50 Coffee Cake and Sweet Bread Recipes To Accompany Your Morning Cup

Caramel Apple Coffee Cake
Photo: Photo: Jennifer Davick

When you think of brunch, does your mind immediately turn to something sweet or savory? If you answered the first option, we've got great news: You're going to fall in love with our favorite coffee cake and sweet bread recipes.

A sweet tooth can't be ignored, so we've got you covered with our all-time best coffee cakes and sweet breads. Skip the trip to the bakery with easy homemade versions of your orders, like blueberry muffins, cinnamon coffee cake, and sticky sweet buns.

Nothing pairs better with a cup of hot coffee than a gooey orange roll or slice of classic banana bread. Picking out Christmas brunch this year will be easy with these sweet breads and coffee cakes. Get festive with our cranberry pull-apart bread or gingerbread muffins that the kids will love.

Spend your Saturday morning whipping up a decadent batch of monkey bread with homemade caramel sauce drizzled on top or make brunch ahead with a freezable pastry. Whatever recipe you choose, everyone will be happy with a little extra sugar on the breakfast table.

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Cream Cheese Banana-Nut Bread

Cream Cheese-Banana-Nut Bread
Photo: Beth Dreiling Hontzas

Enjoy banana bread without all the guilt with this healthy banana bread recipe. This wonderfully moist bread gets its rich texture not just from bananas, but from cream cheese also. It's a real treat to linger over with your morning cup.

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Lemon Tea Bread

Muffins and Bread Recipes: Lemon Tea Bread

This yummy, cake-like tea bread has a light lemon taste and is drizzled with a sweet citrus glaze. The delight of this dessert is that it rivals your best made pound cake. But the citrus glaze on this needs to be drizzled on cupcakes, homemade donuts, and those festive cake pops you have been planning to make.

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Coconut Almond Cream Cake

Apricot-Almond Coffee Cake
Southern Living

Add a bit of refreshing fruity flavor to your coffee cake with apricot preserves. Slivered almonds and a vanilla glaze complete this easy breakfast treat. This is one of those tall layer cakes that will impress anyone who is lucky enough to have a slice.

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Easy Orange Rolls

Easy Orange Rolls
John O'Hagan

Your family will definitely want to rise, shine, and dine when they smell these Easy Orange Rolls baking in the oven. In fact, this might be the perfect morning treat to get many more people out of bed and into your kitchen. Try making these during a holiday when you have a full house.

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Praline Pull-Apart Bread

Brunch for a Crowd Praline Pull-Apart Bread
Beth Hontzas

Make this delicious bread for special occasions. It's easy to fix with frozen bread dough, and a caramel-flavored sauce poured on top makes it irresistible. The secret to the smooth texture of the sauce is the quick step of whipping the cream before stirring in the brown sugar.

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Hummingbird Bundt Cake

Hummingbird Bundt Cake
Photo: Jennifer Davick

From pineapple to cream cheese, the same ingredients first featured in the 1978 version of this popular layer cake still shine in our new version—simplified by baking in a Bundt pan. The cream cheese glaze is your favorite old school flavor from Grandma's kitchen, perfect for sugar cookies and brownies, too,

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Bakeshop Blueberry Muffins

Bakeshop Blueberry Muffins
Southern Living

Bake this coffee shop staple at home with just 10 minutes of hands-on time. These delightful morsels come together so quickly, we advise making two batches. Save the fresh muffins for a week of grab 'n go breakfast, and freeze the other batch for a future of coffee dates with yourself.

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Piña Colada Quick Bread

Piña Colada Quick Bread
Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall

This bread recipe would make the prettiest centerpiece for your weekend brunch. The crispy toasted coconut chips that top this festive loaf are the "Dang!" brand of coconut chips and can be found at many local grocers. If your scavenger hunt for these comes up empty handed, use flaked coconut or sliced almonds instead.

