Healthy Apple Bread

Easy and moist Healthy Apple Bread made with fresh apples, warm cinnamon spice, whole grains and no refined sugars. It’s naturally sweet and perfect for a fall breakfast, snack or dessert.

Went apple picking? Try these deliciously spiced healthy apple muffins, classic healthy apple crisp, or super easy healthy baked apples!

This healthy apple bread recipe is the best way to use up an abundance of apples.

I am an advocate for eating fruit and berries raw. But for the last 11 years I happen to live in a house with an apple tree. And since we do not spray our trees, some apples have bugs and worms.

It’s the perfect excuse to bake this bread and make lots and lots of Instant Pot applesauce, which I also can use in this recipe.

Whether you have an apple tree like me or just picked too many apples during a local orchard outing, making this apple bread is a great way to use them!

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• Real apple pieces: Delicious apple taste in every bite.
• Warm fall flavors: Cinnamon and nutmeg add a cozy vibe.
• Whole grains: Made with whole wheat or spelt flour for whole grain goodness.
• Healthy: Classic quick bread recipe replaces high amounts of oil with applesauce.
• Easy to make: With fresh apples, baking staples from the pantry and mixed in one bowl.

Ingredients for Healthy Apple Bread

• Apples: Fresh is best but this recipe even works with apples that have lost their crunch. Variety that’s excellent for baking include tart Granny Smith, Cortland, Honeycrisp, or Braeburn. But any variety of apples works!
• Unsweetened applesauce: If sweetened applesauce is all you can find, that is fine. Just note that your bread will be more sweet.
• Eggs: For binding the ingredients together.
• Whole wheat flour or spelt flour: Whole grains keep you full longer and are best for this bread. Do not substitute with other flours. Baking is a science!
• Maple syrup or honey: Any liquid sweetener you prefer can be used.
• Oil: Use your preferred one including avocado oil, melted coconut oil or olive oil.
• Cinnamon and nutmeg: Warming spices are the essence of fall and make this bread heavenly.

How to Make Healthy Apple Bread

This bread is so easy to make from scratch in one bowl and you don’t even need to peel your apples!

You will also need a non stick 9×5 loaf pan either sprayed with cooking spray or lined with parchment paper.

Dice the apples: The most important tip is to take time and dice the apples. So every bite you take has lots of apples. Remember, no peeling.

Whisk eggs, wet ingredients and spices: Whisk wet ingredients in large mixing bowl until no lumps are floating.

There is no need for 2 bowls if you make sure baking powder and baking soda are completely dissolved.

Add flour and stir gently: The top of measuring cup with your dry ingredient of flour should be flat. And when mixing the batter, give it 10 seconds to absorb before stirring again.

Add diced apples and stir just enough to mix in: I doubled the recipe so that is why my bowl was so full.

Bake for 60-70 minutes in preheated 350 degrees F oven. We have lots of juicy apples in here, so it takes a bit longer to bake the apple bread. When a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, your bread is done.

Cool and slice: Remove from the oven and cool for 10 minutes in the pan. Then transfer to a cooling rack to cool off almost completely. Cut into 10 slices with serrated bread knife and enjoy!

Variations

• Applesauce: Can be substituted with an equal amount of finely grated raw carrots, crushed pineapple or shredded zucchini. No need to squeeze anything.
• Egg free: I have not tested this recipe with flax eggs or chia eggs, but they might work!
• Nuts and dried fruit: Add up to 1/4 cup toasted chopped walnut, pecans, or dried fruit like raisins or dried cranberries.
• Dutch apple bread: Add a healthy cinnamon streusel topping like I do in apple cinnamon muffins and almond flour cinnamon bread by combining coconut sugar or light brown sugar with ground cinnamon. Drizzle with a glaze of powdered sugar and milk.
• Amish apple bread: This bread is a healthy version of it already, just be sure to add the cinnamon sugar topping listed above.

Tips for Best Results

• Sweeter bread: If you like very sweet bread, increase to 3/4 cup maple syrup or preferred liquid sweetener.
• Bread pan color: Apple bread bakes faster in dark loaf pan than in light or glass one.
• Internal temperature of bread: When an instant read thermometer inserted in the center of the bread registers between 195-200 degrees F, it’s done!
• Bake as muffins at 350 degrees F for 22-25 minutes.
• Batter will be thick when making this bread! Don’t be alarmed by that and add extra ingredients to compensate, the recipe as written with ingredients will release water as it bakes.
• Slicing: Bread will be much easier to slice if you let it cool to barely warm. It has a lot of apples.

How to Serve It

I love to eat this healthy apple bread slightly warm right out of the oven! Either on its own or spread with softened butter, apple butter, or even nut butter like almond butter or peanut butter.

You could also enjoy it alongside plain or vanilla Greek yogurt. Sprinkle the yogurt with cinnamon for some more cozy fall flavor. For a dessert variation, serve with a scoop of vegan vanilla ice cream.

How to Store

Store: For up to 2 days, I like to place cooled apple bread back into the loaf pan and keep covered with a towel on the counter at room temperature. Sliced bread dries out faster.

Day 3-5, if you have any leftover apple bread at this point, refrigerate it tightly wrapped in plastic or in a plastic bag.

Freeze: Freeze baked and cooled bread in a plastic bag for up to 3 months. It’s better to freeze apple bread loaf whole and not sliced.

Reheat: Thaw on a counter for 3-4 hours or in the fridge overnight. Warm entire loaf in the oven at 350 degrees F for 10 minutes or in the microwave.

FAQs

More Healthy Quick Bread Recipes

• Healthy banana bread
• Healthy pumpkin bread
• Healthy zucchini bread

More Apple Recipes to Try

• Healthy breakfast cake
• Healthy apple oatmeal bars