This apple cinnamon bread is buttery moist and cake-like with plenty of apples dotted in each slice. Tossing the juicy apples in brown sugar and cinnamon before layering and swirling in the loaf pan is an important step. Assembling the loaf this way adds pockets of sweet cinnamon swirl and keeps the batter light. There’s so much flavor from swirling in the brown sugared apples that you really don’t need icing or a crumb topping. Still, if you want to try either, I recommend the crumb topping from peach bread and the brown sugar icing from these pumpkin donuts or even a salted caramel drizzle.
1 loaf disappears FAST!
Let me teach you how to make your next favorite recipe. I’ll walk you through what to expect before explaining my recipe testing trials and tribulations. (All very worth it!)
One reader, Edie, commented: “Forget those other fall flavored quick breads, this is the one you need to make! Sally, I followed your recipe exactly and this is SO SCRUMPTIOUS! The bread is light and somewhat fluffy, not dense like many other quick breads. The delicious layer of cinnamon apples takes this recipe to the next level. It’s like apple pie hugged by cinnamon bread. This is definitely the family’s new fall favorite. Thanks, Sally! ★★★★★“
Apple Cinnamon Quick Bread Details
- Flavor: The notable stars of this quick bread recipe are, you guessed it, cinnamon and apples. The bread’s crumb tastes like buttery cinnamon nutmeg spice cake, so you get a flavor punch even without the apples. Toss the apples in brown sugar and more cinnamon before layering into the loaf pan. These brown sugared apples add sweet, spiced, and moist swirls throughout the loaf as if we were indulging in apple cinnamon babka. (If you have the time and are up for a challenge, that recipe is a must make!)
- Texture: Have you ever tried this blueberry muffin bread? The texture of today’s apple cinnamon bread is similar—soft and moist, yet sturdy enough to hold a slice with your hand when you take a bite. And thanks to the liquid from the brown sugared apples seeping to the sides, the bread’s edges crisp up beautifully in the oven. (The top of the loaf stays pretty soft.)
- Ease: This apple bread recipe comes together with basic baking ingredients like butter, sugar, flour, and eggs. Applesauce is likely the only “special” ingredient, but if you don’t have any, sour cream makes a fine substitution. Just like banana bread, creamed butter + sugar is the base, so an electric mixer is certainly helpful. Overall, this is an easy fall baking recipe that bakers of any skill level can manage.
See my entire collection of Fall Baking Recipes including my must-make apple cake and apple cupcakes.
Why This Apple Cinnamon Bread Recipe Works
When I first visualized this recipe, I pictured an apple cider bread—sounds good right—almost like apple cider donuts baked in a loaf pan. I reduced the apple cider and added shredded apples to the batter. The loaf was good, but it ended up tasting exactly like harvest spice bread. I added more spices, used more apple cider, but I closed the book on my efforts because the apple and apple cider flavors were slight. Feeling determined, I tried again with creamed butter + sugar as the base of the bread. Chocolate chip loaf cake was my starting point and I swapped chocolate chips for cinnamon-tossed apples. Sadly, the loaf was squat, pale, and wet.
About to throw in the towel—are you even still reading this?—I tried 1 more time. Forget determination, I was just plain stubborn at this point but we can call it strong-willed. I reduced the butter, added some baking soda for color and lift, added more apples, tossed them in brown sugar, closed the oven and crossed my fingers.
IT WORKED! So about 14 loaves and 200 words later, here we are. The recipe ended up being a cross between the chocolate chip loaf cake mentioned above and blueberry muffin bread. It’s tested and tight with flavorful and delicious results. And it certainly speaks volumes that I’m willing to make this bread on repeat after quite the journey getting here!
Overview: How to Make Apple Cinnamon Bread
Let me show you how to make this apple cinnamon bread. Despite the saga above, it truly is an easy recipe. First, chop 1-2 peeled apples into 1/2 inch chunks and then toss them in brown sugar and cinnamon. Do this step first so the apples have time to absorb some of the brown sugar and cinnamon flavors. We’ll layer and swirl them into the loaf pan soon.
