Adapted from my orange cranberry bread, this vanilla-flavored cinnamon swirl quick bread is moist and soft with a thick ribbon of cinnamon-sugar swirled inside. You only need a handful of very basic ingredients and there’s no mixer required. This cake-like bread will remind you of cinnamon rolls, but takes a fraction of the time to prepare!
One reader, Nikki, commented: “I never leave reviews on anything, but this bread is phenomenal! It came together really quick and easy, but looks so impressive! And the flavor is a dream. I cannot recommend this enough! ★★★★★”
Do you ever get the baking itch? (Of course you do, why am I even asking?!) But what about the desire to make something truly warm, cozy, and comforting? Where not only that first bite soothes the soul, but the smell of it baking is satisfying too. My cinnamon swirl quick bread checks all those boxes.
This recipe is such a fan favorite, that it deserved a spot in print! You’ll also find this recipe in my cookbook, Sally’s Baking 101.
This Cinnamon Swirl Quick Bread Is:
- Melt-in-your-mouth soft & moist
- Vanilla & cinnamon flavored (even better with vanilla icing on top!)
- Very easy to make, no mixer needed
- Layered with an extra thick cinnamon swirl
- Covered with a crackly cinnamon sugar crust
In terms of texture, it’s not quite as dense as pound cake, but it’s definitely heavier than vanilla cake. I like to compare it to apple cinnamon bread and cinnamon swirl banana bread, only without the apples or bananas.
I used to make a version of this bread with buttermilk, but for today’s recipe, I swapped the 1 cup of buttermilk for sour cream and milk. I wanted a slightly denser crumb, while keeping each bite totally tender and soft. Sour cream is a magical ingredient in cakes, cupcakes, breads, muffins, and more. I found that 1/2 cup sour cream and 1/2 cup milk made the bread a little too dry and dense, but 1/3 cup sour cream and 2/3 cup milk was perfect. Brown sugar can weigh down the bread, so I used all regular white sugar. I also increased the vanilla extract and the amount of sugar in the cinnamon swirl. (Thicker swirl!) All of these small changes made a very big difference and you can see similar variations with my orange cranberry bread and peach bread recipes!
Best Ingredients to Use & Why
- Flour: All-purpose flour is the base of this quick bread recipe.
- Salt & Baking Soda: Flavor & rise.
- Vanilla Extract: You’ll appreciate the simple, yet unbeatable flavor of vanilla in the bread itself. If you have homemade vanilla extract on hand, use it here.
- Egg: One egg binds everything together.
- Sugar: You need sugar for both the bread batter and the cinnamon swirl.
- Sour Cream: We use sour cream for moisture and tenderness, but also because its lactic acid helps the baking soda do its job. This powerhouse ingredient plays the same important role in coffee cake, too (which you’ll love just as much as this bread!).
- Milk: Whole milk is best, but you can use a lower fat or nondairy milk in its place.
- Oil: While butter provides unbelievable flavor, nothing beats the moisture that oil provides. We use oil in this quick bread recipe (and others like strawberry bread, pumpkin bread, and lemon poppy seed bread) to produce a moist bread. Plus, the cinnamon sugar swirl and vanilla extract both provide a lot of flavor.
Extra Thick Cinnamon Swirl
To assemble the cinnamon swirl, layer half of the bread batter into your greased loaf pan. Top with almost all of the cinnamon sugar (as noted in the written recipe below, reserve 2 Tablespoons for the topping). Pour and gently spread the remaining batter on top. Sprinkle with remaining 2 Tablespoons of cinnamon sugar, then use a knife to swirl.
As you layer in all that cinnamon sugar filling, you’ll question the amount. Really? This much cinnamon sugar? Yes! For an extra thick cinnamon sugar swirl inside, we need an extra amount layered in. There’s A LOT. If you’re looking to spice up the flavor, try using a chai spice blend instead. Check out my white chocolate chai snickerdoodles and use the sugar/chai spice “topping” as the filling here. (Still reserving 2 Tablespoons of it for this bread’s topping.) There are more flavors and variations listed in the recipe notes below.
One of my favorite parts is the cinnamon sugar around the edges. Some of the cinnamon sugar from the center may seep out, creating an irresistible crisp/chewy crust.
Looking for a yeasted cinnamon swirl bread? See my homemade cinnamon swirl bread.
How to Freeze Quick Bread
Freezing quick breads is a lot like how to freeze cakes.
- Step 1: Bake and completely cool quick bread.
