon Sugar Swirl:
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 3 tablespoons dark brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
- 6 thin slices of ripe banana, for garnishing
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease and flour a 9×5-inch loaf pan and set aside.
- In a large bowl, melt the butter and let cool slightly. Whisk in the sugar then the eggs and vanilla. Stir in the flour and baking soda. Fold in the mashed bananas until just combined.
- In a small bowl, use a fork to stir together the cinnamon sugar swirl ingredients until thick and well combined. If your swirl is too thick to swirl, add an additional tablespoon of melted butter until it is thin enough to swirl. Note: if it’s too thin, it will just spread and not hold its swirl as the loaf bakes.
- Spread 1/4 of the batter (about 1 cup) evenly into the bottom of the prepared pan. Dollop 1/4 of the cinnamon sugar mixture (about 1 tablespoon) over the batter in the pan and then make a nice thick swirl through the batter with a table knife or bottom of a wooden spoon.
- Place 1/3 of the remaining batter (about 1 cup) evenly over the first layer and swirl with 1/3 of the remaining cinnamon sugar mixture (about 1 tablespoon).
- Place 1/2 of the remaining batter (about 1 cup) evenly over the second layer and swirl with 1/2 of the remaining cinnamon sugar mixture (about 1 tablespoon).
- Spread the remaining batter evenly over the top and dollop with the remaining cinnamon sugar mixture. Make large swirls throughout the entire loaf. Place six thin banana slices down the middle of the batter.
- Place loaf pan on a baking sheet in the middle rack of the oven and bake for 60-70 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. If the top of the bread is browned before the center is baked all the way through, tint the loaf with foil and let it continue to bake until the center is baked all the way through.
- Let the bread cool in the pan for at least 30 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.
What are the metric measurements for this what would be the grams for the ingredients?
Hi, Nadia! Here’s a great guide to convert the measurements in a recipe to grams: https://www.allrecipes.com/article/cup-to-gram-conversions/ Hope this helps! ❤️
Hello! I have made this banana bread so many times! It’s the best! Do you happen to have instructions on making them into muffins?
Hi, Kristina! Do I ever! Here you go: https://thebakermama.com/recipes/cinnamon-swirled-banana-muffins/
If I wanted to use whole wheat flour instead, how will the measurements be adjusted?
Hi, Brigitte! I would suggesting using half whole wheat and half all-purpose flours. If you try to use all whole wheat, you will need to add liquid to it to balance out the denseness, and I have not tested that to say with any confidence what that amount would be. Hope this helps!
If I wanted to use recipe to make mini loaves how do I adjust the temp and cook time?
Hi, Scarlet! It truly depends on the size of the mini loaf. If you’re doing two smaller loaves, I would suggest reducing cooking time from 60-70 minutes to 45-50 minutes and checking 5 minutes early. But if you’re doing much smaller/individual size loaves, I’d reduce baking time to 30 minutes and check frequently. Hope this helps! Enjoy!
I don’t have enough granulated sugar at the moment, can o use brown sugar or powdered sugar instead?
Hi, Alejandra! Yes, you can use brown sugar (at the same measurements). Your banana bread will have a richer flavor, texture and color. Hope this helps! Enjoy!
DUMB GOOD and so moist 😍 every time I make it and bring it into work everyone fan girls over it and it’s gone within the first 2 hours of our shift! I like to cut a banana in half long ways and place it on top before I bake it so it’s aesthetically pleasing and adds just that much more banana 🙃
Hi, Maria! Aw, thank you for sharing that. I LOVE that everyone enjoys it so much. I fan-girl over it myself still, too. 😂❤️
a delicious recipe , I’m hooked. thankyou.
Hi, Zizi! I’m so thrilled to hear you enjoy it!
I got this recipe from my coworker who is known for her/your banana bread. I am completely obsessed with and so are my family and friends. I’ve been asked to make new variations with nuts and chocolate candies. I’ve already done chocolate chips and crushed almond roca and I’m excited to make more!
I adjusted it to be gluten free with Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1 to 1 Baking Flour and its delicious!
Hi, Haley! I’m so happy you enjoy it! Have you tried the Nutella version? It’s also soooo good. https://thebakermama.com/recipes/nutella-swirled-banana-bread/ Enjoy!
Best Banana Bread I ever baked! The cinnamon swirl is an amazing surprise to every bite along with the mashed bananas. I used a Le Creuset Bread Oven, & it came out perfectly moist. This recipe is now the house favorite. Thank you for sharing 💕
Hi, Annabelle! I am so happy to hear you enjoyed it. It’s definitely one of my favorites ❤️
The flavor was wonderful, but only the edges of the bread were edible. The thin banana slices on top created a depression and nothing under them cooked properly. So the middle of the bread was raw. I would definitely make the recipe again but omit the decorative banana slices.
Hi Heather! It sounds like you needed to let it bake longer. I would recommend checking the inside of the loaf with a cake tester or toothpick to make sure it’s baked all the way through before removing it from the oven. If the top looks baked, but the center is not done baking through, I would suggest tinting the loaf with foil and letting it continue to bake until it’s baked all the way through. I hope this helps and that you get to try it again soon. Enjoy!
I made this because I had so many overripe bananas to deal with and I’m so glad. Best dessert bread ever! I’m making more for holiday gifts to coworkers. Please let me know any adjustments if I want to make it cupcakes instead of a loaf. Thanks
Hi Joy! I’m so happy to hear! It really is the best banana bread! I actually have a recipe for baking this quick bread into muffins. Here you go: https://thebakermama.com/recipes/cinnamon-swirled-banana-muffins/ Enjoy!!