Incredibly moist chocolate chip quick bread with a sweet dark cinnamon swirl inside.
I’ll never tire of cinnamon swirl bread. Growing up, my favorite school morning breakfast was cinnamon swirl bread, toasted and buttered. It sounds pretty boring, but if you’ve ever had a piece of buttered cinnamon-swirl bread, then you know what I’m talking about! I craved the same comforting flavors last week and before I knew it, this quick bread came to life. As I reached for a few pecans to toss into the batter, I accidentally grabbed the chocolate chips instead. Oops? If you know me, I don’t reserve my chocolate chips just for chocolate chip cookies 🙂
Swirled with cinnamon sugar, topped with more, and dotted with teeny tiny chocolate chips. It’s almost like cake—soft, tender, and moist. I mean common, look at that deep, dark ripple of cinnamon!
There are two things that quick bread shouldn’t be: bland and dry. This bread is neither. If you can wait, this melt-in-your-mouth bread is even more flavorful and moist on day 2. (Like banana bread!)
For a version without chocolate chips, try my cinnamon swirl quick bread. It’s a reader favorite!
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Cinnamon-Swirl Chocolate Chip Bread
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 55 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours
- Yield: 1 loaf
- Category: Bread
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Moist and tender cinnamon-swirl quick bread sprinkled with chocolate chips.
Ingredients
Cinnamon-Swirl
- 1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 1/3 cup (65g) granulated sugar
Bread
- 2 cups (250g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2/3 cup (120g) mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup (100g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar
- 1 cup (240ml) buttermilk, at room temperature
- 1/3 cup (80ml) vegetable oil (or canola; or melted coconut oil)
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Spray a 9×5-inch loaf pan with nonstick spray. I prefer a dark metal loaf pan, which seems to help brown quick breads more evenly.
- Make the cinnamon-swirl first by combining the cinnamon and sugar together in a small bowl. Set aside.
- Make the bread: Whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl. Stir in the chocolate chips. Set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk the egg, brown sugar, and granulated sugar together until combined. Whisk in the buttermilk, oil, and vanilla. Slowly pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and gently whisk until there are no more lumps. Avoid over-mixing.
- You’ll have about 3-3.5 cups of batter. Spread half of the batter into prepared loaf pan. Top evenly with 3/4 of your cinnamon-sugar mixture. Gently spread the remaining batter on top as best you can and sprinkle the rest of the cinnamon-sugar. Sprinkle with a couple more mini chocolate chips if desired. Using a knife, gently swirl the batter with 1 simple swirl (I usually swirl a “S” shape) from the top to the bottom of the loaf pan.
- Bake the bread for 50-65 minutes, tenting loosely with aluminum foil halfway through bake time. Quick breads are thick and dense, so don’t be alarmed if your loaf is taking longer. To test for doneness, poke the center of the bread with a toothpick. If it comes out clean, the bread is done. Allow bread to cool completely in the pan on a wire rack before cutting.
- Cover and store leftover bread at room temperature for 3 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Freezing Instructions: Freeze baked and cooled bread for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator and bring to room temperature before serving.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): 9×5-inch Loaf Pan | Glass Mixing Bowls | Whisk | Cooling Rack
- Room Temperature Ingredients: All refrigerated items should be at room temperature so the batter mixes together easily and evenly. Read more about the importance of room temperature ingredients.
- Buttermilk: Buttermilk is required for this recipe. You can make your own DIY version of buttermilk if needed. Add 2 teaspoons of white vinegar or lemon juice to a liquid measuring cup. Then add enough whole milk to the same measuring cup until it reaches 1 cup. (In a pinch, lower fat or nondairy milks work for this soured milk, but the bread won’t taste as rich and moist.) Stir it around and let sit for 5 minutes. The homemade “buttermilk” will be somewhat curdled and ready to use in the recipe.
A super-easy recipe to follow – with delicious results. I made this with my 10-year-old granddaughter – she did all the work – I just read the recipe and “supervised”. We probably went heavy on the cinnamon swirl – I already had cinnamon sugar in a shaker-top container (I always have some at the ready) and I let her shake out as much as she wanted. We also substituted caramel chips for the chocolate chips. Otherwise, we followed the recipe as written. Baking time was 60 minutes total. My granddaughter was pleased with the results and obviously proud of what she achieved. We had to “taste-test” a slice as soon as it was cool enough – it “passed” – the rest will be on the table for breakfast tomorrow.
Absolutely delicious! I doubled the cinnamon though. Sally, your recipes never disappoint.
