This easy whole wheat cinnamon raisin bread recipe requires no yeast, no kneading, no bread machine. It’s lightened up, soft and so delicious!
Cinnamon raisin bread just speaks family to me.
I guess it started with my Dad, who loves cinnamon raisin bagels, cinnamon raisin bagel chips, cinnamon raisin English muffins - you name it.
Cinnamon raisin bread, too, but he prefers it toasted so it gets a little crispy. He spreads it with butter while still warm, so it melts right into the bread (or bagel or muffin) and crunches on into it.
And so it happened one day that I saw cinnamon raisin bagels in the grocery store, while pushing my little ones around aisle by aisle, that I became nostalgic and wanted to share that with them.
One look at the ingredient list though, and, well, didn’t buy anything that day.
I did find a brand of cinnamon raisin bread at Trader Joe’s that was whole wheat and not half bad. We tried it out that weekend.
I topped it with peanut butter for the kids and they gobbled it up, taking after their Pops (as they call my Dad).
The loaf was super sturdy, which was great for storing it, but it always made me think it was a bit stale.
So of course I came up with my own homemade recipe. You know me. 😉
I've also shared with you whole wheat peanut butter banana bread, whole grain banana applesauce bread and banana bread baked oatmeal, other breakfast and snack favorites in our house!
And today's cinnamon raisin bread is whole wheat, naturally sweetened and full of real food ingredients.
And oh wow, what a difference from store-bought! No hard bread here, no indestructible loaves that can sit around for ages.
This whole wheat cinnamon raisin bread is unbelievably soft and moist. It melts in your mouth and just floods you with warm, comforting flavors.
I now make this bread almost every 2 weeks. My kids inhale at least half of a loaf each Sunday for their breakfast. (Still topped with peanut butter of course!)
I freeze and save the other half of the loaf for the next weekend - unless my husband and I devour it that same day - and so I’m quickly back to making more.
So now I've started doubling the recipe to make two loaves at once.
Now, I’ve got some notes and substitutions coming up for this recipe. Just tryin’ to be helpful.
If you want to jump on down to the recipe, simply scroll right on through the rest of the text. The recipe card is near the bottom of the page, above the comments section.
Notes on whole wheat cinnamon raisin bread:
- I’m lazy so I use one bowl to make this bread. If you make a well in the center of the flour mixture and stir together the wet ingredients there before mixing them with the dry mixture, you’ll be fine.
- I use white whole wheat flour for my baking. You could also use whole wheat flour or all-purpose flour -- or a combination -- if you prefer.
- This bread has a lot of raisins. Raisins running throughout it. No bites without raisins. You can reduce the amount of raisins to ¾ cup if you’d prefer.
- Be sure to break up the raisins as you measure and add them - you don’t want huge clumps of raisins stuck together in your bread.
Want to make a vegan cinnamon raisin bread? Totally do-able with this recipe.
How to make vegan cinnamon raisin bread:
- Substitute flax eggs for the eggs in this recipe.
- Use agave nectar or maple syrup in place of honey as the sweetener.
- Use a vegan butter, melted coconut oil or canola oil in place of the butter for this recipe. (You can also substitute applesauce for some of the butter/oil if you prefer.)
Other tips on homemade cinnamon raisin bread from our family:
* My children highly recommend you top this with peanut butter for an extra hearty breakfast. (Plus then you’ve got carbs, protein and fruit all in one to start the day strong!)
* I highly recommend you double the recipe so you can make two loaves at once. Freeze the extra (see below for details) or give the extra loaf to a friend or neighbor!
Storage tips on whole wheat cinnamon raisin bread:
This bread will keep, wrapped, at room temperature for 4-5 days.
You can also freeze this bread! Wrap it first in plastic wrap and then in aluminum foil. (This helps protect it from freezer burn.) Write the recipe name and the date on the aluminum foil with a sharpie marker and pop it in the freezer.
