A quick and easy Apple Bread recipe that’s loaded with shredded apples! Spiced with cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla, this moist apple bread is perfect for fall!
Looking for more apple recipes? Try my old fashioned apple crisp!
Grandma’s Homemade Apple Bread
Around here, we call this Grandma Barb’s Apple Bread. Because my mom has been making this apple bread for as long as our daughters can remember.
This apple bread recipe is an especially wonderful treat during the fall, when the trees of local apple orchards are hanging heavy with crisp, sweet fruit. And the bread’s even better when made with apples from your very own backyard trees (right?!).
Mom has always liked to bake with apples, and this is one recipe I can count on her making every single fall. I even placed an order for a loaf when I knew she was due for a visit!
FEATURED COMMENT:
“Beautiful color and the whole house smelled liked apple pie baking. It’s absolutely DELISH, this recipe totally surpasses others! It’s moist and has such good flavor!”
-Susan
Why Are the Apples Shredded for this Bread?
At the very core of this apple quick bread is a mess of shredded apples. I recommend using an apple variety that is firm and has some tartness, such as Granny Smith, Haralson, or the sweeter Honeycrisp. Shredding the apples infuses each bite of bread with rich apple flavor. It also avoids any potential issues with diced apples, which can sometimes sink to the bottom of your bread.
If you’re wondering exactly how to shred apples, all you need is a box grater. Simply peel the apples and grate them using the largest holes on the grater. It’s super easy and doesn’t take much time at all.
A few more awesome apple recipes for you: my favorite apple crisp is an easy and super delicious treat, Apple Cinnamon Overnight Oats is a great way to get your day started, and how about a cocktail? This Apple Sangria with Bourbon and Thyme is perfect for sitting around an autumn fire or entertaining for Thanksgiving!
How to Make Apple Bread
I love how easily this quick bread recipe comes together. Here’s how to make it. You can find ingredients in the recipe card at the bottom of this post!
- Prep your tools: Preheat your oven and grease two 8×4 loaf pans.
- Shred the apples: I use the large holes on a box grater for this. Just peel the apples and then shred them, discarding the cores.
- Add sugar: In a large bowl, mix the shredded apples with sugar and let them sit for a bit. This will infuse each piece of apple with extra sweetness. Don’t worry about the liquid that will accumulate, that’s supposed to happen!
- Add remaining wet ingredients: In the same bowl as your apples, add the oil, eggs, vanilla, nuts and raisins. Stir well.
- Mix dry ingredients: In another bowl mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices. Mix well. There’s a good amount of cinnamon in the batter, which plays so fabulously with the apples and raisins.
- Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients: Slowly add the dry ingredients to your wet ingredients, mixing just until you don’t see any dry bits of batter anymore.
- Bake: Pour the batter into your prepared pans and bake until the bread is golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cool & Eat: Let your apple bread rest in the pan for about ten minutes. Then turn out onto a rack to finish cooling. Once the bread has cooled, slice it up and dig in!
This recipe works perfectly with two 8″ x 4″ loaf pans. Here’s my favorite pans – they’re heavy duty and always release breads perfectly. I like their slightly smaller size, just a touch smaller than a more common 1-pound loaf pan.
Tips for the Best Apple Bread
- As I’ve mentioned before, shred your apples. This is actually less work than dicing, the method that many apple bread recipes call for. Plus, this method distributes the apples all throughout the bread.
- Don’t skip any steps. It will probably be tempting to skip the step where the apples and sugar sit for a bit. It does add prep time, but trust me, it’s worth it!
- Don’t over mix your batter. Just mix it enough so that all the dry ingredients are worked in and you don’t see any bits of flour.
The house smells so cozy while this bread is baking. It’s like a big apple-cinnamon hug.
This apple bread is a loaf of fall, packed with shredded apples. I think it’s truly the best apple bread recipe, with a variety of flavor and texture in every single bite.
Can I Leave Out the Nuts and Raisins?
There are very few recipes where I can get away with “sneaking in” raisins, as our daughters are not the biggest fans. And this apple bread is one of those exceptions.
However, if you or anyone in your family is opposed to either nuts or raisins, just leave them out. The bread will turn out just fine. :)
Can I Freeze Apple Bread?
The bread freezes extremely well. So I like to stash one loaf away for later. This makes for an easy baked treat with only the minimal effort of taking it out to thaw.
To freeze your apple bread, let it come to room temperature. Then wrap it in a couple layers of plastic saran wrap and place it in a freezer safe ziploc bag. This bread will keep for up to 6 months. When you’re ready to eat it, defrost the apple bread in the fridge overnight.
Like this apple recipe? Save it to Pinterest!
Apple Bread
Ingredients
- 4 large Granny Smith Haralson, or Honeycrisp apples (or your favorite firm, tart apple variety), peeled
- 2 c. sugar
- ½ c. vegetable oil
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
- 1 c. chopped roasted pecans or walnuts optional
- 1 c. raisins Craisins, or chopped dates
- 3 c. all-purpose flour
- 1 T. baking powder
- ½ tsp. baking soda
- 1 tsp. kosher salt
- 1 T. cinnamon
- ½ tsp. nutmeg
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease and flour two 8" x 4" loaf pans. Set aside.
- Using the large holes on a box grater, shred the apples (discard the cores). You should have 4 cups of grated apple.
