This easy recipe for Apple Cinnamon Bread combines sweet and tart granny smith apples with greek yogurt for a flavorful apple cinnamon loaf that’s perfect for Fall! Serve this apple bread recipe as a breakfast, a snack, or as a decadent dessert with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Apple and cinnamon are two flavors that are mean to be together. The sweet and tart flavor of apple always seems to pair perfectly with the warming flavor of cinnamon. I love combining them when making Apple Cider Donuts, Apple Blondies, or Apple Pie, but they also taste great in apple loaf form too.
In this delicious recipe, granny smith apples are cut into pieces and seasoned. They are then folded into an apple cinnamon bread batter that is made with sweet applesauce and greek yogurt. This gives it a sweet dense but light texture and keeps the apple bread super moist.
Before it’s baked, you’ll top it with a crunchy crumble that’s made by combining flour and butter along with cinnamon and chopped pecans. When baked, this gives the apple cinnamon bread recipe a crunchy sweet topping that pairs perfectly with an apple bread that’s full of fresh apple flavor!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- It combines the best flavors of fall with sweet apples and warming cinnamon.
- You can eat the apple cinnamon bread as breakfast, as a snack, or as a decadent dessert.
- The bread makes a great gift for teachers, friends, or neighbors.
- Kids and adults love it.
- Greek yogurt adds a great dense texture and also adds satisfying protein.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Granny Smith Apple – Gives this apple loaf bites of fresh apple throughout. You can substitute with any other crisp tart apple.
- Light Brown Sugar – Adds additional sweetness with a hint of caramel flavor. You can substitute with 1/3 cup granulated sugar, but it may alter the flavor slightly.
- Seasonings – You’ll need cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, and salt to give this apple loaf a warm flavor.
- Flour – A mix of all-purpose flour and white whole wheat flour gives this apple bread a great texture. You can substitute with all all-purpose flour or use a gluten free 1:1 all purpose flour.
- Baking Powder & Baking Soda – Helps the bread rise slightly giving it a fluffy yet dense texture.
- Greek Yogurt – Makes the bread smooth and soft while adding healthy protein.
- Unsweetened Applesauce – Adds a moist texture to the apple bread and gives it additional apple flavor.
- Eggs – Help to bind and set the bread while baking.
- Vanilla Extract – Infuses the apple loaf with a light vanilla flavor.
- Unsalted Butter – Adds a rich buttery flavor and texture.
Apple Crumble Topping:
- All-Purpose Flour – Gives the crumble its dry crunchy texture.
- Unsalted Butter – Binds to the flour to help it stay crumbly and buttery.
- Light Brown Sugar – Adds sweetness to the crumble.
- Cinnamon – Gives the topping a warm flavor.
- Chopped Pecans – Adds crunch and flavor to the topping. You can substitute with walnuts or omit completely, if desired.
This apple bread recipe comes together in three basic steps. First, you will create a brown sugar cinnamon mixture to mix with the chopped apples. Mix together the remaining ingredients in a bowl and then transfer to a baking pan. Top with the cinnamon sugar topping and bake.
How To Make Apple Cinnamon Bread
- Prepare for baking: Preheat your oven to 350F. Grease a 9×5 inch loaf pan with butter, then dust with flour to keep the bread from sticking. Set aside.
- Season the apples: Peel and chop the granny smith apple into small cubes, then add them to a bowl along with seasonings and brown sugar. Toss to combine, then set aside.
- Mix the dry ingredients: In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until fully combined.
- Mix the wet ingredients: In a separate bowl, add the applesauce with the yogurt and whisk together. Add each egg one at a time and whisk fully. Then, add melted butter and vanilla until all wet ingredients are mixed well together.
- Assemble the apple bread batter: In batches, add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients without overmixing until a thick batter is formed. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the cubed apple mixture. Pour the apple loaf batter into the prepared loaf pan.
- Make the crumble topping: Add all of the crumble ingredients into a small bowl, then cut the butter into the dry mixture using your fingertips until a coarse crumbly mixture is formed. Distribute the crumble topping over the apple batter layer.
- Bake and cool: Place the apple bread in the oven and bake for 40-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack where it will cool completely before slicing and serving.
Recipe Tips
- The best apples for baking are granny smith, pink lady, or gala apples. These tend to have sturdier flesh and hold up well to heat.
