Healthy Apple Bread
This Healthy Apple Bread is moist and filled with pieces of fresh apple and cinnamon. It’s delicious for breakfast, a snack, or even dessert!
Besides being the perfect snack, apples add delicious flavor and sweetness to baked goods. This apple bread is no exception. It’s so scrumptious, sometimes I even serve it for dessert, topped with some freshly whipped cream.
You’ll love this apple bread recipe because, while there are a few steps, it is really easy to make. Both applesauce (try my Instant Pot Applesauce) and Greek yogurt in the batter make this bread moist and tender. Pieces of fresh apple and cinnamon make each bite of this apple quick bread so delicious.
This bread is made with wholesome ingredients and less sugar, but you’d hardly know it from the taste and texture. I made two loaves of this apple cinnamon bread last week, and I’m already craving another! Get ready for fall and all things apple by baking a loaf yourself.
What is the best apple dish that you make in your kitchen? If you’re looking for more delicious apple recipes, try my Healthy Apple Muffins, Best Apple Pie Recipe and Apple Crisp Recipe or Slow Cooker Apple Crisp.
How to Make Apple Bread
Here is an overview of how to make this homemade apple bread recipe. You will find the full recipe with ingredient amounts and instructions in the recipe card at the end of this post.
To make this apple bread, start by peeling and chopping one to two apples. You need one generous cup of chopped apple for the bread. Toss the apple pieces with cinnamon and brown sugar. While you prepare the batter, the apples start to release their juices. Combined with the cinnamon and sugar, this will make a sweet syrup over the apples.
Meanwhile, whisk the dry ingredients together in a bowl: white whole wheat flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
You can make the batter for the bread using an electric mixer or you can mix it by hand in a large bowl. Combine plain Greek yogurt, applesauce, honey, two eggs and vanilla extract. Mix these ingredients until they are well combined and then mix in the melted butter.
With your mixer on low speed, mix in the dry ingredients until just barely combined. You want to be really careful not to over-mix the batter at this step. Lastly, fold the cinnamon-sugar apples in by hand using a spatula or spoon.
Pour the batter into a greased loaf pan and top it with a simple walnut and oat streusel before baking. The streusel is quick to make by hand with old-fashioned oats, white whole wheat flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, butter and chopped walnuts.
As the bread bakes, your kitchen will be filled with the most delicious aroma of apples and cinnamon!
What Apples are Best for Baking?
For baking, it’s best to use apples that are firm enough to hold up to the heat of a hot oven, so that they won’t bake down into mush. For this bread, I like to use a firm, tart apple, such as Granny Smith. Other apples that will work well for baking are Honeycrisp, Braeburn, Pink Lady, Cripps Pink and Northern Spy.
Freezer Instructions
Quick breads, including this apple bread, freeze beautifully. You can freeze the loaf whole, or you can slice it and freeze the individual slices. This way, it is easy to thaw one slice at a time.
Be sure to let the bread cool completely before freezing. If you are freezing individual slices of bread, you may want to place a small slice of parchment paper between the slices to keep them from sticking together. Be sure to freeze the bread tightly wrapped, such as in a zip-top bag with all of the air squeezed out.
You can thaw the bread at room temperature or overnight in the refrigerator. Individual slices of bread can be quickly thawed in the microwave, on low power or using the defrost setting.
Healthy Apple Bread Recipe Tips
- Regular whole wheat flour can be used in place of the white whole wheat flour, but the bread will have more of a hearty, whole wheat flavor. You should also be able to substitute an equal amount of all-purpose flour, although I have not tested this.
- You can mix the batter for this bread by hand or with an electric mixer. Be careful to not over-mix the batter after adding in the dry ingredients.
- After you sprinkle the topping over the unbaked bread, use your hand to gently press the topping down a little. This will help to make sure most of the topping stays on the bread when you remove the bread from the pan after baking.
- Check the bread after it has been in the oven for 45 minutes and loosely cover it with foil as needed to prevent the top from over-browning.
- To make this bread nut-free, substitute old-fashioned oats for the chopped walnuts.
More Quick Bread Recipes:
Healthy Apple Bread
Ingredients
For the bread:
- 1 cup peeled and chopped granny smith apple, or other baking apple
- 2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 2 cups white whole wheat flour*
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup plain Greek yogurt
- ½ cup unsweetened applesauce
- â…“ cup honey
- 2 eggs
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
For the walnut-oat streusel:
- 1/3 cup old-fashioned oats
- 2 tablespoons white whole wheat flour
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
- 1/3 cup walnuts*, chopped
Instructions
Make the bread:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Generously spray bottom and sides of a 9x5-inch loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a small bowl, stir together the chopped apple, 2 tablespoons brown sugar, and 2 teaspoons cinnamon. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together white whole wheat flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer (or you can mix the batter by hand), combine the Greek yogurt, applesauce, and honey, eggs and vanilla. Beat on medium speed until combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Reduce mixer speed to low and slowly mix in the melted butter.
- With the mixer still running on low, gradually incorporate the dry ingredients until barely combined, being careful not to over-mix. (The batter will be thick.) Use a rubber spatula to gently fold in the apples and any cinnamon-sugar left in the bowl. Transfer batter to the prepared loaf pan.
Make the walnut and oat streusel:
- In a medium bowl, stir together oats, white whole wheat flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Use your fingertips to work the cold butter into the oat mixture. Stir in the walnuts. Sprinkle the streusel over the batter in the pan and gently press it down with your hand.
- Bake bread for 55-65 minutes, until a tester inserted down into the loaf comes out with just a few moist crumbs attached. Check bread after 45 minutes and cover with foil as needed to prevent over-browning of the topping. Let bread cool in the pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes before carefully removing to the rack to cool completely before slicing and serving.
Notes
- Regular whole wheat flour can be used in place of the white whole wheat flour, but the bread will have more of a hearty, whole wheat flavor. You should also be able to substitute an equal amount of all-purpose flour, although I have not tested this.
- To make this bread nut-free, substitute old-fashioned oats for the chopped walnuts.
As I sit here with a fresh cup of coffee and a slightly warm piece of apple bread, I am thrilled with the results!
Not only did the bread rise perfectly, it smelled absolutely wonderful in my oven! (Hence, the warm slice of apple bread.)
Thank you for an amazing, healthy apple bread recipe!
Everyone in my family loves this recipe! Love the good ingredients with no sacrifice on the taste. Definitely will make again. If you are considering making it, do it now!
I ran out of flour, may I use self rising flour and just add baking soda that’s needed in the recipe? Thank you.
I haven’t tried this recipe with self-rising flour, but I think that should work. Self-rising flour sometimes also has salt added, so you may want to reduce the salt if yours does.
Could this be made into muffins instead? Any idea on cook time?
Hi Meg,
Try my Apple Muffins!
Could maple syrup be used in place of the honey?
Yes, that will work well!