- Step 2: Once the bread cools completely, wrap it in Press & Seal or plastic wrap. From one baker to another—Press & Seal is the best product for wrapping baked goods. I find regular plastic wrap too thin, clingy, and frustrating. It definitely works, but Press & Seal is easier to use and I’ve honestly found that it keeps my food fresher. (Not working with this brand, just really love it.)
- Step 3: Write the type of bread and use-by date on a large piece of aluminum foil. For best taste and texture, don’t freeze quick bread for longer than 3 months. You could stretch it to 4 or 5 months, but the sooner you serve it, the fresher it tastes.
- Step 4: Wrap the bread in the aluminum foil and place in the freezer. You could place the wrapped bread in a freezer container or freezer-friendly zipped top bag, but I often just freeze it after wrapping in aluminum foil.
- Step 5: Freeze for up to 3 months. To thaw, transfer the frozen bread to the refrigerator one day before serving. Sometimes I forget and just let the bread thaw at room temperature for several hours, but it’s better to thaw at a slower rate in the refrigerator. Make sure you thaw bread while it’s still in the wrapping. Don’t unwrap before thawing.
Baker’s Tip: Two layers of wrap is key! The first layer keeps the bread fresh and the aluminum foil ensures no condensation will seep in. Double layer = maximum freshness and no freezer burn. Moisture is the enemy, so don’t be afraid to add another layer of Press & Seal or aluminum foil.
Print
Cinnamon Swirl Quick Bread
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 55 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours
- Yield: 1 loaf
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
This vanilla-flavored cinnamon swirl quick bread is moist and soft with a thick ribbon of cinnamon-sugar swirled inside. Feel free to turn this recipe into muffins or mini loaves. See recipe Notes below. This recipe is also in my cookbook, Sally’s Baking 101.
Ingredients
Cinnamon Swirl
- 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
- 1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon
Bread
- 2 cups (250g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup (150g) granulated sugar
- 2/3 cup (160ml) whole milk, at room temperature*
- 1/3 cup (75g/80ml) vegetable oil
- 1/3 cup (80g) full-fat sour cream (or plain yogurt/Greek yogurt), at room temperature*
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- optional: vanilla icing
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Spray a 9×5-inch or 8×4-inch loaf pan with nonstick spray.
- For the Cinnamon Swirl: In a small bowl, mix the sugar and cinnamon together. Set aside.
- Make the Bread: In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt together. In a medium bowl, whisk the sugar, milk, oil, sour cream, egg, and vanilla extract. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, then whisk just until combined. Avoid over-mixing. The batter should be thick and creamy.
- Pour/spread about half of the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Sprinkle almost all of the cinnamon-sugar evenly on top (reserve about 2 Tablespoons for topping). It’s a very thick layer of cinnamon-sugar. Carefully pour/spread the remaining batter evenly on top. The top layer of batter will try to stick to the cinnamon-sugar filling, making spreading a little more difficult, but use a spoon to carefully spread it out as best you can. Sprinkle the remaining 2 Tablespoons of cinnamon-sugar on top. Using a knife, make a large swirl down the loaf pan, as shown in the video tutorial. Avoid over-swirling, which will mix the layers together too much.
- Bake the bread for 50–65 minutes, tenting loosely with foil about halfway through to prevent the top from over-browning. Bread baked in an 8×4-inch pan takes closer to 65 minutes. Poke the center of the bread with a toothpick. If it comes out clean, the bread is done. Remove from the oven and allow the bread to cool in the pan set on a cooling rack for 1 hour. After that, remove the bread from the pan and let it finish cooling directly on the rack.
- Drizzle with icing, if using. Slice and serve. Cover and store leftover bread at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Freezing Instructions: For longer storage, you can freeze the glazed or unglazed bread for up to 3 months. See details above the recipe. Allow to thaw overnight in the refrigerator and bring to room temperature before glazing (if needed) and serving.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): 9×5-inch Loaf Pan or 8×4-inch Loaf Pan | Glass Mixing Bowls | Whisk | Cooling Rack
- Sour Cream & Milk: I use a mix of sour cream and whole milk here. The crumb is tighter and more tender—you’ll love it. Using all milk creates a thinner batter that can overflow and take much longer to bake. That being said, feel free to use 1 cup of buttermilk instead of the sour cream and whole milk option here. You can make your own DIY version of buttermilk if needed. Add 2 teaspoons of white vinegar or lemon juice to a liquid measuring cup. Then add enough whole milk to the same measuring cup until it reaches 1 cup. (In a pinch, lower fat or nondairy milks work for this soured milk, but the bread won’t taste as rich and moist.) Stir it around and let sit for 5 minutes. The homemade “buttermilk” will be somewhat curdled and ready to use in the recipe.
