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Cream Cheese Cinnamon Swirl Banana Bread

Cream cheese cinnamon swirl banana bread with a ribbon of cinnamon and a smooth cream cheese center that slices into dramatic layers. This bakery-style banana loaf bakes up deeply golden with a tender banana crumb and a clean toothpick test.
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Servings: 10 servings
Course: Breakfast, Snack
Cuisine: American
Calories: 360
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Banana bread batter
  • 3 ripe bananas Mash until smooth and measure after mashing.
  • 0.5 cup butter Melt and cool slightly so it doesn’t cook the eggs.
  • 0.75 cup sugar Use granulated sugar.
  • 2 large eggs Use room-temperature eggs for smoother batter.
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1.5 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 0.5 tsp salt
Cream cheese layer
  • 8 oz cream cheese Softened to spread easily.
  • 0.25 cup sugar Use granulated sugar.
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp vanilla
Cinnamon swirl
  • 3 tbsp brown sugar
  • 1.5 tsp cinnamon

Equipment

  • 1 sheet pan
  • 1 loaf pan

Method
 

Prep and filling
  1. Preheat oven to 350°F and grease a 9x5 loaf pan, then set it aside on a sheet pan for easier handling.
  2. Beat cream cheese, sugar, egg, and vanilla until smooth, scraping the bowl as needed for a lump-free filling.
Make batter and layer
  1. Whisk butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla into mashed bananas until the mixture looks glossy and fully combined.
  2. Fold in all-purpose flour, baking soda, and salt just until no dry streaks remain, keeping the batter thick.
  3. Pour half the banana batter into the prepared loaf pan and spread it into an even layer.
  4. Spread the cream cheese filling evenly over the batter, reaching the edges for a consistent center.
  5. Sprinkle brown sugar and cinnamon over the cream cheese in a thin, even layer.
  6. Pour the remaining banana batter over the top and level it out.
  7. Swirl once or twice with a knife to create ribbons, leaving visible streaks of cinnamon and cream cheese through the surface.
Bake
  1. Bake at 350°F for 65–75 minutes until deeply golden and a toothpick inserted in the outer banana bread comes out clean.

Notes

For clean slices, cool the loaf in the pan for 15 minutes, then unmold and cool at least 1 hour before cutting so the cream cheese center sets. Store covered in the refrigerator up to 4 days; freeze slices up to 2 months. For a lighter version, replace half the sugar in both layers with a 1:1 baking sugar substitute, keeping the batter thickness similar.