This cozy recipe for Apple Pie Bread is the perfect way to bring in the season!
What better way to celebrate fall than with steaming mugs of cider, pumpkin spice lattes, and of course, a thick slice of this delicious bread. Apple bread is tender and moist with lots of sweet cinnamon flavor just like a piece of apple pie!
A Fall Bread You Need to Try
- Warm and spicy, sweet and simple to make, this recipe is a winner all the way around!
- Apple pie bread is like the bread version of an apple fritter with lots of cinnamon apple flavor, but it is quicker to prep with no deep fryer required!
- A slice of apple pie bread makes a perfect snack for a lunchbox surprise, a breakfast or even a special Sunday morning french toast.
- It can be made into a dessert with a dollop of whipped cream and a simple drizzle of Easy Caramel Sauce.
What’s in Apple Pie Bread?
APPLES The best apples for baking are tart and firm, crispy and crunchy. Granny Smith always fits the bill, but this recipe works well with a sweeter apple, too, like Honeycrisp or Fuji. Applesauce can be replaced with 1/2 cup butter for an even richer quickbread.
CINNAMON SUGAR Brown sugar and cinnamon are layered into the cake with apples, and also used for the tasty streusel topping. For something more complex tasting, try using Apple Pie Spice instead of plain cinnamon.
DAIRY Butter, eggs, and milk add rich flavor to the bread that makes it taste almost like a brioche, but much more crumbly with a cake-like texture.
ADD-INS In place of the applesauce, try adding leftover Cranberry Sauce or make an apple raisin bread. Mix in pumpkin puree in place of applesauce, either from a can or homemade. Try a mashed banana for a new take on an old fave. Shredded zucchini will taste great as well.
TOPPING Simple brown sugar and cinnamon make a delicious topping, especially when brushed with butter during baking. Add some chopped walnuts or pecans to the streusel for extra crunch, if desired. If you have leftover cinnamon sugar, you can use that too.
How to Make Apple Bread
The only machine needed for this quick bread recipe is a hand mixer. Just chop, mix, and bake:
- Peel & chop apples, prepare the cinnamon-sugar mixture.
- Cream butter & sugar, add other wet ingredients.
- Mix, then add dry ingredients to the wet mixture.
- Layer batter, apples, & topping in a bread pan.
- Bake as per recipe below.
Best Quick Bread Tips
- One of the best tips for fluffy quick bread is to be sure not to overmix the batter. It might seem wrong to not mix thoroughly—but for quickbread, it really works!
- When adding mix-ins, be sure that the substituted ingredient has the same basic texture/dryness/wetness as the original ingredient. Then add it in the same amount as the recipe calls for. Nobody likes bread to turn out tasting like pudding. (Unless making a delicious Pumpkin Bread Pudding with Caramel Sauce, of course!)
Serve this bread with apple butter, cinnamon butter, pumpkin butter, or honey butter.
How to Store
Apple pie bread stores well. Wrap it carefully, or cover it in an airtight container and it will keep on the counter for two days. If it’s not all gone by then, move it to the refrigerator so the apples stay tasting fresh.
Apple bread can be frozen, simply seal the entire loaf in a zippered freezer bag, or wrap and freeze individual slices for a quick grab-and-go snack.
Delicious Apple Dessert Recipes
- Classic Apple Pie – easy to make
- Easy Apple Cake Recipe – perfect for the holidays
- Apple Crisp – freezer friendly
- Apple Cheesecake Pie – sweet & creamy
- Apple Hand Pies – ready in under 30 minutes
Did you make this Warm Apple Bread? Be sure to leave a rating and a comment below!
Equipment
Ingredients
- ½ tablespoon cinnamon
- ⅔ cup brown sugar divided
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup butter softened
- ¼ cup unsweetened applesauce note: you can use ½ cup butter and skip the applesauce if you prefer
- 2 eggs well beaten
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ⅓ cup milk
- 1 large apple (or 2 small), peeled and chopped
- 1 tablespoon butter melted
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour an 8×4 loaf pan
- Combine cinnamon with ⅓ cup of the brown sugar in a small bowl and set aside.