- Optional Additional Flavors: Feel free to use the chai spice swirl noted above. Or add 1 cup of peeled, chopped apples to the bread batter or even 1 cup of raisins, chopped walnuts or pecans, or dried/fresh/frozen (do not thaw) cranberries. You can also add 1 Tablespoon of fresh orange zest to the bread batter OR cinnamon sugar swirl. Also, the orange glaze from this cranberry bread would be delicious on this bread.
- Muffins: Grease a 12-count muffin pan or line with liners. You will need a 2nd pan for 2 additional muffins as this recipe yields around 14. (Or bake in batches.) Prepare cinnamon swirl and batter in steps 2 + 3. Spoon batter evenly into liners, filling each halfway. Sprinkle each with a heaping spoonful of cinnamon sugar. Top with more batter, filling to the top. Sprinkle each with a dusting of cinnamon sugar. Use a knife to swirl the batter/cinnamon sugar in each. Bake the muffins for 5 minutes at 425°F (218°C) then, keeping the muffins in the oven, reduce the oven temperature to 350°F (177°C). Bake for an additional 15-17 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. The total time these muffins take in the oven is about 20-22 minutes, give or take. Cool muffins for 5 minutes in the muffin pan, then transfer to a wire rack to continue cooling. Makes 14 muffins.
- Mini Loaves: Grease a mini loaf pan. Prepare cinnamon swirl and batter in steps 2 + 3. Spoon batter evenly into greased cups, filling each halfway. Sprinkle each with a heaping spoonful of cinnamon sugar. Top with more batter, filling to the top. Sprinkle each with a dusting of cinnamon sugar. Use a knife to swirl the batter/cinnamon sugar in each. Bake at 350°F (177°C) until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Bake time and yield depends on the size of your mini loaf pan.
Reader Comments and Reviews
Quick. Easy. All the ingredients are probably in your kitchen. Perfect for breakfast with coffee or tea. And is icing really optional? Nah, everything should have a drizzle.
Yum! This is just the perfect recipe – super easy to put together and deliciously moist! I love classic flavors, and this bread delivers. It is also a nice sweet bite without being overly sweet (I chose not to include the vanilla icing). This pregnant momma may make this recipe several more times to have on hand for my sweet tooth cravings!
Absolutely delicious! If you want the taste of cinnamon rolls without going through the whole process, I highly recommend making this instead! Thanks to the sour cream/Greek yogurt, the bread is unbelievably tender, and the batter is super easy to whip up.
I added a crumble topping from Sally’s Nutella babka recipe (but used old-fashioned rolled oats instead of AP flour to try to get some fiber into this haha). It added the most wonderful crunch (+ more cinnamon) to the top of the bread, but the batter may have been too light to fully support the crumble topping, as my bread eventually sank in the middle after it finished baking. If you’re planning to add a crumble, you may want to do just 1/2 or 2/3 of the amount from the Nutella babka recipe. The nice thing about the crumble, though, is it protects the top of the bread so mine didn’t require any tenting through the 55 minutes of baking.
I just made the Cinnamon Swirl Bread but with the Chai Spice mix. The bread was so easy to make, tasted delicious – moist, good crumb, not overly sweet and we loved the crunchy cinnamon/spice bits on top! I love chai tea especially in the cooler months and this to me was the perfect pairing. Lovely way to kick off the fall baking season. Thanks, Sally!
This recipe is quick, easy and DELICIOUS! My whole family enjoyed it. I can’t wait to make again with my three year old!
I love this recipe as it uses basic ingredients that I already had in my pantry so I didn’t need to run out to the store. The bread is delicious and even my husband loves it and he is a tough critic!
So easy to make. Turned out perfectly! I should have swirled a little deeper with the knife… the cinnamon sugar ribbon was a little too close to the top but still delicious! Mine took 55 minutes to bake.
Absolutely fantastic! My husband let me have a slice ! Mx
I made this yesterday and it turned out great. It was very easy and quick to do as well. I topped it with the suggested vanilla glaze recipe. The next time I make this I will probably reduce the amount of glaze I added or leave it out all together. The bread is very sweet and delicious on its own! Another great recipe 🙂
This recipe is so easy to make and the bread is delicious! Everyone that I have shared it with loves it.
