Quickbreads without cinnamon

October 22, 2020 6:08 PM

I love to bake quickbreads: banana muffins, pumpkin bundt cake, zucchini bread, etc. They're just so comforting and delicious, and usually pretty easy for me as I'm still a fairly novice baker. I have recently discovered that cinnamon is a migraine trigger for me, which is a huge bummer because it's in basically all of my favorite recipes. I'd love to hear your favorite quickbread recipes that don't include cinnamon, because I need some inspiration!
posted by radioamy to Food & Drink (24 answers total)

Best answer: Why not replace cinnamon with something like nutmeg or allspice?
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 6:19 PM on October 22, 2020 [16 favorites]

My mother hated cinnamon and used nutmeg instead.
posted by Enid Lareg at 6:19 PM on October 22, 2020 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Yeah, the good news is that leaving cinnamon out or switching it for something else won’t actually affect the overall recipe. Experiment with nutmeg, allspice, mace, cardamom, ginger, etc. You definitely want a little accent of something but it doesn’t have to be cinnamon!
posted by padraigin at 6:23 PM on October 22, 2020 [10 favorites]

The recipe I use for banana bread (Bon Appetit Best Banana Bread) doesn't call for cinnamon, but I was adding cinnamon and nutmeg, and vanilla extract, etc., and then one day I was in a rush and forgot/didn't care that I forgot, and I was surprised, we all liked it better without. I would encourage just leaving out the cinnamon. Actually, I have had the thought in the past that quick breads are too quick to add cinnamon, and had often reduced the amount called for in a recipe, I would leave out, add nutmeg and/or powdered ginger, possibly cardamom.
posted by dawg-proud at 6:25 PM on October 22, 2020 [5 favorites]

Black pepper is actually really great in baked goods that straddle the sweet/savory line.
posted by neroli at 6:28 PM on October 22, 2020 [5 favorites]

Ground cloves are another thing to throw into pumpkin bread, along with nutmeg and allspice.
posted by needs more cowbell at 6:28 PM on October 22, 2020 [1 favorite]

We've enjoyed this Food and Wine zucchini-chocolate chip bread recipe.
posted by warriorqueen at 6:38 PM on October 22, 2020

I would probably just leave the cinnamon out and not replace it with anything and be perfectly satisfied. In fact, I often do just that.

My favorite quickbread is this peanut butter bread:

3/4 c. peanut butter (I use smooth natural, but any type you like is fine.)
1/4 c. butter, softened
2 c. flour
1/2 c. sugar
2 t baking powder
1 t salt
1 egg
1 1/4 c. milk

Preheat oven to 375 F. Grease 9x5 loaf pan (or use a nonstick pan.) Beat peanut butter and butter until light and fluffy. Add dry ingredients and and blend with fork until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. In small bowl, beat egg slightly and stir in milk, then add to other ingredients. (Or just add the egg and milk to your main bowl and stir them together a bit before you start mixing them in.) Stir in egg and milk just until flour is moistened. Pour mixture into pan. Bake about 45-60 minutes, until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. (My recipe says 1 hour; I usually find it's done before that. The first time you make it, I'd check after 40 minutes.) Cool in pan on rack 10 minutes, remove from pan and cool on rack.

Variation: Decrease milk to 3/4 cup, add 1 cup mashed ripe bananas (2-3 medium.) Or add less banana if you want. For every 1/2 cup banana you use, take out 1/4 cup of milk.
posted by Redstart at 6:45 PM on October 22, 2020 [7 favorites]

Apricot Bread

1c granulated sugar
2T soft butter
1 egg
1/4c water
1/2c orange juice
2c flour
2t baking powder
1/4t baking soda
1t salt
1c dried apricots
1/2c chopped nuts

Cut up dried apricots (kitchen scissors work best); soak in water for 30 minutes, then drain. Mix sugar, butter, and egg. Stir in water and orange juice. Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, then add. Fold in apricots and nuts and pour into a lightly greased loaf pan. Bake 55-65 minutes at 350 degrees. Remove from loaf pan and cool completely before slicing.


This was my mother's recipe and I have found it endlessly variable. For example, I have substituted cranberries for the apricots, and used cranberry juice cocktail for some of the liquid, if I'm feeling fancy. (If the cranberries are chopped up, cut the liquid by a little bit.) And you don't even need a mixer to make it!

