Learn how to make the best banana bread recipe on the Internet: This banana bread is made with whole wheat flour and topped with a delicious cinnamon streusel crumb topping. So good!
I love having banana bread stashed away in the freezer – it is an absolute treasure on those busy mornings.
My whole wheat banana bread is perfectly freezer-friendly and I pretty much always have a few loaves on hand. This one has a cinnamon crunch topping that my 5 year old likes to pick off the bread… Yeah, it’s really good ?
Just FYI, even though this uses whole wheat flour, it still has some sugar in it. If you want a refined sugar free banana bread, take a look at my healthy banana bread!
Ingredients you’ll need
Here is a visual overview of the ingredients in the recipe. Scroll down to the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post for quantities!
Ingredient notes
- Butter: Please use real butter for best results. If you prefer to use margarine, you must use stick margarine. A buttery spread/spreadable margarine will not work.
- Oil: A neutral vegetable oil works best. Melted coconut oil or melted butter both work, too.
A note about the whole wheat: You can definitely tell this bread is made with whole wheat flour. I like this addition because it gets some fiber into my kids! You can generally use any of these flour combinations in this recipe:
- 1 ¾ cups whole wheat flour plus ¼ cup cornstarch (as written in the recipe above)
- 1 cup whole wheat flour plus 1 cup white flour
- 2 cups white flour; add 1-2 tablespoons extra if batter seems thin
If you want a more dessert-y bread and don’t care about the whole wheat, try my Cinnamon Swirl Banana Bread. If you want a refined sugar free, whole wheat banana bread, try my Healthy Banana Bread.
And if you want an in-depth guide on making banana bread with whole wheat flour in general, my guide to making whole wheat banana bread is for you.
Step by step photos
Steps to make cinnamon crunch banana bread:
1) Cut cold butter into flour, sugar and cinnamon until
2) streusel form – chill.
3) Combine dry ingredients, then
4) mash bananas and mix with
5) wet ingredients.
6) Fold wet into dry ingredients just until combined.
7) Spread in lined pan and
8) top with streusel to bake.
Recipe tips
- Stirring the batter: Do NOT overmix the batter, or you’ll end up with a dense banana bread. Use a wooden spoon or a spatula to combine it, never a whisk or a mixer.
- Muffins: This bread recipe also works great as muffins, bake for around 20 minutes.
- Moisture: This recipe has a few healthy swaps. They don’t make it super special health food… But the Greek yogurt in there especially helps to make a moist banana bread – even though I make this bread with 100% whole wheat flour! It’s also important not to overmix the batter, or you’ll end up with a dense and gummy loaf vs a fluffy and moist one.
Crumb topping
Crumb toppings and streusels are some of my favorite things on top of a baked good. I love them on Banana Crumb Muffins, on Pumpkin Streusel Bread, on Cinnamon Crunch Zucchini Bread… See? Favorite thing ever ?
The keys to a good topping are to
- use cold butter (NOT melted butter, and NOT buttery spread or any other substitute!)
- cut the butter into the flour and sugar until you have a heap of small and large crumbs – if it feels too wet/pasty, add another tablespoon of flour
- lightly push it into the batter of the banana bread to help it stick to the loaf
Banana bread FAQs
Pretty ripe – definitely soft with lots of brown spots, if not brown all over.
However, I do NOT like banana bread made with extra super ripe bananas – you know, the entirely black ones. They just taste too intense for my liking.
If you need to ripen your bananas, you can bake them in their peels on a lined baking sheet at 300°F for 10-15 minutes. Allow to cool until you can safely touch them before using.
You need to keep your banana bread tightly wrapped or in an airtight glass container to keep it from drying out. If you keep it in the fridge tightly wrapped, it will keep for about 5 days and stay relatively moist.
Storage tips
Banana bread keeps quite well. Wrap it tightly in foil or stick it into an airtight container to keep it moist.I like storing it in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Freezer instructions
Wrap the cooled bread tightly in plastic wrap, then in aluminum foil. Label and freeze for up to 3 months.
