Cinnamon Sugar Bread — This brown sugar cinnamon bread is light and fluffy in the middle, with a crusty cinnamon-sugar exterior that’s reminiscent of a streusel topping! The ribbon of cinnamon sugar that runs through the middle is a perfect touch! Easy, one-bowl, no-mixer recipe!!
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Cinnamon Swirl Quick Bread Recipe
This brown sugar cinnamon bread is so fast and easy to make and comes together in 5 minutes with a whisk, in one bowl. I love it when I don’t have to drag out my mixer because it would seem to defeat the purpose of calling a bread a ‘quick bread’ if the ingredients need to be creamed, creating more dishes. Nothing quick about that!
The same cinnamon-sugar mixture that’s sprinkled on top before baking is also sprinkled into the batter, creating a cinnamon-sugar swirl in the middle of the loaf. The only way to create that thick, delectable, wall of sweet crust on top is to sprinkle cinnamon-sugar generously over the surface before baking.
Not all of it adheres to the bread and you’ll have to remind your kids and husband to ‘Please, eat over your plate.’ And remind yourself, too, so that you’re not recreating a sandy beach on your kitchen floor with the stray cinnamon-sugar granules.
The ribbon of cinnamon-sugar that floats through the interior provides another pop of flavor. The cinnamon flavor is present and notable, but it’s not overwhelming. Feel free to add more if you’re a true fiend.
The bread is flavorful enough that it doesn’t need butter, but if you’re so inclined toasting it and smearing liberally with butter takes it from really good to gobble-the-whole-loaf supremely good. Our toaster got a workout and has the cinnamon-sugar bits stuck in the crumb tray to show for it.
Such an easy bread to make with great results, no kneading and no fuss. From start to finish, this should go from cupboard and into your mouth in under an hour.
Cinnamon Sugar Bread Ingredients
For this cinnamon sugar quick bread recipe, you’ll need:
- Granulated sugar
- Cinnamon
- Unsalted butter
- Egg
- Light brown sugar
- Canola oil
- Vanilla extract
- Buttermilk
- All-purpose flour
- Ground nutmeg
- Baking soda
- Salt
Can I Use a Buttermilk Substitute?
If you don’t normally keep buttermilk on hand, you can cheat and make some with regular milk by adding 1 or 2 tablespoons of vinegar or lemon juice to one cup of milk and waiting for about 10 minutes.
Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for the ingredients with amounts included and for more complete directions.
How to Make Cinnamon Sugar Swirl Bread
This cinnamon swirl quick bread is super simple to make! Here’s a look at how the bread is prepared:
- In a small bowl, stir together the granulated sugar and cinnamon. Set aside.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the melted butter, egg, brown sugar, oil, and vanilla, followed by the buttermilk.
- Add the remaining ingredients and stir until just combined.
- Turn HALF the bread batter into a greased 9×5-inch loaf pan and sprinkle three-quarters of the cinnamon-sugar mixture over top. Top with the remaining batter and sprinkle the rest of the cinnamon-sugar mixture over top.
- Bake your cinnamon swirl bread until the top is set and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Tips for Making Cinnamon Sugar Quick Bread
When making the quick bread batter, it’s important that you give the melted butter a couple minutes to cool down before mixing it in with the other wet ingredients. If you mix everything together all at once, you might wind up accidentally scrambling the egg with the hot butter.
The cinnamon bread batter will be a little lumpy, and that’s totally normal. Don’t try to stir out all the lumps, otherwise you’ll over work the batter and your bread won’t be as fluffy once baked.
Lastly, for easier cleanup I recommend inverting the bread over your kitchen sink or a paper towel since some of the cinnamon-sugar topping will fall off when you remove the loaf from the pan.
Recipe FAQs
No, an 8×4-inch loaf pan will be too small for this cinnamon quick bread recipe. You must use a 9×5-inch pan for this recipe.
Yes, cinnamon sugar bread freezes really well. Let it cool to room temperature, then pop it into a freezer bag or wrap it in multiple layers of plastic wrap. When you’re ready to eat the frozen loaf, set it on the counter overnight to thaw.
Most likely, yes! Raisins or chopped nuts would both be great in this cinnamon swirl bread. You’d only want to add about 3/4 cup of mix-ins total, otherwise your bread will overflow in the oven.
Yes, I’ve made this into muffins before and they turned out beautifully! You’ll want to check your muffins around the 18-minute mark and bake a minute or two more at a time until you figure out the exact amount of time they should be in the oven. You’ll know your muffins are done baking when they’re golden and springy to the touch.
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Swirled Cinnamon Sugar Bread
Ingredients
Cinnamon Sugar
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
Bread
- ¼ cup unsalted butter, melted
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup light brown sugar, packed
- ¼ cup canola or vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- pinch salt, optional and to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Spray a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan with floured cooking spray, or grease and flour the pan; set aside (don’t use an 8-by-4-inch pan; it’s too small)
- In a small bowl, combine 1/3 cup granulated sugar with the cinnamon and stir to incorporate; set aside.
- In a large microwave-safe bowl, melt the butter, about 1 minute. After the butter has cooled momentarily (so you don’t scramble the egg), add the egg, brown sugar, oil, vanilla, and whisk to combine. Add the buttermilk and whisk to incorporate.
- Add the flour, nutmeg, baking soda, optional salt, and stir until just combined; don’t overmix. Batter will be thick and lumpy. Don’t try to stir the lumps smooth.
- Pour half the batter into prepared pan, smoothing it lightly with a spatula. Sprinkle three-fourths (75%) of the cinnamon-sugar mixture (just eyeball it), distributed evenly over the surface of the batter. This creates the cinnamon ribbon.
