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This apple bread recipe is a soft, spiced quick bread loaf loaded with juicy cinnamon apples. Mix the batter in one bowl, then layer it into a pan with the cozy apple filling, and it’s ready for the oven in 10 minutes!
Moist Apple Bread Recipe
I love baking with apples. While treats like apple crisp are very fall-coded, apples are available year-round here, and one of my favorite ways to use them in everyday baking is in this moist, tender, sweet bread. This apple bread recipe is a quick bread, like banana bread or zucchini bread, meaning there’s no yeast or rising time. It’s a soft, spiced loaf with layers of juicy cinnamon apples, perfect with coffee or tea.
The Best Apple Bread Is Made Year-Round
- One bowl. I did away with mixing the wet and dry ingredients separately for this apple bread recipe. Making the batter in one bowl is quick, and cleaning up is even quicker.
- Quick and easy. This apple bread is as easy to make as a batch of applesauce muffins. It’s yeast-free, and you could even bake it as muffins!
- A sweet treat anytime. I love enjoying a slice of this apple bread with a homemade cinnamon dolce latte or matcha in the morning. It’s delicious as a sweet snack, too! Or, serve it à la mode with a scoop of ice cream for dessert.
Ingredients Needed
If you already have apples, the rest of the ingredients are easy to find in the fridge and pantry! Here’s what you’ll need to make this moist apple bread. Scroll to the recipe card for the complete measurements.
Apple Filling
- Apples – Peeled and chopped into bite-sized pieces. I use Granny Smith apples, but you can use any crisp-tart baking apple, like Pink Lady, Honeycrisp, or Fuji.
- Brown Sugar – To sweeten the apples and help them caramelize. Granulated sugar will work here, too.
- Spices – Ground cinnamon and nutmeg to season the apples and the batter.
Bread Ingredients
- Butter – Unsalted, softened to room temperature.
- Sugar – I use both brown and white sugar in the bread batter for flavor and added moisture.
- Eggs – At room temperature.
- Greek Yogurt – Sour cream is a good substitute.
- Vanilla – Use pure vanilla extract and not imitation. For a different flavor, try almond extract.
- Milk – Any kind.
- All Purpose Flour – Or try a variation with half whole wheat flour and half all-purpose, like in my whole wheat banana bread recipe.
- Baking Powder and Baking Soda – If your leavening is past its expiration date, buy fresh because the bread won’t rise.
Baking Tips
- Swap the spices. Instead of cinnamon and nutmeg in the bread dough and apples, try pumpkin spice or a gingerbread spice blend.
- Don’t overmix the bread batter. As with most baked goods, overmixing the batter results in a flat, dense loaf. Sifting the dry ingredients into the bowl with the wet ingredients helps to avoid overmixing.
- Test the bread for doneness. This apple bread is done when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Let the bread cool before serving. I know, it’s tempting to cut into that freshly-baked apple loaf while it’s still steamy. However, please resist. If you slice the bread while it’s warm, it may crumble due to the soft apples inside.
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Apple Bread
Ingredients
For the apples:
- 1½ cups Granny Smith apples, peeled and chopped
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
For the bread batter:
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- ⅓ cup Greek yogurt
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ½ cup milk
- 1¾ cup all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
Instructions
- Prepare the apples. Peel and chop your apples. Do not go with small cubes; aim for bite-sized pieces. Toss the apples with the sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Set aside.
- Prepare to bake. Heat your oven to 350ºF. Line your 9×5-inch loaf pan with parchment paper.
- Make the bread batter. Using an electric mixer, cream the butter with the granulated sugar and brown sugar in a large bowl. Add eggs, beating well after each addition. Add yogurt, vanilla, and milk, stir to combine.
- Add the dry ingredients. Using a mesh strainer or a sifter, sift the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, and baking soda over the liquid mixture. Stir until just combined.
- Assemble. Transfer half of the bread batter to the loaf pan. Add half of the apples on top. Pour the remaining batter over the apples, then add the remaining apples on top of the batter.
- Bake. Bake the bread for 60-70 minutes, covering it with aluminum foil halfway through baking.
- Serve. Remove the bread from the oven and let it rest in the pan for about 10 minutes, then transfer it to a wire rack to cool completely before slicing and serving.
Equipment
Notes
- Test it for doneness: Bread is baked when the inserted toothpick comes out clean.
- Best apples: You can use Granny Smith, Pink Lady, Honeycrisp, or Fuji apples.
- Swap the spices: Instead of cinnamon and nutmeg, you can use gingerbread spice mix. It is very flavorful.
- Let the bread cool: Do not slice the warm bread, or it will fall apart.
Nutrition
Nutritional info is an estimate and provided as courtesy. Values may vary according to the ingredients and tools used. Please use your preferred nutritional calculator for more detailed info.
How to Make Apple Bread
With only 10 minutes of mixing and prepping, homemade apple bread doesn’t get much quicker. Here’s a step-by-step with photos.
- Prepare the apples. Toss the chopped apples with brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
- Mix the wet ingredients. Cream the butter and sugars to start the bread batter. Mix in the eggs one at a time, then add the yogurt, vanilla, and milk.
- Add the dry ingredients. Next, sift the flour with cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, and baking soda over the wet ingredients. Stir the batter just until combined, but don’t overmix.
- Assemble. Pour half of the bread batter into a lined 9×5-inch loaf pan. Top the batter with half the apples, then add the remaining batter. Finish the bread with the remaining apples.
- Bake. Bake the bread at 350ºF for 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 minutes. Set a timer and cover the bread with foil halfway through, to keep the apples from burning.
- Cool. Allow the apple bread to cool completely before you slice it.
Make Muffins Instead
To make this recipe into apple muffins, layer the batter and apples into the greased (or lined) wells of a 12-well muffin pan. Fill each well about ⅔ full with batter before adding the final layer of apples on top. The baking time will need to be adjusted. I’d suggest baking at 375ºF for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.
Storing and Freezing
- At room temperature. Store the apple bread in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
- Freeze. To freeze the bread loaf (or slices), wrap it in a double layer of plastic wrap. Freeze it for up to 3 months. Thaw the bread at room temperature when it’s time to serve.
This was a disaster for me. You need a large LARGE loaf pan. I used a regular loaf pan that i use for all my loafs and it was not big enough. It overflowed in my oven makin a real mess and filling the house with smoke and setting of the smoke alarm. I needed to clean the entire oven. I wished the recipe would have stated that. The end result was oaky slightly burnt on the bottom but had good flavour.
Hi!
The recipe uses a 9×5-inch loaf pan (noted in the recipe card), which is the standard size for quick bread recipes. I know loaf pans can vary a bit from country to country, which could explain the overflow, but I’m not sure. Glad the flavor still turned out!