Apple Cinnamon Swirl Bread is an amazingly moist loaf studded with juicy apples, pecans and cinnamon swirl. It goes perfectly with coffee!
I’m in love I’m in love and I don’t care who knows it!!
Holy guacamole. This bread absolutely positively BLEW MY MIND. So delectably moist and wonderfully cinnamony, bejeweled with juicy Honeycrisp apple and studded with luscious cinnamon sugar pecans.
Does life get any better than this?!
Jeff and I enjoyed a slice with hot coffee every morning last week while I read my book and he caught up on the news. Then we ate it again for Rosh Hashanah! I could totally get down with our apple cinnamon swirl bread and coffee ritual on the regular.
This is of course a quick bread, not a yeasted bread. It’s a super simple recipe that comes together in no time and makes the most delish dessert, breakfast treat, or mid-afternoon pick me up. This would be a great recipe to make with kiddos!
Key ingredients, tips and substitutions
- Flour: We’re rockin’ all-purpose or whole wheat pastry flour here for fluff factor!
- Sugar: We’re using good old white sugar in the bread and brown sugar in the filling. Keeping it classic! I use organic cane sugar, but any version of your favorite granulated dry sweetener should work. Coconut sugar should work instead of brown sugar, although it may taste less sweet. (This recipe has not been formulated for a wet sweetener like maple syrup.)
- Applesauce and oil: To bring out the apple flavor even more, we’re using unsweetened applesauce instead of adding a lot of extra oil. There’s only 2 tbsp of oil in the recipe, but it’s mega moist. Any neutral flavored oil works well here.
- Add-ins: Swap walnuts for pecans if you prefer. If you can’t do nuts or dislike them, you can omit, but I’d add a bit more brown sugar so the cinnamon layer is substantial!
- Spices: This bread has a full tablespoon of cinnamon, which I found to be the perfect amount. You could also add 1/4 tsp of nutmeg or a pinch of ginger if you like! If you have apple pie spice, that would also be delish.
- Egg: Flax eggs have worked wonderfully as a substitution for eggs in my other bread recipes, so I have no doubt they’d work well here.
Wouldya look at that golden beauty?!
Which flour to use
This recipe calls for 2 cups of flour. I did 1 cup of all-purpose flour and 1 cup of whole wheat flour. It’s delish with 2 cups of all-purpose flour as well! If you want to go 100% whole grain, I suggest using whole wheat pastry flour or white whole wheat flour, which is nice and soft and less “wheaty.”
For a gluten free loaf, I suggest using Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 all purpose baking flour. It works amazingly well! Oat flour, coconut flour, and almond flour won’t work in this recipe. My Pumpkin Bread and Double Chocolate Banana Bread are naturally gluten free and use almond + oat flour!
How to make muffins
Yep–you can absolutely whip up muffins if you prefer individual portions versus a loaf. They cook in way less time, which is always a plus.
Simply make the batter, divide half the batter into the muffin tins, sprinkle with a spoonful of cinnamon sugar, and repeat with the remaining batter and cinnamon sugar. Swirl each muffin with a knife for that pretty cinnamon sugar swirl.
Bake for 8 minutes at 425°F then, keeping the muffins in the oven, reduce the oven temperature to 350°F. Bake for an additional 12-15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with just a few crumbs. The total baking time will be about 20-23 minutes.
Storage tips
You can store this apple cinnamon bread on the countertop in an air-tight container for up to three days. If you still have some left, you can store it in the fridge for up to a week. Warm it in the microwave before serving and it tastes as good as new!
To freeze, wrap the loaf tightly in foil then in a plastic bag with the air squeezed out. It will stay fresh for up to three months. You can thaw it on the counter overnight when you’re ready to eat.
I hope you’re as in love with this wondrous Apple Cinnamon Swirl Bread as I am! If you make it, please leave a comment and star rating letting me know how it turned out. I’m so grateful for your feedback!
Apple Cinnamon Swirl Bread
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 65 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Yield: 1 standard loaf 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Description
Apple Cinnamon Swirl Bread is an amazingly moist loaf studded with juicy apples, pecans and cinnamon swirl. This fall treat goes perfectly with coffee! See recipe notes for how to make muffins plus vegan modifications.
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 1 tbsp cinnamon
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans
- 2 cups flour (I did half all-purpose, half whole wheat)
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- ½ tsp fine sea salt
- 2/3 cup organic cane sugar
- 1 cup milk of choice (I used unsweetened vanilla almond)
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 2 tbsp avocado oil or melted coconut oil
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup apple, diced small (I used Honeycrisp
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9×5 inch loaf pan. In a small bowl, mix together brown sugar, cinnamon and pecans, and set aside.
- In large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and cane sugar. In a liquid measuring cup or bowl, whisk together milk, egg, applesauce, oil and vanilla. Add liquid to flour mixture, gently stirring just until combined. Fold in apple, being careful not to over-mix.
- Pour half of the batter into loaf pan. Sprinkle with 2/3 of the cinnamon sugar pecan mixture. Pour remaining batter on top of the mixture, using a rubber spatula to spread it out. Top with remaining cinnamon sugar mixture. Use a knife to make a large swirl through the batter to marble to bread.
- Bake for for about 60-70 minutes (mine took 65 minutes), covering loosely with foil after 30 minutes to prevent the top from getting too brown. The bread is done when a knife inserted into center of the loaf comes out with a few crumbs. Cool bread on a wire rack.
