I call this quick bread harvest spice bread because it combines some of the best flavors of the fall season including apple, pumpkin, and cinnamon spice. This loaf is infinitely adaptable, freezes well, and can be made into muffins, too!
I call this harvest spice bread because “apple pumpkin carrot cinnamon brown sugar spice bread” was a tad too long. 😉
What’s harvest spice bread, you ask? Imagine everything you love about fall. Warm spices, pumpkin, fresh apples, cozy sweaters… well, what if we took all of those incredible components of this beautiful autumn season and packed them into a simple bread?
Um, except for the sweater. But go ahead and wear your warmest cable knit while eating a slice!
Why You’ll Love Harvest Spice Bread
- No mixer required
- Infinitely adaptable—more on that next!
- Incredibly moist
- Super flavorful and soft
- Brown sugared
- Quick & easy—pour into a loaf pan and bake
- You can use homemade pumpkin pie spice here. (See recipe Note.)
Part apple cinnamon bread, pumpkin bread, spice cake, and carrot cake, this harvest spice bread is loaded with flavor. When you decide to bake a loaf, do yourself a favor and double the recipe. You’ll want two loaves of this orange beauty and even then, it’s hard to share.
Let’s Talk Add-Ins
I use shredded apple, shredded carrot, pumpkin puree, and walnuts in this quick bread. These add-ins are completely customizable and you can make substitutions based on what you have or what you’re craving.
- Apples: Not sure why that apple in the corner above looks weirdly shiny and plastic—that was a pink lady apple, one of my favorite varieties! You can use your favorite such as Granny Smith, Honeycrisp, or Fuji. If you enjoy a certain variety in your apple pie, you’ll love it in this bread, too. Instead of apple, you can swap in zucchini or more shredded carrot.
- Pumpkin: Just like when we make pumpkin muffins, I prefer canned pumpkin puree in this bread (I like Libby’s brand), but you can use homemade pumpkin puree if you have it. Instead of pumpkin puree, try unsweetened applesauce or even mashed banana.
- Carrot: Slightly sweet and mega moist shredded carrot pairs wonderfully with these flavors. In fact, this tastes like a quick bread version of carrot cake. Instead of carrots, however, you can use more shredded apple or even shredded zucchini.
- Walnuts: Feel free to substitute pecans, raisins, or dried cranberries.
Baking Tip: It’s important that the apple and carrot are shredded, not chopped. Shredding each with a box grater creates a lot of juicy moisture which is carried over into the quick bread. Just like in these healthy apple muffins, when shredded, they act like a wet ingredient in the batter. This makes a difference in the final taste and texture of the loaf!
Behind the Harvest Spice Bread Recipe
When testing this recipe, I started with my pumpkin bread as the base. Use the same ingredients here including all-purpose flour as the base, baking soda as the leavener, seasonal spices, a mix of granulated and brown sugars, and oil to keep the bread extra moist. I decreased the amount of sugar since apple and carrot sweeten the bread and I swapped milk for the orange juice. (Orange juice brightens the flavor of my pumpkin bread, it’s so good!) I also decreased the amount of liquid since the batter was already pretty wet.
Whisk the dry ingredients in 1 bowl and the wet ingredients in another bowl. Combine the two, then pour into a greased 9×5-inch loaf pan. You can use this batter for harvest spice muffins, too! See recipe note.
How to Freeze Quick Bread
If you know how to freeze cakes, you can also freeze quick bread! Same method goes. Here are all of my quick bread recipes if you’re looking for more inspiration. Favorites include Banana Bread, Pumpkin Bread, Orange Cranberry Bread, & Zucchini Bread.
- Step 1: Bake and completely cool quick bread.
- Step 2: Once the bread cools completely, wrap it in Press & Seal or plastic wrap. From one baker to another– Press & Seal is the best product for wrapping baked goods. I find regular plastic wrap too thin, clingy, and frustrating. It definitely works, but Press & Seal is easier to use and I’ve honestly found that it keeps my food fresher. (Not working with this brand, just really love it.)
- Step 3: Write the type of bread and use-by date on a large piece of aluminum foil. For best taste and texture, don’t freeze quick bread for longer than 3 months. You could stretch it to 4 or 5 months, but the sooner you serve it, the fresher it tastes.
- Step 4: Wrap the bread in the aluminum foil and place in the freezer. You could place the wrapped bread in a freezer container or freezer-friendly zipped top bag, but I often just freeze it after wrapping in aluminum foil.
- Step 5: Freeze for up to 3 months. To thaw, transfer the frozen bread to the refrigerator one day before serving. Sometimes I forget and just let the bread thaw at room temperature for several hours, but it’s better to thaw at a slower rate in the refrigerator. Make sure you thaw bread while it’s still in the wrapping. Don’t unwrap before thawing.