- Top with remaining half of the batter, smoothing it lightly with a spatula. Sprinkle remaining cinnamon-sugar mixture, distributed evenly over the top. It looks like a lot, but it’s necessary to form the crust, and not all of it aheres.
- Bake for 45 to 55 minutes (mine took 50), or until top is set and firm, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, or with a few moist crumbs, but no batter. Allow bread to cool in pan for about 15 minutes before inverting.
- Invert bread over the sink or a paper towel to catch some of the non-adhered cinnamon-sugar and sprinkle it back on the bread. Place bread on wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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More Cinnamon Sugar Desserts:
Cinnamon Sugar Pretzel Twists – Baked in a muffin pan and made with refrigerated dough to save time, you’re going to LOVE how FAST and EASY these finger-lickin’ sweet pretzel bites are!
Cinnamon Sugar Pumpkin Bread — Super soft, tender, moist pumpkin bread with a slightly crunchy cinnamon sugar topping!
Snickerdoodle Bread — Between the cinnamon-sugar on top, cinnamon in the batter, and the cinnamon chips, the bread is full of wonderful and prominent cinnamon flavor without being overpowering.
Cinnamon Coffee Cake — Between the cinnamon-sugar crust AND the cinnamon-sugar swirled through the center, this EASY coffee cake is IRRESISTIBLE!! Soft, fluffy, light, and of course it’s perfect with coffee!!
Honey Bun Cake — Tastes like a Honey Bun in cake form!! Sweet, rich, decadent, and reminds me of the Honey Buns I used to eat as a kid! Fast and EASY!!
Glazed Cinnamon Roll Cake — The flavor of cinnamon rolls in a soft, tender, EASY cake!! One bowl, no mixer, and you’re going to love the tangy-sweet GLAZE!!
Originally published April 24, 2013 and republished October 2, 2020 with updated text.
Hi Averie!
I made your cinnamon bread this morning, and it is delicious! BUT, I have one question. Why is mine brown and yours white? I followed the recipe exactly, and didn’t do anything crazy like use whole wheat flour or anything. What could be up with my brown bread?
Also, I’ve pinned several of your recipes and follow a couple of your boards, but I’ve never scrolled way down here to the bottom. What a nice, conscientious person you must be to respond to so many of these comments!
Thanks for your time! (Oh, and that blueberry coffee cake!)
I have no idea why yours is brown. Could be the lighting in the pics but in person, mine is pretty darn white. I used King Arthur AP flour (red bag). I baked for exactly how long I wrote in the post and just took it out. I did sprinkle on maybe a tbsp of white sugar to the crust just for the pics so that the white would reflect in the light, but such a minute detail and that was only on the crust, not on the bread.
You could always put a sheet of foil over the top of the bread in the future about 15 mins before the end of the baking time.
Thanks for the pins!
And thanks for noticing all my comment replies. Yes, it takes awhile :)
Just a thought….did you happen to use dark brown sugar instead, of light brown sugar? That would definitely make it darker.
This bread is seriously calling my name! Look so so good, Averie!
I gave this a try over the weekend and love it! You have so many yummy quick bread recipes and it’s hard to pick a favorite, but the crust on this is to die for! I used my Vietnamese cinnamon and it was worth the splurge.
So glad that you made this one and I agree, the crust on this one is just very special :) Glad you agree! And the Vietnamese cinn on here would be worth it, you’re right!
Oh wow, I must try this :) your photos are wonderful!
OMG. YUM!!! I waaaaaas going to make banana bread this morning. . . again. But THIS! Wow. It’s happening in about 2 hours. What a great recipe – I LOVE things that come together so quickly. Perfect! :)
Made it! Dee-lish! ;) Thanks for the “keeper” recipe! Love baked things that don’t require a mixer in the morning!
I am so glad to hear you made it and that it’s a keeper! I agree :) Thanks for the field report!
Lovely bread and I would scarf down that bread in no time because of that yummy looking crust!
I’m a total fan of a good crusty bread. The crust is actually my favorite part. I always end up eating the kid’s crust from their sandwiches. I’m sure that’s not the best thing for my waistline, but a good crust is so worth it. This crust and bread looks amazing. I love a nice crunchy crust especially when it’s coated in cinnamon and sugar. In high school my friends and I actually put took our pizza crusts and put sugar in them. We loved it because it tasted like fried dough. I told my kids that story, and they were grossed out.
Whenever I make something with cinnamon and sugar, I know I’m going to be wiping the floor down after the kids. It’s too hard for them not to get sugar crumbs anywhere! Have a great night girl :)
Cinn-sugar on yeasted dough…wouldn’t that be a mini-donut! Or donut! Not weird at all! That’s what cinnamon-sugar breadsticks are or mini donuts from the MN State Fair or any sweet dough. I could gobble those things like crazy :)
You can never have too many recipes for cinnamon bread!! I can smell this now – I want a piece!
Cinn bread or banana bread…I have plenty of each. But half of blogging is trying new recipes, even when you just want to remake what you know works. And sometimes you get lucky & it’s better than the others!
I bet this made your house smell like heaven! This looks delicious – I’m already having visions of enjoying several slices with my morning (and afternoon!) coffee. (Crusty breads are my fav!) :D
Like heaven on earth. Bread, cinnamon-sugar, it was…just divine!
Well, as I mentioned over on my blog, I am a crust lover (except when it comes to pie!), but I think this recipe could get me to love crust even more.
OMG that cinnamon sugar crust! To die for!
THAT CRUST!!!! OMG Averie, this is a MUST make!