Defrost on a wire cooling tray on the counter. You can warm it in the oven for a few minutes, if you like.
Tip: I like freezing quick breads in individual slices, separated by parchment paper. That way I can always pull out just as many as I need, AND they defrost a lot faster than an entire bread!
More quick breads
PS If you try this recipe, please leave a review in the comment section and add a star rating in the recipe card – I appreciate your feedback! Follow along on Pinterest, Facebook or Instagram.
Printable recipe
Whole Wheat Cinnamon Crunch Banana Bread
Recipe details
Ingredients
Wet Ingredients
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup mashed bananas
- ¾ cup sugar can reduce to ⅓ – ½ cup for a less sweet version
- ⅓ cup oil
- ½ cup Greek yogurt
Dry Ingredients
- 1 ¾ cups whole wheat flour see notes for substitutes
- ¼ cup cornstarch or more whole wheat flour
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
For the Crumb Topping
- ½ cup flour plain or whole wheat
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ cup butter
Instructions
- Prep: Heat the oven to 360°F. Grease and line a 9×5 inch loaf pan.
- Make topping: For the crumb topping, place the flour, brown sugar and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Rub in the butter with your fingertips until crumbs form. Refrigerate until ready to use.
- Combine dry ingredients: Add all dry ingredients to a large mixing bowl. Stir together until well combined.
- Combine wet ingredients: Stir together all wet ingredients in a separate large measuring jug until well combined.
- Assemble bread: Pour wet into dry ingredients and fold together just until flour is moistened (a few lumps are fine). Place the batter in the prepared loaf tin and evenly sprinkle with the crumb topping.
- Bake the banana bread: Bake for around 50-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then remove to a wire cooling tray to cool completely (remember to peel off the parchment paper, too!)
Notes
- 1 ¾ cups whole wheat flour plus ¼ cup cornstarch (as written in the recipe above)
- 1 cup whole wheat flour plus 1 cup white flour
- 2 cups white flour; add 1-2 tablespoons extra if batter seems thin
Baking Tips:
Stirring the batter: Do NOT overmix the batter, or you’ll end up with a dense and chewy banana bread. Use a wooden spoon or a spatula to combine it, never a whisk or a mixer. Muffins: This bread recipe also works great as muffins, bake for around 20 minutes. Moisture: This recipe has a few healthy swaps. They don’t make it super special health food… But the Greek yogurt in there especially helps to make a moist banana bread – even though I make this bread with 100% whole wheat flour! It’s also important not to overmix the batter, or you’ll end up with a dense and gummy loaf vs a fluffy and moist one.Crumb topping:
Crumb toppings and streusels are some of my favorite things on top of a baked good. I love them on Banana Crumb Muffins, on Pumpkin Streusel Bread, on Cinnamon Crunch Zucchini Bread… See? Favorite thing ever ? The keys to a good topping are to- use cold butter (NOT melted butter, and NOT buttery spread or any other substitute!)
- cut the butter into the flour and sugar until you have a heap of small and large crumbs – if it feels too wet/pasty, add another tablespoon of flour
- lightly push it into the batter of the banana bread to help it stick to the loaf
Ingredient Notes:
Banana ripeness:
Pretty ripe – definitely soft with lots of brown spots. However, I do NOT like banana bread made with extra super ripe bananas – you know, the entirely black ones. They just turn too alcoholic for my taste.Storage Instructions
Banana bread keeps quite well. Wrap it tightly in foil or stick it into an airtight container to keep it moist. I like storing it in the fridge for up to 5 days.Freezer Tips:
Wrap the cooled bread tightly in plastic wrap, then in aluminum foil. Label and freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost on a wire cooling tray on the counter. You can warm it in the oven for a few minutes, if you like. TIP: I like freezing quick breads in individual slices, separated by parchment paper. That way I can always pull out just as many as I need, AND they defrost a lot faster than an entire bread!Nutrition
More recipe information
I first published this recipe in 2017. I updated it on 05/29/2020 to make it better for you.
