This easy Cinnamon Apple Bread recipe is loaded with shredded apples and cinnamon sugar streusel. The streusel is swirled into the batter and also layered on top for the ultimate flavor. This moist quick bread is perfect for fall baking!
If you loved my cinnamon quick bread, you’ll definitely love this apple bread recipe!
I’m an east coast gal, so naturally fall is my favorite time of year, beside winter. Yes, I love winter too. Fall equals apple picking which also usually means apple cider donuts and pumpkin ice cream. If you love all those fall flavors, this apple bread recipe is perfect for autumn baking. It’s filled with shredded apples tossed in cinnamon and layered with the most perfect brown sugar streusel.
The good news is, you don’t need to wait for apple season to make this bread. Just get your apples from your local store, then bake up this apple bread for breakfast! It can even be wrapped up and gifted to a friend or neighbor.
What You’ll Need
Here’s what you’ll need to make homemade apple bread from scratch:
For the Bread
- Vegetable Oil – This helps make the bread moist.
- Eggs
- Vanilla Extract – Make sure to use pure vanilla extract, not imitation.
- Sugar
- Sour Cream – You could also use plain yogurt.
- All Purpose Flour
- Baking Soda
- Kosher Salt
- Apples – I prefer granny smith apples.
- Ground Cinnamon
For the Streusel
- All Purpose Flour
- Light Brown Sugar – In a pinch you could also use dark brown sugar
- White Sugar
- Butter – I prefer to use unsalted butter
What Kind of Apples To Use
I like to use granny smith (green) apples because they’re a little bit tart, and I think they have better flavor. I also like them because they aren’t super soft. Softer apples may have even more liquid, and may not shred very well.
That being said, any type of apple would work for this. You’ll need 1 heaping cup of shredded apples, which was 3 large granny smith apples. So if your apples are small, you may need 4-5 of them.
How to Make Apple Bread
- Preheat the oven and prepare the loaf pan. The best way to ensure your bread doesn’t stick to the pan is to spray it with cooking spray and line the bottom and sides with parchment paper. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Beat the wet ingredients: Combine the eggs, oil and vanilla extract. Beat together until well combined.
- Add the sugar beating until combined then add the sour cream and finish mixing.
- Combine the dry ingredients then mix just until the flour starts to combine.
- Prepare the apples. Be sure to read through my tips above! Fold the apples into the batter.
- Prepare the streusel
- Build the bread: In the loaf pan, layer half the batter in the pan, then add half the streusel and gently swirl. Add the remaining batter on top and finally, the remaining streusel.
- Bake at 350°F for 50-60 minutes
Tips for preparing the apples
For this recipe, I choose to use shredded apples instead of chunks of apples. I’d rather have the apples spread throughout the bread and I’m not a huge fan of the texture of baked apple pieces.
- Peel the apples
- Grate the apples: Place a cheese grater over top of a bowl, and work your way around the apple to shred each side down to the core
- Drain the liquid from the apples: I prefer to use a strainer, but pressing it with paper towels also works. You can see there is quite a bit of juice from the apples, and too much liquid will through off the balance of the bread. Discard the juice.
- Fluff and flavor: Fluff up the apples with a fork and the coat them in cinnamon.
- Fold them into the prepared batter
Don’t Skip the Cinnamon Sugar Streusel
The streusel on this bread really just takes things up a level. I would not recommend skipping this step. It has both granulated and brown sugar with a little flour and plenty of cinnamon. You get that nice crunchy top layer and then the gooey ribbon in the middle of the bread.
The streusel uses cold butter which you can press together using forks, a pastry cutter or get your (clean) fingers in there. The mixer will be crumbly but will stick together when pressed.
To create the swirl in the bread, layer half the batter in the pan, then add half the streusel and gently swirl. Add the remaining batter on top and finally, the remaining streusel. Don’t swirl the top layer of streusel but do you best to evenly cover the top of the bread.
Make Ahead and Storage Suggestions
Keep stored in an airtight container in a cool and dry place. This loaf will stay moist for a couple days, but it’s best when served within 2 days of preparing.
To freeze this bread, cool the loaf completely and then double wrap it in plastic wrap.
