You will fall in love with this classic apple bread recipe, with sweet apple cinnamon flavor packed into each soft and delicious bite!
Frosted apple cinnamon bread
This moist apple quick bread is a perfect cozy Fall breakfast or snack.
It makes a wonderful holiday or thank you gift for friends and family, with a taste that reminds you of hot apple fritters, sweet apple cake, and a gooey frosted cinnamon roll, all at the same time.
In other words, this amazing recipe is pretty much impossible to resist!
There is no yeast required for the spiced cinnamon sugar apple loaf. And leftovers can be frozen for a rainy day or for Sunday meal prep to enjoy all week long.
The best part is that your entire kitchen will smell like classic Cinnabon and homemade apple pie, straight out of the oven.
You may also like Easy Cinnamon Rolls – 4 ingredients
Grandma’s apple bread
The recipe below is adapted from my grandmother’s famous Dutch apple bread.
Her homemade apple loaf cake was a family favorite when I was growing up. She served it at all of our holiday gatherings, because we would always beg her to make it!
Years later, it is still the best apple bread recipe I’ve ever found, with a full two cups of chopped apples packed into the batter and a cinnamon sugar swirl that makes this traditional apple treat completely irresistible.
Readers also love these Snowball Cookies
Above, watch the apple bread recipe video
Homemade apple loaf ingredients
The recipe calls for just a few basic ingredients you might already have at home.
You will need ground cinnamon, pure vanilla extract, flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, sugar, milk of choice, oil or applesauce, and finely diced apples.
I used Braeburn apples for the bread in the photos. Other varieties, such as Granny Smith, Honeycrisp, Pink Lady, or Fuji, are also fine to use.
Two cups of diced apple is equal to about two medium apples. You can either peel the apples or leave them unpeeled. It is entirely up to you.
Flours that work in this recipe include white (all purpose), spelt flour, or oat flour for a gluten free version. We have not tried almond flour or coconut flour here.
You can use regular sugar, brown sugar or coconut sugar, unrefined date sugar, or granulated erythritol or xylitol for a sugar free apple bread.
The naturally vegan apple bread is already pretty healthy, but for an oil free version you can substitute mashed banana, sour cream, or additional applesauce. It also works with softened almond butter in place of the oil.
*If you prefer an apple cake, try this easy Applesauce Cake
How to make apple bread
If you wish to make a cinnamon swirl topping, whisk the ground cinnamon into two tablespoons of the milk in a small dish, and set this dish aside.
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, and grease a standard 9×5 inch loaf pan. I often also cover the bottom of the pan with a piece of parchment paper, because this enables you to easily pop the loaf out after baking.
In a large mixing bowl, stir together the flour, sugar of choice, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and ground cinnamon if you are not opting for the swirl.
Add remaining ingredients, except for the reserved small dish. Stir until just evenly mixed. Smooth this apple bread batter into the prepared loaf pan.
Use a spoon to swirl in the optional cinnamon topping. Then bake on the oven’s center rack for fifty minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the bread comes out mostly clean.
Let the apple pastry cool. Once fully cooled, I like to cover the loaf pan loosely with a cloth and let it sit overnight on the counter or in the refrigerator.
The flavor and fluffy texture are even better the next day, after excess moisture escapes. If you go this route, be sure to leave a small opening when covering the loaf so it does not turn soggy and dense from the trapped moisture.
Refrigerate leftovers in a covered container after a day. The light and healthy apple bread should stay fresh for up to four days.
Or slice and freeze leftover bread in an airtight covered container for up to three months. Thaw before serving, and reheat in a microwave or toasted oven if desired.
While the cinnamon is out, make Healthy Blueberry Muffins
How do you serve the recipe?
The bread is good on its own. Or top it with almond butter, cream cheese, peanut butter, pumpkin butter, melted Coconut Butter, or your favorite vanilla frosting.