The bread will keep in the freezer for up to 6 months. (Just move it to the fridge to defrost overnight - breakfast is ready to go!)
Also, I like freezing half loafs, instead of a full extra loaf, so I can just defrost what we need.
If you’ve ever been intimidated by homemade bread, this is a great starter recipe.
Quick breads like this that don’t use yeast, don’t need kneading and don’t require a bread machine will show you how simple it is.
And it’s light years beyond what you can buy at the store in terms of taste.
I’m gonna have to toast some up and take it to my Dad
Happy weekend to all of you, and I hope it includes some of this whole wheat cinnamon raisin bread. You know it’s what we’ll be having Sunday morning!
Enjoy!
XO,
Kathryn
Easy whole wheat cinnamon raisin bread
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups white whole wheat flour
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
- ⅓ cup honey
- ⅓ cup unsalted butter, melted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup raisins
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325. Grease a 9x5 bread pan and set aside.
- Combine flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a large bowl and stir well.
- Make a well in the center and add the eggs, applesauce, honey, butter and vanilla. Stir the dry ingredients together a bit, then mix into the flour mixture until everything is well combined. Don’t overmix.
- Fold in the raisins.
- Pour the batter into the bread pan and smooth the top.
- Bake at 325 for 40-50 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean and the top is golden brown. (Mine takes 45 minutes, but ovens can vary.)
- Let cool in the pan for 5-10 minutes, then invert onto a cooling rack and let cool completely before storing.
Notes
Video
Nutrition
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine
Cinnamon raisin is just so comforting! Always a top choice of mine in any form! Bagels, bread, muffins, PEANUT BUTTER 😉
Kathryn
Yes, yes, yes! Thanks Rebecca!
Mza
I really enjoy this recipe and have tweaked it to be banana nut bread(replace applesauce with mashed banana, replace raisins with granulated peanuts and cook 60 minutes instead of 50).
Thank you for the inspiration, I'm really enjoying working with this blueprint.
Kathryn Doherty
I'm so happy to hear you've enjoyed adapting this recipe! Sounds delicious, thanks for sharing!
Diane
I found this recipe a couple of years ago and have been making the bread at least once a week . I absolutely love this bread. I would love to make it into muffins but the recipe would have to be adjusted. I hope the author of this recipe sees my request.
Kathryn Doherty
I'm so thrilled you love this bread Diane! Thanks for sharing! As for making muffins, that's definitely do-able. I haven't with this particular recipe (and now I'm wondering why not), but I do it all the time with my banana bread. It bakes at the same temp so I think it would be similar. The batter is made the same, then line your muffin tin with paper liners and spray with cooking spray (yes, I do both so they don't stick), divide the batter into the 12 muffin tins and bake at 325 for 20-22 minutes - check this, you'll want to bake until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. I hope that helps! Let us know if you try it!
Dawn @ Girl Heart Food
Cinnamon raisin bread is awesome and I love your version with no yeast and no kneading! It practically makes itself, lol 😀 I love bread fresh out of the oven with butter....you really can't beat it! Hubby would love peanut butter too.
Funny how your kiddos called your dad 'pops'. I call my grandfather 'pop' and grandmother 'nan'.
Pinning this recipe and making soon. Have a lovely weekend! xoxo
Kathryn
You're right - it does take care of itself! I'm just here to mix it 😉 Ha, my mom is "Nanna" - very similar! XO
rachel @ atheltic avocado
This bread would be EPIC in french toast! I can already taste the deliciousness now! Pinned 🙂
Kathryn
Oh YES! I gotta try that - maybe next weekend for a special treat 😉
Laura
This cinnamon raisin bread looks so delicious! I love the way delicious loaves like this make my house smell!
Kathryn
Yes! That's half the fun - having it perfume the entire house with the delicious smell 😉
anne
I love cinnamon Raisin Bread, I'm going to try this soon!
Kathryn
You've got to - homemade is super delicious!
