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Our Apple Bread Recipe is the perfect Fall treat, loaded with chunks of apples and buttery pecans and topped off with cinnamon sugar.
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Start chopping those apples – we’re making apple bread!
Move over bananas, it’s apple bread season!
Yeah, yeah. I love our classic banana bread and make it more often that I should probably admit, but this time of year? It’s apple bread season and I’m so excited to share our apple bread recipe with you.
I had so many readers ask if they could add chunks of apples to our apple cider donut bread that I jut had to test it out for myself and this divine little creation is what I came up with.
We whipped up a tender quick bread (quick bread just means there is no yeast – it uses baking powder + baking soda for the lift) that is absolutely stuffed with bits of apple and pecan.
I didn’t bother peeling the apples because I like the rustic look, the ease of preparation (hate peeling an apple!), and the peel is full of fiber and vitamins.
Start softening your butter now. You’re going to want to have some on hand to slather over thick slices of this apple bread like immediately.
Ingredient Notes:
Dry Ingredients – You’ll need you standard quick bread ingredients, like flour, sugar, brown sugar, white sugar, baking powder, and baking soda. We’re also mixing in apple pie spice to give this a big punch of Fall flavor.
Wet Ingredients – You’ll need oil, eggs, and vanilla. We like this pure vanilla extract for the best flavor.
Apples – We’re using both freshly chopped apples and a bit of applesauce to add to the apple goodness in this recipe. We like Granny Smith apples for baking.
Topping – You’ll stir together cinnamon and sugar to make a crackly topping for the bread. Love the way it bakes up and adds some crispy texture to the top.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Tools Needed:
Hand Mixer: We use and love this hand mixer often. Makes baking so easy.
Chopper: Sure, you could chop your apples by hand, but the smaller blade on this chopper makes perfectly uniform little apple cubes and it only takes a couple of minutes. We use this thing to chop veggies all the time. So handy.
Loaf Pan: Any loaf pan will do, but we love a pretty ceramic pan.
Step By Step Overview:
Whisk together the dry ingredients in one bowl and the wet ingredients in another. Add them together and stir well.
Stir together the apples, pecans, brown sugar, and cinnamon to get everything nicely coated.
Stir the apples and pecans into the bread batter and then pour it all into a greased loaf pan.
Sprinkle the top with cinnamon and sugar and pop it in a hot oven to bake for an hour.
Helpful Tip!
- Use a veggie chopper to make perfectly uniform little cubes of apples that are all the same size.
- Peel your apples first if you don’t like the texture of the peel, but we honestly didn’t have a preference one or the other so we leave the peel on. More nutritious and much easier.
- If you don’t have apple pie spice, make your own with a blend of cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice.
Recipe FAQs:
Our apple bread will last, tightly covered, for about 4 days. You can warm it slightly in the microwave or toaster oven and it will taste freshly baked.
Yes, you can freeze our apple bread recipe. Cool completely, slice, and wrap individual slices in plastic wrap and foil. Freeze in a freezer safe bag for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature.
We like to use firm apples for baking so that they don’t end up too mushy. We love the tart flavor of Granny Smith apples in this apple bread. Honeycrisp is a sweeter apple that also holds up well to baking.
More Apple Recipes To Try:
Apple Bread
Ingredients
For the bread:
- 2 cups flour
- 2 teaspoons apple pie spice
- 1 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 medium tart apples finely diced
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 cup chopped pecans
For topping:
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9×5 loaf pan with non-stick spray.
- Whisk together the flour, apple pie spice, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large mixing bowl.
- Add the sugar and eggs to a medium mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer on medium speed for 3 minutes.
- Add the oil, applesauce, and vanilla to the eggs and mix to combine.
- Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry ingredients and stir well.
- Add the diced apples to a separate bowl along with the brown sugar, cinnamon, and pecans. Toss well to combine.
- Add the apples and pecans to the batter and stir to combine.
- Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan.
- Combine the topping ingredients and sprinkle evenly over the top.
- Bake the bread for 1 hour or until a tester comes out clean with just a few moist crumbs.
- Cool completely before slicing and serving.
Elena says
Full of fall flavors, love this bread! Family has asked for another loaf 🙂
Karly Campbell says
Thanks, Elena! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Elena says
Great flavor and texture, love all of the pecans in this bread!