I call this quick bread harvest spice bread because it combines some of the best flavors of the fall season including apple, pumpkin, and cinnamon spice. This loaf is infinitely adaptable, freezes well, and can be made into muffins, too!
I call this harvest spice bread because “apple pumpkin carrot cinnamon brown sugar spice bread” was a tad too long. 😉
What’s harvest spice bread, you ask? Imagine everything you love about fall. Warm spices, pumpkin, fresh apples, cozy sweaters… well, what if we took all of those incredible components of this beautiful autumn season and packed them into a simple bread?
Um, except for the sweater. But go ahead and wear your warmest cable knit while eating a slice!
Why You’ll Love Harvest Spice Bread
- No mixer required
- Infinitely adaptable—more on that next!
- Incredibly moist
- Super flavorful and soft
- Brown sugared
- Quick & easy—pour into a loaf pan and bake
- You can use homemade pumpkin pie spice here. (See recipe Note.)
Part apple cinnamon bread, pumpkin bread, spice cake, and carrot cake, this harvest spice bread is loaded with flavor. When you decide to bake a loaf, do yourself a favor and double the recipe. You’ll want two loaves of this orange beauty and even then, it’s hard to share.
Let’s Talk Add-Ins
I use shredded apple, shredded carrot, pumpkin puree, and walnuts in this quick bread. These add-ins are completely customizable and you can make substitutions based on what you have or what you’re craving.
- Apples: Not sure why that apple in the corner above looks weirdly shiny and plastic—that was a pink lady apple, one of my favorite varieties! You can use your favorite such as Granny Smith, Honeycrisp, or Fuji. If you enjoy a certain variety in your apple pie, you’ll love it in this bread, too. Instead of apple, you can swap in zucchini or more shredded carrot.
- Pumpkin: Just like when we make pumpkin muffins, I prefer canned pumpkin puree in this bread (I like Libby’s brand), but you can use homemade pumpkin puree if you have it. Instead of pumpkin puree, try unsweetened applesauce or even mashed banana.
- Carrot: Slightly sweet and mega moist shredded carrot pairs wonderfully with these flavors. In fact, this tastes like a quick bread version of carrot cake. Instead of carrots, however, you can use more shredded apple or even shredded zucchini (it’s great in this apple zucchini bread, too!)
- Walnuts: Feel free to substitute pecans, raisins, or dried cranberries.
Baking Tip: It’s important that the apple and carrot are shredded, not chopped. Shredding each with a box grater creates a lot of juicy moisture which is carried over into the quick bread. Just like in these healthy apple muffins, when shredded, they act like a wet ingredient in the batter. This makes a difference in the final taste and texture of the loaf!
Behind the Harvest Spice Bread Recipe
When testing this recipe, I started with my pumpkin bread as the base. Use the same ingredients here including all-purpose flour as the base, baking soda as the leavener, seasonal spices, a mix of granulated and brown sugars, and oil to keep the bread extra moist. I decreased the amount of sugar since apple and carrot sweeten the bread and I swapped milk for the orange juice. (Orange juice brightens the flavor of my pumpkin bread, it’s so good!) I also decreased the amount of liquid since the batter was already pretty wet.
Whisk the dry ingredients in 1 bowl and the wet ingredients in another bowl. Combine the two, then pour into a greased 9×5-inch loaf pan. You can use this batter for harvest spice muffins, too! See recipe note.
How to Freeze Quick Bread
If you know how to freeze cakes, you can also freeze quick bread! Same method goes. Here are all of my quick bread recipes if you’re looking for more inspiration. Favorites include Banana Bread, Pumpkin Bread, Orange Cranberry Bread, & Zucchini Bread.
- Step 1: Bake and completely cool quick bread.
- Step 2: Once the bread cools completely, wrap it in Press & Seal or plastic wrap. From one baker to another– Press & Seal is the best product for wrapping baked goods. I find regular plastic wrap too thin, clingy, and frustrating. It definitely works, but Press & Seal is easier to use and I’ve honestly found that it keeps my food fresher. (Not working with this brand, just really love it.)
- Step 3: Write the type of bread and use-by date on a large piece of aluminum foil. For best taste and texture, don’t freeze quick bread for longer than 3 months. You could stretch it to 4 or 5 months, but the sooner you serve it, the fresher it tastes.
- Step 4: Wrap the bread in the aluminum foil and place in the freezer. You could place the wrapped bread in a freezer container or freezer-friendly zipped top bag, but I often just freeze it after wrapping in aluminum foil.
- Step 5: Freeze for up to 3 months. To thaw, transfer the frozen bread to the refrigerator one day before serving. Sometimes I forget and just let the bread thaw at room temperature for several hours, but it’s better to thaw at a slower rate in the refrigerator. Make sure you thaw bread while it’s still in the wrapping. Don’t unwrap before thawing.
Baker’s Tip: Two layers of wrap is key! The first layer keeps the bread fresh and the aluminum foil ensures no condensation will seep in. Double layer = maximum freshness and no freezer burn. Moisture is the enemy, so don’t be afraid to add another layer of Press & Seal or aluminum foil.
