My easy cinnamon swirl bread is a soft and sweet quick bread recipe loaded with a buttery brown sugar cinnamon swirl. Like a banana bread, this recipe doesn’t call for yeast or rising time. It’s a perfect treat to bake before brunch!
This easy cinnamon swirl bread has all the sweet, cozy flavors of a batch of homemade cinnamon rolls or a cinnamon babka, baked in a fraction of the time and with WAY less effort. It’s a quick bread recipe, like banana bread, that’s perfect for any day of the week. The bread is soft, moist, and swirled with gooey cinnamon sugar that gets easily layered between the batter in minutes.
The best thing about this cinnamon swirl bread is that you can customize it with mix-ins like nuts, dried fruit, or chocolate chips. Enjoy a slice with your morning coffee, as an afternoon snack, or even as dessert!
What Makes This Cinnamon Swirl Bread So Special
- No yeast, no rising, no mixer. Quick breads are wonderful like that.
- Any season. This cinnamon swirl bread is less seasonal than, say, my apple pie bread in the fall or a strawberry bread loaf in the summertime. It’s made with readily available ingredients year-round.
- Easy cinnamon sugar swirl. I’ll show you how to swirl the bread for perfect ribbons of brown sugar and cinnamon in every bite.
- A family favorite. I bake this cinnamon swirl bread for bake sales, teachers’ gifts, and it’s great for Easter and Mother’s Day brunch. Serve it warm with butter and watch those slices disappear!
Ingredients You’ll Need
These are the key ingredients in this cinnamon swirl bread recipe. Scroll to the printable recipe card at the bottom of the post for the complete ingredients list with exact measurements.
- Dry Ingredients – These are your baking essentials, including all-purpose flour, baking soda, and salt. Be sure to measure dry ingredients like flour using a kitchen scale or the spoon and level method for accuracy. If you add too much flour, the bread turns out dry.
- Brown Sugar – Brown sugar adds a deeper caramel flavor and more moisture than granulated sugar. Not to mention it pairs beautifully with the cinnamon!
- Vegetable Oil – You can also use canola oil, or any light colored, flavorless oil. Oil is a secret weapon that keeps this quick cinnamon bread soft and moist for days.
- Buttermilk – For a soft, tender texture. If you don’t have buttermilk, you can easily make a homemade buttermilk substitute from white vinegar and regular milk.
- Butter – The cinnamon swirl consists of butter, brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon. It’s very similar to the filling inside a cinnamon roll.
- Cinnamon – The better quality cinnamon you use, the better the bread will be. You could also experiment with other warm spices, like nutmeg, cardamom, or a blend, like pie spice.
How to Swirl the Bread Batter
The buttery, cinnamon swirl is what sets this recipe apart. The pockets of gooey cinnamon are like a cinnamon roll in quick bread form! Here’s how to make this cinnamon swirl bread like a pro:
- Mix the batter and filling. First, combine the dry and wet ingredients separately, then gently fold them together to make the batter. Meanwhile, combine the cinnamon filling ingredients in a new bowl.
- Assemble the bread. Add 2/3 of the batter to a prepared loaf pan. Next, dollop about half of the cinnamon swirl mixture over the batter by the teaspoon. Top it with the remaining batter, and then the remaining swirl mixture.
- Swirl the bread. Using a bread knife, swirl it all in so you’re left with beautiful ribbons of buttery cinnamon throughout the bread. This bread goes into a 350ºF oven for about 50-60 minutes. Enjoy!
Baking Tips and Variations
- Don’t skip the buttermilk. Using buttermilk in this cinnamon swirl bread recipe is what gives it the most tender crumb. The acid in the buttermilk paired with the baking soda is why this cinnamon bread recipe is airy and light, but also buttery.
- Brown sugar is best. Using brown sugar in the batter makes it the best cinnamon bread ever. It makes it moist, tender, and also adds a depth of flavor.
- Add nuts. Feel free to stir a handful (about 1/2 cup) of chopped pecans, walnuts, or almonds into the bread batter.
- Make it chocolatey. The same goes for chocolate chips for an extra fudgy loaf. Try adding semi-sweet, milk, dark chocolate, or even white chocolate chips or cinnamon chips.
Storage and Freezing
- Room temperature. This bread keeps beautifully at room temperature if stored airtight for up to 3 days.
- Freeze. If you don’t finish it, you can freeze your bread airtight for up to two months. Allow it to thaw at room temperature, and then it’s good to go. You can toast this bread as well, which is a delicious way to reheat it.
More Quick Bread Recipes You’ll Love
Cinnamon Swirl Bread
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 55 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
- Yield: serves 8
- Category: Quick Bread
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: Breakfast
Description
This easy and quick cinnamon swirl bread is super moist and swirled with buttery ribbons of cinnamon sugar. Perfect for breakfast or dessert!
Ingredients
Cinnamon Swirl Mixture:
- 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
Bread:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 egg
- 1 cup light brown sugar, packed
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1/3 cup vegetable or canola oil
- 1 tablespoon vanilla
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a 9×5-inch loaf pan with cooking spray. Place a long strip of parchment paper cut to fit the width of the pan in the bottom of the pan and up two ends. This will be used to lift bread out of the pan after it’s baked. Spray the parchment paper again with cooking spray and set aside.
- Prep the Swirl Mixture: Mix the butter, brown sugar, flour, and ground cinnamon together in a medium bowl until evenly combined. Set aside.
- Make the Bread: Whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl and set aside.
- In another large bowl whisk together the egg, brown sugar, buttermilk, oil, and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients into wet ingredients and stir until smooth.
- Assemble: Pour 2/3 of batter into the prepared pan. Drop 1/2 of the swirl mixture, by the teaspoon onto batter. Top with the remaining batter and repeat with the remaining swirl mixture.
- With a butter knife carefully swirl the batter and cinnamon mixture together.
- Bake: Bake for 50-60 minutes until the center is set and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Allow the bread to cool for 20 minutes in the pan and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Enjoy warm or at room temperature.
Notes
Store airtight at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Freeze airtight for up to 2 months. Thaw at room temperature.
I love most of your recipes and today I made this bread from your book which I also have. I thought the “swirl” was a bit like paste but I always like to follow a recipe to the letter the first time. Baked 50 min and pick in the center came out clean. Cooled in pan for specified time. When I removed it from the pan, the whole thing broke apart and is like a soggy mess. I’m an experienced baker and can’t figure out what might have gone wrong other than the swirl is too thick for this batter. The “pieces” are tasty, but can’t serve to my guests. If I tried it again, I would bake for 60 minutes.
thanks for sharing it…
I made this and it was incredible! I only had an issue with the cinnamon swirl mix. I don’t think the butter was room temp, so it was hard to mix into the batter. It kindof fell to the bottom of bread and didn’t fully cook, it was hard/burned.
so for next time, the mixture should be a bit mushy not paste like?
thank you!
Yes, make sure it’s very soft so it swirls into the batter. If you think it’s too stiff you can pop it in the microwave for a few seconds to loosen it up!
Thank you so much !!!
Could you back mini loafs of this bread? At what temp and for how long if so?
Shelly I think you have a quickbread like this in your book. That was one of the best things I made from your book. 🙂