Jenna says
I’ve made this bread numerous times and it always turns out wonderful! Yum!
Nora says
So happy to read this, Jenna! Thanks so much for coming back to leave a review, I appreciate your time.
Liz says
Thank you for the delicious recipe!! I substituted apple sauce for the oil and made it into 8 mini-loaves to give as Christmas gifts. They turned out so yummy! I hope we don’t eat them all before we give them away.
Nora says
So happy to hear this, Liz! Love the substitution, hope the gifts will be appreciated (as long as they make it out of your house 😀 )!
Penny Stout says
I would love to get the recipe for that cinnamon pecan crunch pumpkin bread! It sounds very yummy!!
Tenley says
Made as muffins today and my toddler boys LOVED them, I blame baby brain but I grabbed vanilla yogurt instead of greek and forgot to pick up more butter. I just mixed brown sugar and cinnamon to make a crunchy topping and the yogurt worked fine. Baked at 360 for 35 min and they were perfect, will defiantly make again!
Nora says
I’m so glad the banana bread worked out so well for you, Tenley! And the baby brain moment sounds just like it could happen to me, too ? Thanks so much for coming back to leave a review, I appreciate it!
Paola says
Hi!
Can I use oat flour instead of whole wheat flour?
Nora says
Hi Paola, I haven’t tried that myself, so I can’t say how it would turn out. I’d assume it would be a very dense bread with oat flour. Sorry I can’t give you a better reply!
Rachel says
This recipe was absolutely perfect. I followed the directions exactly, and it is just superb!
Nora says
I’m so happy to hear this, Rachel! Glad you enjoyed the banana bread. And thank you so much for taking the time to review the recipe – I appreciate it very much.
Jenifer Nguyen says
Hello! I’m planning use this recipe this weekend! I’m wondering if this recipe requires unsalted butter or salted butter?
Nora says
Hi Jenifer, you’ll need unsalted butter for this recipe. Hope you’ll love it – it’s always a big hit at our house!
Andi says
I just made this banana bread. It is wonderful. I made two substitutions. I used sour cream instead of yogurt and I mixed a 1/2 cup of regular sugar and 1/4 of trivia instead of the 3/4 cup of regular sugar that the recipe call for. Excellent taste and crumb. Well done!
Nora says
Thanks for the recipe review, Andi! I’m glad you like the banana bread, and your substitutions sound delicious.
Samantha says
This came out so amazing!! I’m so happy to have found this recipe. I kind of substituted a few of the items because I am trying to go a little healthier. I used 3 large riped bananas, substitute the flour, brown sugar, and cornstarch with almond flour, coconut sugar and tapioca flour. I Also substitute the oil for 2/3 cup of unsweetened apple sauce, and used 1 container of coconut Greek yogurt because that’s what I had on hand. I blended the wet ingredients and sugar in my ninja blender, and then slowly incorporated the dry ingredients. The batter was a nice slightly thick consistency. The crumble came out perfect, and was easy to sprinkle ontop(substitute with almond flour/coconut sugar and butter) I had some left over batter and made 8 cupcakes with it.
Nora says
Thanks for such a detailed feedback, Samantha! Glad you enjoyed the bread, and happy your substitutions all worked out so well. Thank you for sharing – I’m sure this will be super helpful to other readers.
Becky holley says
Have you ever tried this recipe with Truvia and coconut sugar for the topping?
Nora says
Hi Becky, no I haven’t! Sorry. If you end up trying it with these substitutions, please come back to let me know how it worked out – I’m curious to hear!
Jessica Harris says
Hi Nora, I am following your recipe, but I did WW pastry flour. I hope it works. Smells amazing already in the oven as I write. Hoping the crumbs work as I read some turned into pastry. I used real butter, however.