Harvest Spice Bread
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Total Time: 3 hours
- Yield: 1 loaf
- Category: Bread
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Part apple bread, spice cake, pumpkin bread, and carrot cake, this harvest spice bread is loaded with flavor. This loaf is infinitely adaptable, freezes well, and can be made into muffins, too!
Ingredients
- 1 and 3/4 cups (219g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg*
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves*
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger*
- 1/2 cup (120ml) vegetable oil, canola oil, or melted coconut oil
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup (100g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1/2 cup (115g) pumpkin puree (canned or fresh)*
- 1 heaping cup (140g) peeled and shredded apple*
- 3/4 cup (100g) peeled and shredded carrot*
- 2 Tablespoons (30ml) milk
- 1 cup (130g) chopped walnuts*
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Grease a 9×5-inch loaf pan. See notes for muffins.
- Whisk the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and ginger together in a large bowl until combined. Set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk the oil, eggs, granulated sugar, brown sugar, pumpkin, shredded apple, shredded carrot, and milk together until combined. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Gently whisk until *just* combined. Fold in the walnuts. Batter will be semi-thick.
- Spread the batter into prepared loaf pan. Bake for 55 – 65 minutes. (I like to loosely cover the bread with aluminum foil halfway through to prevent heavy browning on top.) Baking times vary so keep an eye on yours. The bread is done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out *mostly* clean with zero raw batter. Remove the bread from the oven.
- Cool completely in the pan set on a wire rack before removing and slicing. Cover and store leftover bread at room temperature for up to 3-4 days or in the refrigerator for up to about 10 days.
Notes
- Freezing Instructions: See blog post above for detailed freezing & thawing instructions.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Vegetable Peeler | Box Grater | 9×5-inch Loaf Pan | Glass Mixing Bowl | Whisk | Cooling Rack
- Muffins: Grease a 12-count muffin pan or line with liners. Prepare batter in step 2. Spoon the batter evenly into each liner, filling each all the way to the top. Bake the muffins for 5 minutes at 425°F (218°C) then, keeping the muffins in the oven, reduce the oven temperature to 350°F (177°C). Bake for an additional 15-17 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. The total time these muffins take in the oven is about 20-22 minutes, give or take. Cool muffins for 5 minutes in the muffin pan, then transfer to a wire rack to continue cooling. Makes 16-18 muffins.
- Spices: Instead of nutmeg, cloves, and ginger, you can use 3/4 – 1 teaspoon of store-bought or homemade pumpkin pie spice or apple pie spice. This is in addition to the 2 teaspoons of cinnamon—you will still add that.
- Pumpkin: I prefer canned pumpkin puree in this bread (I like Libby’s brand), but you can use homemade pumpkin puree. Instead of pumpkin puree, try unsweetened applesauce or mashed banana.
- Apples: Use your favorite apples such as Pink Lady, Granny Smith, Honeycrisp, or Fuji. Instead of apple, you can swap in shredded zucchini or more shredded carrot.
- Carrot: Don’t use pre-shredded carrots found in the produce aisle. They’re on the dry side. Rather, freshly grate 2 small/medium carrots to yield approximately 3/4 cup of moist carrot shreds. Instead of carrots, you can use more shredded apple or even shredded zucchini.
- Walnuts: Feel free to substitute chopped pecans, raisins, or dried cranberries.
Reader Comments and Reviews
OMG! My new favorite fall pumpkin loaf! This was exceptional, not that I’m surprised, I’ve made dozens of your recipes and have never made something I didn’t make several times. Thank you for your expertise, this is another winner!!
This bread sounds absolutely delicious.
Thank you!
Turned out great and I will definitely make this again! The only modification I made was substituting monkfruit sweetener for the white sugar. And also I didn’t grate the carrot and apples, I put them in my mini food chopper and it still turned out great! 55 minutes was perfect baking time.
I made this for a church luncheon and it was a hit! I did make 2 modifications. I used 2 flax “eggs” instead of the traditional eggs and soy milk instead of the traditional milk. I also added 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract. I will make this again!
I had gotten an 8# bag of gala apples at the grocery store on massive sale but knew that with just two of us in the house there was no way we were finishing them before they went soft and wrinkly. I had all of the other ingredients and had had this recipe pinned for some time, so I figured it was a good place to start trying to burn through all of those apples. It’s delicious! So moist (I hate that word too; I’m sorry but it’s the truth) and perfect for breakfast with a cup of coffee.
This bread was wonderfully moist and delicious! I used pecans in place of walnuts and added a teaspoon of vanilla. This is a new favorite for us!
Forgot to give rating.
I love this recipe! It is easy to pull together in a short time and is delicious!!! I have a question about flour. I’m going to make a loaf for a family member who is gluten free. Would King Arthur’s gluten free 1:!1 work well in this recipe? Thank you!!