For Dutch or Amish apple bread: make a glaze by combining 1/2 cup powdered sugar with 1-2 tbsp milk of choice and optional 1 tbsp melted butter or coconut oil.
Feel free to change up the flavor by stirring in a handful of raisins or shredded coconut. Or try replacing some of the apples with diced pineapple instead.
Leftover apples? Make Apple Crisp Recipe or Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal
Apple Bread
Ingredients
- 2 cups finely diced apple
- 2 cups white, spelt, or oat flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 3/4 cup sugar, unrefined if desired
- 1 cup milk of choice
- 3 1/2 tbsp oil, or applesauce for low fat
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- You can either just add the cinnamon with the dry ingredients, or mix it into 2 tbsp of the milk and swirl that into the loaf right before baking (for a visual, see the recipe video above).Preheat oven to 350 F. Stir dry ingredients very well. Add remaining ingredients to form a batter, smooth into a greased 9×5 pan, and bake 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the apple bread comes out mostly clean. Let cool. I like to cover with a cloth overnight and serve the next day, because the flavor and texture are even better. Leftovers can also be sliced and frozen. If desired, frost with your favorite icing or the simple glaze recipe written out earlier in this post.View Nutrition Facts
Notes
Have you made this recipe?
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Sweet Quick Bread Recipes
Holly the Jolly Vegetarian says
Haha! I was just looking at your pumpkin banana bread recipe when I decided to browse your breakfast category and saw this. I made your apple muffins (baked them in a jumbo muffin pan) a month ago and they were delicious! Also, I finally tried your ultimate chocolate fudge pie. I died. That was by far the best recipe I’ve ever tried. Of course it is has to be made into 6 servings, because 8 is just too small:) One question; do you use a spelt starter for your recipes? I bought a bag of Arrowhead Mills organic spelt flour and tried to make your banana muffins (which I’ve had multiple success with using all purpose) but the spelt version turned dense and did not rise AT ALL. Is it just the brand or are you using a half and half mix? Thanks for this recipe and all of them.
CCK Media Team says
Thank you so much for trying all of those recipes! 🙂
Katie uses all spelt flour (not a mix) and hasn’t really found it to be dense so I’m not sure! We’ve definitely found whole wheat flour to be dense, and spelt is much lighter. (Katie uses Bob’s Red Mill.)
Christine says
Just started to make this but can’t find the temp that the oven should be at. Looks delicious!
CCK Media Team says
Oh sorry about that! Should be 350 F. We are fixing now.
Esther Fleischer says
Is there supposed to be applesauce in the ingredients? It says ‘oil or additional applesauce’ but there’s no entry for applesauce as a key ingredient.
CCK Media Team says
No other applesauce if not using the low fat version. We just updated it to make the directions more clear!
Susan Scott says
Hi there!
What kind of oil did you use and what kind of sugar? I know there’s lots of options but curious which ones you like for this recipe.
Thanks!
Susan
CCK Media Team says
Vegetable, coconut, or canola all work. We used sunflower oil for the bread in the photos. Katie made the loaf multiple times, with a few different sugar options, but I think the one in the photos is either white sugar or Sugar In The Raw.
Ashley says
I used a light olive oil and coconut sugar. Turned out delicious!
Lindsay says
So, it is Monday morning and I already ate half of the apple bread. So delicious. The cross between a cinnamon bun and apple fritter is spot on! I had no intention of baking when I woke up today, then I saw the recipe in my in box. It was worth it!
CCK Media Team says
Oh wow thank you so much for making it! 🙂
(Katie)
Taryn says
Do you let the loaf cool in the pan or do you take it out and leave it on a cooling rack?
CCK Media Team says
Cool in pan is best, because it will firm up as it cools so this way you won’t run the risk of it falling apart as you go to move it.
