This Cinnamon Crunch Banana Bread is so moist and full of flavor! This recipe is simple and uses everyday ingredients that you probably already have in your pantry.
Banana bread is a classic recipe that goes great with coffee in the morning or in the afternoon. It’s also amazing when used to make my bomb Banana Bread French Toast Recipe! Now i’ve tried many many banana bread recipes made by others, bakeries etc. But, this one might just be my favorite. I think it’s because of the cinnamon crunch baked on top. Literally amazing. Like, imagine biting into a warm moist piece of banana bread with gaslight crunch on top. What’s not to love about that?
HOW DO I MASH BANANAS?
You can break up or slice the ripe bananas into large pieces and place them in a medium bowl. Start by beating on low with a hand mixer, then gradually increase the speed as the bananas break down into mashed bananas. If you don’t have a hand mixer or stand mixer you can certainly just use a fork and mash them up.
CAN I FREEZE BANANA BREAD?
Absolutely! You will want to follow the steps below.
- Cool the banana bread completely.
- I recommend slicing the loaf and tightly wrapping it in plastic wrap or aluminum foil.
- Place wrapped banana bread in a large freezer-friendly storage bag.
- Date the bag and freeze for up to 2-3 months.
- To thaw the bread, you can thaw in the refrigerator or at room temperature.
Questions about this Cinnamon Crunch Banana Bread? Did you make this recipe? Let me know in the comments below! Tag me #chefelizabethreese on Instagram, I’d love to see your creations!
Cinnamon Crunch Banana Bread
Ingredients
For the Banana Bread
- 2 Cups All Purpose Flour
- 1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
- ¼ Teaspoon Salt
- 2 Teaspoons Ground Cinnamon
- 1 Stick Butter, Room Temperature
- ¾ Cup Light Brown Sugar
- 2 Eggs, Room Temperature
- ⅓ Cup Sour Cream
- 2½ Cups Ripe Bananas, Mashed (About 3-4 Bananas) (Be sure to measure the bananas so you don't have too much)
- 1 Tablespoon Vanilla Extract
For the Cinnamon Crunch Topping
- ½ Cup All Purpose Flour
- ½ Cup Brown Sugar
- 1 Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
- 1 Stick Cold Butter, Cubed, start with a half stick then gradually add more butter if needed
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F. Spray a standard 9 x 5 inch loaf pan with non stick cooking spray and set aside. You can line the pan with parchment paper if you'd like for easy removal, however it's optional.
- In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon together.
- In another bowl, with a hand mixer using the paddle or whisk attachment, beat the butter and brown sugar together on medium-high speed until smooth.
- On medium speed, add the eggs one at a time, continue beating after each has been added. Add in the sour cream, mashed bananas, and vanilla extract on medium speed until combined.
- Slowly beat the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients on low speed until there are no remaining flour pockets.
- Pour the batter into the prepared loaf baking pan. Whisk the flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon together then cut in the cold butter with a fork until crumbles form. Sprinkle on top of the batter. *See note regarding extra crumble
- Bake for 50-60 ish minutes. You can create an aluminum foil tent on top of the loaf pan and loosely cover half way through to help prevent the top from getting too brown.
- When a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean, the bread is done. Remove from the oven and allow the bread to cool completely. Enjoy!
Notes
- Note that there may be extra crumble topping remaining so you can feel free to add or discard once you cover the top of the batter.
- Also keep in mind that when making crumble you should not use your hands because the heat from your hands will warm the butter. Using room-temperature or melted butter will cause the topping to spread out and flatten when it bakes which will overflow.
- If you decide to cover the top loosely with aluminum foil half way through, please keep in mind that you must LOOSELY cover, not completely cover. Create a tent on top of the loaf pan.
Karla Galindo says
Made this a few weeks ago without the crumble bc i was out of brown sugar and it was still delicious. Decided to make it again as I stocked up on brown sugar. It’s currently in the oven and I am praying it comes out great…. The added butter on top overflowed and my house is now filled with smoke! Alarms didn’t go off as I managed to turn on vent and open windows. I used standard bread loaf pan/dish so not sure what happened/if it’s supposed to happen.
Chef Elizabeth Reese says
Hi Karla- I’m happy to hear that you love this recipe! It’s unfortunate that the crumble overflowed in your pan. It sounds like your loaf pan may not have been deep enough you should have a little space to give your bread enough room to bake! Next time I would try using a deeper loaf pan.
Karla says
Thank you so much for the reply. I used a standard 9×5 loaf pan. Will have to look for something deeper I guess. I think it still came out great, it was a gift for a friend who just had a baby who’s name BTW is Elizabeth Reese!!!! I found this recipe before I knew what the baby’s name would be and saved it bc my friend loves banana bread.
If I want to make this recipe with mini loaf pans (6×3) would I need to change baking time or temp?
Chef Elizabeth Reese says
OMG! What are the odds! 🙂 I’m not sure about the bake times as I haven’t tested this recipe in mini loaf times. However, I imagine you would have to bake for a shorter period of time due to cooking in smaller quantities.
Theresa says
It’s sorta confusing. Do you bake it and then crumble the topping? Maybe those steps are out of order. I’m assuming that you wouldn’t so I’ll put the crumble in then bake. It smells delicious! Hope it turns out good! And the batter was about half way into my standard loaf pan before putting it into the oven. Let’s see what happens 🤞🏼
Chef Elizabeth Reese says
Hey! For step #7 you will want to mix up all of the crumble ingredients then sprinkle on top of the batter prior to baking. One of the steps were out of order which has been updated. Thanks!