I forgot to tent it with the foil until about 15 minutes before it finished baking… Will this negatively affect my loaf?
It shouldn’t. Does it look burnt on top? It’s really just to prevent the top from over-browning too quickly.
Hi Sally, I’m wondering if you can use heavy cream and baking powder instead of using buttermilk and baking soda for this recipe?
Hi Audrey, That would take some recipe testing for us to be confident of an answer. Baking soda is about 3-4x stronger than baking powder. You would have to use enough baking powder to provide the proper rise in this heavier batter, but using too much and it could affect the taste negativity. We recommend sticking to the recipe if possible!
Hi
Love the bread. Not sure when to use aluminum foil. At the first half of baking or last half? Thanks!!
Hi Yvonne, it’s the last half, enjoy!
Hi sally, would this recipe be enough for say two mini loaf pans rather than one large pan?
Hi Amaniy, yes! You can use mini loaves here instead. Yield will depend on the size of your mini loaf pans.
Hi Sally. I have been wanting to make this bread for a couple months now. I am just reading the reviews and I am afraid to make it. I only have a glass loaf pan. Any suggestions on how to keep it from being raw in the middle and overcooked on the edges? Maybe 325F for longer? I want it to be amazing! Thank you!!
PS: I LOVE all of your recipes that I have tried!!
Hi Lauren, The standard advice for baking in glass is to lower the oven temperature by 25°F from what the recipe calls for, and bake up to 10 minutes longer. This is a great article that explains the difference in glass vs metal pans: https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/blog/2018/03/29/glass-or-metal-or-stoneware
Made this recipe as muffins and they turned out perfect!! Sally’s recipes never fail. I got 12 muffins from the batter and cooked for a total of 21 minutes in my oven by following the cooking instructions for Sally’s blueberry muffins. They were moist but not claggy. I will definitely be making these again.
If I leave the mini chocolate chips out do I have to substitute with more flour or anything
Hi Linda, You can leave them out without making any other changes.
This was easy to follow and very VERY delicious. Didn’t change a thing.
Hey Sally….can I make these into muffins?
Absolutely! I recommend using this batter and following the same instructions as my blueberry muffins.
I really love all your recipes, but my granddaughter must have gluten free. Can I substitute the flour with Bob’s Red Mill’s “1to1 baking flour”
Hi Joan, I haven’t tested this recipe with gluten free flour but let me know if you try it!
OMG, i try out your recipe. Its turns out amazing and i love it because it is quick and does not involve kneading. I switch the chocolate chips to butterscotch chips and add on cinnamon streusel topping. I ate half of the loaf within 45 mins. Thanks for sharing your recipe❤️.
If I make it with the half greek yogurt/half milk option, does the greek yogurt need to be room temp?
Hi Kaylee, I recommend bringing the yogurt to room temperature for best results.
This was amazing! I have never really baked before, but I have made many of your recipes and I feel so much more confident! Thanks, Sally!
Hi Sally,
Love love all your recipes and I would like to try this one but I am wondering if I could sub out the buttermilk for sour cream? Thanks so much!
Hi Trish, thank you! The bread will taste very dense using all sour cream. Instead, you can use 1/2 cup sour cream and 1/2 cup regular milk or buttermilk.
It’s so delicious… Thanku Sally for such a wonderful recipe
You state in the direction is whisk, so you do not use a mixer at all in the recipe?
Hi Peggy, Sine we don’t have to cream butter there is no need to use your mixer if you don’t want to! Simply whisking by hand is all that is needed here. Enjoy!
I made this a few weeks ago and it was fantastic! Want to make again and am considering adding pecans to the cinnamon sugar swirl. Do you think this would work?
I’m so glad you enjoyed it. Yes, feel free to add some crushed pecan pieces to the swirl – yum!
Made this last night for coworker’s birthday today. Not a lot of people in the office (it’s Friday) but the whole thing is almost gone in less than 3 hours! Rave reviews from those who I’ve heard from.
Hi Sally. Loved this recipe. Thank You!!
Hi Sally! Could this recipe be doubled or would it be better to make 2 separate batches? Thank you for all your amazing recipes!
Hi Candis! I recommend 2 separate batches.
Just made this for family, huge hit! Now I’m making second loaf to take to party tomorrow.
Which oil is the best to use?
I like to use vegetable oil.
Would using a loaf pan that’s 8.5 x 4.5 x 2.75 in make a difference at all?
Not at all! That’s such a slight difference, the bake time will be practically the same.