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This cinnamon sugar bread is fluffy and moist, swirled with thick ribbons of buttery cinnamon sugar streusel throughout. It’s an easy quick bread recipe made with just a handful of pantry staples.
If you love homemade quick bread like my moist banana bread recipe, you’ll love this cinnamon swirl bread that tastes just like a freshly baked coffee cake!
Easy Cinnamon Sugar Quick Bread
This cinnamon sugar bread rarely lasts long in this house. What’s not to love? It’s moist and tender, even days later. The swirls of cinnamon and sugar throughout the loaf are just as irresistible and buttery as the crunchy streusel on top. T
he cinnamon and vanilla flavors are reminiscent of homemade coffee cake, baked into a fluffy quick bread. You’re going to love it!
The best part is, it’s so dang simple. You only need two bowls to prepare the batter. You don’t even need a mixer. And if you want to take this cinnamon sugar bread over the top, drizzle over a simple vanilla glaze. No regrets!
Why You’ll Love This Cinnamon Sugar Bread Recipe
- Gorgeous cinnamon swirls. There’s plenty of buttery cinnamon streusel layered inside and on top of this moist quick bread. The warm spice plays off of the soft vanilla flavors and makes for one ultra-cozy bread slice.
- Quick to make. Known as a quick bread recipe, this cake-like bread requires no yeast or rising time. It’s straight from the mixing bowl to the oven. Have yourself a slice of warm cinnamon sugar bread in about an hour.
- Great for any occasion. This easy cinnamon sugar bread is perfect to serve for breakfast or even dessert with coffee or tea, but I also love making this bread to gift to friends and neighbors.
Ingredients and Notes
Just a handful of basic pantry ingredients are all you need to make this fluffy quick bread. I’ve included some notes on the key ingredients below. Scroll to the recipe card for the full amounts, recipe details, and instructions.
For the Bread
- All-Purpose Flour
- Granulated Sugar
- Baking Powder and Salt – Since this recipe is made without yeast, it relies on baking powder for leavening. We’ll also add a pinch of salt to balance the sweetness.
- Eggs– It’s best if the eggs are at room temperature.
- Vegetable Oil – Eggs offer richness and structure. Meanwhile, using vegetable oil in place of butter gives this quick bread the most moist and tender crumb ever.
- Sour Cream – Just like my sour cream coffee cake, adding sour cream to this cinnamon sugar bread brings loads of moisture and flavor. If you don’t have sour cream, use plain Greek yogurt instead.
- Milk– Any type of milk will work, and it’s best at room temperature.
- Pure Vanilla Extract –
For the Cinnamon Streusel
- All-Purpose Flour
- Sugar – I use a combination of white and light brown sugar. Feel free to use all white sugar or all brown sugar if you prefer.
- Cinnamon – Ground cinnamon adds delicious cozy spice. You can also use another spice, like nutmeg, chai spice, or even pumpkin pie spice for a fall-inspired twist.
- Butter– Be sure the butter is cold.
How to Make Cinnamon Sugar Bread
Two bowls are all you need: one bowl for the bread batter and another for the streusel. You can use a mixer to make the batter or you can whisk everything together by hand, just be sure it’s well mixed.
- Combine the dry ingredients. First, mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.
- Add the wet ingredients. Next, you’ll beat in the eggs, oil, sour cream, milk, and vanilla until the batter is well combined.
- Make the cinnamon streusel. Combine the flour, sugar, and cinnamon in a new bowl, then cut in the cold butter. You can use your hands, a fork, or a pastry cutter to press the ingredients together into a crumble.
- Assemble. Layer half of your prepared batter in a greased and lined loaf pan. Top this with half the cinnamon streusel. To create the swirl in the bread, gently swirl the streusel through the batter using a knife or skewer. Finally, add the remaining batter to the pan followed by the last of the streusel, but don’t swirl this time. Make sure that the top of the bread is evenly covered.
Bake. Bake your bread at 350ºF for 45-50 minutes. Afterward, leave the loaf to cool on the counter for at least an hour before slicing.