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Cream Cheese Pastries

Brunch for a Crowd Cream Cheese Pastries
Alison Miksch

This dessert-for-breakfast is sure to impress. Your breakfast companions will be sure you ran out early in the morning to find baked goods. Our Test Kitchen developed this recipe to make four loaves, so you can make one for your grateful family and guests, and give the rest to neighbors and workmates during the holidays.

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Caramel Apple Coffee Cake

Caramel Apple Coffee Cake
Photo: Jennifer Davick

When it gets chilly outside, we look for any excuse to have our house smell like the flavors of fall. You might even want a crisp apple wrapped in comforting caramel. This coffee cake satisfies that craving and so much more.

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Gingerbread Muffins

Gingerbread Muffins
Micah A. Leal

These sweet bites are complete with a topping of cream cheese frosting Whether you need help getting in the holiday spirit or you simply want a taste of one of winter's most beloved flavors, our gingerbread muffins will do the trick!

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Apple Butter-Pecan Quick Bread

Apple Butter-Pecan Quick Bread
Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Mary Clayton Carl Jones; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall

With just 20 minutes of hands-on time, this apple bread is easy to throw together. The hard part is waiting the hour for it too cool once you take it out of the oven. This bread recipe starts with homemade slow-cooker apple butter and ends with a happy and full family!

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Air Fryer Donuts

Air Fryer Donuts
Photography and Styling: Caitlin Bensel

Recipe: Air Fryer Donuts

There's nothing your Air Fryer can't do, including whipping up a batch of sweet, buttery donuts. These are so easy and fun your young children will want to give you hand and, since air frying does not involve the use of hot oil, this is a safe baking project for little hands.

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Peach Scones

Peach Scones
Micah A. Leal

Instead of making a bakery run, whip up these scones that only take 25 minutes of hands-on time. These are both fluffy and moist, just as a scone should be. We suspect you will become so good at making this recipe, ordering a scone at your local coffeehouse will become unnecessary.

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Chocolate Monkey Bread

Chocolate Monkey Bread
Jennifer Causey; Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall; Prop Stylist: Claire Spollen

Frozen dough speeds up this super-sweet monkey bread recipe. It's almost a pull-apart donut cake, as noted by our Test Kitchen staff. The caramel-chocolate glaze takes it over the top and into your regular recipe rotation.

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Carrot Cake Cinnamon Rolls

Carrot Cake Cinnamon Rolls
Micah A. Leal

How much do we love carrot cake? This breakfast recipe adds to the ways. While we happily endorse a slice of carrot cake in the morning, it's more fun to add cinnamon rolls packed with the spices and ingredients for your favorite carrot cake to the menu. 

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Cinnamon Coffee Cake

Cinnamon Coffee Cake
Antonis Achilleos

Recipe: Cinnamon Coffee Cake

This sweet and easy coffee cake recipe can be enjoyed year round, whether for Saturday brunch or a new neighbor. The sweet, crunchy streusel—which would also be divine on muffins, by the way—is balanced by a sour cream mixture that keeps the sugar from going off the charts. This is one of those tried and true results that will end your search for the perfect coffee cake.

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Sour Cream Banana Bread With Pecan Streusel Topping

Sour Cream Banana Bread With Pecan Streusel Topping
Victor Protasio

Instead of turning to your usual banana bread recipe the next time you have overripe bananas on the counter, try this moist recipe for something out of the ordinary. A bit of stirring, an hour of baking, and you'll have a delicious loaf of banana bread that's ready to share with hungry visitors. The pecan streusel will have you craving pie as a side.

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Any-Berry Muffins With Cornmeal Streusel

Any-Berry Muffins with Cornmeal Streusel
Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling; Kathleen Varner; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall

We love the versatility of this muffin recipe that pairs perfectly with your morning cup of coffee. You can satisfy your own personal preference for berries with the flexibility of the ingredients. Make a batch of just strawberry, or select the ever-favorite blueberry. Or, if you're lucky enough to have beautiful berries in season, choose a tri-berry muffin that checks off all your berry boxes.

