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Soft and fluffy vegan cinnamon roll banana bread with a cinnamon sugar swirl and crispy top. Made with healthier ingredients!
NOTE: this recipe has been updated as of January, 2026 and is no longer gluten-free. For the original vegan and gluten-free version, I have included it in the notes below the recipe.
Two of my favorite things just had a baby: cinnamon rolls and banana bread. Honestly, what could be better?
This is one of my favorite recipes ever created and let me you why:
-SO easy to make
-it’s made with healthier ingredients like organic all purpose flour, coconut sugar and olive oil
-the texture is so soft and fluffy
-the cinnamon brown sugar mixture creates a moist swirl in the center of the loaf and it’s crispy on the top. It’s a textural dream!
-It’s vegan!
This cinnamon roll banana bread is crazy good.
Here is how to make it!
How to Make Vegan Cinnamon Roll Banana Bread
First, preheat your oven to 350°F in line a standard loaf pan with parchment paper and set aside.
Next, grab a medium bowl. Mash the ripe bananas and measure out 1 and 1/4 cup and add to the bowl. Add the rest of your wet ingredients and whisk well. Make sure there are no large banana clumps.
Next, add your dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. The key here is too not over mix the batter. Only mix until the flour is no longer visible. The batter should be thick.
Set the batter aside and grab a small bowl and add your brown sugar and cinnamon to the small bowl and mix well.
Next, you are going to start layering your batter and cinnamon sugar mixture so add about half of your batter into the loaf pan and then sprinkle about half of the brown sugar cinnamon mixture on top of the batter. Then add the rest of the batter on top, and sprinkle the remaining cinnamon sugar mixture on top of the batter.
Bake on the middle rack for about 40 to 50 minutes. Mine is always perfect at 45 minutes. The banana bread is done when a knife or toothpick inserted comes out clean, or with a few crumbs. Just be sure to not overbake!
Let the banana bread cool in the loaf pan for about 10 or so minutes, then use the sides of the parchment paper to lift the banana bread out of the loaf pan and place it on a cooling rack and let it cool for about an hour (prefer preferably more, but an hour minimum for best texture).
Once the banana bread is cool, mix up your powdered sugar and milk icing, drizzle on top, slice and enjoy!
I like to store leftovers in an airtight container on the counter.
Important Notes
-the key to a soft and fluffy banana bread is to NOT overmix the batter! The more you mix, the more gummy and dense the banana bread will be. Only mix until the dry ingredients are no longer visible.
-you can use an vegan milk for this recipe, or regular milk if not vegan.
-light brown sugar gives the best results for the cinnamon sugar layers, but you could use coconut sugar, just know it won’t come out the same and won’t be as crunchy on top.
-the cinnamon is not overpowering in this recipe. If you want a lot of cinnamon flavor, do 3/4 tsp cinnamon in the batter instead of 1/2 tsp (but leave the cinnamon sugar mixture measurements the same).
-for GLUTEN-FREE: while I haven’t tried it myself, I assume a gluten-free all purpose flour would work.
If you make this, don’t forget to take a photo and tag @wholesome.crumbs on Instagram!
Vegan Cinnamon Roll Banana Bread
Ingredients
Wet Ingredients
- 1 & 1/4 cup mashed bananas ripe, about 3 or 4 bananas
- 1/2 cup coconut sugar
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 2 tbsp almond milk
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
Dry Ingredients
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp kosher or pink salt
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
Cinnamon Sugar
- 1/3 cup light brown sugar packed
- 3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
Icing
- 1/3 to 1/2 cup unrefined vegan powdered sugar
- splash of almond milk (adjust to desired thickness)
Instructions
- First, preheat your oven to 350°F in line a standard loaf pan with parchment paper and set aside.
- Next, grab a medium bowl. Mash the ripe bananas and measure out 1 and 1/4 cup and add to the bowl. Add the rest of your wet ingredients and whisk well. Make sure there are no large banana clumps.
- Next, add your dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. The key here is too not over mix the batter. Only mix until the flour is no longer visible. The batter should be thick.
- Set the batter aside and grab a small bowl and add your brown sugar and cinnamon to the small bowl and mix well.
- Then, you are going to start layering your batter and cinnamon sugar mixture so add about half of your batter into the loaf pan and then sprinkle about half of the brown sugar cinnamon mixture on top of the batter. Then add the rest of the batter on top, and sprinkle the remaining cinnamon sugar mixture on top of the batter.
- Bake on the middle rack for about 40 to 50 minutes. Mine is always perfect at 45 minutes. The banana bread is done when a knife or toothpick inserted comes out clean, or with a few crumbs. Just be sure to not overbake!
