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Apple Cinnamon Bread

Apple cinnamon bread with juicy diced apples and warm spices baked into a moist, tender quick loaf. Finished with a crunchy cinnamon sugar top, it bakes in one pan at 350°F/175°C.
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Servings: 10 slices
Course: Breakfast
Cuisine: American
Calories: 280
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Dry ingredients
  • 2 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 0.5 tsp baking powder
  • 0.5 tsp salt
  • 2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 0.25 tsp ground nutmeg
Wet ingredients
  • 0.5 cup vegetable oil
  • 0.75 cup packed light brown sugar
  • 0.25 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 0.5 cup unsweetened applesauce
  • 0.25 cup milk
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
Fruit and topping
  • 1.5 cup peeled and diced apples
  • 2 tbsp granulated sugar for topping
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon for topping

Equipment

  • 1 sheet pan

Method
 

Prep the loaf pan and oven
  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C) and grease and line a 9x5-inch loaf pan with parchment (so the loaf releases cleanly).
Mix the dry ingredients
  1. Whisk the all-purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, ground cinnamon, and ground nutmeg until evenly combined (dry spices should be streak-free).
Mix the wet ingredients
  1. In a large bowl, whisk the vegetable oil, packed light brown sugar, granulated sugar, large eggs, unsweetened applesauce, milk, and vanilla extract until smooth (the mixture should look glossy and uniform).
Combine batter
  1. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined, stopping as soon as no dry flour remains (batter should be thick and lumping is okay).
  2. Fold in the peeled and diced apples so they are evenly distributed throughout the batter (you should see apple pieces all through).
Fill and top
  1. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and sprinkle evenly with the cinnamon sugar topping (the top should look speckled).
Bake
  1. Bake for 55 to 65 minutes at 350°F (175°C) until a toothpick in the center comes out clean (tent with foil after 40 minutes if the top browns too quickly).
Cool and slice
  1. Cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then lift out and cool completely before slicing (the loaf should feel set and not gummy in the center).

Notes

Pro tip: dice the apples into small, even pieces so they bake tender and distribute evenly. Store wrapped at room temperature up to 2 days or refrigerate up to 5 days. Freeze slices in a freezer-safe bag up to 2 months. For a lighter swap, replace the vegetable oil with an equal amount of unsweetened applesauce only if you accept a slightly softer crumb.