More apple recipes you’ll love
- Apple Crumble Pie
- No-Bake Apple Pie Cheesecake Jars
- Brown Butter Apple Muffins
- Stovetop Apple Pie Filling
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Cinnamon Apple Bread
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 55 minutes (up to 60 minutes)
- Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Yield: 10 slices
- Category: Bread
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: American
Description
Cinnamon Apple Bread is a moist and flavorful quick bread recipe, loaded with shredded apples and a cinnamon sugar streusel.
Ingredients
For the bread
- ½ cup (118ml) vegetable oil
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons (7.5ml) pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup (190g) granulated sugar
- ½ cup (118ml) sour cream
- 1 ½ cups (210g) all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons (6.5g) baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 heaping cup, peeled & grated apples (2–3 large granny smith apples)
- 1 tablespoon (7.5g) ground cinnamon
For the Streusel
- ¼ cup + 1 tablespoon (44g) all-purpose flour
- 3 tablespoons (41g) light brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons (42g) granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon (7.5g) ground cinnamon
- 3 tablespoons (42g) butter, cold
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Prepare a loaf pan. Spray with cooking spray and line the bottom and sides with parchment paper.
- Beat the wet ingredients: Combine the eggs, oil and vanilla extract. Beat together until well combined.
- Next add the granulated sugar, beating until combined then add the sour cream and continue mixing until all ingredients are well combined.
- Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl: flour, baking soda and salt. Whisk to combine. Add the dry ingredients to the batter and mix just until the flour starts to combine.
- Peel and shred the apples using a grater. Drain the moisture from the apples and then fluff with a fork. Then mix in the cinnamon. Fold the grated apples into the batter.
- For the streusel: combine the dry ingredients and whisk to combine. Next add the cold butter. Using a fork or pastry cutter, press the butter together with the dry ingredients until it’s well combined. The mixture should be crumbly but stick together when pressed between your fingers.
- Layer the bread: In the loaf pan, layer half the batter in the pan, then add half the streusel and gently swirl. Add the remaining batter on top and finally, the remaining streusel.
- Bake at 350°F for 50-60 minutes on the middle rack of the oven or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean. Cool for at least 1 hour before slicing.
Notes
Sour cream: Helps keeps this bread moist. If you need a substitute, I’d recommend Greek yogurt.
Apples: I prefer using granny smith (green) apples. They are tart and have the best flavor. If the apples are overripe, they will have more moisture when shredded, so I prefer apples that are still crisp and easier to shred. If your apples are small to medium size, you’ll need 4-5 of them.
Nuts: Feel free to add some chopped walnuts or pecans would be good to.
Make ahead and storage: Keep stored in an airtight container in a cool and dry place. This loaf will stay moist for a couple days, but it’s best when served within 2 days of preparing. To freeze this bread, cool the loaf completely and then double wrap it in plastic wrap.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice
- Calories: 382
- Sugar: 31g
- Sodium: 330mg
- Fat: 17g
- Saturated Fat: 12g
- Carbohydrates: 53g
- Fiber: 3g
- Protein: 4.8g
- Cholesterol: 50mg
I love this recipe! I went to make it last night & realized I didn’t have sour cream. After searching substitutes online I decided to go with mayonnaise. I had my doubts but the bread came out perfect, nice & moist just like if I had used sour cream.
Thank you for sharing Heidi! I am so glad to hear that! There’s a note for substitutions both in the blog post and in the recipe card. Next time with plain or Greek yogurt are also options.
Fact! It’s great 👌😋😋😋😋😋
Thanks so much Marco!
This sounds so yummy – I’d love to make it. Would it turn out well if I grated the apples on the larger round holes of a grater, rather than the very fine holes?
Yes, I actually used the larger holes as well.
I added some pecans, it was a hit immediately gone. I’m planning a tea and will it will make a good addition.
That sounds perfect Lauren! Thank you so much for sharing!
I baked this bread last week and everyone at home loved it so I had to bake another one this week!
The texture is amazing, all the flavors go really well together and you really get the cinnamon and apple flavor. It is super yummy and you should definitely give it a try, I’m sure you’ll love it as well.
If you are debating if you should keep the crumble or leave it out, please don’t leave it out, it is super tasty and adds a lot.
Jimena, thank you SO very much for this! I am so glad that you love it!