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Apple Cider Doughnuts

Apple Cider Doughnuts
Micah A. Leal

Recipe: Apple Cider Doughnuts

We can't think of a more fun fall baking project than these cakey apple cider doughnuts. Since no yeast is used in making these doughnuts, you only have to wait a total of 30 minutes for the dough to chill before frying. If you don't have a fryer on hand, a Dutch oven or a large sturdy pot will work just fine.

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Bananas Foster Coffee Cake With Vanilla-Rum Sauce

Bananas Foster Coffee Cake with Vanilla-Rum Sauce
Alison Miksch

Dive into a New Orleans mainstay dessert at breakfast with this totally decadent coffee cake recipe. When you're pairing breakfast sweet bread with coffee and you take your love of sweetness this far, you are definitely going to need a strong cup! We suggest you seek out a New Orleans brand of Joe such as chicory coffee.

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Apple Butter Cinnamon Rolls With Apple Cider Glaze

Apple Butter Cinnamon Rolls with Apple Cider Glaze
Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Mary Clayton Carl Jones; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall

There really isn't any butter in apple butter, it is simply a highly concentrated form of apple sauce produced by slow cooking apples to the point where the natural sugars caramelize. These sweet rolls can be prepped in advance and frozen to make your life easier the day you're serving.

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King Cake Monkey Bread

King Cake Monkey Bread
Southern Living

Create a totally new way to enjoy this Mardi Gras treat with just a few pantry staples. King Cake might seem like an undertaking, but with this version you won't feel too pressed to be so on top of your baking game. The secret is using a can of pre-made cinnamon roll dough.

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Nutella Banana Bread

Nutella Banana Bread
Micah A. Leal

Chocolate covered bananas never tasted so good. There's no doubt that a swirl of Nutella takes your go-to banana bread over the top. You know this is going to taste perfect with that cuppa, but we highly advise keeping a tall ice cold glass of milk on standby.

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Cinnamon Sugar Pull-Apart Bread

Cinnamon Sugar Pull-Apart Bread
Greg Dupree; Prop Styling: Cindy Barr; Food Styling: Chelsea Zimmer

This is one of those make and bakes whose presentation is just as delightful as its taste. The layers are buttery with a light golden crumb. Making this beautiful pull-apart bread is such a fun way to spend an afternoon with the kids.

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Fresh Peach Coffee Cake With Pecan Streusel

Fresh Peach Coffee Cake with Pecan Streusel
Photo: Iain Bagwell; Prop Styling: Mindi Shapiro Levine; Food Styling: Torie Cox

Time for your monthly friends brunch potluck? Juicy, fresh peaches make for the best texture when mixed with a crunchy streusel and soft cake. It will fill your home with fragrant cinnamon and cardamom, perfect partners for the sweet, juicy peaches that take center stage in the recipe.

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Cherry-Pecan Swirl Bread

Cherry-Pecan Swirl Bread
Greg Dupree; Prop Styling: Cindy Barr; Food Styling: Chelsea Zimmer

Topped with a simple citrus glaze, this gorgeous bread recipe is wow-worthy. The process will remind you of how important kneading can be, even for sweet bread. It's easy to take pleasure in the first meal of the day when it tastes this good.

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Banana Cream Donuts

Banana Cream Donuts
Micah A. Leal

Recipe: Banana Cream Donuts

Your trip to the donut shop just got as close as your own home kitchen. These pillowy donuts are filled with a homemade banana cream mixture that starts with a packet of instant banana pudding mix from the pantry. The sweet effort comes in crafting the flaky brioche dough, making you feel like the home kitchen bakery you just opened is decidedly French.

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Sorghum-Pecan Monkey Bread Muffins

Sorghum-Pecan Monkey Bread Muffins
Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Kathleen Varner; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall

Who knew your muffin tin could do so much? Instead of slicing a Bundt cake, ensure every family member gets a personal dessert with this recipe. Sorghum is a grain that lends a mild, earthy flavor that is pleasing as well as gluten-free.

