Cinnamon Bread is an easy sweet bread that comes together quickly and is swirled with sweet cinnamon butter. This moist loaf is perfect for breakfast, holiday brunch, afternoon snacks, or even dessert. I have always loved cinnamon, and this homemade bread is truly a cinnamon lover’s dream come true. Prepare to be wowed. It takes about twenty-five minutes to prep this loaf and get it in the oven.
Where does cinnamon come from, and how does it grow?
Most of the world’s cinnamon comes from Sri Lanka, off the southern tip of India. This delicious spice comes from the inner bark of several species of trees. The cinnamon sticks that you see in the store are this inner bark that has been cut into individual-size sticks. Grinding the dried sticks to powder makes adding the spice to your recipes easier.
How to make Cinnamon Bread.
Start by whisking flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Then, in a large bowl, whisk together the milk, lemon juice, vegetable oil, vanilla, and eggs. Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients in three parts, stirring to combine.
In a microwave-safe measuring cup or small bowl, melt the butter. Add the brown sugar and cinnamon and stir to combine.
Then, pour half of the bread batter into a well-greased loaf pan. Make three lines the length of the pan with the cinnamon sugar mixture. Now, turn the pan horizontally and swirl with the end of a skewer or a toothpick. The best way to swirl is to make S or 8 shapes. Please do not overdo it, or everything will mix together. Add the remaining batter and make three lines the length of the pan with the remaining cinnamon sugar mixture. Now, turn the pan horizontally and swirl with the end of a skewer or toothpick.
Place in the oven and bake. Finally, allow the loaf to cool for five minutes and then invert.
Can you freeze it?
Yes, you most certainly can. Cool the loaf completely before freezing. Double-wrap the bread in freezer bags, removing as much air as possible. You can also place the wrapped loaves in a sturdy glad-ware freezer container or in a double layer of plastic wrap and then a single layer of aluminum foil.
When thawing, place the loaf on the counter four to five hours before serving it. You can also freeze individual slices and pull them out as you want them several hours in advance. This bread is delectable lightly toasted with a pat or two of butter or cream cheese. It’s so incredibly delicious!
Recipe notes and helpful tips
- Use the freshest cinnamon you can get your hands on.
- Grease and flour the pan, or use nonstick baking spray with flour.
- If you love raisins, add 1/2 cup when stirring in the flour. Or add a handful of chopped pecans or walnuts.
- Stir the dough by hand and just until incorporated. Sweet bread dough can become tough if over-stirred.
- Don’t over-swirl the cinnamon butter. You will not get super clean swirls, but you will have streaks of cinnamon butter throughout your bread.
- Let the loaf cool for just about 5 minutes before inverting. Sweetbreads can stick if allowed to cool too long in the pan.
- Use a serrated knife to slice the bread.
- Once cooled, cover with wrap and store at room temperature for up to 3 days. Frozen will last 2-3 months when properly wrapped.
- To add a glaze, mix 1 cup powdered sugar with 1 1/2-2 tablespoons milk and drizzle over fully cooled bread.
- Use this tasty bread to make French Toast. You won’t believe how delicious it is!
Other sweet bread you will love!
Cinnamon Bread Recipe
Cinnamon Swirl Bread is an easy, quick bread recipe that comes together quickly and is swirled with sweet cinnamon butter making it perfect for breakfast or brunch.
- Prep Time: 25
- Cook Time: 50
- Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Yield: 10
- Category: sweet breads
- Method: baking
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- 1 cup 2% milk
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- 6 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 1/2 tablespoons cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons melted butter
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heavily grease and lightly sprinkle with flour a 9 x 5-inch bread pan.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and 1 tablespoon of cinnamon.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the milk and lemon juice; let stand for 5 minutes. Add the vegetable oil, vanilla, and eggs. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in 3 parts stirring just until incorporated.
- In a small bowl, stir together brown sugar, 1 1/2 tablespoons cinnamon, and melted butter. Pour 1/2 of the batter into the loaf pan. Make 3 lines the length of the pan with the cinnamon butter. Turn the pan horizontally and swirl with the end of a skewer or toothpick. The best way to swirl is to make S or 8 shapes. Do not overdo it, or everything will mix together. Add the rest of the batter and make 3 lines the length of the pan with the cinnamon butter. Now turn the pan horizontally and swirl with the end of a skewer or toothpick.