Nora says
Hi Jessica, hope your banana bread turned out delicious! Let me know if the streusel worked alright 🙂
Ashtin says
If I were to make these in the smaller bread tins, rather than the 9×5, how many would this make? I’m thinking of making these to pass on to friends this thanksgiving, and just wondered if I would need to double the recipe. Thank you!!
Nora says
Hi Ashtin! How small are we talking? I made this recipe in smaller tins before and it made about 3 loaves I think. They weren’t the tiny single-serve ones though, more… Double serve? Haha!
Shauna says
Silly question but do I spray pan then line with parchment paper?
Nora says
Hey Shauna, it depends! If your parchment is non-stick, you can just line the pan – spraying it first just helps the paper to stick a little, but it’s not mandatory. If your parchment isn’t non-stick, I’d definitely spray it after lining. Hope that helps!
k says
If I am using a convection oven should I reduce the cooking time or temperature?
Nora says
Yes, I would. Either decrease the oven temperature to 350°F OR reduce baking time by about 5-10 minutes. Hope that helps!
Kristin says
Any tips for adapting the recipe without eggs? My daughter has an egg allergy but I’d love to try something like this
Nora says
Hi Kristin, I can’t give you specific details for this recipe, as I haven’t made it without eggs. You could search for a vegan banana bread recipe and then simply add the streusel on top! Or you can try replacing the eggs. What I do for things like pancakes and the like (when we run out of eggs) is 1 tbsp chia plus 3 tbsp water per egg BLENDED with the other wet ingredients. You’ll have to use a powerful blender to catch the small seeds, but it works SO incredibly well. Let me know if you have any more questions, happy to help!
Sarah says
I made these as muffins (baked at 400 degrees for 20 minutes) and they were super tasty, with great texture for all whole wheat! To make them a little healthier, I reduced the sugar a bit and used about half the streusel topping. Thanks for jazzing up my usual banana muffin routine!
Nora says
I’m very happy the recipe worked well for you, Sarah! And thanks for letting us know what changes worked for you in the recipe – I’m sure others who are trying to make it a bit healthier will gladly read your information. Thanks for taking the time to leave a review, I appreciate your time so much.
Loo says
I just made this recipe into muffins for breakfast. SO VERY delicious! They turned out perfectly and the muffins have a beautiful high dome. My kids and I are crazy over that topping.
I did use half white and half whole wheat flour cuz I didn’t have enough ww. I’m very happy with it.
Nora says
Thank you so much for that great review, Loo! It put a big smile on my face – I’m always excited when my recipes make someone happy. And thank you for taking the time to comment, I appreciate it so, so much.
Loo says
Can you tell me why the cornstarch? I mean, I’m fine putting it in…I just want to know the reason behind it.
Nora says
Hi Loo, sure, great question! The theory behind it is that cornstarch doesn’t contain any gluten, so it cuts some of the protein in the wheat flour. Developed gluten strands are what make bread chewy, but that’s something we definitely don’t want in cakes, muffins and quick breads. Using part cornstarch can help make a softer and more tender baked good with a tight crumb. Hope that answers your question? Don’t hesitate to ask more and I will answer if I can 🙂
Loo says
Thanks!
Robyn says
I would love to make this recipe with a muffin pan, would the oven still be 360? Do you have an estimated cook time?
Nora says
Hi Robyn, yes you would still bake at 360°F. In a 12 cup muffin tin, muffins generally take anywhere from 20 to 30 minutes to bake. Hope that helps, let us know how the recipe turns out as muffins – I would love for you to share a picture if you like.
Brenda says
Going to make this recipe right now! Swapping all the flours for my regular gf brand and the yogurt for sour cream, since I just used all my yogurt making muffins. Will let you know how it turns out.
Nora says
Hi Brenda! I’m really curious how the bread turned out with the gf flour blend – did it work?
Francine says
I also want to try GF flour. Did it work for you, Brenda?
