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.
Could I bake this bread ahead of time and freeze? I have a special event breakfast at church and would like to prepare some baked goods ahead of time.
Absolutely. This bread freezes really well.
Moist, dense and flavorful.
I’ve made this loaf every week for the past couple of months. The family love it, my wife’s work colleagues think it’s amazing and I happen to adore it too.
A great supply of apples from a local community orchard, and it fits in with my normal bread baking. Find a negative in any of that. Simple, delicious and can be scoffed down at any time.
I’ve just retired and live in a small village on the North West coast of Scotland. The scenery here is fantastic and my dogs are great company while my wife is away at work. I’ve always baked all the bread for the family, even when our three children were still at home. Baking has always been something I have enjoyed.
Retirement, ripe fruit in the garden (my wifes department), bags full of windfall apples and plums from the community orchard, what more could a man want?
Then I find the farm girl……thankyou so much, the rest of my days are now fulfilled. By the time I get through all your wonderful recipes, it will be time to go back and start again……bliss
This bread is soooooo good. I froze slices of the second loaf and it’s just as good. My breakfast.
Wonderful! Thank you for coming back to let me know!
I would love to make this bread, I am at 5,000 feet elevation, do I need to tweak the recipe because of the high elevation? Would appreciate any help! So looking forward to making this bread, the ingredients and the pictures look yummy, delicious!!!
Maria
Hi i do not have two 8.5″ x 4.5″ loaf pans. What can i substitute it with? an 8″ round cake pan? or a 9″ round cake pan? or an 8″ square cake pan? I’m new to baking and no idea how to convert. I need to also adjust the temperature and baking time to how much? Thanks a lot! plan to bake this for my little girl this weekend.
I have not played around with different sized pans with this recipe, so I can’t say for sure. Sorry!
I am makin this bread now, my apples are huge , 3 of them seem to be more than enough, also I want to use 1 c sugar. ??
sorry, but what is 1 T. cinnamon?
Its the abbreviation for 1 tablespoon.
Thank you for asking Faith, I was just about to ask the same question. I’ve never seen seen it abbreviated like this before. Only “tbsp”.
I think I will make this tomorrow. Did you enjoy it?
Thank you for sharing this recipe. Just made some for a holiday party I’m attending this weekend. I wanted to do a quick bread but something different than pumpkin or banana. My kitchen smells AWESOME and I want to eat it now, but have to wait! Ahhh! :)
You are so welcome. Enjoy!
This bread looks amazing! I hope it’s just as good without the raisins because my hubby is not a fan. Love your blog!
Thank you, Ashley. This is SO good. And, yes, it’s even good without the raisins. Hope you (and your hubby) like it!
Made for ice fishing trip today. Delic. pics are the same as author. Tha.nkyou from Canada.
This bread looks amazing! I hope it’s just as good without the raisins because my hubby is not a fan. Love your blog!
Got my coffee, made the apple bread and on to a rainy but wonderful saturday here in Nashville Tennessee!
Loved your apple bread recipe! thanks so much!!
That’s wonderful to hear – I love this recipe!! Thanks for letting me know, Kathie. :)
I was looking for a recipe to use up a bag of apples I bought a few weekends ago and this recipe was PERFECT. I made 3 loaves of it and it whipped up so quick and my coworkers are currently singing my praises. Thanks and love your site (and look forward to enjoying a few more of your recipes)!
Hi Lara! I’m so glad you found me, and that you tried this recipe – it’s one of my family’s favorites!
Loved the farm tour! I’d work on the farm for a lollipop too! ;-)
Thanks for visiting, Jaden!
Dad and I really enjoyed the pictures on your post. Glad you were able to make it to the farm again this fall, even if I missed being there with you and
the girls.
I drive past farmland all the time in my area and love to see the farmers at work with their machinery in the fields. I have a great deal of respect for the life they lead and for the bounty they make possible at our tables. Your Grandma’s Apple Bread has some of my favourite ingredients and spices. It will definitely go into my folder of *must try* recipes. Thank you for posting and for sharing the wonderful pictures.
Hi Paula – it’s always so nice to have you visit!
That looks and sounds delicious. Going apple picking then making this! Thanks for sharing
Hello Alicia – thanks for stopping by!
Beautiful post! And delicious bread. What a fun day for your girls!
Thank you Stephanie! It was a fun day, plus there’s a whole lot of questions/learning for the girls…the best kind of field trip.