- Bake for 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow the loaf to cool for 5 minutes and then invert.
Notes
- Use the freshest cinnamon you can get your hands on.
- Grease and flour the pan or use nonstick baking spray with flour
- If you love raisins, add 1/2 cup when stirring in the flour. Or add a handful of chopped pecans or walnuts.
- Stir the dough by hand and just until incorporated. Sweet bread dough can become tough if over-stirred.
- Don’t over-swirl the cinnamon butter. You will not get super clean swirls but you will have streaks of cinnamon butter throughout your bread.
- Let the loaf cool for just about 5 minutes before inverting. Sweetbreads can stick if allowed to cool too long in the pan.
- Use a serrated knife to slice the bread.
- Once cooled, cover with wrap and store at room temperature for up to 3 days. Frozen will last 2-3 months when properly wrapped.
- To add a glaze, mix 1 cup powdered sugar with 1 1/2-2 tablespoons milk and drizzle over fully cooled bread.
- Use this tasty bread to make French Toast. You won’t believe how delicious it is!
Keywords: how to make cinnamon bread, cinnamon bread recipe, cinnamon swirl bread
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Elisa
Love this cinnamon bread recipe. It was so delicious and easy to make. My new favorite cinnamon bread recipe. Thanks for sharing 🙂
★★★★★
Beth Pierce
My pleasure Elia! So glad that you enjoyed it.
Kathleen
Oh, my goodness does this look and sound marvelous! I can’t wait to dig into a piece of this delicious bread.
★★★★★
Chahinez
I could have this year round!
★★★★★
Angela
I absolutely love this bread! We have made it a couple of times and it always turns out perfect!
★★★★★
Beth Pierce
Thanks, Angela! So glad that you like it! We love it too!
Maryann
Can I use buttermilk instead of the milk with the lemon juice ?
Beth Pierce
Yes, you sure can!
Ashley
This is the most delicious cinnamon bread I’ve ever tried! The texture was perfect with the perfect amount of cinnamon flavor!
★★★★★
Beth Pierce
Thanks Ashley! We love it too!
Cara
We just dug into the loaf and I had to let you know how much we love it! Plus, my house smells aMAzing! I think I”ll make this for holiday gifts this year. Thank you!
★★★★★
Beth Pierce
The pleasure is all mine. I am so happy that you like the cinnamon bread. Happy baking!
cambrea
This cinnamon bread was SO easy to make and delicious!! the cinnamon butter was probably my favorite part!
★★★★★
Dana
Love this stuff! Cinnamon is such a simple but awesome flavor and way to spice things up. This bread was a hit.
★★★★★
Beth Pierce
Thanks Dana! So happy to hear that you liked it!
Andrea
Wow! All The cinnamon butter goodness is just calling my name. I could eat half this loaf in one sitting. Yummy!
★★★★★
kushigalu
I can smell the bread. The texture looks perfect. Pinned to try this bread recipe soon.
★★★★★
Ana F.
Oh my! The smell of this Cinnamon Bread was amazing when baking it! The flavors are perfect too and it was super easy to make. Thanks for the recipe!.
★★★★★
Bonnie Wingo
I love cinnamon bread
The loaf turned out very moist and tasty.
I will be making this again.
★★★★★
Beth Pierce
Thanks Bonnie! So glad that you like it. It is a delicious loaf! I just love cinnamon!!
Natalie
What a beautiful loaf. Yum! I can smell cinnamon through my screen 🙂 I must make this asap. Such a lovely weekend treat.
★★★★★
Stephanie
My older son is obsessed with anything cinnamon lately! I’m going to surprise him with this for “Big Breakfast Sunday” this weekend.
★★★★★
Kushigalu
Cinnamon bread is among my favorite flavors. The texture here looks so perfect. I will give this recipe a try..
★★★★★
Gina
Love a slice of this bread with coffee in the morning – so moist and full of flavor!
★★★★★
Tracie Grissom
I had this with my coffee as well and it is sooo good and moist! I used wheat flour in mine.
★★★★★
Beth Pierce
Thanks Tracie!! So yummy with a hot cup of coffee.
Tavo
This was sooo delicious. I made it with almond milk instead of 2% regular milk, and chia eggs instead of eggs, and worked perfectly! Thanks for sharing!