Aria says
I tried making this yesterday and baked for 55 min at temp. Pick came out fairly clean, as described in recipe. I took your advice- left it overnight to firm up! But it’s still very very moist this morning- incredibly delicious, but very moist (to the point that the knife isn’t clean when it cuts through). Did I use too much apple? Has anyone else experienced this?
tori says
I added an extra 1/2 cup apple and this did not happen. what I noticed is that the bread didn’t seem to cook completely evenly, and I think it may be because of the swirl. maybe that is why the instructions are to take out of oven when the toothpick is “fairly clean.” I took it out of the oven when the toothpick came out clean in much of the cake but still had a little cake on it in other parts.
Colleen Glisson says
Looks amazing but is there a way to make it added sugar free? Like would stevia work as a 1 to 1 in this recipe?
Lil' baker girl says
Stevia is much sweeter than sugar (if I remember correctly, it is 300× as sweet as sugar), so please don’t use stevia as much as sugar would be used, it would make the loaf awfully sweet!
Amanda Shapiro says
Gluten free work? Anyone know?
Anya says
Is it acceptable to make oat flour for this recipe by throwing old fashioned oats in a food processor? Second question: would whole wheat flour work or would it be too heavy? Thanks!
Ida says
I added a tsp of pumpkin spice into the dry ingredients, and swirled half a tsp of cinnamon in the milk – it worked great! Delicious and spicy!
Nina says
Hi and thanks for the fabulous recipe… I love your cake recipes and have never had a fail…. which milk do you use in the recipe? I thought about using Rude Health unsweetened Almond Milk (UK brand) or will it be too heavy… Finally, do you know how much 2 cups of flour weighs in grams? Big thanks.
CCK Media Team says
Hi Nina, it’s around 240g, and Katie uses almond milk so that should be fine 🙂
Agus says
Me too!
Lisa says
This looks so good!! I would like to try it, but I’m trying to cut back on sugar, and was wondering if you or anyone else reading this has tried using date sugar (or rather date powder?) instead of other sugars? I’ve heard it’s a healthier option than some other sugars. But am unsure if it would work in this recipe. Thank you in advance! Your recipes always look amazing. 🙂
CCK Media Team says
We don’t see why date sugar would not work. Be sure to report back if you try it 🙂
Mary Ann says
Can you use wheat flour?
CCK Media Team says
You can use regular all purpose flour. We have not tried it with whole wheat flour and think that would yield a very dense result but if you’re used to whole wheat baked goods then maybe you would still like it. Be sure to report back if you experiment!
Debbie lockhart says
Excellent! Followed the directions exactly. I made it without the frosting. Great for breakfast!
Moo says
Hi!Can we use brown sugar or erythritol instead of sugar? And can we use half almond flour and half oat flour? Thank you!
CCK Media Team says
Sorry we haven’t tried so really can’t say. Be sure to report back if you experiment with anything other than what we’ve tried!
jennifer lakind says
I am entirely new to gluten free baking substitutes. Can I use Bob Red Mill gluten free mix (mostly rice flour). I can’t use oats for this.
Alison says
The apple loaf came out great. I used 1/2 c sugar instead of 3/4 c and was plenty sweet (white sugar). Subbed 1/2 c whole wheat flour. I might add the cinnamon to the batter next time, and more of it.
CCK Media Team says
Thank you so much for making it!
Kathleen says
This apple bread is 5-star absolutely delicious! I’ve made it many times and it always comes out perfectly. To further enrich the nutrition (fiber and omega-3) I’ve recently added 2 flax eggs (2 tbls ground flaxseed mixed with 5 tbls of warm water) with excellent results. I usually mix a combination of flour for fun – spelt, oat and whole wheat pastry flour. Instead of oil I’ve used applesauce or banana and increased the cinnamon to 1 tsp (added to the flour) and an additional 1 tsp mixed with the 2 tbls of oat milk swirled into it. Sometimes I’ve added a lemon glaze (1/2 c powered sugar with 1+tbls lemon juice and zest) – incredible! When out of vanilla I’ve subbed almond extract. The cake is aromatic, moist, a satisfying crumb and a big hit! Thank you so much for this and all your wonderful recipes!