- Let the banana bread cool in the loaf pan for about 10 or so minutes, then use the sides of the parchment paper to lift the banana bread out of the loaf pan and place it on a cooling rack and let it cool for about an hour (prefer preferably more, but an hour minimum for best texture).
- Once the banana bread is cool, mix up your powdered sugar and milk icing, drizzle on top, slice and enjoy! I like to store leftovers in an airtight container on the counter.
Notes
| Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare your loaf pan with parchment paper. Make your cinnamon sugar mixture and set aside. | |
| 2. Measure out 1 & 1/4 cups rolled oats and add to the food processor or blender to make a soft flour. If using oat flour already made, use 1 cup. Set oat flour aside. | |
| 3. Add 3 or 4 very ripe bananas to the food processor or blender. Blend until smooth and measure out 1 & 1/2 cups. Return 1 & 1/2 cups of mashed banana to the food processor or blender and add the rest of the wet ingredients: coconut palm sugar, vanilla, apple cider vinegar and maple syrup. | |
| 4. Next, add all of your dry ingredients (oat flour, almond flour, salt, cinnamon, baking powder and baking soda) to the wet ingredients and pulse only until smooth, don’t over mix. | |
| 5. Add half of your batter to the loaf pan and sprinkle the cinnamon sugar mixture on top. Add the remaining half and top with another layer on cinnamon sugar. Add more cinnamon sugar for more crispiness on top. | |
| 6. Bake for about 35-40 minutes, checking in it around the 30 minute mark. Do not overbake! Take it out of the oven when a knife comes out clean (a little banana bread residue is fine as long as it’s cooked and not raw) | |
| 7. Let cool for about 30 minutes to an hour for best textural results, or just eat is fresh out of the oven! | |
| 8. Don’t forget to top with icing and enjoy! |
If you don’t have a blender that can handle large amounts of food, you can blend your wet ingredients in the blender and then transfer to a large bowl and add your dry ingredients, but it’s preferred to mix everything in the blender or food processor.
How wet is the batter supposed to be?
I just made this for the second time… I remember the batter being thinner the first time. It was delicious! I’m making one for thanksgiving and it’s more like cookie dough. Going to freeze it as well.
Hi! The batter will be thick but it should pour easily from the blender/food processor into the loaf pan. If it seems much too thick and won’t pour easily, add some plant based milk, very small amounts at a time, to thin it out a bit. Enjoy!!
Obsessed with this recipe! Have made it several times now and fall more in love every time 🙂
This is hands down the best banana bread I’ve ever baked (or eaten) in my entire life. I even omitted the icing and it was still incredible! Melts in your mouth, moist and Mmmmmmmm.
My husband even requests it all the time and I made it as my last “birthday cake.” This recipe is a home run and I highly suggest running to the store if you need anything and making it immediately. Thanks for the amazing recipe!
Stephanie- thank you SO much for your amazing comment! I really appreciate it! I am so glad you love the banana bread!! 🙂
amazing! my husband is obsessed with this recipe and I’ve tried so many different banana breads that are vegan and gluten free.. I must add that he is on the extremely picky side with my healthier baking and this is our absolute top favorite! so moist, I can’t believe there’s no oil. thank you!!
This comment makes me so happy. Thank you for letting me know and I’m so glad!
I omitted the 1/4 cup of sugar in the batter and didn’t add any icing but it was still sweet and delicious enough for me.
The flavor was great but mine ended up with almost a gummy texture. Not sure what I did wrong?
Hey! Sorry I missed this. The key to this recipe and coming out with that fluffy texture is to do as minimal mixing as possible. Once the dry and wet ingredients are combined, over mixing can lead to a gummy loaf. Under baking can be another reason for a gummy loaf, and just make sure all of the ingredient measurements are accurate. I always take mine out of the oven when the top looks golden brown, and a knife inserted comes out clean! Another tip is to make sure the banana bread cools for as long as possible, minimum one hour. I let it cool in the pan for about 10 minutes and then lift the loaf out and transfer it to a cooling rack for an hour. The longer it sits, the better the texture will be when it’s sliced into. If you cut into it while it’s still warm, it will definitely have a gummy texture. Let me know if you have any other questions! Thanks for trying it 🙂
Hi! Love your recipes 🙂 Did this recipe change? I remember it having oat flour, no oil and more cinnamon but maybe I’m confused? Thanks!
Hey! It did change. I changed it just a couple weeks ago. I had a couple inconsistencies on my end with the last recipe so I gave it a revamp. I can find the old recipe for you if you need it though. 🙂
Hey Alexandria! I would love the old recipe. I have a bunch of intolerances so this recipe was my go-to safe dessert. Thank you!
Hey! Can you send me an email at wholesomecrumbs@gmail.com and I will send it over to you? I’ll also be updating the blog post with the old recipe soon but I wanna make sure I can send it to you before that 🙂