- Do not overwork the dough when mixing. Because you’re working with wheat flour, it’s important that you don’t overwork the dough when mixing the ingredients as this could cause the bread to be too dense after baking.
- Make sure the butter for the topping is cold. Do not use room temperature butter as it will not create the coarse crumbles needed.
- Grease and line the baking pan with parchment paper.
- Allow the apple cinnamon bread to cool completely. If you remove it from the pan too soon, it may cause it to crumble.
Variations
- To make gluten-free apple bread: Use gluten-free flour to replace both flours. Make sure the blend is a 1:1 ratio for all-purpose flour and that it already contains xanthan gum.
- Pack with more veggies by folding in some shredded carrot or shredded zucchini to the mix.
- Use Homemade Pumpkin Pie Spice to season the apples for additional fall warming flavors.
- Dried fruit such as raisins, cranberries, golden berries, or currants makes a great addition for sweet texture and flavor.
- Use your favorite toasted nuts on top of the crumble or inside the batter for extra crunch.
- Pureed pumpkin in place of the applesauce gives this bread a light pumpkin flavor and extra moist texture. You can also use mashed overripe bananas.
- To make this apple bread a decadent dessert, serve warm with a scoop of ice cream or whipped cream on top.
You can bake this apple bread into mini loaves. Depending on the size of your loaf pans, you may be able to bake up to 10 mini loaves instead of one 9×5 loaf. Fill each loaf pan about 1/2 way full before before baking.
Other Quick Bread Recipes
Did you make this cinnamon apple bread recipe? Leave a rating and review below.
Apple Cinnamon Bread
Yield: 12 slices
A delicious apple cinnamon bread made with granny smith apples, cinnamon spice and a pecan crumble topping.
Ingredients
For the bread:
- 1 granny smith apple, peeled, cored and chopped into small pieces
- 1/3 cup light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon allspice
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup Greek Yogurt
- 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 2 eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
For the crumble topping:
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/3 cup chopped pecans
- 3 tablespoons cold unsalted butter
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour the bottom and sides of a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan; set aside.
- In a small bowl, combine chopped apples, brown sugar, cinnamon, allspice and nutmeg; set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flours, baking powder, baking soda and salt; set aside.
- In a large bowl, stir together yogurt and applesauce until combined. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing until combined. Add vanilla and butter and stir until incorporated.
- Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients until barely combined. The batter will be thick but be careful not to over-mix.
- Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the apples into the batter. Transfer batter to prepared loaf pan.
- To prepare the crumble topping, combine the flour, sugar, cinnamon and pecans together in a small bowl. Use your fingertips to work the cold butter into the flour mixture. Sprinkle the crumble topping over the batter in the pan and gently press down with your hands.
- Bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean and the top is golden brown. (You can cover the bread with foil during the last ten minutes of baking time to prevent over-browning.) Cool in pan for 10 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Enjoy!
Notes
Storing: Cooled apple bread can be stored on the counter for 3 days or will last in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 1 week.
Freeze apple bread: If you plan on freezing apple cinnamon bread, make sure it is completely cooled, then wrap it tightly in plastic wrap with a layer of foil on top. Transfer to an airtight container or freezer-safe bag where it will stay fresh for up to 4 months. Thaw on the countertop before serving.
Nutrition
Calories: 254kcal, Carbohydrates: 33g, Protein: 6g, Fat: 10g, Saturated Fat: 5g, Cholesterol: 48mg, Sodium: 116mg, Potassium: 149mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 13g, Vitamin A: 280IU, Vitamin C: 0.8mg, Calcium: 68mg, Iron: 1.2mg
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The tip to add pumpkin spice is fall perfection! Combines both classic fall flavors and makes the bread even more delicious!
This was the perfect fall bread recipe I’ve been looking for! It was full of flavor and very delicious!
I do not have white whole wheat flour. Can I just use 1 1/2 cups white flour? And 1/2 cup all purpose flour? Meaning all white flour. Or could I put 1 1/2 cup wheat flour? And 1/2 cup all purpose flour?
Hi, Fina! Yes, you can use 1 1/2 cups white all-purpose flour (2 cups total) or 1 1/2 cup wheat flour instead of the white whole wheat flour.
Yum!! This bread looks absolutely delicious and I love that you used granny smith apples…. my faves for baking!