I really want to show you the next two photos so you don’t get nervous when it’s your turn to bake the bread. On the left, you can see that the batter looks curdled. This is normal and expected. At this point, you’re trying to combine creamed butter and sugar with eggs, applesauce, and vanilla extract. Even though they are all brought to room temperature, these wet ingredients have different textures. Once you add the dry ingredients and begin mixing in the milk, the batter comes together. Have no fear!
Why Layer & Swirl the Apples? Instead of folding the fruit right into the batter, layer and swirl them in the loaf pan. We do this same step in peach bread and there’s a few reasons why. (1) By doing this, you get pockets of sweet cinnamon and apple swirl inside a cinnamon spiced bread. (2) You also have the chance to introduce brown sugar into the loaf. When using brown sugar as the base of the bread (creaming with butter), the loaf had a heavier texture. And (3) the test loaf made with apples directly folded into the batter was quite wet (not just moist).
It’s almost like we’re making cinnamon swirl banana bread or cinnamon swirl quick bread, but today’s recipe has a lovely buttery base! If you’d rather make muffins, use my apple cinnamon muffins recipe instead because it’s quite similar. (Would be hard to swirl apples into such a tight space!) Or try these healthy apple muffins for a wholesome option using whole wheat flour and no refined sugar. Want to add some zucchini? Try this apple zucchini bread next!
And one more piece of advice before you start:
What Are the Best Apples to Use for Baking?
Firmer apples are ideal for baking so avoid soft, mealy, and mushy apples. If you’re baking a recipe that calls for many apples such as apple crisp, apple cobbler, or apple crumble pie, use a mix of tart apples and sweet apples. This apple cinnamon bread only needs 1 or 2 apples, so it’s fine to use tart OR sweet. I use Granny Smith because overall, its flavor and texture are the best for baking. I also love sweet apples in this bread like Honeycrisp, Fuji, and Pink Lady. For a more detailed list, I have a full post explaining the best apples for baking.
Apple Cinnamon Quick Bread
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 70 minutes
- Total Time: 3 hours, 45 minutes (includes cooling)
- Yield: 1 loaf
- Category: Bread
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
This apple cinnamon bread is buttery moist and cake-like with plenty of apples dotted in each slice. You can use tart or sweet apples in this loaf, but avoid soft and mushy apples. Feel free to turn this recipe into muffins or mini loaves. See recipe notes below.
Ingredients
Apples
- 1 and 1/2 cups (180g) peeled & chopped apples (1/2 inch chunks; you need about 2 medium apples)
- 1/3 cup (67g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Batter
- 1 and 3/4 cups (219g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup (8 Tbsp; 113g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 3/4 cup (150g) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1/3 cup (80g) unsweetened applesauce, at room temperature*
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup (120ml) whole milk, at room temperature
Instructions
- Adjust the oven rack to the lower third position (just below center) and preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Spray a 9×5-inch loaf pan with nonstick spray.
- Apples: Stir the apples, brown sugar, and cinnamon together. Set aside.
- Batter: Whisk the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl. Set aside. Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle or whisk attachment, beat the butter and granulated sugar together on high speed until smooth and creamy, about 3 minutes. (Here’s a helpful tutorial if you need guidance on how to cream butter and sugar.) Add the eggs and then beat on medium speed until combined. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl as needed. Beat in the applesauce and vanilla extract on medium speed until combined. Mixture will look chunky and curdled—this is normal and expected. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, turn the mixer on low speed and with the mixer running, slowly pour in the milk. Beat just until combined and do not overmix. You may need to whisk it all by hand to make sure there are no lumps at the bottom of the bowl. The batter will be sticky and slightly thick. You’ll have about 3 cups of batter.
- Pour and spread about 1/2 of the batter into the bottom of the prepared loaf pan. Spoon apples and any cinnamon/brown sugar juices leftover in the bowl evenly on top. Pour and spread remaining batter on top, making sure to scrape out every last drop of batter. Using a knife, swirl the batter down the center of the loaf pan.
- Bake for 60-75 minutes, loosely covering the bread with aluminum foil at the 30 minute mark to help prevent the top and sides from getting too brown. This is a large heavy loaf, so if your bread is taking longer, that’s completely fine. A toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf will come out clean when the bread is done. Begin checking at 60 minutes. Mine takes 70 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow the bread to cool completely in the pan set on a wire rack.
- Once cooled or nearly cooled, cut into slices and serve. (Bread falls apart if you try to slice it when it’s warm.)
