Apple Cinnamon Bread

This moist apple cinnamon bread is an easy quick bread recipe loaded with spice and studded with tender apples. Topped with a crunchy cinnamon sugar topping, every bite is bursting with delicious, cozy flavors.

Why You’ll Love This Apple Cinnamon Quick Bread Recipe

Apple cinnamon bread is such an easy quick bread to make now that the cozy season has arrived. This loaf falls somewhere between a bread and a soft, moist cake, bursting with juicy apple pieces and plenty of cinnamon spice. Here’s why you’ll love it:

• Apple cinnamon flavor. Swirls of cozy cinnamon and tender apples are the stars of the show. Every bite of this apple cinnamon bread is infused with spice and filled with sweet, caramelized apples, and totally indulgent.
• Moist, cake-like texture. This quick bread recipe is moist and tender like my apple fritter bread. The extra liquid from the apple seeps throughout the cake, creating rich, buttery edges that crisp up against the pan while the bread bakes.
• Crunchy sugar topping. The crunchy cinnamon sugar topping is the best part! It sits on top of the bread and forms a delectable crackly crust once it’s baked.
• Quick to make. Quick breads are famously simple to make and this recipe is no different! Just like banana bread, my apple cinnamon bread recipe comes together with easy ingredients in just a few minutes. Perfect for beginners!

This apple cinnamon quick bread is a lot like my brown sugar cinnamon swirl bread, with the addition of sweet sugared apples. If you’re a fan of this recipe, I’d also recommend my ultra-moist sour cream apple cake and these snickerdoodle muffins with a crunchy topping, too.

Ingredients You’ll Need

This apple cinnamon bread starts with basic ingredients, many of which you probably have in your pantry already. I have included some notes below. Don’t forget to scroll to the recipe card below the post for the full ingredient amounts and recipe instructions. 

• Flour
• Baking Powder – In a pinch, you can use my easy baking powder substitute. 
• Salt
• Butter – Brought to room temperature before you start.
• Sugar – This recipe uses a combination of light brown sugar and granulated sugar.
• Cinnamon – You can buy ground cinnamon from the store or grind it fresh if you’d like. Another spice, like nutmeg or apple pie spice, would also work.
• Eggs
• Vanilla – For the best possible flavor, I recommend real vanilla extract (as opposed to artificial vanilla).
• Milk – You can use whole milk, 2% milk, or your preferred dairy-free alternative.
• Apples – I use one Granny Smith apple, but any baking apple will work in this quick bread (see below). You’ll need to peel and chop the apple up into small chunks beforehand.
• Topping – You’ll combine additional cinnamon with granulated sugar for the cinnamon sugar topping.

What Are the Best Apples to Use In Apple Cinnamon Bread?

When it comes to baking apples, look for firmer varieties and avoid soft, mealy apples. In recipes for apple crisp or apple pie, I tend to lean towards tart apples or a combination of sweet and tart. However, since this bread recipe only calls for one apple, the choice is yours! My favorite apple variety for baking is Granny Smith, but Gala, Cortland, and Honeycrisp are all good options.

How to Make Apple Cinnamon Bread

Making this apple bread is SO easy, and all it takes is a few minutes. Let’s get started on the bread batter:

• Make the batter. First, you’ll whisk together flour, salt, and baking powder. In a separate bowl, cream together softened butter, cinnamon, and sugar using your stand mixer, then add the eggs and vanilla. Gradually beat the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Mix until the bread batter is just combined.
• Add the apples. Next, stir in your peeled and chopped apple pieces. The bread batter will be thick, similar to a cake batter. Pour the bread into a greased loaf pan lined with parchment paper. 

• Add the topping. Lastly, whisk together cinnamon with granulated sugar, and sprinkle this over the batter.
• Bake. Bake your apple bread at 350ºF for 50-55 minutes, until a toothpick stuck into the center comes out clean. Afterward, leave the bread to cool in the pan for a bit before lifting it out, so it can finish cooling on a wire rack.

Why Is My Apple Cinnamon Bread Dense?

If your apple cinnamon bread turns out dense, it’s likely because the batter was overmixed. Make sure that you only mix until the dry ingredients are just incorporated into the wet ingredients. 

Tips for Success

Here are my final tips for light and fluffy, yet moist and flavorful apple cinnamon bread:

• Measure the flour correctly. To avoid a dry, crumbly loaf, make sure that you’re measuring your flour accurately. Use a kitchen scale if you have one. Otherwise, use the spoon-and-level method, and spoon the flour into your measuring cup before leveling it off with the back of a knife.
• Bake in a metal loaf pan. A light-colored loaf pan is best. Avoid ceramic or glass baking pans as these tend to lead to uneven baking. Be sure to grease the loaf pan well and line it with parchment paper to make it easier to remove the bread.
• Dice the apples up small. Small, even-sized pieces ensure you get nice pops of apple in every bite.
• Keep the apples from sinking. If you’re worried about your apple chunks sinking to the bottom of the bread, toss them with a spoonful of flour before folding them into the batter.

Variation Ideas

You can customize this apple bread recipe in lots of different ways. Below are some easy ideas to get inspired by:

• Add nuts. For a touch of crunch, toss in a handful of chopped walnuts or pecans. You can also crush them up to add to the cinnamon sugar topping.
• Add frosting or glaze. Borrow the glaze from my cinnamon apple pie bars or top your loaf with creamy brown sugar frosting.
• Drizzle with caramel. In place of the crunchy topping, drizzle your apple cinnamon bread loaves with homemade caramel sauce. This apple cider caramel sauce would also be delicious and perfect for fall.
• More add-ins. Stir in dried cranberries, raisins, chocolate chips, or butterscotch chips.
• Make mini loaves or muffins. You can make this recipe in mini loaf pans or in a standard muffin tin instead.

How Do You Store Apple Cinnamon Bread?

• To Store. Store this apple cinnamon bread airtight at room temperature for up to 3 days. 
• Freezer. Like other quick bread recipes, this apple cinnamon loaf freezes well. You can freeze the bread whole or in slices. Wrap it tightly in a double layer of plastic wrap, and keep it frozen for up to 3 months. Defrost at room temperature before serving.

More Quick Bread Recipes

• Pumpkin Bread
• Fresh Strawberry Bread
• Zucchini Bread
• Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
• Blueberry Banana Bread

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