Apple Cinnamon Bread

Treat yourself to a fluffy slice of this vegan apple cinnamon bread! This easy vegan quick bread recipe is perfectly cozy, tart, and sweet thanks to the juicy apples and warm cinnamon in every bite. Easy to customize and always a hit during fall, it’s the perfect treat to enjoy when the leaves start to change color.

The Coziest Vegan Apple Bread Recipe

When the wind gets a bit chillier and the leaves start to change color, you know it’s time to indulge in the coziest fall treats. There’s nothing quite like digging into a vegan pumpkin bundt cake or a pear crisp after a long and cold day!

Personally, we feel that nothing quite screams “fall” like apples. This sweet-tart fruit peaks during autumn, making it the perfect add-in for pies, crisps, healthy snacks, and more. 

One of our favorite ways to use our fresh apple orchard apples is in this easy apple cinnamon bread recipe. Super cozy with its warm spices and chock full of juicy shredded apples, this comforting treat strikes the perfect balance of sweet, moist, and tart. Want to have some extra fun with this bread? Fold walnuts, vegan chocolate chips, raisins, and more into the batter!

Enjoy this cinnamon apple quick bread for breakfast with your morning tea or coffee, as an after-school or work treat with your kids, or as a sweet snack to ease your midnight cravings.

Looking for more ways to use up your freshly picked apples? Check out our easy vegan apple muffins, stuffed baked apples, easy apple pear pie, or any of these 26 amazing vegan apple recipes.

The Ingredients and Substitutes

• Applesauce: This keeps the cinnamon apple bread super moist and binds the ingredients together, just like eggs. Try to use unsweetened applesauce so the bread isn’t overly sweet.
• Vegetable oil: This keeps the bread moist for longer. Use any neutral-tasting oil, like vegetable oil or canola oil.
• Sugar: I like using granulated white or brown sugar. Cane sugar or coconut sugar should work well, too.
• Apples: Grated Honeycrisp apples are my favorite in this quick bread. When shopping, use apples that are firm and free of bruises or bug holes. Also, choose apples with a distinct sweet fragrance. This is a tell-tale sign that they are fresh and ripe.

Fall is prime apple-picking season, so take advantage of the huge selection at your local farmer’s market. Our favorite baking apples are Honey Crisp, Cortland, Jonathan, Fuji, Gala, Granny Smith, Haralson, and Newtown Pippin because they’re firm enough to hold their shape when baked.

• Vanilla extract: For a delicate flavor and aroma in the bread.
• Flour: All-purpose flour is my go-to for baking, but a 1:1 gluten-free flour works just as well for this recipe. 
• Salt: To help balance the other flavors.
• Baking powder: This is what makes vegan apple bread nice and fluffy.
• Cinnamon: A must-have warming spice that makes the bread super cozy and comforting!
• Add-ins: Just like banana bread, you can stir raisins, vegan chocolate chips, or chopped walnuts into the dough at the end. That’s not all, though; there’s lots of room for other add-ins. Check out the ideas below!

What Else Could I Add?

• Chopped nuts: Chopped pistachios, walnuts, pecans, or peanuts add another layer of texture and flavor to the bread. To take the nuttiness up a notch, lightly toast the nuts in a dry skillet before folding them into the batter.
• Dried fruit: In addition to the raisins, you can add dried cranberries, chopped dates, or chopped apricots.
• Vegan chocolate: Fold dairy-free chocolate chips into the dough for melted pools of chocolate in every bite!
• More fruit: Like berries or grated pears.
• More spices: Add a pinch of nutmeg, ginger, allspice, cardamom, or pumpkin pie spice in addition to the cinnamon.

How to Make Apple Cinnamon Bread

Keep scrolling to the recipe card for the complete list of ingredients and recipe instructions.

• Grate the apples into a bowl.

• Stir the applesauce, oil, sugar, grated apples, and vanilla together in a large mixing bowl.

• Add the flour, salt, baking powder, and cinnamon to the bowl and gently mix until everything is combined.

Try not to overmix the batter! Over-stirring the wet and dry ingredients together will yield dense bread. Instead, only stir the two together until everything is just combined and no dry flour remains.

• Lastly, fold the mix-ins of your choice, like raisins, chocolate chips, or chopped walnuts, into the batter.
• Dump the batter into a prepared loaf pan and smooth out the top with a spatula.

• Bake until the bread is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Feel free to top the bread batter with grated apples, chopped nuts, or dried fruit before it goes into the oven.

FAQs

Top Recipe Tips and Notes

• Wash and peel the apples: Take the time to peel the apples with a vegetable peeler before you grate them. The skin doesn’t break down well as it cooks, so you’ll end up with stringy pieces in the bread.
• Instead of grating the apples: Chop them into small chunks instead!
• To prevent the apples from browning: Submerge the diced apple pieces in a bowl of water mixed with a splash of lemon juice before adding them to the batter.
• Measure the flour correctly: It’s best to spoon the flour into a measuring cup and level the excess off the top with a knife rather than scooping it from the bag. Too much flour in the dough = dry and dense bread.
• Let it rest before slicing: Set the baked loaf aside for 20 to 30 minutes so it can cool down. If you slice the bread when it’s warm, it’ll crumble and fall apart.

Serving Suggestions

Take each warm slice of apple and cinnamon bread to the next level with these tasty serving suggestions:

• Slather them with vegan butter.
• Top with your favorite fruit jam.
• Enjoy a warm slice with a scoop of vegan ice cream.
• Top with baked apple slices.
• Add a dollop of vegan whipped cream.
• Add a drizzle of caramel sauce.
• Serve with a glass of mulled apple cider.

Storage Instructions

After the vegan apple bread is cool, cover the whole loaf or as many slices as you want to eat in plastic wrap or keep them in an airtight container. Don’t slice the whole loaf or else the bread will dry out. The leftovers will stay moist and fresh at room temperature for up to 4 days.

If you want to store it longer, wrap the bread in a layer of plastic wrap and aluminum foil to keep it moist. It can be stored in the refrigerator for 1 week or in the freezer for up to 2 months.

I recommend warming every slice before serving for that freshly baked feeling. To reheat, pop the slices in the microwave for about 15 seconds.

More Easy Vegan Quick Breads

• Easy Banana Peach Bread
• Blueberry Breakfast Bread
• Vegan Pumpkin Bread
• Easy Vegan Zucchini Bread
• Vegan Jalapeno Cornbread

Photos by Alfonso Revilla