CCK Media Team says
Thank you so much! Your version sounds delicious 🙂
(Katie)
Leah says
Hey Alison, I will try your version since I’m looking to decrease the sugar! Did you find the whole wheat flour required more baking or yielded a more dense bread?
tori says
I doubled the amount of cinnamon based on another comment (I put half with the dry ingredients and the other half in the swirl), but the end result was still a bit bland. The one thing I did that was different from the video is add the apples at the end, so perhaps they didn’t get the cinnamoney goodness mixed in properly. I just didn’t consider the apples to be part of the “dry ingredients” to be mixed together first. I may make it again with even more cinnamon and possibly some other spices.
Faye Canalini says
I had 4 apples I needed to use before they went bad.I made this apple bread that is so good.Hubby does not like cinnamon but he took a bite that I offered and said oh this is good.
The cinnamon is perfect amount.I used apple sauce in place of oil.Thanks for the yummy recipe.
CCK Media Team says
Thank you so much for making it!
Julie says
I used maple syrup as sweetener. I ended up having to add more flour to thicken the batter. Next time, I will reduce the almond milk. I made them in mini loaves and cooked them 30-35 minutes. Yum!
Melinda Muyargas says
Tasted great! I actually substituted banana instead of most of the sugar.
T says
Hey Melinda, do you remember if you used just one medium banana, or 3/4 cup of mashed banana? Thanks so much!
Melinda says
I always do a 1:1 ratio when subbing banana for sugar.
Melinda says
I always do a 1:1 ratio when subbing banana for sugar. I’m guessing I used one banana and then used sugar for the rest to make it 3/4 cup total.
Simone says
I cannot wait to make this. It looks sooo delicious. How do you stay so small with all these sweets. You look amazing. All your recipes look wonderful, If you actually eat them and look the way you do, maybe I will start to make them and eat them with my mouth instead of just my eyes. Keep them coming.
Helen Catterall says
I made this tonight and it was absolutely delicious! Worked out perfectly using gluten free plain flour, 1 cup of sugar and a few apples that were past their best. I didn’t even bother with frosting and it was fabulous. Thank you from a UK mum of a multi-allergic boy and gluten-intolerant husband for your fantastic recipes 🙂
Michele says
Delish! I doubled the cinnamon, too! The hardest part was waiting for it to be baked all the way 😋
BEVERLEY Plante says
Can this be made with frozen apple slices?
Katelyn says
Could you use a liquid sweetener like maple syrup instead?
CCK Media Team says
Sorry we have never tried experimenting with it.
Adi says
Can you please start writing the recipes in grams too?
Measuring flour with cups is wildly inaccurate and for beginners bakers like me it can make a huge difference if we add or not the right amount of flour.
Thanks a lot in advance
Melody says
This was very good! I used the apple sauce instead of oil and whole wheat flour and it turned out great. Left in the oven for 60 minutes. Thanks Katie!
CCK Media Team says
Thank you so much for making it!
Diana Buccafurni-Huber says
I’ve made this bread multiple times and it is amazing. Is there any way to get directions (baking temp and time) for making these in a 12-count muffin pan? Thank you! Keep up the great work and awesome recipes!