- With mixer on medium, cream white sugar, remaining brown sugar and butter until fluffy. Mix in applesauce (if using), beaten eggs and vanilla.
- Stir together flour and baking powder. Add flour to egg mixture along with milk and stir just until combined. Do not overmix!
- Pour half of the batter into a greased and floured loaf pan. Sprinkle with ½ of the apples and ½ of the cinnamon mixture.
- Stir the remaining apples into the remaining batter and pour into the pan. Top with remaining cinnamon mixture.
- Bake approximately 40 minutes. Brush topping with melted butter. Continue baking an additional 5-10 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Let cool 10 minutes and remove from pan.
Video
Notes
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Bread, Breakfast, Dessert, Snack
Cuisine American© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
Originally published August, 2013
Adapted from Allrecipes
More Quick Bread Recipes You’ll Love
- Zucchini Bread
- Pecan Coconut Banana Bread
- Easy Banana Bread
- Chocolate Pumpkin Bread
- Chocolate Banana Bread
This recipe is a winner, Holly! I had pinned it a while ago and made it last night to take to a class, and the plate is empty. Several people asked for the recipe. I made it exactly as written (very rare for me!) except that I only had dark brown sugar. I will definitely be makikng this again, and possibly adding a bit more apple (I only used one). The poster who suggested adding walnuts had a good idea, too.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it Marlene! :)
could you use all applesauce and omit the butter?
I’ve only made the recipe as written so I can’t say for sure.
Which kind of apples are best to use with this recipe?
I usually use a peeled granny smith apple.
I used a 9×5 pan.
Yum! I made this with the 1/2 cup butter, and after the bread cooled, I topped it with the glaze from your Easy Apple Cinnamon Rolls recipe. Delicious! This recipe is definitely a keeper. Next time I make this I may add some raisins and walnuts to the apple layer. Mmmm
I wanted to add that this bread really moisten up the next day. Delish!
Has anyone tried this recipe with whole wheat Flour?
Wow! This bread turned out lovely :) I’ve never really enjoyed an apple loaf fresh out of the oven, but this one was even delicious hot!! It did take a little longer to bake, but it was worth waiting for. Thanks for sharing this wonderful recipe!
I just made this. Total bake time 48 minutes. As it is still cooling, we haven’t tasted it. We can barely wait. :-)
Made this today. Used the 1/2 cup of butter. House smelled great and the bread was delicious!!!!!
I just made this and it is fantastic! I veganized it by upping the applesauce by a half cup and the baking powder by a 1/4 teaspoon. This is a new favorite fall dessert!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it Jenny!!
Can this be made ahead of time and then reheated when serving?
Yes, definitely. :)
This looks delicious and would pair perfectly with a bowl of soup on a cool day!
Delicious Holly, love to try this apple pie bread, thanks for sharing with Hearth and soul blog hop. pinning.
FYI – We’re featuring your awesome post at this week’s Motivation Monday party!
Thank you for the feature Barb! :)
Hi Holly,
Your Warm Apple Pie Bread with Cinnamon looks delicious and perfect for fall. Hope you are having a great weekend and thanks so much for sharing with Full Plate Thursday.
Come Back Soon!
Miz Helen
Can I use Applebutter as opposed to applesauce?
I haven’t tried it that way so I can’t say for sure if that would work or not.
did you use dark or light brown sugar?
I used light brown sugar.
This bread sounds delicious! And I bet it smells amazing as it bakes!
I am thinking of trying this with fresh peaches. What do you think?
I bet that will taste amazing!
This bread is amazing! Just made it. I used Trader Joes Apple butter and then 1/2 stick regular butter! Worked out perfectly! I will definitely make this again, especially for the holidays!