Cinnamon Crunch Banana Bread
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My family is obsessed with this cinnamon crunch banana bread recipe! It’s super moist and fluffy in the middle with a gorgeous crunch topping.
In my household, banana bread and cinnamon rolls are two of our favorite foods, so making a loaf of cinnamon crunch banana bread is an almost weekly staple.
It’s similar to a classic banana bread, but with two key differences. There is a swirl of cinnamon in the middle, and the top has the most gorgeous crunchy cinnamon sugar. It’s so good, I make two loaves at a time because it does NOT last long!
Table of Contents
Arman’s tips before starting
Use very ripe bananas. The darker and spottier the bananas, the sweeter and more flavorful the bread will be. If your bananas are only lightly speckled, you may want to add an extra tablespoon or two of sugar.
Oven makes and models differ, so you may need to bake for a few extra minutes. I found 45 minutes to be perfect in my oven (I have a generic Miele).
Do not overbake the bread. This is the quickest way to dry out banana bread. I remove mine from the oven when a toothpick comes out with a few moist crumbs attached, as the loaf continues to cook while it cools in the pan.
Let the bread cool before slicing. I know it’s tempting to cut into it straight away, but letting it cool gives the crumb time to set and makes for much cleaner slices.
What readers are saying
★★★★★ – “Such a delicious and cinnamon-filled treat. It works so well with the banana base.” – Rachel
★★★★★ – “This is my new go-to banana bread- the crunchy topping is everything!” – Hollie (from Facebook)
Key Ingredients
Find the full printable recipe below.
- Almond flour. Blanched almond flour is preferred for its light, fluffy crumb. Avoid using almond meal, as it will yield a gritty, dense loaf.
- Baking powder. Leavening agent to give the bread some fluffiness and rise.
- Salt– Brings out the overall sweetness of the bread.
- Brown sugar. Provides sweetness and a subtle molasses flavor. Coconut sugar will work.
- Bananas. Overripe and spotty bananas are a must for banana bread!
- Coconut oil. Refined coconut oil measured in its melted state. If you like, you can use unsalted butter.
- Eggs. Room temperature eggs mix more easily into the batter and doesn’t firm up the coconut oil.
- Vanilla extract. Gives the bread a subtle vanilla flavor.
- Cinnamon crunch topping. I use a mix of white sugar and cinnamon.
How to make cinnamon crunch banana bread
Step 1- Mix dry. Add the dry ingredients to a large mixing bowl and whisk them together.
Step 2- Make batter. In a separate bowl, add the bananas, coconut oil, eggs, and vanilla extract. Combine the wet and dry ingredients, then mix until well combined.
Step 3- Assemble. Whisk together the cinnamon and sugar until combined. Transfer 1/3 of the batter into a lined loaf pan, then sprinkle 3/4 of the cinnamon sugar mixture. Pour the remaining batter on top and sprinkle any remaining cinnamon sugar.
Step 4- Bake for 45-55 minutes, checking around the 40-minute mark. A skewer should come out mostly clean. Remove the bread from the oven and let it cool completely before slicing and serving.
Storage instructions
To store: Leftovers can be stored in the refrigerator, covered, for up to 7 days.
To freeze: Place slices of the bread in a ziplock bag and store them in the freezer for up to 6 months.
Frequently asked questions
This recipe has not been tested using an alternative flour. If you cannot tolerate almond flour, you can make coconut flour banana bread or oatmeal banana bread, and just add the crunch topping to it.
Yes, I’ve tested this recipe with flax eggs, and it worked surprisingly well. The bread was slightly softer but still moist, tender, and held together beautifully.
Cinnamon Crunch Banana Bread
Video
Ingredients
- 2 cups almond flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 large bananas mashed
- 2 large eggs or flax eggs
- 1/4 cup coconut oil melted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the cinnamon filling and topping
- 2 tablespoon cinnamon
- 1/2 cup sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180C/350F. Line an 8 x 4-inch loaf pan with parchment paper and set aside. In a small bowl, add the cinnamon and sugar and mix
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the almond flour, baking powder, brown sugar, and salt and mix well. In a separate mixing bowl, add the bananas, eggs, melted coconut oil, and vanilla extract and mix well. Combine your wet and dry ingredients and mix well. If the batter is too thick, add some milk or maple syrup. In a small bowl, whisk the cinnamon and sugar for the swirl and topping.
- Transfer 1/3 of the batter to the lined pan. Sprinkle 3/4 of the cinnamon/sugarr mixture. Fill with the remaining banana bread batter. Top with remaining cinnamon and sugar.
- Bake for 45-55 minutes, checking around the 40-minute mark. Once a skewer comes out clean, remove from the oven.
- Allow the bread to cool in the pan completely, before slicing and serving.
Notes
Nutrition
More banana bread recipes
Originally published December 2021
What size loaf pan do you use? I just made this and 1/3 of the batter barely filled the bottom. I think my pan is a 9×5. We’ll see how it turns out! 🤞
Hi Dawn- 8 x 4 is my go go for this bread! 9 x 5 will work, but as you said, it won’t fill the whole pan 🙂
What can I use instead of bananas? Could I use pumpkin?
Yes, Sharon- that works 🙂
I always have overripe bananas lingering and love making banana bread. This came out great and I love the crunchy topping! Glad to add this to my banana bread rotation.
My daughter and I love this bread! We made 3 loafs. The first loaf we made we followed the recipe. Next loaf we replaced bananas with pumpkin, and the third loaf we only used cinnamon, which is my personal favorite. Next, we are going to make Apple.
Three loaves? Marty, you are amazing! I love how you’ve adapted it based on different starches. Banana can easily be replaced with pumpkin and applesauce (and even sweet potato), so it can change up the flavor and also see what works best with cinnamon 🙂 Let me know how the apple one goes!
You’re right, Arman! If I made changes to your recs, I shouldn’t expect your result. And multiple health factors have forced me to *greatly* reduce my refined sugar intake. I did use almond flour. I didn’t know about date sugar’s effects!! Continued success in your work!!!
It didn’t rise!! Subbed w/ date sugar (used less than half!), applesauce. Not much flavor.
Hi Mary Beth! sorry to hear that. Did you change any of the ingredients? It does call for almond flour, which doesn’t rise as much as much as traditional breads. Also, date sugar is notorious for being super moist in baking, which can affect how well a loaf rises. If it didn’t have much flavor, it would be because you didn’t use all the sweetener I recommended 🙂