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This Apple Bread is buttery, tender and cake-like. Loaded up with Fall flavors of cinnamon and nutmeg and bursting with apple in every bite. Sweetened with light brown sugar and a combination of fresh apples and apple sauce, this bread is perfect when served as a breakfast, snack or dessert. Enjoy all the flavors of Fall with this easy to make quick bread.
All about this apple bread…
This apple bread recipe is one of my all time favorite things to bake every Fall. Growing up we had an apple tree in our backyard. My mom would bake this bread every year. The smell of this bread baking, with the apples and cinnamon fills the house with a heavenly Fall scent, that is truer than any candle money can buy.
- Quick and Easy: this is a quick bread recipe, meaning no yeast is needed, this bread rises with baking powder and baking soda. Meaning this recipe can be ready to serve in 1 hour.
- Flavoring: the luscious combination of butter, light brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and apple give this bread a light richness that is sure to please.
- Texture: Soft and tender, yet sturdy enough to hold up to a nice smear of butter!
Ingredients Needed:
Notes on some ingredients:
- Apples: use a fresh apple, granny smiths give great flavor. Other options would include: Pink Lady, Gala or Fuji.
- Applesauce: use a non-sweetened version to avoid making the bread too sweet. This gives more wonderful apple flavoring, plus makes this bread extra moist and cake-like.
- Butter: using melted butter as the fat in this baked bread gives a smooth buttery taste to the bread. You of course can substitute with a non-dairy fat of choice if needed.
- Sugar: a combination of light brown and white sugar gives a nice balance of flavoring to the bread.
- Cinnamon & Nutmeg: wonderful Fall flavors that pair perfectly with the fresh, tart apple flavorings.
How to make (step-by-step):
- Combine Wet Ingredients: Stir together the melted butter, eggs, vanilla, apple sauce and sugars.
- Add in Shredded Apple: Stir the shredded apples into the wet ingredients.
- Combine Wet & Dry Ingredients: Combine wet and dry together to form a batter. Pour this into a prepared loaf pan.
- Bake: Bake in a 375 degree F oven for 50-60 minutes until golden brown on top and baked through.
Expert Tips:
- Apple Choices: My favorite apples to use in this recipe are Granny Smith. They have a wonderful tart flavor and hold up well when baking. You can use other types of apples such as Pink Lady, Gala or Fuji. Any large, firm apple will work. Avoid any soft apples since they will turn to mush.
- Cover with Foil if Needed: Due to the long baking time of the bread, if you notice that the top is becoming too browned, and the bread isn’t finished baking, create a tent of foil for the last 10 minutes or so. Check the bread using toothpicks or a 6 inch skewer, once it comes out clean then the bread is fully cooked.
- Baking Pan: I always use a non stick 8×4 loaf pan (affiliate link) These are the exact ones that I have in my kitchen. You can either line the pans with parchment paper, or spray with a non stick baking spray. If you’re using a different type of pan, such as glass, baking time may vary.
- Time: The best part is that this bread gets better over time. If you have some left over after the day it’s baked, wrap it up in some foil or other food safe wrapping, and leave it at room temperature. The next day the moisture of the bread makes it even more tender and enjoyable. Add a pad of melted butter and enjoy.
FAQS: Apple Bread
Yes, this apple bread freezes wonderfully. Cool the bread loaf completely, then wrap in foil and place in a large freezer plastic bag. Thaw completely at room temperature when ready to eat.
This bread can be made with either chopped or shredded apples. Peel and chop the two apples. Fold this into the bread batter instead of the shredded apples. The shredded apples blend into the bread, making it a smoother texture when baked, the chopped apples give you bites of juicy baked apple when eating the bread.
Granny Smiths are a great option when baking apple bread. They have a tart flavor which balances nicely with the sweetness of the bread making the bread not overly sweet. They also keep a great texture when baking, they hold their shape and don’t turn to mush.
Other recipes to try:
Apple Bread
Ingredients
- 2 cups green apple peeled & shredded
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup white sugar
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ cup melted butter melted and cooled
- ¾ cup applesauce unsweetened
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground nutmeg
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease a loaf pan and set aside.
- In a small mixing bowl add the eggs, vanilla extract, melted butter and applesauce. Stir until completely combined. Mix in the sugars. Stir until combined.
- In a large mixing bowl add the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Stir with a fork to combine. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir to combine. Add in the shredded apple and stir.
- Pour dough into prepared loaf pan. Bake at 375 degrees for 50-60 minutes, top will be golden brown. Check that it's cooked by inserting a toothpick in the center, once it's done cooking the toothpick will come out clean, no dough will be stuck on it.
- Allow bread to cool in pan for about 5-10 minutes. Turn upside down and remove bread loaf from pan and allow to continue cooling on wire rack.
- Store covered at room temperature for 3-4 days.
Video
Equipment
Notes
- Apples: use a fresh apple, granny smiths give great flavor. Other options would include: Pink Lady, Gala or Fuji.
- Applesauce: use a non-sweetened version to avoid making the bread too sweet. This gives more wonderful apple flavoring, plus makes this bread extra moist and cake-like.
- Butter: using melted butter as the fat in this baked bread gives a smooth buttery taste to the bread. You of course can substitute with a non-dairy fat of choice if needed.
- Sugar: a combination of light brown and white sugar gives a nice balance of flavoring to the bread.
- Leftovers: store in a sealed container at room temperature for 3-4 days.
- Freezing: bake & cool loaf, then wrap up and store in a freezer safe container or bag for up to 3 months. To thaw, place in the refrigerator overnight. If desired, bring to room temperature before serving, or heat in microwave briefly to reheat.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Recipe first published September 13, 2018. Updated September 9, 2022 with new images and information. Recipe is unchanged.
Photography by the talented @KJandCompany.co
All of your recipes are very delicious, I continuously look & watch for more every day. Please keep sharing them.
Muy buena receta
Easy quick very moist only complaint for us too much nutmeg but will cut measurement next time. Definitely a keeper.
What flour is best to use to be able to make it Gluten Free?
Swap with a 1:1 flour to make it gluten free.
Has anyone tried making this in the bread machine? If so please give me info.
Kristi
I just made this recipe and it is definitely a keeper! I used gala apples because that’s what I had on hand, and added 1/2 cup chopped walnuts. Mine was done after 55 minutes and I tented it with foil during the last 10 minutes of baking time. The taste and texture is phenomenal. Thank you for a great recipe!
Thank you so much Heather! I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe 🙂
This is a really tasty recipe that comes together easily. It’s pretty healthy too with subbing the unsweetened applesauce for the oil and though it doesn’t call for a ton of sugar, I still cut it down by half (1/4c white + 1/4c brown) and used a sweeter apple. I might even try leaving it out all together next time so that’s it’s a spiced but not sweet bread (but still sweetness from the apples), then anyone can add their own sweetness to it if they want, jelly or honey. Slices are good toasted the next day topped with butter, peanut butter, or cream cheese. I chose to grate my apples and they all sunk to the bottom, so next time I will chop instead as the recipe recommends. My apples were also a bit soft, and after re-reading the recipe notes, I see that it recommends avoiding soft apples. Next time the soft apples will go toward homemade applesauce and I’ll save the snappy apples for the chopped apples. 🙂 Thank you for a really nice recipe!
Move over Banana Bread