- Cover and store bread at room temperature for up to 2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Freezing Instructions: Freeze baked & cooled loaf for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator. If desired, bring to room temperature before serving. To learn more details about how to freeze quick breads, see my post called Make-Ahead Baking.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Apple Peeler | 9×5-inch Loaf Pan | Glass Mixing Bowls | Whisk | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Cooling Rack
- Apples: This apple cinnamon bread only needs 1 or 2 apples, so it’s fine to use tart OR sweet. Avoid soft, mushy apples. I use Granny Smith because overall, its flavor and texture are the best for baking. I also love sweet apples in this bread like Honeycrisp, Fuji, and Pink Lady.
- Applesauce: If you don’t have unsweetened applesauce, use the same amount of plain yogurt or sour cream.
- Muffins: Use my apple cinnamon muffins recipe. The recipe is very similar to this one. Feel free to substitute the yogurt in that recipe with applesauce. If you love nutmeg, add 1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg to that batter when you add the cinnamon.
- Mini Loaves: You can use this batter to make mini apple breads. Follow the recipe above as written, dividing the batter/brown sugared apples between your mini loaf pans. Swirl batter and apples together as instructed above. Bake time and yield depends on the size of your mini loaf pan. Use a toothpick to test for doneness.
Reader Comments and Reviews
I decided to make this today and it came out perfect! Definitely a keeper for apple picking season. I used greek yogurt and almond milk since I always have them on hand.
This is an amazing recipe! I had so much fun baking it and my whole family LOVED it!
I have a general bread/muffin question though: Why should you not overmix the batter, and how much mixing is too much? (I mix all my batters by hand)
Thank you!
Hi Taylor, what a great question. Over-mixing the batter, at any point, can deflate it which means your bread/muffin/cake won’t rise as tall OR will rise and then collapse in the oven or while it cools. Glad you enjoyed this apple cinnamon bread!
love this bread! i used almond milk instead and it came out great! it definitely stays together better once its been chilled, but it tastes amazing no matter its form lol thanks for another great recipe!
Baked this delicious bread with great results! Substituted Greek yogurt for the applesauce and added a little nutmeg and lemon juice to the apples. Also reduced the sugar to 125 g. My loaf pans are glass and measure 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 but I managed to fit it all in and it rose right to the top. Baked at 325 for 75 minutes. Will definitely make again!
Forget those other fall flavored quick breads, this is the one you need to make! Sally I followed your recipe exactly and this is SO SCRUMPTIOUS! The bread is light and somewhat fluffy, not dense like many other quick breads. The delicious layer of cinnamon apples takes this recipe to the next level. It’s like apple pie hugged by cinnamon bread. This is definitely the family’s new fall favorite. Thanks, Sally!
My kids and I were sick last week and into the weekend, so finally on Sunday when I felt *a bit* better, I made this bread cause I’ve been thinking about it since you published it! It’s a little more involved for “quick” bread but definitely worth every step! We loved it. I asked my husband last night if he wanted a slice, and he said “sure. With ice cream”. (I didn’t marry him for no reason, the man is a genius ;))
So, my quick bread didn’t stay together…I’m not sure if I had too many apples, or something but it completely fell apart….tasted great though. Not sure what I did wrong…will try it again.
Hi Bridgette, this is certainly a moist bread with all of the apples. But I wonder if your loaf was under-baked or the bread may have been too warm when you sliced into it? I’m glad you enjoyed how it tasted!
I’ve been looking for an apple quick bread, I was so excited to see this one from Sally. It’s such a flavourful, moist cake. Almost like a coffee cake. Will definitely be making again!
We did not care for this quick bread recipe. The bread texture was fine, but it was too bland for us. There was not enough apple or cinnamon taste. I did use one large, juicy granny smith apple and Vietnamese cinnamon that is less than 6 months old. If I make it again then I will try adding 1/2 cups of raisins. I do like your blueberry and banana bread quick breads and look forward to trying your pumpkin with chocolate chips quick bread.
Hi Sally, I have leftover apples but no apple sauce. Should I just make my own or can I omit it?
Hi Tina, we don’t recommend completely omitting the applesauce. You can definitely make your own!
Great recipe!
