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.
This recipe was such a waste of my time and money. Followed the directions to the exact and the bread took over 2+ hours of baking time and still had a mush middle. It burned on the top, despite tenting tin foil the last hour and a half, and the bottom burned. It is like a rubber substance and inedible. Very sad. I am not new at baking and bake all the time, not sure what but definitely something is off with the recipe.
Hi Debbie! Sorry to hear it didn’t turn out for you. Sounds like something went wrong as I and many many others bake this bread on a regular basis with great success. I hope you’re able to try it again sometime as it truly is an amazing bread that always gets rave reviews.
Same here Debbie huge disappointment next time I’m going to try without the swirl and see if that’s the issue
Do you have any nutrition information for this recipe? Thank you.
Hi Don! I don’t provide nutritional information at this time because everyone uses different brands of ingredients which often have differing nutritional values. I would recommend plugging the ingredients you used into a free online nutrition calculator like: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/recipe/calculator Hope this helps. Enjoy!
By mistake I used one stick of butter instead of two, and the bread STILL came out to be AMAZING !!!
All I have is salted butter with this quarantine. Will that still work?
Hi Angie! Yes, it will still bake up and taste great! Just a little added saltiness. Enjoy!
Hi Baker Mama!
Thank you thank you for the delicious recipe! One observation about how the batter/cinnamon mixtures were divided: 1/4 + 1/3 + 1/2= 13/12. Haha, just a little more than one whole. I’m guessing 1/4 + 1/4 + 1/2 is what we want?
Hi Kelsey! So happy you enjoyed it! The fractions are all referring to the “remaining” batter so people don’t get confused. It’s a lot easier to look at the remaining batter in the bowl and use just 1/3 of it and then look at what’s left after that and use just 1/2 of it. Hope that helps explain why the instructions are written the way they are. Continue to enjoy!
Hi there – so excited to bake this! We only have 3 bananas and can’t get to the grocery store super easy. Can I add something else to make up for missing 1 banana?
Hi Alison! You could use applesauce or pumpkin puree if you have either of those on hand? Or you could half the recipe. Enjoy!
Definitely didn’t come out looking pretty…but oh does it taste SOOOO GOOOOOD!!
Hi Betty! Taste is what matters most. 😉 I’m so happy you baked it and are enjoying it!
Love this recipe! Can you please share a substitute for eggs?
Any suggestions on high altitude settings? My 13 YO daughter made this and despite being delicious, it never cooked in the center. She did bake it in glass, but we’re above 5k ft. and haven’t quite gotten used to the change (we came from sea level). I’m just not sure how much to adjust the temperature for what about of time.
Hi Hollie! Here’s a great guide for high altitude baking: https://www.kingarthurflour.com/learn/resources/high-altitude-baking Hope this helps!
Best banana bread I’ve had. Will save all my bananas to make this again. Sure does make the house smell good too.
Yay! So happy to hear, Pat! Continue to enjoy!
Can I use a cup of Splenda in bread recipe
Hi Dina! I haven’t tested the recipe with Splenda so I’m not sure how it would bake up. It’s certainly worth a try though. I’ve read that it’s a 1:1 ratio substitute. The taste and texture might be slightly different. Fingers crossed it turns out just as great for you. Enjoy!
Is cooking time the same if a Bundy pan is used?
Hi Linda! Yes, the baking time should be very similar if baked in a regular bundt pan. Just be sure to check it often after 45 minutes of baking to make sure it doesn’t over-bake. Enjoy!