CCK Media Team says
We don’t have a recipe for apple muffins on the blog yet so are unsure about baking time for this bread in a muffin pan, but maybe use this recipe with chopped apple instead of the berries? https://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/healthy-blueberry-muffins/
Michelle says
This recipe took forever to make! I only had about a cup of apples, so I halved the recipe, planning to turn it into muffins. I got all the way through without issue, until I got distracted and added the full amount of milk. Ugh! I was craving these muffins, so I forked out the apples and started again. Second time around, the batter looked so much more like the consistency of a quick loaf. Scooped it out into regular sized muffins about 3/4 full and baked for about 18ish minutes. Success! But I still had the leftover bowl of my failed apple muffin hopes and dreams, and I hate wasting food. I had a skillet out for another recipe so I tried making pancakes – and they actually turned out! Kind of. They weren’t light and fluffy with a perfect crispy-ish outside, but the taste was still wonderful! Thanks for making such resilient recipes! 🙂
Andrea Jones says
This was awesome! I used half almond flour and half oat flour (so for all asking about almond flour- it worked, at least a cup did!). I used 1/2 cup of maple syrup. I also added a couple scoops of protein powder based on previous suggestions using a liquid sweetener (if that is not your thing, I would add a little more flour). And, bc its May the Fourth, baked it in a Darth Vader pan for a fun breakfast. So good!
Christine says
I used one cup Einkorn flour and one cup sorghum flour, olive oil, coconut sugar and soy milk. I cut back the sugar to 1/2 cup and it was perfectly sweet. This turned out really good!
Tiff says
Insanely good! Went with the oil, used 50% cane sugar and 50% monk fruit and did the swirl in the milk but used 2 tsp cinnamon! Unfortunately I took it out about 5 mins too soon (seemed done!) and the inside middle
Was undercooked but still delicious
Larissa Stevenson says
This was SOOO good!! I used some leftover Granny Smith apples from a pie I had made a while ago, and it turned out just amazing!! I will definitely be making this again soon (:
CCK Media Team says
Thank you so much for making it 🙂
Stacie A says
Apples were ready on the tree so I decided to do an interesting experiment. I made two versions of this recipe. One with all of the standard bread ingredients listed, including white flour. And for the other version I did every sugar and calories saving option I could think of. I still did white flour and then substituted with Monk fruit sugar, applesauce, and cashew milk. The first recipe clocked in at over 1600 cal for the entire loaf and the second recipe was just over 600 cal for the entire loaf. The low-calorie loaf took about 25 minutes longer to cook and even then came out more like a gooey bread pudding which I happen to love but some people may not prefer. It also had a little bit of an artificial sweetener aftertaste but not as bad as some artificial sweeteners. In the end, they were very very different breads but to find a way to have a little treat for about 50 cal a slice was worth the experiment!
Jess says
Ridiculously good and easy to make! I made the applesauce version and other than adding a few dashes of nutmeg, ginger, and cardamom; and tripling the recipe to use up a bunch of apples, I followed the recipe as written. Speaking of tripling the recipe, how long should it keep well without freezing? I made it last night and plan to take to work tomorrow morning to share.
CCK Media Team says
This made us so happy :). It lasts around the same amount of time as a traditional quick bread, so probably 3-4 days for best freshness.
Jess says
Whoops, forgot to fill in the rating with my last comment! I hope this doesn’t mean I left zero stars and mess up the rating – everyone should make this bread!
Brandi Almario says
This is such a great recipe. I’ve made it with all oat flour and I’ve made with half oat and half white flour. Both times I used less sugar. Delicious!
Donna says
Used Almond soy milk added 1 tsp and 1tsp nutmeg and walnuts
Bill says
This is so fulfilling and delicious. My second go around I used one cup of almond flour, half cup of spelt, and a half cup of leftover oats from making homemade oat milk. Very moist but hard to fully cook in center. Still very yummy.
I was wondering if anyone has any other idea for oat mush from oat milk.
Mary says
Delicious! I used applesauce, and parchment paper instead of greasing the pan. I had to bake it an additional 10 minutes, but it’s *so* good!
CCK Media Team says
Thank you so so much 🙂
Rachel says
Turned out great! Thanks for the recipe!
CCK Media Team says
Thank you so much for making it 🙂
Michael C. says
I saw this recipe on Instagram and had it open on a tab on my phone for weeks. Today, as I was closing tabs,I decided to make the bread on a whim. I broke my usual rule of making a recipe exactly as written the first time. I had some pears to use up, so I had about 60/40 apples to pears. I used coconut sugar for a little lower glycemic index.
