Lots of folks love a good quick bread recipe. Today I’m sharing a delicious and easy Cinnamon Nut Quick Bread. Whether you serve it for breakfast, an afternoon coffee/tea break, or dessert, I know you’ll enjoy it!
Cinnamon Nut Quick Bread
The other day I spent time in the kitchen whipping up several new recipes for the blog. Among them was this Cinnamon Nut Quick Bread. Even though I botched a couple of the recipes and had to remake them, I had a blast.
Other than daily meals, it was the first day in several weeks that I’ve spent cooking, baking, and creating non-stop. I greatly needed this work-playtime in the kitchen, and I so enjoyed it. It was a good reminder of how much pleasure it is to be in the kitchen. (Especially now that I have a kitchen that looks and functions better than I ever dreamed it could!)
I will also be the first to admit that I adore quick bread recipes. They are great because you can prepare them in under 10 minutes (that excludes baking time), and they typically don’t require you to drag out a mixer or any fancy tools, which makes clean up a lot easier, too.
This Cinnamon Nut Quick Bread is everything I love about quick bread. Whipping it up takes practically no time, and it’s loaded with flavor. Here’s how to make it:
How to Make Cinnamon Nut Quick Bread:
Start by spraying the baking pan (find mine here) with baking spray to prevent sticking. You could line the pan with parchment paper, but I found that removing the loaf was easy just using the baking spray.
One of my favorite things about this bread is the cinnamon and nut filling/topping. This is prepared by mixing cinnamon, sugar, and walnuts. The walnuts are wonderful in this recipe, but you could use pecans instead if you wish. If you’re not a fan of nuts, feel free to omit them.
Once the topping is prepared, it’s time to make the batter. First, mix the dry ingredients in one bowl and the wet in another. Then, combine them. (You can find the full ingredient list and recipe instructions in the printable recipe card below.)
Now pour half of the batter in the prepared pan. Sprinkle that with half of the cinnamon, sugar, and nut mixture. Then pour in the other half of the batter and sprinkle the top with the remaining cinnamon, sugar, and nut mixture.
For a final flourish, I like to run a butter knife through the batter. All you need is one quick swirl to give the interior of the quick bread a little interest.
This quick bread needs about an hour in the oven, and it’s done!
As with most quick bread recipes, I let this cool completely before slicing. The bread can be hard to resist, but I promise the texture will be better once it cools.
In case you’re looking for more quick bread recipes, try these:
- Lemon and Blueberry Bread
- Really Good Pumpkin Bread
- Trader Joe’s Pancake Bread
- Banana Bread: 3 Ways
- Cinnamon Sour Cream Bread
After the Cinnamon Nut Quick Bread has cooled, it’s ready to serve. I love this bread for breakfast or brunch, but it also makes a tasty afternoon treat when paired with a cup of coffee or tea.
No matter how or when you eat it, I hope you love it as much as I do!
Happy Baking!
Cinnamon Nut Quick Bread Recipe:
Cinnamon Nut Quick Bread
Ingredients
- 1 1/3 cups sugar - divided
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 egg
- 1 cup milk
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Begin by preheating the oven to 350 degrees F. Then spray the inside of a 9x5-inch loaf pan with baking spray. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, whisk together 1/3 cup of sugar, chopped walnuts*, and the cinnamon. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, the remaining 1 cup sugar, baking powder, and salt. In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg, milk, vegetable oil, sour cream, and vanilla extract.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix until just combined. (The batter may be slightly lumpy. This is okay.)
- Add half of the batter to your prepared pan. Sprinkle that batter with about half of the cinnamon, sugar, and nut mixture. Top that with the remaining batter and then top with the rest of the cinnamon, sugar, and nut mixture.
- Use a butterknife to make one quick swirl through the batter to give your bread a marbled look.
- Bake for 60 to 67 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.** Allow the bread to cool completely before slicing to serve.
Video
Notes
Nutrition Facts
I just popped a loaf into the oven on this cold and snowy Midwestern January evening. My husband can hardly wait til it’s done! Thanks, Michael!