I was wondering if Sally would ever consider writing an article on how to “tent” with aluminum foil? I’ve encountered this multiple times in her recipes, and although it sounds like it’s easy or self-explanatory, I always end up either messing up the tent part and my baking sticks to the foil, or I get frustrated and just don’t do it at all.
Sally,
I’ve been searching your website trying to figure out how to subscribe so i get your emails and I cant figure it out. Could you help me?
We’re happy to help, Tiana! You can sign up for our email list here. Thank you for your interest!
Can you bake two loaves at once? Should time be added?
Hi Becky, you can, just keep in mind that ovens sometimes have hot spots so one loaf may brown more quickly than the other. Just keep a close eye on them to make sure that doesn’t happen.
Delicious, moist, and aromatic! Another winning recipe by Sally! Thank you!
Soooo good!! Absolutely a keeper!
Could I use oil instead of butter and use nondairy milk to make it dairy free?
Hi L C, you’ll need to use solid oil such as coconut oil so it can cream with the sugars. We do know that nondairy milk works.
i have made this recipe twice in 3 days. My coworkers love it! made it once with the unsweetened applesauce and once with the sour cream. My coworkers felt the sour cream one was a slight bit moister . This bread will definitely go into my baking rotation
Can this recipe be doubled?
Hi Carolyn, it’s best to make two separate batches rather than doubling in order to prevent over mixing.
Can buttermilk be used instead of the whole milk?
Hi Christine, yes, you could use buttermilk to replace the milk.
Do you think this would work with frozen apples, or would they release too much moisture when baking? I have chopped and peeled apple cubes in my freezer, but not sure if it would be safer to use them in an apple crisp / crumble instead?
Thanks for any advice!!
Hi Emily, I don’t recommend using those in a bread recipe. You risk having a wet (not just moist… wet) bread on your hands. I think you’re right to save those for a crisp or crumble.
Hi Sally, could I use almond instead of regular flour? Thanks
Hi Mercedes, we don’t recommend it. Almond flour has very different baking properties than all-purpose flour and doesn’t soak up wet ingredients in the same way. It’s best to stick with all-purpose flour here.
Hi Sally! I baked this in an 8X8 pan for exactly 40 minutes at 350. It came out perfect!!! Thanks for another wonderful receipe! It’s very, very, good!!
I bought the wrong applesauce and dont have sour cream/yogurt, will this still work or should I reduce a bit of the sugar?
Hi Aisha, that should be fine, but you can try to just slightly remove some sugar if you’d like. But keep in mind that sugar also adds structure and texture, so you don’t want to eliminate too much. Hope you enjoy the bread!
I baked this recipe yesterday and most of it is gone. It is delicious. I followed Sally’s Direction exactly and it turned out perfect. Thank you Sally, for a great bread recipe. YUM
Hi Sally
Can green yogurt be used instead Of plain yogurt? Looking forward to trying this out!
Kirti, absolutely, you can use plain Greek yogurt here instead.
This recipe is wonderful as is with no crumb topping… think apple pie in loaf form. My dad is diabetic, so My next attempt will be I am replacing the granulated sugar with stevia (but keeping the brown sugar for tossing with the apples). Another great recipe, Sally!
It’s delicious! Made this yesterday with Honeycrisp apples. So moist and easy to make. I want to try it with the crumb topping next. It doesn’t need it like Sally says, but we love crumb topping.
Can you substitute the whole milk? Heavy Cream or half and half? Thank you!
Hi Lisa, half-and-half and heavy cream are too heavy for this quick bread. I recommend a lower fat milk or nondairy milk if you do not have whole milk.
I usually use whole wheat flour which can be a bit heavy . What is your recommendation regarding choices of flour?
Hi Judith, I recommend regular all-purpose flour for this quick bread.
You can thin down the cream (any fat percentage) with water to make whole milk if that helps! Just add enough water to make the cream pour quicker than before or look online for an accurate measurement 🙂
Great recipe! I’m always looking for quick breads, and this is one of the best I’ve had! I did add extra apples, substituted brown sugar for the white and used almond milk. Great flavor and extremely moist. I’ll be making this many times during the apple season! Thank you!
Had to make this as soon as I saw the recipe. It did not disappoint. My husband and I devoured the loaf in 2 days. Will definitely be returning to this recipe many times during the upcoming fall and winter.