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
Hi Holly! I made this twice. The first time I made it, it was so delicious, my grandmother and I ate the ENTIRE loaf in one night. I recently made it a second time and doubled the recipe and it was amazing! Thanks for posting this!
Hi Carolyn,
I am so glad you and your grandma enjoyed this recipe!
This is my favorite go to recipe! This apple bread is easy to make and delicious to eat! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks, glad you liked it!
LOOKS WONDERFUL
Yummmy thanks for posting
Like your printed recipes easy to get don’t have to down loads
Love this recipe!
Going to make it sounds Great …..
I just made this yesterday. I was amazed that such a simple recipe could be so delicious! My dad is pretty picky about desserts, but this one is definitely a new favorite!
I’m so glad your dad enjoyed this! :)
This was my first attempt at baking. As I was measuring out all the ingredients, I realized that baking soda is not the same thing as baking powder…so had to make a last min run to the store covered in flour. The bread came out really good! I brought it over for Thanksgiving and nothing was left over. My husband was the ultimate decision maker as he is obsessed with any apple dessert and ate 3 pieces. Only thing is the Middle wasn’t as light color as in the picture. Any ideas why that is?
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! It could just be the lighting in my image that looked a little different.
I was looking for an “apple pie crumble” and came across this. It looked amazing and since I had everything needed, I went with this instead. I only did one thing “wrong” which was not adding half the apples to the batter. Instead, I put them ALL in the center, but it did NOT take away from how delicious this is! I plan on making this again in the future and will do it the “right” way.
I’m so glad you loved this April!
I have this in my oven right now as I type. I’m bringing a scaled back early Thanksgiving dinner to my parents tomorrow, as my stepmother is having surgery on the day before Thanksgiving.
This is going to be a welcome and delicious addition to a Turkey and stuffing type of dinner, I’m sure.
Enjoy, we love this bread! Wishing your stepmother a quick recovery from her surgery!
I just attempted this recipe using an 8×4 loaf pan. It baked over causing a huge mess. Long story short what did I do wrong? Should this make one 9×5, two 8x4s or just one 8×4?
Thanks and can’t wait to try this again hopefully soon!
Oh no! I have made this in both a 9×5 and a single 8×4 with great results (my preference is the 8×4) however I haven’t had trouble with mine running over. You may like to try it with a 9×5 which is a little bit larger.
Just made this with my 6 year old granddaughter, we bake every weekend. Made it as directed but only had skim milk and a 9 x 5 pan. It turned out perfect! Thanks for the recipe. It’s a keeper!
I’m glad you and your granddaughter loved this recipe. That’s amazing! Thanks :)
this looks awesome. Will definitely have to try.
Yum! Made French Toast turned out great.
Wow that sounds great! Thank you.
Hello, I love your apple pie bread. I have a question – is applesauce an apple juice? I’m from Poland and we don’t have here applesauce, so I’m wondering this may be a juice?
It is not a juice, it is cooked and mashed apples. The consistency is thicker than juice, more like yogurt.
Looks yummy
Great recipes!
I made this exactly as written, yesterday. It was perfect. I baked it in a 9×5 loaf pan for just under an hour. This will absolutely be a staple in my kitchen.
So glad you enjoyed it!
I made this delicious treat yesterday, exactly as written. I used s 9×5 loaf pan and baked it just under a hour. It was perfect and will be a staple in my kitchen.
So glad you enjoyed it Patricia!