Tips and Variation Ideas
Quick breads are super approachable and also customizable. It’s no wonder they’re so popular! Here are some final tips along with easy variation ideas for this cinnamon sugar bread recipe:
- Measure the ingredients correctly. If you struggle with quick bread and baked goods that don’t bake up as moist and fluffy as they should, it could be that you’re over- or under-measuring certain ingredients. Make sure that you measure your flour correctly using a kitchen scale, or the spoon and level method (see my tutorial on how to measure flour).
- Don’t overmix the batter. Make sure to only mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until the batter is combined, and don’t overmix. Too much mixing can yield a dense bread loaf that won’t rise properly.
- Add fresh apples: This recipe can be adapted into cinnamon apple bread for a fun fall twist during apple season.
- Add your favorite mixins. Try stirring in chocolate chips, or chopped pecans or walnuts for crunch.
- Drizzle with vanilla icing. Make a quick vanilla icing from powdered sugar and milk (see my recipe for sugar cookie icing). Or, borrow the maple brown butter glaze from my pumpkin bundt cake.
Can I Make This Recipe In Another Pan?
While I think this cinnamon swirl bread recipe is best as a loaf, you can also make this batter into muffins or even a cake:
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- Muffins: You should have enough batter to make 12-14 standard-sized muffins. Add the batter to a greased muffin tin, sprinkle over the streusel, and bake for about 15-18 minutes.
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- Cake: Add the batter to a greased and lined 8-inch square pan. Add the streusel and bake for 25-28 minutes, until a toothpick stuck into the center of the cake comes out clean.
How to Store
- To Store. Keep this cinnamon sugar bread stored airtight on the counter at room temperature. This loaf will stay moist for up to 4-5 days, but it’s at its best within two days of baking.
- Freezer. Allow the loaf to cool completely, then double-wrap the bread in plastic wrap or store the wrapped bread in a freezer bag. Freeze it for up to 2-3 months, and defrost the bread on the counter before serving.
More Easy Quick Bread Recipes
Print
Cinnamon Sugar Bread
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 48 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 3 minutes
- Yield: 10 slices
Print Recipe
Pin RecipeDescription
This moist and fluffy cinnamon sugar bread is an easy vanilla-flavored quick bread recipe swirled with thick ribbons of buttery cinnamon streusel.
Ingredients
For the bread
- 1 1/4 cup (150g) all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup (143g) granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons (7.5g) baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- ½ cup (118ml) vegetable oil
- ½ cup (118ml) full-fat sour cream, at room temperature
- 2 tablespoons (30ml) milk, at room temperature
- 1 tablespoon (15ml) pure vanilla extract
For the Streusel:
- ¼ cup (30g) all-purpose flour
- 3 tablespoons (41g) light brown sugar, packed
- 2 tablespoons (24g) granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon (7.5g) cinnamon
- 3 tablespoons (42g) unsalted butter, cold
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a 9-inch loaf pan with cooking spray and line the bottom and sides with parchment paper.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Whisk to combine.
- Add the eggs, oil, sour cream, milk, and vanilla extract. Beat all the ingredients together until well combined. Set aside.
- Combine the dry ingredients for the streusel and whisk to combine. Next, add the cold butter. Using a fork or pastry cutter, press the butter together with the dry ingredients until it’s well combined. The mixture should be crumbly but stick together when pressed between your fingers.
- In the loaf pan, layer half the batter in the pan, then add half the streusel and gently swirl. Add the remaining batter on top and finally, the remaining streusel.
- Bake at 350°F for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean. Cool for at least 1 hour before slicing.
Notes
- Sour cream substitute: If you don’t have sour cream, you can use plain or Greek yogurt instead.
- Storage: Keep the bread stored in an airtight container in a cool and dry place.
- Make ahead: This loaf will stay moist for a few days, but it’s best when served within 2 days of preparing.
- Freezing instructions: Cool the loaf completely and then double-wrap it in plastic wrap.
- Category: Bread
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: American
I’m interested to try this recipe. What size loaf pan did you use?
