You’ll fall in love with this classic apple bread recipe, with sweet apple and cinnamon flavor packed into every soft and delicious bite!
Frosted Apple Cinnamon Bread
This moist apple quickbread is a perfect cozy fall breakfast or snack.
It makes a wonderful holiday or thank you gift for friends and family, with a flavor that will remind you of hot apple donuts, sweet apple pie and a sticky cinnamon roll all at the same time.
In other words, this amazing recipe is hard to resist!
No yeast is needed for the Spiced Cinnamon Sugar Apple Pie. And leftovers can be frozen for a rainy day or for making Sunday meals to enjoy all week long.
Best of all, your entire kitchen will smell like classic cinnabon and homemade apple pie, straight from the oven.
You might also like Easy Cinnamon Rolls – 4 ingredients
Grandma’s apple bread
The following recipe is based on my grandmother’s famous Dutch apple bread.
Their homemade apple pie was a family favorite growing up. She’s served it up at all of our holiday gatherings because we always asked her to make it!
Years later, it’s still the best apple bread recipe I’ve ever found full two cups of chopped apples packed into the batter and a cinnamon-sugar strudel that makes this traditional apple treat utterly irresistible.
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Watch the apple bread recipe video above
Ingredients for homemade apple bread
The recipe requires only a few basic ingredients that you may already have at home.
You will need ground cinnamon, pure vanilla extract, flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, sugar, milk of your choice, oil or applesauce, and finely diced apples.
I used Braeburn apples for the bread in the photos. Other strains like Granny Smith, Honeycrisp, Pink Lady or Fuji are also good to use.
Two cups of diced apples equals about two medium-sized apples. You can either peel the apples or leave them unpeeled. It’s up to you.
Flours that work in this recipe are white flour (all-purpose flour), spelled flour, or oat flour for a gluten-free version. We have not tried almond flour or coconut flour here.
You can use regular sugar, brown or coconut sugar, unrefined date sugar, or granulated erythritol or xylitol for sugar-free apple bread.
The naturally vegan apple bread is already pretty healthy, but for an oil-free version, you can substitute mashed banana, sour cream, or additional applesauce. It also works with softened almond butter instead of the oil.
*If you prefer an apple pie, try this easy applesauce pie
How to make apple bread
If you want to make a cinnamon strudel topping, whisk together the ground cinnamon in 2 tablespoons milk in a small bowl and set this bowl aside.
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and grease a standard 9×5-inch loaf pan. I often cover the bottom of the tin with a piece of parchment paper as well, so the loaf can be easily pushed out after baking.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar of your choice, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and ground cinnamon if you don’t choose the strudel.
Add the remaining ingredients, except for the reserved small bowl. Stir until just mixed. Pour this apple bread batter into the prepared loaf pan.
Use a spoon to swirl in the optional cinnamon topping. Then bake on the middle rack of the oven for fifty minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out mostly clean.
Allow the apple pie to cool. Once completely cool, I like to loosely cover the loaf pan with a cloth and leave it on the counter or in the fridge overnight.
The taste and fluffy texture are even better the next day after excess moisture has evaporated. If you choose this route, be sure to leave a small opening when you cover the loaf so it doesn’t become mushy and dense from the trapped moisture.
After a day, refrigerate leftovers in a covered container. The light and healthy apple bread should stay fresh for up to four days.
Or, slice up leftover bread and freeze it in an airtight container for up to three months. Thaw before serving and reheat in the microwave or toasted oven if needed.
While the cinnamon is out, make healthy blueberry muffins
How do you serve the recipe?
The bread itself is good. Or top it with almond butter, cream cheese, peanut butter, pumpkin butter, melted coconut butter, or your favorite vanilla frosting.
For Dutch or Amish Apple Bread: Make a glaze by combining 1/2 cup powdered sugar with 1-2 Tbsp milk of your choice and optionally 1 Tbsp melted butter or coconut oil.
Feel free to switch up the flavor by tossing in a handful of raisins or shredded coconut. Or try replacing some of the apples with diced pineapple instead.
apples left? Make Apple Crisp Recipe or apple cinnamon oatmeal
- 2 cups finely diced apple
- 2 cups white, spelled or oat flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 3/4 tsp Salt
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp Cinammon
- 3/4 Cup Sugar, unrefined if desired
- 1 Cup milk of your choice
- 3 1/2 tablespoon Oil or applesauce for low fat
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
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You can either just add the cinnamon with the dry ingredients, or mix it in 2 Tbsp milk and toss into the loaf right before baking (see the recipe video above for a visual representation).Preheat oven to 350 F. Stir dry ingredients very well. Add remaining ingredients to form a batter, spread into a greased 9×5 pan and bake for 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the apple loaf comes out mostly clean. Let cool down. I like to cover with a cloth overnight and serve the next day because the flavor and texture is even better. Leftovers can also be sliced and frozen. If desired, glaze with your favorite frosting or the easy frosting recipe detailed earlier in this post.View nutritional information
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