I love that!! You’re so quick! Hope you both enjoy it!
xo Michael
This looks so good! Is there anything that I could substitute for the sour cream? My daughter has a dairy allergy.
Maybe a non-dairy yogurt? You’d have to test it out as I’ve only made it with the sour cream.
xo Michael
I cant wait to try this! 🙂 My in laws are tremendous bakers and have owned bakeries but I cant wait to send this recipe to them! Thanks!
This recipe looks wonderful. I love to have tea in the afternoon on a cold day and this will be yummy with it.
Okay Michael here’s my goofy question…..do you run the knife length or width wise through the pan to swirl the filling. Your pictures show the filling distributed perfectly. Mine is always a mess.
I just discovered your blog before Christmas from the article in Better Homes an Garden (I believe) and I’ve been devoured your posts. You are so creative I love it❤️
Thank you so much! So glad you’re enjoying the blog.
I suppose I ran the skinny side through. I just did one quick swirl and it seem to yield the perfect marble. Hope that helps!
xo Michael
Well! Doesn’t this look yum! Question, as I’m planning to make this to take to the nurses at the hospital, do I just swirl after I put batter, filling batter, but before I add the top? Thanks in advance because your recipes are always so good!
Thank you!! I swirled just before putting it into the oven after you add the final cinnamon and nut mixture to the top.
xo Michael
Sounds absolutely yummy!
Is this a moist bread. We do not care for dry bread.
Yep! The sour cream really helps to keep it moist.
xo Michael
My life is better with this recipe in it. I made a cinnamon butter to go with it and it was delicious. This will definitely be my new go to quick bread. Thank you!!!
Bought Vietnamese cinnamon today while out on my Saturday errands. Finally sat down at 3:30 and read your email with this recipe. Figured it was a sign and just popped it in the oven… smell is wonderful. Looks like this will be part of Sunday breakfast. Thanks, Michael.
All the flavors I love in one bread!! Thank you, Michael!
I made this yesterday and it came out perfect! I am allergic to walnuts so i just added 1/3 cup of brown sugar to the sugar mix and it was delicious! thanks for a great recipe
Five stars!! Michael – I cooked it toight and we had to sit in a different room whilst it cooled down, then we had a slice each with a cup of tea. Thank you so much, what a lovely recipe. I am writing from the UK, not a place where “cake” is commonplace for breakfast; our muffins are not little cakes like yours, our pancakes are not like yours, and biscuits are scones over here!! But I just liked the idea of this recipe, and I loved it, so will have to try more of yours. Love your blog too, by the way.
This brings me so much joy! I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe. Thank you for sharing this little moment with me.
xo Michael
Loved this quick bread! We’re enjoying it toasted with butter!
This was so easy to put together, made the kitchen smell fabulous, and was wonderful with a cup of tea. I did not have sour cream in the house, so I substituted plain whole milk yogurt and it worked wonderfully. Thank you for a great recipe!
This looks wonderful and will be making it tomorrow. Probably a dumb question but when do you take it out of the loaf pan……..after 5 minutes like some cake recipes or completely cool…..???
I’ve done it both ways. If you plan to keep it in the pan for storage you can just leave it in there. If not, I’d say wait 10-15 minutes to remove.
xo Michael
Michael, this is delicious, but I have a question. Since I love to bake with buttermilk and often have it on hand, do you think I could use it in place of some of the milk? Also, I usually only have Horizon’s 0 fat milk on hand. Does this recipe need the higher fat content? Thanks!
I haven’t tried, but I assume buttermilk would be delicious!
xo Michael
I used buttermilk and it came out so moist. Definitely try it.
Hi,
I was wondering if the oven temperture changes or lenght of baking time depending on if you use a metal or glass pan?
Thank you,
Katherine
I’m not sure to be honest. I used a metal pan. I’d say keep the temperature the same, but use a toothpick or skewer to check on the bread for doneness. It should come out clean when it’s done.
xo Michael
Can you freeze this bread?
Sure, but fresh is always better.
xo Michael
Hi Michael- would love to make this today but I don’t have sour cream or yogurt. I do have buttermilk and whole milk. Would the buttermilk work? Thanks!