There is also this banana bread with lime glaze that is absolutely delicious and much better than any other banana bread I've ever had.
posted by DrGail at 6:49 PM on October 22, 2020 [4 favorites]

This walnut quick bread is delicious (especially toasted) and cinnamon-free!
posted by quatsch at 7:25 PM on October 22, 2020

I adore Nigella Lawson's chocolate tahini banana bread. Possibly richer/more cake-like than you're looking for, but fits the quickbread bill, involves no cinnamon, and is absolutely lovely.
posted by cabbage raccoon at 7:39 PM on October 22, 2020 [4 favorites]

I'm about to make strawberry buttermilk muffins. I'm using frozen strawberries, and I'm going to leave off the icing.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 7:39 PM on October 22, 2020

This Earl Grey cake bakes up like a champ.
posted by Pretty Good Talker at 7:43 PM on October 22, 2020 [3 favorites]

Also this cardamom buckwheat loaf.
posted by Pretty Good Talker at 7:45 PM on October 22, 2020 [3 favorites]

FYI - if your subbing cloves or nutmeg for cinnamon go waaay easy. A little clove and little nutmeg go a long way. You shouldn't replace the cinnamon in a recipe with the same amount of cloves or allspice.

nthing cardamom, it's very yummy. Powdered or candied ginger is also a nice addition to baked goods of all sorts.

You could also try different extracts or liquers - rum for banana bread, frangelico, cointreau, amaretto.

Or you could even try going the savory route.
posted by brookeb at 9:27 PM on October 22, 2020 [1 favorite]

Cranberry and Orange!

You may want to check out if true cinnamon (Ceylon cinnamon) is a close enough relative to be a trigger. Most cinnamon used in baking is actually cassia, a different tree altogether (they're related, but different, maybe different enough?). Ceylon cinnamon is more floral and less spicy. I like both in certain circumstances. You'll have to grind it, it's rarely pre-ground.
posted by furnace.heart at 9:50 PM on October 22, 2020 [2 favorites]

Yes use about half or a quarter as much nutmeg or allspice as a recipe calls for cinnamon (depending on how much you like each!). Mace (which is the coating covering a harvested nutmeg seed that you use for nutmeg!) you could probably swap out 1:1 because it is much less potent.
posted by urbanlenny at 10:29 PM on October 22, 2020

I was introduced to cardamom as the classic flavoring Danish pastry, so very appropriate. It and nutmeg are in the category of thing you should grind, or grate, immediately before using.

Biscuits and scones usually have no spices at all, but get served with jam, jelly, or preserves. We like the Betty Crocker corn bread recipe which is much lighter than the typical, butter-laden, southern cornbread.
posted by SemiSalt at 5:44 AM on October 23, 2020

I loved Bon Appetit's Swirled Tahini Tea Cake. I just used plain sesame seeds, not black, and didn't do the swirl, and it was still delicious. Don't skimp on the sugar/sesame topping; the cake isn't very sweet.
posted by punchtothehead at 5:59 AM on October 23, 2020 [2 favorites]

To add to the suggestions for replacing the cinnamon: almond extract. But be gentle. A little almond extract goes a long way. Similarly, you could go middle eastern with rose water.
posted by tmdonahue at 6:32 AM on October 23, 2020

If muffins and scones count as quickbreads, here are some of my favourite recipes (none with cinnamon):

Cheese and scallion scones
Blueberry buttermilk muffins
Lemon cranberry scones (also other flavour variations from the same site)

For the scones I always drop them with a 1/4 cup scoop instead of rolling them out, and I don't bother making the glaze for the lemon ones. I also usually replace the milk with buttermilk but that's not necessary.
posted by randomnity at 6:42 AM on October 23, 2020

A couple of recipes we like from Smitten Kitchen:

Perfect Blueberry Muffins (I make them without the lemon zest and don't put sugar on the tops.)

Dreamy Cream Scones (I usually don't put currants or any fruit in them, but I've sometimes made them with blueberries or raspberries instead of currants.)
posted by Redstart at 8:48 AM on October 23, 2020

You may also want to explore the world of savory quick breads. I've been riffing on this zucchini bread for a while now. I had to increase the leavening a bit and I add bacon and fresh chopped herbs. I've also made this beer bread a few times and it's good. I have another beer bread recipe but I can't find it my Pocket or with a quick Google. And I just came across this beer bread and it sounds wonderful.
posted by kathrynm at 6:32 PM on October 23, 2020

Best answer: Just don't put it in, man. It's fine not to follow recipes 100% you'll be fine.
posted by Freyja at 8:42 AM on October 24, 2020