★★★★★
Anaiah
I loved baking this cinnamon bread first thing in the morning. The delicious aroma filled the whole house! Your recipe was amazing and a new family favorite!
★★★★★
Chenée
Yum! This cinnamon bread is definitely going in my fall baking rotation! Looks delicious!
★★★★★
maryanne
I am a huge lover of all things cinnamon, and this has to be one of the best cinnamon sweets I’ve ever tasted! I cut back on the sugar and added a handful of chocolate chips, and OMG – so good!! Definitely a recipe that I will make regularly!
★★★★★
Sharon
I love homemade bread recipes and this one is easily going to become my favorite. It’s great to have for breakfast or afternoon snacks.
★★★★★
Sarah Baumeister
Nothing beats this recipe. A classic!
★★★★★
Anjali
This cinnamon bread was perfectly sweet, soft and fluffy and was so much tastier than the coffee cake I usually serve with our breakfast in the morning! Will definitely be making this often!!
★★★★★
Nathan
I’ve never made a cinnamon bread like this before, but that cinnamon butter that gets swirled in sounds absolutely to die for. Will definitely be giving this a try!
★★★★★
Biana
We love cinnamon, and this bread looks amazing!
★★★★★
Amy Desrosiers
This cinnamon bread looks amazing!! I love homemade quick bread recipes!
★★★★★
Betty
I am wondering…because I do not have lemon juice, could I use white vinegar instead? Because there is milk in the recipe & it is to stand for 5 min., just wondering if it is like replacing buttermilk?
Katie
I substituted unsweetened applesauce for the oil, which I do in just about everything I bake. I also added 1/2 cup of walnuts Turned out moist and delicious!
Beth Pierce
Thanks Katie! So glad that you enjoyed it!
Sara Welch
Gave this a try and it didn’t disappoint! So easy and delicious; exactly what I needed to cure my sweet tooth!
★★★★★
Erin
My son just loves cinnamon and sugar. Making this today! It looks delish!
★★★★★
Stephanie
Cinnamon breads are the best! Can’t wait to make it!
★★★★★
Erika
This cinnamon bread looks so good! Perfect for breakfast, dessert or a snack, yum!
★★★★★
Maria
This bread’s so tasty plus it makes the whole house smell amazing!
★★★★★
Kechi
I have made this recipe a couple times and each time, it comes out so good and delicious! My entire family loves it!
★★★★★
Jess
My favorite type of sweet bread! Love how quickly this comes together.
★★★★★
Jessica
Can 1% milk be used?
Beth Pierce
Yes it can.
Betsy
I love how easy, moist and delicious this is! Such good bread! I love this both for breakfast AND for dessert!
★★★★★
wilhelmina
This is perfectly moist and delicious! I love everything about this bread. It was the perfect treat with my morning coffee!
★★★★★
Dannii
We love cinnamon bread. Such a great twist on banana bread.
★★★★★
Blessmyfoodbypayal
I can feel the fragrance of cinnamon through the screen. Bread looking awesome and beautifully photographed.
★★★★★
Scarlet
My daughter loves cinnamon so this cinnamon bread recipes sounds perfect. I can’t wait to make it for her. Thanks for the recipe.
Alison
This sweet bread with the swirls of cinnamon is beautiful and so easy to make! Perfect for the fall season!
★★★★★
Marlynn
What a great cinnamon bread recipe! We used almond milk and it turned out great!
★★★★★
Heidy M
I love a good recipe for Cinnamon Bread and this was excellent! I loved how easy it was to make and your tips really helped out with the recipe.
Have a great day
H
★★★★★
sarah johnson
Drooling on keyboard! This is the yummiest cinnamon bread, I can’t stop myself from making it. Thank you for sharing.😍
Shelley
So moist and decadent – what a treat! And thank you for the tip that this freezes well! When I’m making quick breads like this, it’s so nice to be able to bake two loaves, and freeze one for later! 🙂
★★★★★
Angela
This bread is a great breakfast treat. It also freezes beautifully to be pulled out later.
★★★★★
Hesper Fry
I made this bread gluten free by substituting the flour with King Arthur Measure for Measure flour and it turned out great! The loaf was gone in less than a day and did not last long because it was so good.
Beth Pierce
Thanks so much Hesper! So glad that you liked it!
