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!)
One reader, Edie, commented: “Forget those other fall flavored quick breads, this is the one you need to make! Sally, I followed your recipe exactly and this is SO SCRUMPTIOUS! The bread is light and somewhat fluffy, not dense like many other quick breads. The delicious layer of cinnamon apples takes this recipe to the next level. It’s like apple pie hugged by cinnamon bread. This is definitely the family’s new fall favorite. Thanks, Sally! ★★★★★“
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 and 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. Want to add some zucchini? Try this apple zucchini bread next!
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, apple cobbler, 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 3 minutes. (Here’s a helpful tutorial if you need guidance on how to cream butter and sugar.) 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.
Reader Comments and Reviews
I was disappointed in this bread. Other apple breads/cakes of Sally’s I found are better.
However, I used sour cream instead of the applesauce and that may have been the problem. Maybe the applesauce would have given the bread more moisture as well as more apple taste.
So with that said, I (IMHO) will continue to make Sally’s Glazed Apple Cake (minus the glaze for me) which I find moister & tastier.
This turned out so delicious. I will definitely be coming back to this recipe again and again.
I made your Apple Cinnamon Quick Bread and it was a big hit! I also toasted some walnuts & added it to the batter & it just highlighted the texture, just delicious!
Made this today. Turned out perfect checked at 60 minutes and it was done. Reminds me of apple fritters. Will definitely put this on my rotation.
Delicious! I didn’t make any changes to the recipe and it came out perfect. So fragrant, and moist. Glad to have another quick bread beside banana bread.
Right! I made banana bread in one hour total today, very proud of myself
This is delightful. I subbed sour cream for the apple sauce and used apple cider instead of milk.
I added a handful of chopped walnuts and used apple pie spice.
It’s beautiful and smells amazing!
Don’t know how to upload a pic or I would
This sounds amazing and I want to make it today. Can apple cider be substituted for the milk?
Hi Anne, We haven’t tried that, but can’t see why not – yum!
Can you add some chocolate chips to this recipe?
You can definitely add chocolate chips!
Can we use grated apples instead of chopped?
Hi Katie, We don’t recommend it for this particular recipe. Grated apples act more like a wet ingredient, whereas the chopped apples here act more like an add-in. You may prefer our Harvest Spice Bread where the apples are grated instead of cut into chunks.
I have not found a better website than Sally’s Baking. I’m not a great baker but I find the recipes easy to follow. Also, most of the ingredients are standard to my kitchen.
Thanks, Sally ❤️
Its Italian plum season and id like to use them in place of the apples. Any suggestions?
Hi Colleen! It should work well, or you could try your Italian plums in this peach bread recipe.
Can I use some whole wheat flour along with APF?
Hi Katie, you could try swapping some (not all) of the flour with whole wheat flour, but the bread may taste a bit dense and even dry.
Does anyone know what the bake time would be for mini loaves?
Hi Jillian, bake time will vary depending on the exact size of your mini loaf pans. Keep a close eye on them and use a toothpick to test for doneness.
I just doubled the recipe and made 6 mini loaves. They were done in 40 min. They were actually done in 30 but I wanted it to be more brown. Still very moist after 40 min.
Wow! Made this recipe as written with the only exception I used almond milk in place of whole milk due to dairy sensitivity issues. It didn’t seem to make any difference to me in the flavor (although I’ve never tasted the whole milk version). My husband and I thought it was fantastic! I’ve always had success with Sally’s recipes…excellent website that I’ve been using for years. 🙂
Oh my goodness, this was so extra delicious!
Followed directions exactly and it turned out just like the picture!
Loved the addition of the apple pieces in the batter!
How can I substitute oil instead of the butter?
Hi Becky! It is best to stick with butter for this recipe. You could add 1 cup peeled and chopped apples to our cinnamon swirl quick bread recipe instead! That recipe uses oil.
Sally-
I dearly appreciate all the experimentation that went into perfecting this apple loaf and the advice on which apples to use. I can always trust your recipes will turn out well and be delicious! Thanks again for sharing your efforts and recipes.
P.S. – wondering if substituting buttermilk for milk would give it more apple cider donut zing?
Hi Hetty, yes, you could use buttermilk to replace the milk. So glad you enjoyed this bread!
This bread was great for a novice baker! I don’t think I creamed together the sugar and butter quite right, I also added the milk a step too early, it still turned out great. Next time I would add walnuts and slightly decrease the amount of sugar.
Eager to make this. Would it work to use buttermilk instead of whole milk?
Hi Em, yes, you could use buttermilk to replace the milk.
I really appreciate your pre-recipe info – don’t know what it’s called – but the part of the recipe where you give insight into what worked and what didn’t and all the efforts you went to. I know many people love to jump directly into recipes (ahem; my sister) but I love learning about your process. Makes me appreciate the actual ingredients and instructions even more. :). Thanks!
Can you use frozen apple chunks?
Hi Stacy, we don’t recommend using frozen apple chunks in a bread recipe. You risk having a wet (not just moist… wet) bread on your hands. It may be best to save those for a crisp or crumble.
delicious! did not change a thing in recipe – use pink lady apples (they needed to be used) I’m not a fan of cinnamon but this bread is perfect Thank you Sally!
Made this bread today with no changes to the recipe. The bread is perfect! I used a Granny Smith apple and put Sally’s maple icing on top. Definitely going to making this one again. Delicious! Thank you, Sally!
Hi Sally! Is there a replacement for applesauce? Thank you queen <3
Sour cream works well as a replacement for applesauce!
Absolutely delicious. Everyone loved it. I had sour cream on hand instead of applesauce.
why whole milk% could i use 1%
Hi Sandy, the fat in whole milk adds richness. You can use 1% in a pinch.
Made this yesterday. As an 85 year old baking beginner I think it turned out dandy. My wife loved it.
A real keeper. I added some chopped walnuts to the batter, used bread flour instead of all purpose, and used a very large honey crisp, enough for the sauce and apple chunks. Thanks for a great recipe!
It was good, but not great. I would have liked a streusel topping over just sugar and cinnamon on top.
If you wanted it, you should have added it. There are plenty of recipes for a crumble topping. It doesn’t mean this recipe wasn’t good. I made this and it’s a great recipe, and when I make it again, I’ll add things to it if I want to adjust it to my liking. It’s not hard to leave a helpful comment. Your personal preference is not helpful, it’s like the people who give a bad review about a product because their postal service didn’t deliver it in a timely manner.
I added a crumb topping. I was going to add pecans but forgot. Still baking. Smells amazing!
Everything looks so good thank u
I love the spice and texture. However the bread is way too sweet for our liking, even after cutting 20% of the sugar. I am new to baking so I was not sure the least amount of sugar I could use and still give the bread have a nice structure. It would be very helpful to have a suggestion on that in the recipe.
Hopefully Sally will comment on that. I am not on her team of expert bakers. However many recipe authors say you “could ” reduce sugar by 25%.. So that would be 1/2 C Sugar(50g) in the main recipe part. Also, do you weigh your flour & Sugar ? If not, pack your brown sugar just a bit lighter next time.
Apples : Some apples are sweeter. Honey Crisp, & Fugi are among the sweetest. Granny Smith are very tart, so they would balance out the sweetness. GOLDEN Delicous are a bit less sweet, and slightly less tart. Maybe? a good place to start? ( red delicious or mcintosh are NOT baking apples…too mushy)
Hopefully, someone on Sally’s team will add advice too.
HI Bella, sugar is used for moisture and texture in baked goods as well as taste. You can certainly try reducing the sugar even more, but the resulting texture will be different than intended.