Absolutely delicious! I’ve made 3 of them. One for work, one as a thank you to a neighbour and a third for home. Definitely added in some apples too! Thank you!
The loaf didn’t make it to dinnertime! My son loved it so much, he kept coming back for more. The recipe was really easy to follow and quick. Thanks Keep the recipes coming.
Easy to make and really delicious. My loaf was ready a little under 55 minutes in a glass pan. I can’t wait to make variations.
another great recipe and the perfect one for September since this bread makes me think of fall – thank you!!
Just finished making this delicious recipe and I literally was too impatient for it to cool down before I tried it. Nice, simple recipe – I added a drizzle of vanilla icing on top which is great if you have a sweet tooth like me. Now just need to stop myself eating the whole thing before I get to offer it to anyone else
Divine! ⭐️ Sally isn’t joking when she calls it quick and easy to mix together. The crumb so moist and flavorful. Looking forward to trying some adaptions with mix-ins
This turned out perfect! I chose to make it into muffins to take to work to share and got so many compliments on them. I added a crumble topping to give them something a little extra, not that they needed any extra as they would be perfect as is.
I made this for our bible study group, and everyone absolutely loved it! It was so easy and delicious. The house smelled incredible while it was baking!!
I made this recipe into muffins this morning. I was really pleased with the flavors. Mine came out a tad dry though because I think my oven runs super hot and the temp didn’t reduce immediately to 350 degrees perhaps? They were only in the oven for 12.5 minutes total though, so didn’t quite expect them to bake up that quickly!
Also, mine made 13 muffins instead of 18–so curious about the significant difference there. My muffin cups were about 2/3 filled after putting on the top layer of batter/cinnamon sugar. I did cut the sugar a tad but I don’t think that would have made a significant difference. So a little puzzled by that…
All in all these were tasty and now I know to watch them super carefully and decrease baking times by a lot and probably will decrease oven temp too, so I don’t overdue them again. Thank you!
Hi Rella, Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try- I’m thrilled you enjoyed them! This recipe yields around 14 muffins. If your muffin pans are slightly larger than ours or you filled them a bit more, it’s completely fine if yours made 13 instead of 14. Hope you’ll make them again!
This recipe is really super easy and comes together so fast. I added a shredded apple to my cinnamon swirl layer and it tastes delicious! Thanks for posting so many tasty fun recipes!
Cinnamon is probably one of my favorite flavors…so it was no hardship to make or eat this bread. The swirl was definitely delicious and a little gooey. It will be made again for sure.
The bread’s aroma made the house smell so good but I must’ve been a little aggressive in swirling as it came out rather dark. Everyone said it tasted good.
This came out wonderful! Thank you again! It reminded me of a coffee cake yet in a loaf pan.
Oh, gosh this bread is dangerous. It’s incredibly flavorful and the edges in particular get a nice crunch. And since it’s so easy to make, I can easily envision this becoming a staple in my house I did make mine in an 8×8 pan since I didn’t have a loaf pan and it took 40 minutes. Of course, it didn’t get as tall as it would have been otherwise and my swirl wasn’t the best but I’ll get better with the next batch! Thanks for an awesome recipe Sally.
Made this for the September Baking Challenge and it was a hit! Used the flavour variations and made it a chai spice sugar blend as well as adding orange zest in the batter and orange glaze on top. Perfect combination of sweet and spicy! Was surprisingly simple to make and it turned out delicious.
Long time recipe follower/baker but first time commenting! I’ve been making your blueberry bread at least once a week. Made this today and the husband said it’s his new favorite and tastes exactly like a cinnamon roll (make the icing – you won’t be disappointed). Love that I don’t have to whip out (or clean) my mixer for this recipe! Baked for an hour but probably should have done 50-55 minutes instead.
This is awesome! I made it without the frosting because I thought it would be too sweet, but next time I may try it with the frosting because it actually wasn’t just super sweet without it.
Hi everyone !
I so enjoyed making this cinnamon bread! I added orange zest and pecans. I didn’t have whole milk so I added 3/4 tsp melted butter to 1% milk. Turned out delicious!
As always, Sally, your recipes are so easy to follow.
I’m looking forward to seeing pics of you new daughter!
This recipe is fast, easy & delicious! It will be made again & again in my house. I subbed almond milk for whole milk & had no problems.
This was a delicious and easy recipe!