Lisa
I dont have lemon juice can you make it still without it??
Beth Pierce
Yes you can.
Ashley F
Love the swirls of cinnamon in this bread! so good!
★★★★★
Nellie Tracy
This is just a really great comfort food recipe! Love it!
★★★★★
YB
Can whole milk replace the 2% milk?
Beth Pierce
Yes it can! Enjoy!
Nina
Can I change the milk to almost or coconut milk? And sub coconut oil for butter? ( milk allergy)
Beth Pierce
I am not sure. I hesitate to comment on those substitutions when I have not tried them.
Charlotte Bailey
Hi Nina, I made this recipe and used oat milk instesd of dsury and it turned out perfect! Did you try with coconut milk?
★★★★★
Cheryll
I read the recipe twice and can’t find the oven temp. What is it?
Beth Pierce
It is in step one. Please look again.
Cathy
This bread is perfectly moist and packed with flavor!
katerina @ diethood.com
I would love a slice of this cinnamon bread right now!! It sounds AMAZING!!
★★★★★
Erin
This Cinnamon Bread looks incredibly delicious!
★★★★★
Mckenna
I was looking for a quick and easy bread to make and this was perfect! The steps were easy to follow and it came out great! I made it for some friends and they asked for seconds and thirds. Huge hit and will be making again 😊
★★★★★
Beth Pierce
Thanks McKenna! I am happy to hear that you and your friends liked it!
Sara Welch
This was exactly what I needed in my life! Love cinnamon and this turned out perfectly sweet and fluffy! Delicious!
★★★★★
Catalina
I made this and it was so so delicious! The cinnamon flavor in this bread is irresistibe!
★★★★★
Vikki
Best cinnamon bread I’ve ever had, moist and buttery goodness!
★★★★★
June
What is cinnamon butter please ?.
Beth Pierce
That is referring to the mixture in step 4 of brown sugar, 1 1/2 tablespoons cinnamon and melted butter.
Jim Bennett
Can the sugar be reduced ?How much is needed to make the bread rise and how much is for sweetness?
Beth Pierce
I have not tried to reduce the sugar but I think that you certainly could. I don’t think I would go less than 2/3 cup sugar and 4 tablespoons brown sugar for the swirl. If you decide to try it please let us know what amounts you went with and how it turned out.
Jessica
Can you make a gluten free bread?
Beth Pierce
Sorry things are so busy! We will see if I can get to it!
Erin
This couldn’t look any more perfect! I love this bread so much!
★★★★★
Shannon Graham
Cinnamon bread is one of my all time favorite desserts. I am SO craving some now.
★★★★★
Melanie Bauer
Looks so yummy! I can make and eat this anytime of the day, totally drooling over this goodness!
★★★★★
Catalina
I love everything cinnamon! And this looks heavenly!
★★★★★
Sara Welch
This looks perfectly moist and chewy and down right delicious! I am looking forward to making this over the weekend!
★★★★★
Jen
Not only was this delicious but it made my house smell amazing! Loved every bite.
★★★★★
Adrienne
This is the yummiest cinnamon bread I have ever had! Very easy to make, too. I added nutmeg & ginger, it was fabulous! Never even had a chance to get cold.
Beth Pierce
That is so sweet Adrienne! I am so happy that you liked it!
Lata Lala
An easy sweet bread recipe, that comes together quickly and is flavoured with sweet cinnamon butter makes it perfect for breakfast or brunch.
Trying this soon for sure.
★★★★★
Cheryl
Could this recipe be used for muffins?
Beth Pierce
Yes it sure could be. I am unsure of the final count…probably around 12 muffins. With a cook time of about 25-30 minutes.
Happy
Cinnamon and nutmeg are the spices that tops my list. They’re festive and it just gives out the flavors of the holidays. Since it’s almost that wonderful time of the year, I will be making your Cinnamon Bread recipe on Christmas Eve. I will also try to do your Apple Pecan Sweet Bread recipe because I like pecans a lot. I baked this last night and I am very glad that I was able to make it right the first try. I am new at baking so I try to make simple bread and pastry dishes first. Thanks for the recipe!
Mimi
Really tasty but mine clumped in the middle(?).
Could it be because I used 1% milk?
★★★★
Beth Pierce
No probably not. Not sure what you mean by clumped up.