Apple Bread Recipe
by Sommer Collier — on Sep 21, 2026 If you love all things apple as much as I do, you’ll want to make my apple cinnamon bread recipe again and again throughout fall, or really, any season! Each loaf is made with pantry basics, including brown sugar and warm baking spices, with scrumptious little bits of crisp apples studded throughout a tender and moist crumb. Bake two loaves to enjoy and share now, or keep one in the freezer for whenever you crave a sweet taste of autumn apple-liciousness!
YAY it’s apple baking season! (Ok you can’t see me, but just know that I’m jumping up and down and clapping as I type this!) I absolutely love this time of year when apples and cinnamon flow freely in all our baked goods. Today’s simple quick bread recipe is a great way to use up that bushel of apples you picked at the orchard. Similar to my reader-favorite oat banana bread, this is a light moist sweet bread with diced apples, and yes, a generous amount of cinnamon and nutmeg dotted throughout. And speaking of generous, my apple bread recipe makes two full loaves. Bake up both and enjoy one for a delicious breakfast or snack throughout the week (if it lasts that long. Ha!) and freeze the other for later!
Table of Contents
Sommer’s Recipe Highlights
Two are Better Than One – As I mentioned above, my recipe makes two loaves of apple bread… You can enjoy one for now, and either give the other away or wrap it up tightly put it in the freezer for several months.
Easy, Fast, and Delicious – Like my basically famous sweet cornbread recipe, my apple bread recipe is a quick bread, meaning there’s no yeast. I’m only relying on baking powder and eggs to lift the loaves. And this is a sweet bread, because it includes fruit and sugar, kind of like banana bread. But you know, with apples.
My Tried-and-True Tips – I’m not just giving you a recipe here, people. I’m sharing a wealth of knowledge for how to make the best apple bread you’ve ever had! (Although honestly, these no-fail tips are great to make nearly any sweet bread.)
Key Ingredients and Tips
- Apples – Typically, I use whatever crisp, firm, and tangy-sweet apples are on sale at the store. But if given the choice, I think the best apples to make apple bread with are Honeycrisp, Braeburn, or Fuji. You can even use a combo of apples!
- Dry ingredients – This recipe uses the familiar lineup of dry ingredients… All-purpose flour, brown sugar, baking powder, and salt. No doubt you already have these in your pantry.
- Spices – To really bring the fall flavor I’m, of course, using ground cinnamon and nutmeg in my recipe!
- Eggs – I use large eggs at room temperature. Cold eggs can mess up the baking process, so I recommend letting them sit on the counter for 15-20 minutes before using.
- Dairy – I use whole milk and melted butter for bread that is soft, fluffy, and super duper tender.
- Vanilla extract – Don’t cheap out here! There is a HUGE difference in taste between real vanilla and “vanilla” made with alcohol and food coloring.
- Lemon juice – I use fresh squeezed lemon juice. Bottled juice straight-up tastes artificial and weird in baking.
How to Make
Find the full ingredient proportions, detailed instructions, storage tips, and a video tutorial in the printable form at the bottom of the post.
Prep, Peel, and Core – I start by preheating the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, and get out my baking pans… Each loaf uses a 9 x 5-inch loaf bread pan (or 8 x 4-inch), so you can either use two at the same time if you have them, or make and bake one apple cinnamon bread at a time. Use softened butter or nonstick baking spray to grease the pan(s).
Next, I get out one medium and one large mixing bowl. I squeeze the lemon juice into the medium-size bowl. Then as I cut the apples, I’ll add them to this bowl of lemon juice to keep them from browning. That’s exactly what I do next! Peel and core the apples first, then use a sharp knife to cut them into small 1/4-inch cubes, and toss them into the bowl.
Combine Dry Ingredients – Step aside, apples… Now I add the all-purpose flour, brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, and nutmeg to the large bowl. I use a whisk to mix everything together until there are no clumps left.
Add and Whisk – Next, I add the wet ingredients to the large bowl… Eggs, milk, melted butter, and vanilla extract. Mix again just until it’s a smooth batter, but don’t over mix it! Overworking the batter can make the bread dense and gummy.
Fold Apples – Now I use a spatula to fold in the apples, then give a gentle stir to finish. I want the apple pieces to be evenly distributed throughout the batter, but again, without overmixing.
Scoop and Bake – Then I add equal amounts of the batter into the two baking pans, and smooth with a spatula so the tops are even. If you’re only making one loaf at a time, scoop approximately half of the batter into the pan. Cover the bowl with the remaining batter with plastic wrap, or even just a light clean towel, and pop it in the fridge for now.
