Today, we’re comfort baking with a little flair – cinnamon streusel banana bread. Moist, banana-infused bread, generously topped with a buttery cinnamon streusel that adds a crispy, sweet crunch to every slice.
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Banana Bread with Cinnamon Streusel
You may be familiar with streusel topping, you see it more often on coffee cake. It’s one of my favorite sweet treats, if you’re looking for more crumbly streusel treats try my Irish Cream Coffee Cake. This streusel recipe will differ from the one on my coffee cake since we are using oats. Adding oats to your streusel is going to give it more of a crisp.
This recipe is adapted from one of my grandmother’s recipes. She always had the best banana and strawberry bread, freshly baked every time we came to visit. When I was 20 I asked for the recipe, and since then I’ve adapted the original to add a little extra flair with my cinnamon streusel topping. She hasn’t had my banana bread yet but I’m sure she would approve.
Grab your apron and let’s get to baking.
Why You’ll Love this recipe:
- This is a super simple recipe
- It only used one bowl for easy cleanup
- No mixer required, a whisk works just fine
- Perfectly moist without lots of banana flavor
- Pairs well with a cup of coffee
Equipment Needed
Large mixing bowl– For this recipe we are only using one bowl.
Small bowl– Microwave safe. We are going to use this for our streusel topping.
Whisk– You only need a whisk, but if you would like to use and electric or hand mixer it would speed your time up.
9×5-inch loaf pan – I would suggest using an aluminum loaf pan over glass, glass doesn’t always maintain an even cooking temperature.
Key Ingredients
You’ll need some pantry staples like granulated sugar, baking soda, eggs, and flour.
- Bananas– You can’t make banana bread without the banana. Bananas are going to add a creaminess and soft texture. Overripe bananas will be best.
- Brown sugar– This is going to add moisture to our bread resulting in a tender banana bread.
- Unsalted Butter– using unsalted butter is going to allow you to control how much salt is added. You’ll need one whole stick of room temperature butter plus 2 tablespoons for the streusel.
Find the full list of ingredients, measurements, and instructions in the recipe card below!
Tips & Tricks
- The darker the banana with sweeter and creamier it will bake
- You can speed up the ripening bananas by placing them in a brown paper bag
Instructions
Start by preheating your oven to 350 and making sure the oven rack is in the center position. Then prepare your baking pan with baking spray and parchment paper.
Start with your large bowl and mash bananas until they are almost liquid. For this, I normally just use a fork. Then add your stick of softened butter to the mashed bananas. Whisk well until the butter is broken down and almost fully incorporated. It’s ok if theres small chunks of butter not fully mixed. When it bakes it will disperse. Scrape down the bowl.
Time to add our sugars, add them to your butter and bananas, mixing well. Once the sugars are fully incorporated, add your two eggs mixing well.
Add a splash of vanilla extract, and mix well.
Time for dry ingredients, add your all-purpose flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt to the wet ingredients. Mix well, scraping down the bowl as needed. Scraping down the bowl, make sure all ingredients are getting fully incorporated.
Pour batter into your prepared pan.
In the small bowl, we are going to assemble our crumb topping. Place your two tablespoons of butter into the bowl, and we are going to microwave it in 10-second intervals until its mostly melted.
Add brown sugar, oats, cinnamon, and all purpose flour to the melted butter. Mix well with a fork or pastry cutter. It will turn into large, moist crumbs.
Sprinkle streusel over the batter in the pan. It should fully cover the top of the banana bread.
Bake at 350 for 60 minutes or until toothpick comes away clean from the center. The top should be golden brown.
Allow to fully cool on wire rack before cutting.
Enjoy with coffee or a big glass of milk.
Make Ahead
Does it freeze?
The baked bread will last in the freezer for up to 6 months. Wrap with plastic wrap, then cover with aluminum foil before freezing.
Variations and Substitutions
You can make your own twist by adding different mix-ins like chocolate chips or walnuts.
What to Serve with
Perfect with:
- a glass of milk
- a warm cup of coffee
- generous pat of cold butter
Storing and Reheating
Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Freezer instructions are above.
Pop in the microwave for up to 30 seconds to reheat.
FAQ
What is the difference between cooking spray and baking spray?
Baking spray has flour added to the oil to make sure it doesn’t stick. Sometimes regular cooking spray can cause baked goods to almost fry on the edges without the flour.
More Recipes
- Cinnamon Streusel Banana Bread
- Irish Cream Coffee Cake
- White Forest Cake with White Chocolate Ganache
- Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cookies
- Chewy Dirty Chai Blondies
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Cinnamon Streusel Banana Bread
Equipment
- 1 large mixing bowl
- 1 small mixing bowl
- 1 whisk
Ingredients
Banana Bread
- 3 bananas over ripe
- 8 tbsp butter
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
Streusel
- 2 tbsp butter melted
- 2 tbsp oats quick cooking
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 1/4 cup all purpose flour
- 2 tsp cinnamon
Instructions
- Start by preheating your oven to 350 and making sure the oven rack is in the center position. Then prepare your baking pan with baking spray and parchment paper.
- Start with your large bowl and mash bananas until they are almost liquid. Then add your stick of softened butter to the mashed bananas. Whisk well until the butter is broken down and almost fully incorporated. It's ok if theres small chunks of butter not fully mixed. When it bakes it will disperse. Scrape down the bowl.8 tbsp butter, 3 bananas
- Time to add our sugars, add them to your butter and bananas, mixing well. Once the sugars are fully incorporated, add your two eggs mixing well.3/4 cup granulated sugar, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 2 large eggs
- Add a splash of vanilla extract, and mix well.1 tsp vanilla extract
- Time for dry ingredients, add your all-purpose flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt to the wet ingredients. Mix well, scraping down the bowl as needed.1/2 tsp salt, 1 1/4 cup all purpose flour, 1 tsp baking soda, 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- Pour batter into your prepared pan.
- In the small bowl, we are going to assemble our crumb topping. Place your two tablespoons of butter into the bowl, and we are going to microwave it in 10-second intervals until its mostly melted.2 tbsp butter
- Add brown sugar, oats, cinnamon, and all purpose flour to the melted butter. Mix well with a fork or pastry cutter. It will turn into large, moist crumbs.2 tbsp oats, 2 tbsp brown sugar, 1/4 cup all purpose flour, 2 tsp cinnamon
- Sprinkle streusel over the batter in the pan. It should fully cover the top of the banana bread.
- Bake at 350 for 60 minutes or until toothpick comes away clean from the center. The top should be golden brown.
- Allow to fully cool on wire rack before cutting.
Notes
- For mashing bananas, I normally just use a fork.
- Scraping down the bowl, make sure all ingredients are getting fully incorporated.
- It’s ok if there’s small chunks of butter not fully mixed when mixing with the banana. When it bakes it will disperse.