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A slice of this gluten-free and vegan Cinnamon Swirl Banana Bread makes the perfect easy breakfast, snack, or even dessert! This soft and sweet loaf is especially delicious when slathered with butter or nut butter.
The first night that I tested this Cinnamon Swirl Banana Bread, it came out of the oven around 10:30 pm. By the time I went to bed, about 1/4 of the loaf was gone 😳 whoops! Usually, I let loaves cool overnight before cutting into them. Still, with the scent of cinnamon, sugar, and sweet ripe bananas permeating my apartment, I couldn’t resist cutting into the warm cinnamon-y loaf.
I mentioned in my last post that I just finished writing my first cookbook. While I thought I would want to take a little time to decompress and take a break from baking, writing, and photographing, the opposite was true. As soon as I turned in my manuscript, I itched to return to the kitchen to make new recipes I could share with you now.
I’ve missed sharing the creations I’ve come up with as soon as they come out of the oven, and it fills me with joy to be able to share new recipes with you again. This Cinnamon Swirl Banana Bread was one of the first recipes I finished post-cookbook. It brings me so much joy to be bringing it to you now!
About the Cinnamon Swirl Banana Bread…
This recipe is one of my new favorites, as most things with cinnamon tend to be. The banana bread itself is made with a full cup of mashed ripe bananas. This helps keep the texture super soft and tender and, of course, full of banana flavor. I also used cashew butter to help with moisture and tenderness, but you can use any nut butter you like. I find cashew butter just has the butteriest flavor, which works so well here.
A combination of almond flour and gluten-free oat flour creates a texture that’s not too dense or gummy. Of course, a hearty dose of cinnamon is mixed into the batter to add a delicious, warm flavor. The banana bread batter is layered with cinnamon sugar. After baking, the cinnamon sugar creates ripples of cinnamon sugar goodness in every bite.
And the cinnamon sugar pecan topping!
For the topping, we use more of the cinnamon sugar mixture. I like to top it with pecans for crunch (though any nut could be used here) and raw turbinado sugar. It adds texture, sweetness, and a beautiful shimmer to the top of the loaf. The topping takes the loaf from great to outstanding, so I wouldn’t skip it.
Slices of this cinnamon sugar banana bread are more than good on their own. But, they are even more delicious and filling when slathered with nut butter. I loved it with both cashew butter and peanut butter.
This Cinnamon Sugar Banana Bread got rave reviews from everyone I shared it with, which was a lot of people, because I needed to get it out of my house so I didn’t eat it all myself. I hope you’ll love it just as much as we all did! :) Enjoy, my friends!
Cinnamon Swirl Banana Bread
Ingredients
For the banana bread
- 1 cup mashed ripe bananas, about 3 medium bananas, mine weighed ~250g
- ¼ cup almond milk, or other dairy-free milk of choice
- ⅓ cup coconut sugar
- ¼ cup (64g) nut or seed butter of choice, I used cashew butter
- ¼ cup (50g) coconut oil, melted
- 2 tablespoons ground flax meal
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup (120g) gluten-free oat flour
- 1 cup (96g) blanched almond flour
- 1½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
For the cinnamon swirl & topping
- ¼ cup coconut sugar
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ cup chopped pecans
- 1 tablespoon raw turbinado sugar, optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350ºF. Grease a 8.5” x 4.5″ loaf pan (you can also use a 9×5” pan for a thinner loaf) with coconut oil and/or line with parchment paper.
- Place bananas in a large mixing bowl. Use a potato masher or fork to mash them well. Add almond milk, coconut sugar, nut butter, coconut oil, flax meal, and vanilla extract, stirring to combine.1 cup mashed ripe bananas, ¼ cup almond milk, ⅓ cup coconut sugar, ¼ cup (64g) nut or seed butter of choice, ¼ cup (50g) coconut oil, 2 tablespoons ground flax meal, 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Add oat flour, almond flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Stir until combined.1 cup (120g) gluten-free oat flour, 1 cup (96g) blanched almond flour, 1½ teaspoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon sea salt, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- In a separate bowl, mix together the cinnamon and coconut sugar.¼ cup coconut sugar, 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- Pour a third of the batter into the loaf pan. Sprinkle ⅓ of the cinnamon sugar mixture evenly over the top. Spread ½ of the remaining batter over the top as evenly as possible. Top with ½ of the remaining cinnamon sugar, and then top with the rest of the batter and the rest of the cinnamon sugar. Garnish with pecans and turbinado sugar, if desired.¼ cup chopped pecans, 1 tablespoon raw turbinado sugar
- Bake for 50 minutes to an hour, or until a knife comes out clean and the loaf springs back when pressed with a fingertip. If your loaf looks like it’s getting too brown, tent with tin foil on top after 45 minutes. If you’re using a 9×5” pan, check on the banana bread after 40 to 45 minutes.
- Once done, let cool in the pan for 15 minutes and then remove from pan and place on a wire rack to cool completely before slicing.
- Store leftovers tightly wrapped in plastic wrap, foil, or in a sealed container on the counter for up to three days, or store in the refrigerator for up to a week, or in the freezer for up to 6 months. I like to slice it and then freeze and heat a piece in the microwave when I want it!
Made it the other day and couldn’t tell it’s vegan and gluten free. AWESOME! Thanks for such a tasty recipe!
Btw can I ask if you actually measure your recipe in grams, or do you generally use measuring cups? I had some “cup issues” that my 1 cup cup actually was 200ml cup instead of 240-250ml-ish which fills only 80g of oat/almond flour when filled. And the recipe still came out very good. 80g flour difference in total didn’t actually matter.
But I wanted to creat bakes just like you so I purchased a real 240ml measuring cup today and when I filled it up with almond flour, it was only 90g while all purpose flour weighed 120g. So I wondered if you actually measured in gram.
I’m not sure if my explanation is understandable, my mother language isn’t English… my point is I’d like to follow your recipe as close as it can be because I love love your recipes. (Have the book too!)
Thank you!
Hi Kim! So glad you enjoyed it. I always measure is grams, as it’s a lot more consistent, especially if you’re not in the US since most other countries don’t have the same standardized cup measurements that we do. I hope this helps!
If I don’t have flax seeds, how many eggs should I use?
I am OBSESSED with this recipe. It’s dense and moist, exactly to my liking. However, whenever I cut it, I can’t keep the slice from falling apart. I have stopped putting the cinnamon sugar in layers throughout and just on top because I thought maybe that was why. The slices, unfortunately, still fall apart. Any ideas here? I’m not sure if adding more almond and/or oat flour could help (or make it worse?). Should I cut out some of the liquid? Any ideas are appreciated :)
This is still my absolute favorite banana bread recipe and I’m not even gluten free or vegan!