I place the loaf pans into the hot oven on the center rack, and set the timer for 50 minutes. When the timer is up, I use a toothpick to check the bread for doneness… Poke the middle of the bread with the toothpick, and if there is any wet batter, bake for another 5-10 minutes.
Cool – Once the apple cinnamon bread is beautifully golden brown and lightly crisp on the outside, remove the pan from the oven and place it on a baking sheet to cool. Leave it alone for at least 15 minutes in the pan! Only when it’s cool to the touch do I use a butter knife to loosen the bread from the pan, and carefully flip the pan upside down so the bread comes out and is on the cooling rack.
Then slice immediately, or store the bread for later!
Expert Tips
As with all breads, and baked goods for that matter, it’s extremely important to measure the ingredients properly. Flour should always be fluffed in the bag to lighten and loosen it, then spooned in the measuring cups, then leveled on top. This is the only way we crazy Americans can come close to a proper weight measuring. (We know your way is better, international friends, but we’re not going to stop using measuring cups. They’re comforting.)
Unlike a yeast bread, you want to be very careful not to overmix the batter. With yeast breads, you want to knead and work the dough to develop the gluten so they have a beautiful stretch in crust. But here, you want to just barely mix everything, so it has a light fluffy texture. We do not want to develop the gluten here, otherwise it turns into a regular denser bread bread!
If the bread starts looking too dark on top before it’s fully baked, place a piece of foil loosely over the top of top of each loaf to stop the top from browning. Then continue baking.
Serving Suggestions
One loaf yields about 10-12 slices, depending on how thick you want each piece. (Although personally, I want to cut massive chunks to yield more like 6 pieces… Don’t do that, Sommer.)
I love to enjoy a warm slice of apple cinnamon bread slathered with softened butter. But for an extra sweet dessert-like treat, I suggest making my fabulous whipped honey butter!
Storage Notes
Once completely cool, wrap the loaf tightly in plastic cling wrap. You can store on the counter for up to 3 days, or in the refrigerator for up to a week.
If wrapped well with plastic and then with foil, you can even freeze loaves for up to six months! Then thaw it in the refrigerator overnight and rewarm slices in a toaster oven. You can also reheat individual pieces of bread in the microwave, but you should first wrap them first in slightly damp paper towel to keep the bread from drying out.
Frequently Asked Questions
Crumbly sweet breads are usually caused by over mixing the batter, or over baking. If you really mix the batter way more than you should, it gets thick and gummy, and messes up the moisture.
It’s likely that you didn’t mix the dry ingredients with the butter and milk quite enough, leaving pockets of moisture in the batter. Soggy apple bread can also happen if the bread isn’t fully baked… Try popping it back into the oven for another 10 minutes to see if it bakes and firms up more.
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More Bread Recipes
Apple Bread Recipe
Video
Ingredients
- 2 cups diced apple
- 1-2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 ¼ cups light brown sugar packed
- 3 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoons ground nutmeg
- 4 large eggs
- 1 cup whole milk or 2%
- 1 cup melted butter or light olive oil
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Set out two 9 x 5 inch bread pans (or 8 x 4 inch). Grease the pans well and set aside.
- Set out a medium and large mixing bowl. Pour the lemon juice in the medium mixing bowl. Peel and core the apples, and then dice them into small ¼ inch cubes. Toss that diced apples into the lemon juice to slow the browning. Set aside.
- In the large bowl, combine the flour, light brown sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg. Whisk well to eliminate any clumps.
- Add the eggs, milk, melted butter, and vanilla extract. Whisk well until smooth. Finally, fold in the diced apples and mix only until the apples are equally distributed.
- Scoop the batter equally into the prepared baking pans. Spread the batter out evenly in both pans.
- Place in the oven on the center rack. Bake for approximately 50-60 minutes, until a toothpick inserted deep into the center comes out clean. Allow the bread to cool for at least 15 minutes in the pan. Then use a butter knife to loosen the edges and flip the bread out on a cooling rack. You can cut and serve the bread immediately, but it will slice better if you allow it to cool to room temperature.
- Once completely cool, wrapping plastic. You can store on the counter for up to 3 days, or in the refrigerator for up to a week. If wrapped well with plastic and then with foil, you can freeze for up to six months.
I made both loaves on a Sunday afternoon and my family devoured the first one before it even had a chance to cool! The cinnamon and nutmeg fill the whole house with the most incredible smell and the apple pieces inside are so perfectly soft and delicious!