Barb, I honestly don’t know. I’ve only made this with sour cream. You’re welcome to try. My concern is that milk / buttermilk is a much thinner than sour cream so that may cause some issues. Again, I’m not sure as I haven’t made it that. Hope that helps!
xo Michael
I made this today and it came out doughy, I baked it for a full hour and my toothpick seemed clean when came out, not sure what went wrong? Do you think it was just the baking time?
Hmmm. So sorry that happened. Yes. It’s probably baking time or oven temperature. Though, your toothpick shouldn’t have come out clean if it was still “doughy”. I’m not sure what happened, but it sounds like it needed more time in the oven.
xo Michael
This bread was outstanding!!! I only changed 2 things (I’m so sorry). Instead of milk I used buttermilk and I cooked the batter in mini loaf pans. I find these type of breads come out extremely moist cooked in smaller pans for shorter time. This recipe is my go to from now on. Thank you for the recipe 😁
Well, this recipe looked amazing, so I decided to try it. It was smelling wonderful and when the time allotted was finished I checked to make sure it was done I Tested it and my instrument came out clean. So I assumed it was done. After I let it rest and cool a bit I took a slice and the inside was Doughy was very disappointed. I noticed someone else had the same issue, I’d really like to know what caused this what a waste of all these ingredients
So sorry you had troubles, Sharon. I heard from several people that the recipe worked wonderfully for them and they enjoyed it. A few people even shared pictures with me on Instagram. I only can assume it needed to be baked longer. I usually insert a toothpick into a few spots to make sure.
xo Michael
My bread also came out very doughy when I took it out of the pan. I put it back in the oven but the result was the same. Is there any way to save it? Can I cook it longer on a lower temperature or a higher tempperature?
I agree with the comments above smells great but really dense and doughy 😏
I just made 4 loafs for Christmas Gift’s for our neighbor’s and my daughter and of course my self. Look’s delicious and smells good too!
Thank you for the recipe, very easy to make. Used Almond milk instead of regular milk because that is all I had.
JUST MADE BUT HAVEN’T TRIED YET, MADE FOUR LOAF’S FOR OUR NEIGHBOR’S AND MY DAUGHTER FOR CHRISTMAS AND OF COUSE MY HUSBAND AND MYSELF.
THANK YOU FOR THE RECIPE.
How can I save the bread? It came out of the oven very doughy in the middle.
Great taste, easy to make
It takes more than 10 minutes to prep. Plz know that.
You have to follow the recipe closely.
I used self rising flour to cut out having to baking soda and salt.
It’s baking now.
I made this last night and it turned out delicious. Perfect for breakfast this morning! And it was so easy! I substituted avocado oil for the vegetable oil and it worked perfectly. I also added about 15 minutes to the bake because I did it in a stoneware loaf pan, so it needed a bit of extra time. Anyway, thanks for the great recipe. Love it!
Oh goodness, this looks so good, I cannot wait to try it. Do you think we could use buttermilk instead of regular milk, I don’t usually have milk in the house, but I use buttermilk a lot so would love to try this.
Hi!
I love this recipe and have made it numerous times. If I need to bake it ahead of serving it, will it stay fresh and moist if wrapped in foil or saran wrap for 2-3 days? Refrigerate or not?
You just made my jaw drop, and now it’s drooling. This is one of my favorite. Thanks Michael
Dear Michael,
first of all thanks for sharing. Will make the bread soon (looking forward to it) – but there seems to be a slight problem with the PDF formatting.
I downloaded both this as well as the blueberry/lemon quick bread recipes, and in both cases the pagebreak is so close the bottom of the first page that step 2 of the instrcutions following on the other side is so close to the top with almost no margin left, so that the printed page doesn´t have the step 2 (completely omitted), no matter the printer callanetics.
I feel this is a formatting problem – maybe you could take a look?
Sandra, Thanks for the info. What do you mean by you downloaded it? I offer a print option for my recipes, but not download option so I’m not quite sure what you mean. I tried printing it, and I’m not getting the issue you described. I need some more info to be able to help.
xo Michael
I love your recipes! You are the sweetest and most generous chef. Thank you so much for your wonderful blog.