Nancy Martin says
I made this tonight and it didn’t come out like this at all. The crumble for the top wasn’t crumbly, more like paste. Then it overflowed in the loaf pan, like a popover. The top wasn’t cooking, it had a well of butter in the middle. Not sure what I did differently, I’m pretty good at baking. Any suggestions? Thanks
Nora says
Whoa, that sounds crazy. I’m so incredibly sorry it happened to you, Nancy. I really don’t know what the issue could have been. I make this banana bread all the time (I mean, just for the blog I made it like eight times) and never had anything like that happen. I have no clue why your topping would be paste-like, because that’s the exact ratio I use for all my streusel (literally yesterday for crumb muffins!), and I never had that happen. Did you melt the butter by any chance? Did you use a firm Greek yogurt or regular yogurt? What kind of brown sugar did you use? I will test it again for sure once the temps cool down a little, to see if there IS an error in the recipe. Sorry again!
Rebekka Price says
My topping turned to paste as well. Cooking now so I hope it still turns out tasty. I’m wondering if it’s a butter issue. I used Country Crock… maybe I should have used stick butter instead. Either way it smells delicious so fingers crossed it doesn’t affect it too much.
Nora says
Hi Rebekka, as it says in the recipe, the ratio for the crumb topping is for when using real butter. Any kind of vegetable oil substitute will require different measurements, as the water content will most likely be higher and the consistency is much creamier. How did it turn out for you in the end?
Rebekka Price says
The bread was still delicious, but the topping just turned out hard. I’m making it again this weekend.
I don’t see where it says “real butter” in the recipe.. my mind sees butter and automatically goes to Country Crock unless I see something that says otherwise because it’s what we use most frequently in our house. Can you tell we aren’t super experienced bakers? 😉
It was tasty overall though, and definitely worth giving it another go the “correct” way 😉
Nora says
See, I’m the same – I didn’t even consider adding anything about the butter, because that’s what we always have on hand. So valuable to have your feedback on that, Rebekka! I’m very happy your bread came out delicious either way. Let me know how you like the version with stick butter, I’m curious if you notice a difference!
Candi says
I know this is a really old comment but I just wanted to let you know that when u over mix any kind of streusel topping it will come out like paste. Never use a food processor and always mix with a fork or gently with fingers. You’ll only want to mix it enough until it comes out in pea shaped form. I only speak from experience lol
Nora says
Yes! Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge, Candi! I’m sure it will still help others making this recipe. I appreciate it so very much!
Sarah says
So if I don’t have Greek yogurt and don’t care about making it healthier, do I just replace with half a cup of butter in place of the Hreek yogurt? Or do you have a better recommendation.
Nora says
Hi Sarah, I haven’t personally tried this, but I just did a little research for you and it seems like this would be a safe substitution to make. Let us know how it turns out, so others can try it, too 🙂
Audrey says
Can’t wait to try this. Love the idea of whole wheat flour and Greek yogurt. I actually will be using King Arthur white whole wheat flout. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
Nora says
That’s a great idea, Audrey! Hope you’ll love the bread 🙂
Shari Duncan says
Awesome bread!
Nora says
Thanks, Shari!
Ruby says
I don’t have any yogurt. Do you think I could use sour cream instead?
Nora says
I haven’t tried it myself so I can’t guarantee it will work 100%, but I believe it should work without any problem!
Tiah says
I make my banana bread like this except my recipe calls for sour cream instead of the yogurt and it turns out amazing!
Karis says
Do you have the carb nutrition facts for this?
Nora says
Hi Karis, here’s what I’m getting from the very well counter if you cut into 16 slices (which seems to be the standard serving size for a 9×5 loaf pan):
Hope that helps 🙂
Jeannine says
How many points in each slice??
Nora says
Hi Jeannine, I don’t know how to calculate Weight Watchers points, which I assume you’re asking about. Please ask a Weight Watchers representative if you’re looking for ways to calculate them yourself. Sorry!
Tammy says
I Just made this bread – DELICIOUS and then calculated the Smart Points – it is 8 points per serving based on the nutritional info provided.
Nora says
Thanks so much for this feedback, Tammy! Glad you enjoyed the bread.