The bread came out great. I decided to make the glaze mentioned above. It tasted fine, but I wondered whether I should add something to punch up the apple flavor. I found a 1/4 cup of leftover Martinelli’s sparkling cider and used that in place of the milk in the glaze recipe and added 1/4 tsp of cinnamon and viola! Martinelli’s apple cider glaze. It was a great way to use up stuff and make a tasty morning treat. My wife raved about the glaze, do that was a win.
CCK Media Team says
Thank you so much for trying it!
Gretchen says
I made this and it was so good. I’m taking it to a friend who is vegan so I will be using Almond milk. Should I get sweetened or unsweetened for this recipe. If I get sweetened would I use less sugar?
CCK Media Team says
Hi, thank you so much for making it! We usually use unsweetened almond milk if baking with almond milk, but either will work, no need to reduce the sugar either way.
Stephanie Logan says
Yum! I subbed banana for the sugar, used canned coconut milk, and pressed pecan halves into the top. Warmed slices in the air fryer and butter on top…yum!!!!
CCK Media Team says
Your air fryer version sounds fantastic!
Erica says
What is your icing recipe? 😊
CCK Media Team says
Hi! We used the glaze recipe written out above the recipe box, under the heading “How Do You Serve It?” 🙂
Carol says
The best!!!
Bethany says
Amazing, so good!! I substituted honey for the sugar and cut back on the milk by 1/3 cup to balance out the liquid content. Cooked at 300F for 1:20. Sprinkled cinnamon sugar on top. So yummy and easy. Will make this again!
Robin Haruna says
I LOVE this recipe and make it all the time – wrap up slices and have it in freezer for quick breakfast. It is so good toasted! I’ve also made with rhubarb and also with rhubarb/strawberry combo. So, so good. Thank you!
Robin Haruna says
Ooops forgot to mention….I use only 1/2 cup sugar. I use my homemade cashew milk and applesauce. I don’t do the icing because I toast it. Really….try it.
Denise says
This turned out so good! I used whole wheat pastry flour, 1/2 coconut sugar and 1/2regular sugar and almond milk. I also did put the glaze on. And used apples from our apples trees.
I will definitely make this again.
CCK Media Team says
Thank you so much for making it!
Maria says
No eggs?
Anoeska says
Doesn’t need eggs 🙂
Maddy says
I love making this. So delicious.
Anoeska says
Made it today, stuc in a few dried cranberry’s on top, came out the oven delicious!
Everybody loved it! Thanks for the recipe!
CCK Media Team says
Thank you so much for trying it!
Kathy says
delicious! I added 1/2 cup chopped walnuts. so easy especially since I chopped the apples in the food processor
Lauren P says
I’ve never baked without eggs before so I was a little skeptical about how this would turn out, but this was delicious! I added more cinnamon (to my liking), used half apple sauce and half oil, and didn’t add the glaze (it was plenty sweet in its own). I may even use less sugar next time I make this. The only issue was mine took over an hour and a half to cook through but it was well worth the extra wait. Best part was you can eat the left over batter in the bowl 😋.
Emily says
This recipe has been a huge hit with my friends and family! It’s so sweet and moist it doesn’t need any icing.
Sara Deason says
Followed recipe including the applesauce substitute and the milk and cinnamon swirl at the end. Drizzled with milk and melted coconut oil glaze. In ten minutes, I am chopping up apples for another loaf. Everything is in your pantry! Just the right density and sweetness. I used white sugar but may use turbinado next time with a sprinkle of raisins. 350 degrees for 50 minutes in a gas stove = Perfection and a Forever Recipe!
Renee says
Can I substitute a cup of greek yogurt in place of the milk?
Sheila Wacks says
This is so delicious! The whole family loved it. I used 1/2 white whole wheat flour and 1/2 all purpose flour. Excellent.