Cinnamon streusel banana bread with buttermilk and a crumbly cinnamon topping is a delicious combination of flavors. I guarantee this recipe will have your family raving over your bread! A perfect use for overripe bananas and a yummy treat that is easily doubled and frozen.
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Banana bread is a popular recipe, however my recipe is elevated by the use of brown sugar in the batter and the crumbly cinnamon topping. I firmly believe the delicious smells of banana bread baking in the oven is a childhood experience that all children should grow up having! My children hover around the oven just awaiting the completion of this yummy goodness.
Using overripe bananas for this recipe is key. Waiting until the skins are brown and the flesh of the fruit falls apart is the perfect state of the fruit for making banana bread. When bananas get to this smushy point, they make bread loaded with rich banana flavor.
Buttermilk Substitute
The buttermilk raises this bread to a new level. But, it is unnecessary to buy a whole quart of buttermilk to use only a half of a cup in this recipe. A quick and easy replacement for the buttermilk is to sour your milk with apple cider vinegar. I really love this vinegar. It is a great weight loss supplement and healthy additive to a detox drink.
To make a buttermilk substitute, simply add one tablespoon of apple cider vinegar to your measuring cup and then fill to the 1/2 cup mark with milk. Do this prior to preparing the remainder of your ingredients to allow the milk to sour slightly with the vinegar.
My kids beg me to make this banana bread regularly. As a mom, creating memories through delicious recipes is a win! I hope that when they grow to be adults, the smell of banana bread baking in the oven will make them think of me and slow Sunday mornings as kids.
Cinnamon Streusel Banana Bread
Ingredients
- 1/2 Cup Butter Softened
- 1/2 Cup Sugar
- 1/2 Cup Brown Sugar
- 2 Eggs
- 1 TSP Vanilla Extract
- 1 1/2 Cups Smashed Bananas About 4 Bananas
- 1/2 Cup Buttermilk or Buttermilk Substitute
- 2 Cups Flour
- 1 TSP Baking Soda
- 1/2 TSP Salt
Cinnamon Streusel Topping
- 1/4 Cup Flour
- 1/2 Cup Brown Sugar
- 1 TSP Cinnamon
- 1/4 Cup Butter Cold
Instructions
Cinnamon Streusel Topping
- Combine brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon. Mix well.
- Cut butter into small cubes and combine with dry ingredients.
- Blend with fingers quickly to avoid butter melting to create a crumbly mixture.
- Refrigerate until batter is ready.
Banana Bread Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a standard loaf pan.
- Smash bananas in a separate dish. Set aside.
- In another bowl, combine flour, salt, and baking soda.
- Cream softened butter and sugar until fluffy.
- Add eggs one at a time and mix well.
- Add buttermilk, vanilla, and bananas to mixture and blend well.
- Add the dry ingredients a half cup at a time and mix until just blended. Be careful not to over mix.
- Pour batter into the prepared bread loaf pan.
- Evenly sprinkle cinnamon streusel mixture to the top of the batter.
- Bake in oven for 55 minutes and then check bread every 5 minutes with a toothpick. Done when toothpick comes out cleanly.
- Allow to cool 15 minutes before removing from the pan to a cooling rack to cool completely.
This is easily converted into a banana muffin recipe. To make banana muffins, prepare a muffin tin with liners. Reduce the cook time to 25 minutes. Sprinkle the cinnamon streusel topping on each muffin prior to baking. I often make this recipe as muffins, first because my kids are anxious for a taste. But it also is easy to then take half the batch of muffins and freeze them for a quick breakfast option.
Double the batter recipe or bake in two smaller loaf pans to be able to freeze one loaf of this cinnamon streusel banana bread. This allows for a quick home-cooked breakfast or an easy addition to a lunchbox on busy weekdays. I wrap this bread or muffins in tinfoil and then a zipper bag to maintain freshness. I usually wrap in single serving sizes, so I can pull out only what I need from the freezer.
This cinnamon streusel banana bread is incredibly easy to make with amazing results your family will love! It is the only banana bread recipe you will ever need!
Live fully, eat well!
Check out these other great recipes!
- Brown Sugar Ricotta Cheesecake
- Spiced Snowflake Sugar Cookies
- Irish Cream Cheesecake with Chocolate Ganache
- Nutella Swirl Banana Bread
- Key Lime Cheesecake With Marshmallow Cream Topping
