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Cinnamon Swirl Banana Bread

Cinnamon swirl banana bread with a marbled cinnamon-brown sugar ribbon spiraling through a golden, tender crumb from top to bottom. This easy banana bread recipe uses a quick swirl method with a knife or skewer for a dramatic center swirl.
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 5 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes
Servings: 10 servings
Course: Breakfast, Snack
Cuisine: American
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Banana bread batter
  • 3 bananas Ripe bananas, mashed until mostly smooth.
  • 0.5 cup butter Melted.
  • 0.75 cup sugar
  • 2 eggs Large.
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1.5 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 0.5 tsp salt
Cinnamon swirl
  • 3 tbsp brown sugar
  • 1.5 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tbsp butter Melted.

Equipment

  • 1 sheet pan
  • 1 cast iron skillet
  • 1 Dutch oven

Method
 

Prep and preheat
  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease a 9x5 loaf pan.
Make the banana batter
  1. Whisk melted butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla into the mashed bananas until smooth.
  2. Fold in the all-purpose flour, baking soda, and salt until just combined.
Make the cinnamon swirl
  1. Mix the brown sugar, cinnamon, and melted butter together until evenly combined.
Assemble the loaf
  1. Pour half the banana batter into the loaf pan, drizzle all the cinnamon mixture over the top, then pour in the remaining batter.
  2. Swirl through the batter with a knife or skewer, dragging through to create a spiral ribbon from top toward the center.
Bake and cool
  1. Bake for 60–70 minutes until deeply golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
  2. Cool for 15 minutes before slicing.

Notes

Pro tip: when folding the dry ingredients, stop as soon as you don’t see dry flour—overmixing can make the crumb tough. Store sliced banana bread airtight at room temperature for up to 3 days or refrigerate up to 5 days; freeze whole or sliced for up to 2 months. For a lighter option, swap half the butter for a 1:1 baking substitute (or use unsweetened applesauce) while keeping the swirl topping unchanged.