Natasha @ Salt & Lavender
Mmm raisin bread brings me back to my childhood! I love how easy your recipe is. Sharing!
Kathryn
Right? Such good memories! Thanks Natasha!
anna @ annamayeveryday
This looks delicious, I know I would love it. Definitely going to make this very soon!
Kathryn
Thanks Anna! I hope you try it - it's a favorite here!
Neha
Hi, please could you recommend a substitute for eggs. Thanks.
Kathryn
Hi Neha! You could use a store-bought egg substitute (like Egg Beaters) or you can make a "flax egg" which is 1 tablespoon of ground flax seeds and 3 tablespoons of water to replace 1 egg. Hope that helps!
Karen Tanner
Could you use regular whole wheat flour in this ? I can not find white whole wheat flour here in N.S.
Kathryn
Hi Karen! Yes, you can substitute regular whole wheat flour in a 1:1 ratio here. Hope you enjoy it! 😊
Helen
This sounds great. Would it work if you put the mixture into muffin pans and made individual muffins? Presumably cooking time would reduce.
Kathryn
Hi Helen! I make bread into muffins and muffins into bread all the time and while I haven't done it with this recipe, it should work fine. The baking time will likely be somewhere around 20 minutes, you'll just need to keep an eye on them. Would love to hear how they turn out!
Helen
Been making these as muffins, worked out great. Cooking time is approx. 25 mins in my oven. Also added a tbsp of unsweetened cacao powder as I had some to use up, and a sprinkling of walnuts on top. My husband loves them as an afternoon snack!
Kathryn
I'm so happy to hear you and your husband enjoy them Helen! Love the sound of those additions too! 😋
KD
This recipe had good flavor and was very soft, but I had a hard time getting it to cut without falling apart. I let it cool overnight, and when I cut it this morning I had to cut fairly large slices to keep it from falling into pieces. Do you refrigerate yours before cutting?
Kathryn
Hi there! I'm not sure why it came out so crumbly... mine always comes out and slices as cleanly as in the photos. I let it cool in the pan for a few minutes then turn it out onto a wire rack (or just some wax paper) to cool completely and then it's fine. I don't refrigerate it (until after it's sat out for a few days, if I'm trying to keep some extra on hand) and I'm surprised that didn't help with the texture cause that was a good idea to try! Sometimes too much flour can cause bread to go crumbly, as can overmixing the bread, if you think that could have possibly been the issue. Otherwise, you could try again and see if it sets up better the second time. I hope that helps!
Amelya
Any substitute for the apple sauce? I really want to try this tonight.
Kathryn
Hi there! The applesauce acts as part sweetener, part fat substitute and part liquid so you'd need to compensate for those things. I think you should be able to substitute a combination of additional melted butter (or oil) and mashed banana for the applesauce (equalling 1 cup) or butter/oil, canned pumpkin and a bit of extra honey (to balance the sweetness). Would love to hear if you try it!
Amelya
I'll let you know. Thanks for the rapid response!
Meri
Excellent recipe! I doubled, which made a loaf and about 8 muffins. A few changes...I didn't have enough applesauce so -- since I doubled and needed 2 cups total-- I used about 1/2 cup applesauce, 1/2 cup pumpkin puree, 4T butter and enough plain yogurt to equal 1 cup. Also used 1/4 cup sugar together with 1/4 cup honey. I was short on raisins so chopped up some dates. The texture was great, sweetness was perfect! Thank you for sharing.
Kathryn
Oh I'm so happy you loved this Meri! I just made a double batch last weekend myself. 😊 And great notes on the substitutions - that's really helpful, thanks for sharing!
Melissa
I substituted a small apple, diced, for the raisins and added 1/2 cup pecans. Also didn't have a bread pan so I used a 8x8 glass dish. Baked for 40 min. It came out tasting like my mom's old fashioned fresh apple cake. Love having a healthier version of that. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
Kathryn
So happy you enjoyed it! And yum - I'll have to try making it that way!