Baker’s Tip: Two layers of wrap is key! The first layer keeps the bread fresh and the aluminum foil ensures no condensation will seep in. Double layer = maximum freshness and no freezer burn. Moisture is the enemy, so don’t be afraid to add another layer of Press & Seal or aluminum foil.
Harvest Spice Bread
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Total Time: 3 hours
- Yield: 1 loaf
- Category: Bread
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Part apple bread, spice cake, pumpkin bread, and carrot cake, this harvest spice bread is loaded with flavor. This loaf is infinitely adaptable, freezes well, and can be made into muffins, too!
Ingredients
- 1 and 3/4 cups (219g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg*
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves*
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger*
- 1/2 cup (120ml) vegetable oil, canola oil, or melted coconut oil
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup (100g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1/2 cup (115g) pumpkin puree (canned or fresh)*
- 1 heaping cup (140g) peeled and shredded apple*
- 3/4 cup (100g) peeled and shredded carrot*
- 2 Tablespoons (30ml) milk
- 1 cup (130g) chopped walnuts*
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Grease a 9×5-inch loaf pan. See notes for muffins.
- Whisk the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and ginger together in a large bowl until combined. Set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk the oil, eggs, granulated sugar, brown sugar, pumpkin, shredded apple, shredded carrot, and milk together until combined. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Gently whisk until *just* combined. Fold in the walnuts. Batter will be semi-thick.
- Spread the batter into prepared loaf pan. Bake for 55 – 65 minutes. (I like to loosely cover the bread with aluminum foil halfway through to prevent heavy browning on top.) Baking times vary so keep an eye on yours. The bread is done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out *mostly* clean with zero raw batter. Remove the bread from the oven.
- Cool completely in the pan set on a wire rack before removing and slicing. Cover and store leftover bread at room temperature for up to 3-4 days or in the refrigerator for up to about 10 days.
Notes
- Freezing Instructions: See blog post above for detailed freezing & thawing instructions.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Vegetable Peeler | Box Grater | 9×5-inch Loaf Pan | Glass Mixing Bowl | Whisk | Cooling Rack
- Muffins: Grease a 12-count muffin pan or line with liners. Prepare batter in step 2. Spoon the batter evenly into each liner, filling each all the way to the top. Bake the muffins for 5 minutes at 425°F (218°C) then, keeping the muffins in the oven, reduce the oven temperature to 350°F (177°C). Bake for an additional 15-17 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. The total time these muffins take in the oven is about 20-22 minutes, give or take. Cool muffins for 5 minutes in the muffin pan, then transfer to a wire rack to continue cooling. Makes 16-18 muffins.
- Spices: Instead of nutmeg, cloves, and ginger, you can use 3/4 – 1 teaspoon of store-bought or homemade pumpkin pie spice or apple pie spice. This is in addition to the 2 teaspoons of cinnamon—you will still add that.
- Pumpkin: I prefer canned pumpkin puree in this bread (I like Libby’s brand), but you can use homemade pumpkin puree. Instead of pumpkin puree, try unsweetened applesauce or mashed banana.
- Apples: Use your favorite apples such as Pink Lady, Granny Smith, Honeycrisp, or Fuji. Instead of apple, you can swap in shredded zucchini or more shredded carrot.
- Carrot: Don’t use pre-shredded carrots found in the produce aisle. They’re on the dry side. Rather, freshly grate 2 small/medium carrots to yield approximately 3/4 cup of moist carrot shreds. Instead of carrots, you can use more shredded apple or even shredded zucchini.
- Walnuts: Feel free to substitute chopped pecans, raisins, or dried cranberries.
Will be making this bread shortly – will batter hold an additional 1/2 cup chopped apple along with the 1 cup shredded apple? I like the texture of some apple bites but do not want to
compromise your recipe!
Hi Carol, we haven’t tested it, but that should be fine!
Perfect on a fall day!
Why do some ingredients have astericks? You don’t explain.
They have corresponding notes in the Recipe Notes section.
Reason why you use glass mixing bowls for this recipe?
Hi Bette, you can use any mixing bowl!
Loved this recipes! Took your suggestion and did part walnuts and part dried cranberries. Delicious, moist fall recipe.
I can’t review this since I didn’t make it as written, and deviated enough that it’s not really the same recipe….But I’m commenting in case anyone else prepped all the ingredients, shredded the carrot and apple, before realizing YOU DIDN’T HAVE CANNED PUMPKIN LIKE YOU THOUGHT YOU DID!!!
SO. I used 1/2 c unsweetened applesauce in place of the pumpkin. It worked great! I do plan to make this WITH PUMPKIN, but if anyone wants to know — subbing 1/2 c applesauce for the pumpkin works GREAT! I also reduced the sugar (because I always do) to about 125 g total. I also used 100 g whole wheat flour, used 100 g oil. It DID take a while to bake. Longer than 60 minutes. I kept checking the internal temp until it hit 195.
I will make it again, and the only thing I will change from above is to use the pumpkin. I will still reduce sugar, oil, and add whole wheat flour.