Notes
Adapted from this recipe.
*Be sure to measure the 1 cup of diced apple. Using more can make the loaf too moist!
TO MAKE VEGAN: Sub a flax egg. Mix 1 tbsp ground flax mixed with 3 tbsp warm water. Set aside to gel for 5 minutes.
TO MAKE GLUTEN-FREE: Some readers have commented that they’ve had success with Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 all purpose gluten free baking flour, but I have not tested it. Do not substitute other flours like almond, oat, or coconut as they will not work in this recipe.
TO STORE: Store leftovers in an air-tight container on the counter for up to 3 days and then transfer to the refrigerator for up to a week. It tastes great reheated in the microwave!
TO MAKE MUFFINS: Divide half the batter into the muffin tins, sprinkle with a spoonful of cinnamon sugar, then repeat with remaining batter and cinnamon sugar. Swirl each muffin with a knife. Bake for 8 minutes at 425°F then, keeping the muffins in the oven, reduce the oven temperature to 350F. Bake for an additional 12-15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. (Total baking time is about 20-23 minutes).
So delicious! Made this for breakfast when my parents visited and had to make another to send home with them 🙂
★★★★★
Hahaha yessss, parent-approved!
Oh my goodness this was delicious and so so easy! I only had enough flour for a half batch so I made it into muffins. Definitely will be making this recipe again soon!
★★★★★
Love it, thanks so much girl!
So yummy! Perfect for breakfast, snack or dessert! Will definitely be making again!
★★★★★
Love it, thanks Lizzy!!
Such a tasty treat!!! It is so moist, but only uses 2 T. of oil. Comes together rather quickly. This is definitely going to become a regular in our house. My only suggestion is to lightly push the topping into the batter on the top to make sure that the nuts do not fall off when you take it out of the pan.
★★★★★
Thanks for the feedback, Amy! Great tip. Glad you enjoyed it!
This recipe looks delicious! Do you think it would work well in a mini loaf pan?
Definitely, I don’t see why not! You’d just have to reduce the baking time–you could google mini loaves and go from there 🙂 I never make mini loaves so I’m not much help!
This bread is almost TOO good! I made it exactly as written, I used whole milk because I had some leftover from making challah a couple of weeks ago. The bread came out perfect, it’s moist and has an almost cake-like texture, but not too sweet. I immediately ate two slices as soon as it had cooled enough. It makes the perfect breakfast treat! 10/10 will bake again.
★★★★★
OMG now I’m craving homemade challah. Yummm! So glad you loved this one, Mandy!
OMG I loved this so much! I’ve already made it twice and have had rave reviews from everyone who’s had it! I followed the instructions exactly but made it both times in two slightly smaller loaf tins so I could give it to neighbors. I’m in the UK and honey crisp apples would be my choice but are hard to find here so I used jazz apples and it was excellent! Will be making again very soon! Thanks for such a great recipe!
★★★★★
Mmmm sounds wonderful! I’m thrilled that it went over so well with everyone 🙂 Thanks a ton for letting me know, Anna!
I followed your recipe exactly (except for taking the vegan option, using a flax egg) and it turned out perfectly! This may just edge out banana bread for my go-to breakfast… Thank you for such an easy to follow and easy to EAT recipe!
★★★★★
Awwww I love it! Thank you so much for the stellar feedback, Kari!
This is so good, cannot wait to make more of it this season!! I am all for cinnamon & spice & apples – so cozy & perfect with coffee! Next time I’m trying muffins!
★★★★★
Yay!! Can’t wait for you to enjoy them as muffins, too! Thanks Sara 🙂
This bread is the best thing I’ve baked in a while. So so good. I am so glad I doubled the recipe so I have a dozen muffins in the freezer. I also sent the link to my family for some baking inspiration!
★★★★★
Amazing! So smart to make extra as muffins 🙂 Thanks, Molly!
Made this today using 2% milk and vegetable oil. AMAZING. Will repeat. It tastes kind of like a pancake. Also used a gala apple instead of honey crisp since that’s what I had on hand. Still delicious although I bet honey crisp would have been been better. This will be a regular baking treat. Thanks Alexis!
★★★★★
I love it! Gala apples are so yummy. Thanks for letting me know this was a winner for you, Anna!
This is the BEST bread ever!!!!! I used a couple tablespoons of JustEgg instead of egg Nd walnuts instead of pecans (because I didn’t have any). I would take a picture but there is only one slice left! So moist and tasty!!!! Definitely making this recipe over and over!
★★★★★
I love it! Thank you so much for the glowing review, Erin!!
Highly recommend! Perfect fall morning treat. Subbed with Bob’s 1:1 GF flour, flax egg and oat milk. This was so good I will be making again, doubling the recipe, and freezing for later!
★★★★★
Yayyy that’s so awesome! Thanks, Heather! It freezes SO well. Just ate a slice for the freezer this morning!
I made this this morning and it was SOOOO GOOD! I loved the combo of pecans and apple. Thank you!
★★★★★
Amazing, thanks Janelle!
I couldn’t think of a more fitting snack than this!! It’s just the perfect amount of sweet and yummy and all so good!!
★★★★★
Eeeee thank you, Beth!
Such a perfect treat alongside a hot coffee! The cinnamon brown sugar topping makes it! So good 🙂
★★★★★
Yessss craving it again now!!