The Best Cinnamon Streusel Bread -quick, moist & perfect with coffee!
I have been making this easy Cinnamon Streusel Quick Bread for years. It’s buttery, moist, and topped with a crunchy cinnamon-sugar streusel. Perfect for breakfast, gifting, or with a cup of tea or coffee in the afternoon!
Why I love this bread
There is something irresistible about the warm scent of cinnamon filling the kitchen, and this Cinnamon Streusel Quick Bread delivers just that! Made with simple pantry ingredients, this easy, no-yeast sweet bread comes together in under an hour and bakes up moist and buttery, and is topped with a perfectly crunchy cinnamon-sugar streusel. Whether you serve it for breakfast, pack it into lunchboxes, or give it as a gift, this homemade cinnamon quick bread is the ultimate comfort bake. It’s a cozy family favorite that feels like home in every bite. This is my grandma’s cinnamon loaf recipe with a few adjustments. I have added Greek yogurt for a more tender crumb, which also helps activate the baking soda for a better rise. I also added more streusel, because is there ever enough cinnamon streusel? You can make this in an 8×8 cake pan, a 10-inch pie plate, or one 9x5x3-inch loaf pan. Cinnamon Streusel Bread is my absolute favorite quick bread to share; everyone loves it, and it’s excellent for any season.
Gather these ingredients
How to make the Best Cinnamon Streusel Bread
Add sugars, cinnamon, and flour to the bowl of a food processor, and pulse a couple of times. Add one stick of cold, cubed butter. Pulse until mixture becomes a uniform crumble. If you don’t have a food processor, you can use a fork or a pastry cutter to cut the butter into the dry ingredients. Set this aside and make the batter; also, turn your oven to 350 degrees.
Melt butter and whisk in one cup of granulated sugar. Whisk until light and fluffy. Add eggs, Greek yogurt, buttermilk, and vanilla extract, whisk until completely incorporated. In a separate bowl, measure out dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, stirring until the batter is smooth and there are no lumps remaining.
Divide the batter in half. If I am making more than one loaf, I like to use an ice cream scoop to fill the pans with the batter—this way I can divide it evenly. Grease the pans with non-stick baking spray, butter, or shortening. Add equal amounts of batter to each pan.
Take half of the cinnamon streusel and spread it evenly over the batter in the pan.
Spoon the remaining batter over the streusel, and spread to cover. Pour more streusel over the top of the second half of the batter. Leaving some for a final sprinkle.
Using a knife or spatula, gently swirl the streusel into the batter. Gently tap the pan on the counter to help release any air pockets and settle the batter evenly into the pan. Sprinkle the remaining streusel over the top, and press it into the batter with your hand or the spatula. This will ensure an even crust on the top of your loaf.
Tips & Variations
- Use room temperature ingredients – for a smooth batter and even baking, let your eggs, butter, and milk come to room temperature before mixing.
- Line your pan – for easy removal and clean edges, line your loaf pan with parchment paper.
- Double the streusel topping – It’s that good! I often make a double batvh and freeze half so I can whip up a loaf on short notice. This streusel is good sprinkled over just about any muffin before baking, or over pancakes before flipping!
- Check doneness with a skewer – Every oven is different. Insert a toothpick or a skewer into the center, if it comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs it’s done.
- Cover with aluminum foil – if your bread isn’t done, but it is looking like the top might get too brown, lay a sheet of aluminum foil over the bread for the last minutes of baking.
- Cool before slicing – I know it might be hard to wait, but you should let the bread cool for at least 20-30 minutes before slicing. You will get nicer slices by waiting.
- Add chopped nuts – walnuts or pecans are delicious in this bread. Chop up 1/2 cup or more and add them to the batter at the end.
- Cinnamon Chocolate Chip Bread – Add 1/2 cup of mini semi-sweet chocolate chips to the batter. This is my favorite variation of this bread!
- Add a glaze – Mix 1/2 cup powdered sugar with 1 tbsp milk and a 1/4 tsp of vanilla, whisk until smooth and drizzle over the top of bread.
- Different sized pans – You can make this recipe in an 8×8 cake pan (bake for 40 minutes), or make it into muffins, by using the same layering of batter, streusel, batter (bake for 20 minutes).
I hope you make this bread for yourself or someone you love it is so delicious and comforting. I’m not just saying that! It truly is. I would love to hear form you in the comments. What is your favorite thing to bake? If you love this recipe as much as we do please take a minute to rate the recipe in the recipe card below. I’d really appreciate it. XO, Sheila
The Best Cinnamon Streusel Bread Recipe
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter butter is separated half for bread, half for streusel
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 whole eggs
- 1/3 cup Greek yogurt
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
streusel topping
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 cup dark brown sugar lite brown works as well
- 1 tbsp cinnamon
- 1/2 cup butter cold and cut into chunks
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350℉, grease bread 9x5x3 inch loaf pan.
Cinnamon Streusel
- Add flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon to a food processor. Give ingredients a couple of pulses. Cut up cold butter into small cubes, add to the food processor, and pulse until the streusel is uniform and doesn't have any large clumps. Set aside.
Quick Bread
- In a large bowl whisk together softened butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
- Measure out buttermilk in a large measuring cup, add Greek yogurt, and eggs, whisk to combine. Add vanilla extract. Add to the butter sugar mixture, and blend until smooth.
- Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg, and salt to the wet ingredients. Whisk to combine, then mix until the batter is smooth and free of lumps.
- Pour half of the batter into the pan, sprinkle with half of the cinnamon streusel. Pour the remaining batter over the streusel. Take a knife and run it through the batter in a S pattern to swirl in the cinnamon streusel. Pour the remaining streusel over the top and press it down to form a smooth layer on top of the bread.
- Place in preheated oven. Bake for 50 minutes. Poke with a toothpick; if it comes out clean, remove from the oven and allow to cool before removing from the pan. If not, cover the pan loosely with aluminum foil and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. (another 15-20 minutes) Aluminum foil is used to prevent the sugar on top of the bread from burning.