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Buttermilk Breakfast Scones

Buttermilk Breakfast Scones
Southern Living

We're bringing this retro scone recipe back, and it's better than before. This little treat goes from formal brunch to casual coffee with friends. And when buttermilk is involved, the moisture is off the charts goodness.

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Citrus Pull-Apart Bread

Citrus Pull-Apart Bread
Hector Sanchez; Styling: Caroline M. Cunningham

This is the bright loaf of bread that should be greeting you in the morning. Honey, nutmeg and lemon juice bring light layers of spiced sweetness onto your plate, satisfying that need to balance your coffee. Just add a sunrise, and this breakfast goes down just right.

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Mini Bananas Foster Sticky Buns

Mini Bananas Foster Sticky Buns
Photo: Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Christine Keely; Food Styling: Tina Bell Stamos

Taking a short cut in this case gets these sweet flavors to your family in no time, and they will raise their coffee cups in your honor. Instead of waiting for bread to rise, get brunch on the table quickly with this recipe that starts with refrigerated crescent rolls. This is another reliable way to be those slightly too-ripe bananas get used.

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Fig Bread

Fig Bread
Victor Protasio; Prop Styling: Heather Chadduck; Food Styling: Erin Merhar

Figs might star on your Friday night cheeseboard but give them a spot in the brunch spread with an easy but pretty bread recipe. Dotted with dried figs and made with a hint of orange zest, this fig cake's flavor is uniquely delicious. The next time you want to give someone a "happy" or you're hosting brunch, turn to this fig bread recipe.

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Sausage-Stuffed Honey Buns

Sausage-Stuffed Honey BunsSausage-Stuffed Honey Buns
Iain Bagwell

This recipe combines the best of your favorite sweet and savory brunch dishes. The ultimate ode to the sausage and pancake breakfast, this delight hits all the high notes. Wash it down with your favorite coffee blend and you've got the right fuel for your fun-filled day.

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Pumpkin Bread

Pumpkin Bread
Micah A. Leal

Pumpkin bread should always have a handful of things: a mixture of fall spices, some kind of oil in the batter, and pure pumpkin puree. Melted butter lends richness to the bread and melted coconut oil keeps the interior of the loaf moist and soft. This is autumn, embodied, but we hope you throw it together any time you need a satisfying coffee pairing.

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Mini Pecan Monkey Bread Loaves

Mini Pecan Monkey Bread Loaves Recipe
Victor Protasio; Prop Styling: Mary Clayton Carl; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall

These personal mini loaves are much more hygienic than everyone grabbing off the same large loaf. Think of them as the perfect hand held treat for a cold tailgating morning. Hot brewed coffee served up with just the right balance of sweetness and nutty flavor is simply irresistible.

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Snickerdoodle Doughnut Hole Muffins

Snickerdoodle Doughnut Hole Muffins
Alison Miksch; Prop Styling: Buffy Hargett Miller; Food Styling: Torie Cox

Twenty-four muffins in less than an hour? Count us in! Not only does this recipe yield a decent amount, it celebrates the flavors of the most underrated cookie we know: the humble snickerdoodle. Everyone loves them, and these muffins are a tasty reminder of that classic cookie.

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Homemade Orange Rolls

Homemade Orange Rolls
Greg Dupree; Prop Styling: Heather Chadduck Hillegas; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall

Skip the freezer aisle and try a new baking project this weekend with our orange rolls recipe. If you have never made homemade sweet rolls before, you will be so amazed at how easily these come together. You don't need a canned or frozen roll anymore.

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Homemade Pop Tarts

Homemade Pop Tarts
Micah A. Leal

The kids will be thrilled to see these buttery pastries on their breakfast plates, and when they take a bite, even they will know there is something better about your version. Is it smart to make these and offer them up? Just be careful. You will be asked to make them on the daily.