Alyssa says
The last two steps are definitely confusing.
You need to do the crumble then bake for 60ish minutes.
Other than that it’s a delicious bread recipe.
Chef Elizabeth Reese says
Hey! For step #7 you will want to mix up all of the crumble ingredients then sprinkle on top of the batter prior to baking. One of the steps were out of order which has been updated. Thanks!
Emma says
Hi! What can I replace the sour cream with?
Chef Elizabeth Reese says
Hi Emma, you can use Greek Yogurt as a replacement!
Cynthia says
Im so happy I came across this recipe today on Pinterest! I absolutely love how it came out and it tastes amazing! I followed the recipe exactly to the T for the crumble part i used my hands to really mix in the butter with dry ingredients and that worked out great the whole mixture with crumble fit in perfectly with no spilling at all.
for references I did use a Wilton brand loaf pan 9.25 x 5.25 x 2.75
I Will be posting a picture and tagging you on Instagram do you can see how perfect it came out. Thanks again for sharing this deliciousness
Chef Elizabeth Reese says
I’m so happy you loved the recipe! Thank you for your support!
Laney Beall says
Followed the recipe to a T! It was absolutely fantastic! The crumble on top is a must or it isn’t the same! It’s not overly sweet or overly banana, nicely balanced! I will definitely make this again! Make sure you have a deep bead loaf pan or it will spill over. Luckily mine was deep enough. I may bake 5 min less to see if it will be a tad bit moist. I like mine very moist. The bread wasn’t dry by any means I just always prefer “under baked”. Thanks for the wonderful recipe!!!
Chef Elizabeth Reese says
Laney, thank you for your comment and I am happy that you enjoyed the recipe!
Amanda says
This is amazing! My husband dug in and loved it so much! I was short one banana but it is still a really great mix. With reading a few comments of overflow, I kept a cookie sheet below my loaf pan but had no troubles with this recipe. The topping really makes this recipe. Must try recipe for your next event (or just a yummy breakfast treat!)
Chef Elizabeth Reese says
Amanda, Im happy that you guys loved the recipe! Thank you so much for your comment! 🙂
Sarah says
I made this last night and am in love! The only changes were to use plain, full fat Greek yogurt instead of sour cream and I doubled the amount of cinnamon in the crunch topping by accident but I’ll do it again every time! I did put a sheet pan under the loaf pan (thankfully) as there was a little bit of butter that escaped and dripped over. Next time I’ll just reduce the amount of butter to 6 Tbsp instead of a whole stick.
Thanks for the delicious recipe!!
Chef Elizabeth Reese says
Hey Sarah! I’m glad you loved the recipe! 🙂
Melinda says
I too had a normal loaf pan and it was too much butter on the topping. Next time I will cut the butter in half. Cupcakes came out good but lots of butter under paper. Will keep trying
Chef Elizabeth Reese says
Hi Melinda, did you use cold butter? Keep in mind that when making crumble you should not use your hands because the heat from your hands will warm the butter. Using room-temperature or melted butter will cause the topping to spread out and flatten when it bakes which will overflow.
Ella Brock says
I was so excited when I found this recipe but it didn’t turn out how I hoped. I followed all of the instructions and the crumble was mushy and soft so I took the foil off for a couple minutes and ending up over cooking the loaf. I’ll have to try this again, maybe with less butter in the crumble.
Chef Elizabeth Reese says
Ella, did you use cold butter? Keep in mind that when making crumble you should not use your hands because the heat from your hands will warm the butter. Using room-temperature or melted butter will cause the topping to spread out and flatten when it bakes which will overflow.
Jeanne says
Haven’t tried this yet but plan to this weekend. Before I get started, I’d like to know if the brown sugar in the loaf and in the crumble are packed, lightly packed, or not packed??
Chef Elizabeth Reese says
Hi Jeanne, packed is fine!
Jeanne says
Oh my…..this is THE best!! I’ve tried several banana bread recipes, “copycat” ones and others but none of them come close to this one. I only had two bananas instead of four, but I made the recipe anyway and it was f a n t a s t i c. Easier to make than the other ones too.
So thankful you shared this recipe!!
Chef Elizabeth Reese says
Jeanne, thank you! I am so happy that you enjoyed the recipe, it’s definitely a favorite of mine!
Megan says
Made muffins! I used dark brown sugar because that’s what I had on hand. Made 23 muffins. Filled muffin tins 3/4 full – add lots of crumble or it just sort of blends in, at least a full teaspoon if not a little more. Baked for 18-20 mins. Delicious!
Chef Elizabeth Reese says
So glad you loved it, Megan!
Grace says
I made both batter and crumble before realizing I couldn’t find my loaf pan, so I used my cupcake pan instead! Turned out wonderfully. Very easy to follow recipe and so delicious.
Chef Elizabeth Reese says
Grace, glad you loved the recipe! I’ll have to try it in cupcake pan next time!
Kasee says
Made muffins out of this recipe, they were delicious. Can these be frozen?
Chef Elizabeth Reese says
Kasee- so happy you loved the recipe, thank you for your comment! Yes, they should be able to be frozen as long as you let them cool first.
Marilyn says
I’ve tried several banana bread recipes over the years, but this one by far, is “The Best! “ I just recently made it for the second time; amazing! My husband said: “it doesn’t get any better than this”!!! Thank you for this recipe Elizabeth!
Elizabeth Reese says
Thank you so much for your comment Marilyn! Im so happy that you guys love it!