9=inch
Family favourite eaten straight out of the oven by teenagers
Super easy without special ingredients needed to purchase
Thanks
Amazing and so easy to make
Made this a few days ago and chuckled at the “add picture” button, we ate it so quickly didn’t think about picture, it was very very moist and definitely a keeper already been asked when I’ll make it again..😁
Thank you Pauline!! I am so glad you enjoyed it!
Excellent recipe! Straightforward. The quick bread turned out moist and fluffy. I used just brown sugar since I was out of white sugar, and it tuned out just fine, maybe a little more moist.
So happy to hear that Vale! Thank you!
Hi! I love this recipe! I was wondering if I needed to change the temp or time if I do 4 loaves at a time? Or should I just keep it as I would for 1 loaf?
Temp should stay the same but the baking time may increase a little bit, just make sure you bake them all on the same rack. Or even better, if you can fit them on a sheet pan.
wasn’t this called quick bread before and it had 1/4 cup less of flour?
I adjusted the flour measurements based on the actual weighted measurement. The flour measurmenet in weight has not changed
This bread is amazing!! the texture turned out sooo good and the cinnamon streusel hit the spot! super easy to make as well, highly recommend!! thanks so much for sharing the recipe
Thank you so much for your kind words!
Excellent and easy to follow recipe! Definitely recommend trying it for yourself!
Thank you so much! Our family loves this recipe and I am happy to hear you do as well!
How long would you bake them for if you use small loaf pans?
I am not sure, there’s lots of different size options. I’d probably start checking after 20 minutes and add time as needed.
Can any of these bread recipes be made in a bread machine? If so, how?
Hi Susan, I’ve never used a bread machine for this, so I don’t know.
Perfect recipe! So easy, so quick to put together! DELICIOUS!
Yeah! That’s amazing Christine! Thank you so much!
This looks easy and yummy!!! I am going to try it out. Thanks.
Looooove the taste and fluffiness and moisture of this loaf! Thank you for sharing such an excellent and easy recipe. I just have one question: all my streusel sank to the bottom, both the ones in the middle and from the top layer. Do you have a tip on how to avoid that in the future? 🥰
Hi Selina, hmm I am not sure, I have no had this happen. Some of the streusel on top might sink a little bit but never in the middle. Was the oven full preheated when you put it in? And was the butter cold for the streusel?
I’ve made in regular loaf pan and my family Loves this recipe. I want to do as 4 mini loads, how long would you suggest for bake time?
So glad you enjoyed this recipe Camela! I can’t say for certain because I am not sure what pan size you’re using and haven’t tested it myself, but if I were doing it, I’d check it somewhere between 20-30 minutes and add incremental time as needed.
I made this yesterday it was good but my streusel topping disappeared during when it was baked. I’m not sure what happened.
Thanks for sharing Patty. It is hard to say what could have happened, do you know the size of the loaf pan?
It was a regular size
Followed the recipe exactly. It took 60 min to bake. Though it tasted yummy, it ended up sunken in the middle. ☹️
Hi Ginger, baking times will vary depending on the type of pan used, and true oven temp. Sounds like maybe it needed a couple more minutes in the oven.
This recipe is so easy to follow, and Sooo DELICIOUS…!!! I’ve made it 3-4 times already and he eats it with his morning coffee ☕
I ❤️It!!!!
Wonderful! Thank you so much Amanda. I love this bread too!!
Can you use canola oil in place of veg oil? Thanks
I have never tried it but I believe it’s a one for one replacement so it should be fine
Do you think this cinnamon bread would be sturdy enough to make french toast out of it?
Hi Ron, unfortunately I don’t think it will hold up well, but I love the idea! You could always try it.
This was so easy to make! I always love how simple your recipes are to follow! My house smells amazing and we have happy tummies!
Love to hear that Kelsey!
Now is my favourite cake recipe, we absolutely loved this cinnamon bread recipe, it’s easy and quick to make, thank you for all the detailing recipes Julianne 😍
LOVE LOVE LOVE that Nanda!