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Apple Bread

Apple Bread
Micah A. Leal

Made with a base of applesauce and eggs instead of butter and sugar, this apple bread recipe is surprisingly healthier. That doesn't mean there will be leftovers. When paired with a hot cup of coffee, you and everyone else at the table are going to want seconds.

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Best-Ever Sticky Buns

Spicy Sausage-and-Cheddar Kolaches
Greg DuPree; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall

Our Test Kitchen doesn't call a recipe the "best ever" for no reason: These sweet buns are the ultimate make-ahead breakfast. It wouldn't be a bad idea to consider these for a special occasion brunch or birthday morning nosh.

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Raisin Bread

Raisin Bread
Southern Living

Making any type of homemade bread requires a genuine labor of love. It's an arduous process making the dough from scratch. Then you must knead and pound it to guarantee that the dough will rise properly. This raisin bread recipe makes two loaves, so be ready to make one and freeze the other or give it to Mama to brighten her day.

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Banana Bread

Banana Bread
Southern Living

With just a few pantry staple ingredients and 15 minutes of hands-on time, this recipe is as simple and no-frills as it gets. This simple traditional banana bread will wow your family and friends with its moist texture and wonderful banana flavor. Topped with a pat of melty butter, this classic banana bread pairs beautifully with a hot mug of coffee or tea.

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Apple Butter Doughnuts with Salted-Caramel Glaze

Apple Butter Doughnuts with Salted-Caramel Glaze
Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Mary Clayton Carl Jones; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall

Make this doughnut dough up to two days in advance and enjoy a warm fall treat whenever you're ready. Slow-Cooker Apple Butter adds exceptional sweetness and seasonal spice flavors to these doughnuts. Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar, or drizzle with the salted caramel glaze.

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Caramel-Glazed Monkey Bread

Caramel-Glazed Monkey Bread
Iain Bagwell

This monkey bread recipe starts with rolling a simple homemade dough in cinnamon sugar and ends with a drizzle of caramel sauce. The sugary crust is an extra bonus, and the way it tastes with coffee will have your family asking when you will make it next. Your answer? "Tomorrow."

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Pumpkin-Honey-Beer Bread

Pumpkin-Honey-Beer Bread
Alison Miksch; Styling: Lydia Degaris Pursell

This delicious combination of fall flavor is set off with a simple swipe of butter, bringing rich flavor to your serving. This is also the base for our Pumpkin-Honey-Beer Bread Pudding recipe. Needless to say, we are here to convince you that pumpkin, honey and beer go together.

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Blueberry Streusel Muffins

Blueberry Streusel Muffins
Southern Living

Do you want a streusel topped coffee cake or a muffin for breakfast? This quick recipe gives you both of those! You can make these muffins all year round with fresh or frozen blueberries. These muffins freeze well and need to be at the top of your freezer's muffin inventory.

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Orange Rolls

Orange Rolls
Southern Living

The orange roll is a staple at the Southern breakfast table. These are filled with orange marmalade and topped with a sweet glaze, bringing this beloved breakfast item to new heights. Enjoy these tender and buttery spirals with your favorite cup of coffee.

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Apple Muffins

Caramelized Apple Toffee Muffins
Stephen Devries; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall

Make a batch of these soft apple muffins on Sunday and enjoy them throughout the week. Although the recipe calls for Fuji apples, our Test Kitchen professionals agreed that any apple variety works. A tip from the Test Kitchen: Don't over-work these muffins—they only need mixing until it is just combined, which helps keep them super soft.

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Biscuit Cinnamon Rolls

Biscuit Cinnamon Sweet Rolls
Alison Miksch

With just 20 minutes of hands-on time, this recipe is so much simpler to make than it looks. Without yeast, these lovelies will be on the table in less than an hour. While they are cooking, you can make the easy 3-ingredient glaze to drizzle on the rolls while they are warm just after they come out of the oven.

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