I can’t speak for that brand but I’ve used the Walmart, Krusteaz and Bobs RedMill gluten free cup for cup flours and they all work perfectly. It is very important to use grams rather than the cup measurement. I’ve been gluten free 15 years and no one can tell with this recipe
I had this at a Christmas brunch with a group of friends. Now I’m going to make it! It’s so moist and yummy.
Could I swap melted butter for the oil? Thank you!
Hi! You can, but the bread will not taste as moist.
I make this a lot in the fall. I even add a cream cheese icing drizzle that my family loves. It’s a big hit.
My husband and I just enjoyed our first slices from the harvest spice bread that I baked earlier today. It was delicious, moist and perfectly spiced. I used pecans instead of walnuts, and I didn’t cover the loaf with foil halfway through baking. It was baked perfectly in 55 minutes. Thank you for the wonderful recipe!
Can I substitute bread flour for all purpose flour?
Hi Sur, we don’t recommend bread flour in this recipe.
Do you think using the shredding disk of a food processor would work? I don’t have a box grater. Thanks
Hi Ilene, absolutely, that will work.
I love this recipe, but lately the adds have taken over the page, so that I can’t read it
Try hitting the “print” button and work from that page.
This is a ‘dangerous’ recipe for me. After eating one slice, I shaved off another, and then had to tell myself no more! Perfect with my coffee! Thank you, Sally, for this tasty use of leftover pumpkin purée! Can’t wait to slice this up and share with others!
As a few others have said, this recipe lacked the depth of flavour I was hoping for. I did make it a Bundt pan using 1.5x the ingredients as Sally said (and doubled the spices). Also let the cake cool in the pan before removing from the Bundt pan. Came out easily and was super moist, just lacking in flavour.
Oh dang! I forgot to add the 5 stars too! Sorry!
OMG I love this recipe. I’ve made 7 loaves of this in the last 2 weeks. It’s an easy peasey recipe that makes a quick, delicious snack, or hostess gift, or house warming treat. I made one of these for the office and it didn’t last the day. Gobbled.
There’s 2 more in my oven as I type this. The best things are that it’s quick, it’s ingredients that you probably have on hand anyway, and you can play with the recipe to add more spice, change the nuts etc. 10/10!
I found this recipe lacking in flavor. With all the ingredients, I expected something more than bland. Would not make again.
I absolutely love this recipe, I do everything the same except I add a chunk of shredded ginger, a bit of pie spice & a scraped vanilla bean, everyone loves this bread! I made some a few days ago & am making more today, I bought 20 pounds of carrots, will be making this my holiday gifts also !
Sally, I am in western North Carolina in the middle of hurricane stricken Appalachia. I baked a 2x batch of this in mini loaf pans, you see, I always bake extra to share with the people who grace my Thursdays. Thursday the rain settled in. My first obligation canceled on me, because his basement had started leaking and he had to babysit it with a vet vac for the time being. Like dominoes all my other engagements canceled. The rain had settled in for good, and the winds were increasing. By Friday morning western North Carolina had had trillions of gallons of water dumped on us. I assume that you have heard the rest of the story. As we slowly tried to track down neighbors, friends, and loved ones, I gifted your harvest spice bread. It raised so many spirits. As soon as I was able to procure more ingredients, not an easy task, to put it mildly, and my power returned, I baked more. Tomorrow I am taking it with me to one of the many makeshift kitchens that have sprung up around town where I’m volunteering to feed people. I wish I had the option to send you pictures. Thank you so much for being such an inspiration to me, and for providing such a healthy, filling, and delicious recipe.
Hi Chrissy, thank you so much for taking the time to leave this heartfelt comment, and even more so for using your time and energy to support your community during such a difficult time. My heart goes out to everyone affected by the hurricane, and knowing that one of my recipes is bringing a bit of comfort in this challenging moment truly means the world to me. If you see this, I would love for you to reach out via email—I’d be honored to connect with you and see how I can support. sally(at)sallysbakingaddiction.com
Delicious, nice crumb moist but not heavy. I ran out of all purpose flour so added about 20grams of white whole wheat flour, definitely will keep this in my recipe collection.
This harvest bread is so delicious! I just made a double batch and my family is already requesting more! I do a combination of apples, zucchini and apples.
We really like this bread! Made it this morning and it’ll be hard to keep it in the house for long! I used crushed pecans, which went well with the pumpkin, carrot & apple. Smelled amazing while it was baking – great blend of flavors! I like the subtle sweetness – and the spices are wonderful! Spread with a little unsalted butter – great snack! 🙂
I forgot to add the 5 star rating to my review!
I forgot to add the 5 star rating to my review!
What a tasty recipe! The pumpkin and spices add such great flavor. I subbed shredded zucchini for the apple and made muffins instead of quick bread, and they turned out tender and delicious. I will definitely be making this again!
Hello! Would reducing the sugar affect the texture and flavor of the bread?
Hi Samiya, while you can certainly try reducing the sugar, keep in mind that it plays an important role in the taste, texture, and structure of the bread—so results may be different. We’d recommend starting small and then adjusting further for future batches.
Absolutely delicious!! I will make this over and over.
The Harvest Spice bread is delicious, love all of the flavors.