Sally, you are my GO TO BAKING SITE!!! NOTHING disappoints!! Happy Fall, y’all!!
One of my favorite recipes!thanks for sharing. Do you think this could make a good cupcake recipe? I feel like it would be good with cream cheese frosting 🙂
Hi Larissa, yes, absolutely. You can follow the muffins instructions in the recipe notes and add cream cheese frosting – yum!
Hi! if I use a non stick loaf pan – do I still need to spray it first? thanks for letting me know!
Hi Lynne! Yes, we would still grease the loaf pan.
Can you substitute gluten free flour for all purpose flour in your recipies?
Hi Shirley, our team does not have much experience baking with gluten-free flour. Although some readers report using an all-purpose 1:1 gluten-free flour in many of our recipes with success, you should expect slightly different results anytime you substitute ingredients. If you’re interested, here are all of our naturally gluten free recipes.
Delicious, moist loaf. One thing – I have to add time to get it to cook through. Getting better at judging the extra time needed each time I make it. I think I added 10 minutes last time.
This will absolutely be a repeat recipe! I added unsweetened cranberries instead of walnuts because I am allergic and it turned out perfect! The whole family loved this recipe!
I have been baking Sally’s harvest spice bread for years and it’s a winner for both myself and the friends to whom I gift it. I always add raisins to mine, and this year I will add some sprouted pumpkin seeds. This recipe just screams fall!
Do you havè any suggestion on how to make this egg-free please?
Hi Devika, we haven’t tested an egg free version of this bread, so we’re unsure how they might impact the results of this bread. If you decide to try anything, please do let us know how it goes.
Very simple to follow, and moist, but the taste is very bland for me. Only reason I gave it a 3* it’s just ok.
Sally has done it again with this recipe! Baked a double batch last night using her 425* quick start method and wow!!! So good, and that beautiful crust on top, this recipe hits all the notes for that feeling of Fall. I even threw in some cranberries for fun and the batter carried them no problem. Lots of possibilities…
This recipe was delicious…an absolute make again. My house smelled like everything wonderful about fall.
I just made this according to recipe. I needed to use up some left over pumpkin. This bread is amazing! Not too sweet and packed with tons of fall flavors. It was super moist, too.
Another delicious, moist and most of all, so easy to make recipe. I had to add raisins. Wonderful with tea.
Phenomenal! So moist and delicious it’s crazy! This one’s a definite keeper. Thanks so much!
I’m very much looking forward to making this over the weekend.
Could you swap out walnuts for candied stem ginger?
We haven’t tested that but it sounds delicious!
Question, do you use orange juice or milk? I see milk listed In ingredients, but read that you substituted orange juice for the milk. Did I get this wrong?
Hi Fran, we use milk here, but you can use orange juice if desired (like we do for pumpkin bread!).
Can this loaf be made into two loaves? Thank you.
Hi Julie, you can use this recipe to make 2 smaller loaves (if you have smaller loaf pans), or make the batter twice to yield 2 loaves. Hope you enjoy it!
Thank you for replying back. I have 2 8×41/2 baking pans. I’m so excited to make this. I’m going to make chocolate covered orange slices to go along side it.
This was a delicious bake. I LOVED putting all the spices in there and they all come out subtly in the flavor. I actually like the top of bread to be crisp, and when I covered the loaf for the last 20 mins or so (the bake took closer to 75 mins for me), the crispness went away. So I wonder if you could cover it for the first half instead and still get that crisp top??
Hi Katie, so glad you loved this bread! If you like the top to be crisp, no need to cover it at all. Enjoy!
This is my favorite harvest bread you can’t go wrong with this recipe I have made it a few times before and I made it today it was in the sixties this morning in N Y felt like early fall I will be enjoying this bread with my pumpkin coffee I followed the recipe along with adding a 1/4 cup rasians the apples had so much juice batter was quite loose and had to bake it about 1hr and 15min and didn’t need to use the milk but it is still perfect and scrumptious
Do you squeeze the apples of excess moisture?
No need!
Love this loaf! It’s my go to recipe when I’m baking with my toddler. I use olive oil and it turns out perfect every time!
So I discovered that different brands of flour weigh slightly different. May I ask which brand of flour you & your team use for AP flour
Hi Gmj, We usually use King Arthur Flour.
I loved weighing the ingredients to make this recipe. Came out perfect. Everyone loved it. Thanks. I will enjoy reading your newsletter. Thanks
I was looking for a recipe to use up the pumpkin puree I had in the freezer. This was a perfect bake for a cool, grey February day as my kitchen filled with the fragrant warming spices. The end result so moist and delicious. Thanks Sally
You have me addicted to your website! I make this recipe following your instructions for muffins. It makes 9 jumbo muffins by using only 1/2 cup of walnuts. Usually I switch the amount of shredded carrots and apple and make it with 140g of carrots and 100g of apple. One can of pumpkin makes three batches of muffins.