- In a large bowl, fold together shredded apples and sugar, and let sit for 15 minutes until sugar dissolves. There will be alot of liquid.
- Add oil, eggs, vanilla extract, pecans, and raisins, and stir to incorporate.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Stir dry ingredients into the apple mixture, just until mixed. Pour into prepared loaf pans.
- Bake 55 minutes, or until golden and center tests done with a toothpick. Remove pans from oven to cooling rack and let cool for 10 minutes. Then turn breads out of pan onto rack to cool completely before slicing.
Notes
Nutrition Information:
This post was originally published in 2010. I updated some of the photographs and text in September 2019.
Autumn on the farm is such a special time. To see the fruits of farm labor harvested is one of my favorite things. And I love to share the experience with our daughters, to show them how I grew up. The following photos were taken in 2010, when I had originally shared this apple bread recipe.
Love this recipe! I shred and freeze my apples in the fall so I can make this year round. I add ishredded coconut to the wet ingredients. I have made regular sized loaves, small and mini loaves and muffins. Everything freezes great and everyone I have gifted a loaf to raves about how delicious it Is. Thanks for a great recipe!
Made this today so yummy! My husband and son loved it!! Will make again. Thank you
Best apple bread I have tried, hands down. Only used 1 cup of sugar since I don’t like my breakfast bread very sweet. Will be making these to bring to work. Thanks for the yummy recipe.
I reduced sugar to 1.5 c and I don’t think I’d go lower than that, though it tastes good with that amount as a breakfast bread. I didn’t want to shred so I chopped finely and no chunks sunk to the bottom. Breads were done when reached internal temperature of 212.
This was absolutely amazing. The only adjustments I made was to throw in whatever mixed spice I had in the cupboard and I added a shot of espresso (I was thinking coffee & walnut cake).
So glad you liked this, Claire! Thank you for coming back to let me know about your experience, and to rate this recipe! :)
Husband loves loaf breads of all types and had trievickied apples and any fruit I may have but want to explore different recipes. Look at serveral and came back to yours. Very simple and easy, due to cutting on sugar did put only 1 .1/4 cup but also added yogurt. Turned out great
So happy you liked this recipe, thank you!!
*Warning* This bread is addictive. It’s so flavorful and delicious that you won’t be able to stay out of it. It is also easy to make!
Excellent, easy. Added 1/2 cup of shredded coconut.
We are in a dairy-free fast until January 7 but these loaves look so delicious and I have a whole bag of apples that I’m just dying to use before my new baby arrives. Do you think I could sub applesauce for the eggs? I am thinking maybe 4-5 Tbsp… I also am curious if you think it’d turn out OK with bread flour instead of APF.
This turned out great! I used half Einkorn and half sprouted buckwheat flour with walnuts and dates. Really yummy and will make again!
So glad you like this recipe!!
This is a great recipe and two loaves is a plus I cored the apples, but I didn’t peel them….and, I finely chopped them in the food processor. The loaves turned out great!
Thanks for posting
So glad you liked the apple bread – thanks for coming back to let me know, and to share your changes. Enjoy! :)
Enjoyed the day making this apple bread. My nine year granddaughter spent the time helping Make it.
Some changes: we used bread flour as were out of AP flour- added an extra egg yolk ( we got a double Yolker) probably a good thing as bread flour uses more moisture. Then we added yummy frozen raspberries.
This apple bread is outstanding. I used 2 large Bradbury & 3 small Granny Smith. Made four 5×3 loafs. Will have to make the 8×4 because my husband almost ate one in one sitting. Thank you.
Wonderful to hear! Thanks for coming back, Eileen. Enjoy!
I have a Johnathan apple tree that’s over 40 yrs old. This year we’ve a huge bumper crop. So I used these as a double batch. Wonderful results. Next time, I’ll probably add a tad bit of citric acid ( sour salt) for a bit of tartness. But I’m frugal and use what I have on hand. I’ll give my neighbors a small loaf tin as a holiday treat.
Wonderful!!! Thanks for coming back to let me know. :)
This recipe turned out amazing! I used smaller apples and added a couple extra. Also kept out a few tablespoons of sugar to add on the top before I baked for a crispy crunch. My only request would be to have the ingredients in metrics, but I suppose that’s something I can do myself. Don’t wait – make this ASAP!
I love this recipe. It is my now go to recipe . I am making several loaves as gift for the elderly ladies l take care of . Thank you for sharing .
This is a 5 star bread for sure!!! Made the loaves this morning (sans raisins) and one loaf is already completely gone – even our dog tried to get in on this action (and he hates apples LOL). The grating process is genius, our house smells amazing and we officially have a new family fave. THANK YOU!!!
Your comment makes me laugh – I often wonder this myself, because SO MANY people love this recipe!! I’m so glad you like it. :)
Great recipe. I used half the sugar and didn’t peel the apples to have higher fiber content. When grating, the skin pieces are so tiny, they disappear in the finished bread. Threw in flax seeds & wheat germ and half my flour was white whole wheat. The loaves were delicious.
Thank you for sharing your alteration – so glad you liked this!!
This apple bread is delicious and I can’t seem to make enough. It gets eaten with a couple of days.
I’m so happy to hear you like this recipe, Martine. Thank you! And ENJOY! :)