Kate
WOW! I was absolutely blown away! This not only is the healthiest cinnamon raisin bread I've had, it's also the BEST. This is going to be one of those recipes that gets passed down from generation to generation. Thank YOU!
Kathryn
Aww, I am SO happy to hear that you loved it!! Thanks so much for taking the time to comment and let me know - made my day! 😊
Vicky
Thanks for this recipe. I made my first bread ever, the other day and it came out great!
Kathryn
Yay, I'm so happy you loved it Vicky! And congrats on making your first bread - that's great! Thanks for sharing! 😊
Dhani
I halved the recipe and made 5 muffins as a trial. One of the best muffins I have ever made! Soft and spongy and best of all healthy! I made the following substitutions: used Meringue Powder mixed with water to replace the eggs and added 1 tsp of apple cider vinegar. Next time i will try replacing the honey with Stevia Sweet Drops for lower calories.
Thank you for a wonderful recipe.
Kathryn Doherty
I'm so happy to hear you enjoyed this recipe! Thanks so much for sharing! 😊
Cynthia Peeples
DELICIOUS!!!
I tried this recipe twice. First time I sub'd pumpkin puree for applesauce and used whole wheat flour. It was decent, no complaints.
Second time I sub'd whole wheat flour, avacado oil, and maple syrup, and added vegan dark choc chips. OMG -- to die for!!! I had to hide it so I wouldn't devour the entire loaf in one sitting.
**Just a tip, I always steep raisins in warm water (or rum) for 15-30 minutes to plump them up for baking.
It is delicious cake bread heaven. And I love that it is all clean ingredients. Can't beat it!
Buying more ingredients tonight to make multiple loaves for freezing. And now sifting through your other recipes.
WELL DONE!
Kathryn Doherty
I'm so happy to hear you love this Cynthia! And thanks for the substitution notes - very helpful! 😊
Auj
Hi, can I substitute vegetable oil for the applesauce? If so, how much would i use?
Kathryn Doherty
Yes, you can! Normally it's a 1:1 substitution but a full cup of oil seems like a lot so you could try doing 3/4 cup of oil (canola or vegetable) in place of the applesauce. Would love to hear how it turns out!
Poppy
This is an amazing recipe! Thank you so very much for sharing it 😁
Lisa
Instruction #3 is confusing. Do you mix all wet ingredients in a separate bowl first then add to the "well" in the flour?
Kathryn Doherty
Hi Lisa, nope, you add them straight into the same bowl - it's a one bowl recipe! After you've mixed the dry ingredients in the bowl, you make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients. Add the wet ingredients straight into that well. Mix those wet ingredients together a little bit (break up the eggs and start to combine them with the honey and applesauce, etc) then start to incorporate the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients until everything is mixed. Hope that helps!
Shandy
Can you substitute applesauce ?
Kathryn Doherty
Do you mean you want to substitute something else for the applesauce called for in the recipe? I have not tested it without the applesauce, but you could try to replace it with a combination of milk and oil. I'd say 1/2 cup milk and maybe 1/4 cup canola oil. I hope that helps and would love to hear if you try it!
Kate
Absolutely incredible! Best quick bread I’ve tried AND healthy too?!!! I substituted olive oil for the butter and it was fantastic. Thank you so much for this recipe we all love. P.S. I even lost the recipe once and searched frantically online to find it. So thankful I did.
Kathryn Doherty
I'm so happy to hear you love this cinnamon raisin bread Kate! Thank you so much for sharing! 😊
Lu
We love cinnamon raisin bread and also have a glut of raisins, so this may be on the list. Question -- why the lower (325) baking temperature? i.e. is this recipe especially prone to burning, or is it high in moisture and needs more time to dry out?
Kathryn Doherty
Hi, that's just the temperature it seems to bake best at, to cook through evenly and not get overly browned. It does have some extra liquid with the applesauce, so that might be a factor as well. Hope you give it a try and enjoy!