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!)
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 + 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.
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 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 2 minutes. 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.
Can I incorporate white whole wheat flour into this bread?
Hi Melanie, you could try swapping some (not all) of the flour with white whole wheat flour, but the bread may taste a bit dense and even dry.
Made these into muffins instead and cooked for 20-25mins. It made 16 muffins, and they were very delicious!
Great for apple season or if you have apples that aren’t that great in February or whenever. Thanks !
I made it this afternoon! Smells so good in my house….like fall again my family loves it! Thank you❤️
Do I have to use whole milk or can I sub for a non-dairy option?
Hi Katie! Non dairy or low fat milk can work in a pinch, though the texture may slightly change.
Can’t wait to try these recipes.
Made this last night. The worst part is waiting for it to cool so I could eat it! It smelled delicious, tried some this morning and it’s wonderful!
Made his bread (3 loaves) yesterday. Gave to others today. Everyone loved it, including me. Great apple taste. So moist. Delicious. Will definitely make again.
I was just getting ready to make this, realized I don’t have applesauce, is there a substitute or will it be ok without applesauce
Hi Isabell, if you don’t have unsweetened applesauce, use the same amount of plain yogurt or sour cream. Do not omit it completely.
This recipe is delicious! I will definitely make it again!
the recipe felt nice but for some reason it seemed baked at 45 min I took it out but it dropped in the center 🙁 Not sure what i did wrong
I’m sorry if this question has already been asked and answered.
Can you use homemade applesauce in this recipe or is it not recommended? Excited to try this recipe!!
Hi Erin, homemade applesauce should work well here. Hope you enjoy the bread!
I made this but used a loaf pan a bit smaller than I should have. I also didn’t swirl the apples before baking but I will next time. I really love this stuff! I added raisins to the apples and subbed allulose and Truvia blend for the white and brown sugar as well as shortening for the butter and water for the milk. Dairy and I don’t get along! I will make this again as well as a number of other recipes on your channel/site that I discovered when looking for a recipe for this kind of cake! If I cooked for more than just me I’d be able to make more new things more often but I can only cook and eat so much at a time! Thanks for a yummy addition to my rotation!!!
If my grocery stores were open tonight (New Year’s Eve) I’d have run out to get what I don’t have. As it is, I’ll go there tomorrow when they’re open. This looks good! I’ll be subbing allulose and Truvia blend for the white and brown sugars but will still use real apples, which I know have sugar in them as well as unsweetened applesauce. I can’t eat more than a slice every couple of days but I really want to try this one!
I made this today.
Oh my goooooodness!
Easy to make and Worth the wait until cooled enough to eat.
Super moist and yummy in every bite.
Forever keeper.
Thank you for sharing.☺️
My Question is about rack placement
I’m making this today and hesitant about the lower third rack placement. Won’t this burn the bottom part of the bread? I don’t want to waste my ingredients to find it ruined when done.
Thank you!
Hi Laurette, it does not, but if you find that to be an issue with your oven, you can certainly move it up a rack. Just keep a close eye that the top doesn’t brown too quickly; you may want to tent it with aluminum foil earlier in the baking time. Hope you enjoy the bread!
I forgot to swirl the bread 🙁 Hopefully that won’t mess it up!
Should be fine, Sarah! The cinnamon swirl will just be more of a cinnamon layer. Still delicious.
This recipe is a fantastic one to serve when you have company or make the mini loaves to wrap and give as gifts. The flavor was amazing, as I am a cinnamon lover. Making several more to freeze so I will always be ready should company be coming.
I can’t wait to make this recipe for an upcoming family vacation. Do you think I could add chocolate chips?! 1/2c?
Can’t see why not!
This is such a great recipe. Just made it for the second time and it came out perfect. It’s a huge hit with everyone. I’m a big fan of cinnamon so I added 1/2t more. Thanks Sally!
I tried this recipe, it turned out well. It’s moist and soft for a loaf cake. I doubled the recipe to make two cakes and belatedly realized I had 8×4 rather than 9×5 pans. The doubled recipe worked well in three 8×4 pans (they were done after 60 mins).
One quibble: the recipe instructions omit adding the milk! This should be added to the wet ingredients with the eggs.
I’m so glad this recipe worked out for you, and thank you for reporting back about doubling and the pan size you used. Add the milk after you pour the dry ingredients into the wet, towards the end of step 3.
Just wondering if a LITTLE sugar in the rae sorinkled lightly over top of loaf would work w/ o getting too brown. OR maybe some chopped walnuts ?
This recipe was absolutely delicious ♡ everyone loved it! Going to be my go to loaf for my babies ♡
Could this recipe be made successfully in a Bundt pan? I realize the swirling of the apples and cinnamon might be a bit tricky but I love how pretty and easy to slice quick breads are when made in a Bundt pan. Any estimate on how long to bake it? Thank you in advance. I love your recipes!
Hi Chatti Pati, we would make the batter twice (instead of doubling all in 1 pan, where you could easily over-mix the batter). Then, you can use it all to bake in a Bundt pan. We’re unsure of the best bake time, though. We also have this apple Bundt cake recipe.
This recipe is so yummy! (And I was worried I used too much apple because I had to cut away bad spots and added a small apple to the two medium. But it worked out fine.)