Homemade applesauce bread is fluffy, moist, and delicious. Loaded with fall flavors of applesauce, cinnamon, and brown sugar, that transforms your favorite snack into a loaf cake. The best part? It's an easy recipe to make and the batter takes just 10 minutes to come together, ready to pop into the oven. Enjoy it warm and fresh right out of the oven, or save it for another day (it freezes well!). Perfect for breakfast, dessert, or a school snack.
Why You'll Love Applesauce Bread
- Obviously, the applesauce! Applesauce is one of the best-kept secrets in baking. It adds moisture, flavor, fiber, and nutrition to baked goods, and this applesauce bread is no exception. If you like Banana Bread or Zucchini Bread, you know the wonders fresh produce can do for your baked goods.
- Cinnamon sugar goodness. It's no Apple Pie, but this applesauce bread is full of great cinnamon sugar flavor that compliments the apples so well. Cinnamon sugar just makes any dessert feel cozy and feel like fall is officially here.
- So easy to make. Easy-to-make cake is the best kind to bake. The quick batter comes together in just 10 minutes before it's ready to pop into the oven. It's perfect to satisfy a last minute craving.
Ingredients and Substitutions
To make this delicious applesauce bread, you will need the following ingredients (full quantities in recipe card below):
- all-purpose flour
- baking powder
- brown sugar - feel free to replace with granulated sugar if desired.
- cinnamon
- salt
- applesauce - I used homemade applesauce, but feel free to use storebought if it is more convenient. I recommend using unsweetened applesauce for this recipe. if you use sweetened applesauce, reduce the amount of brown sugar to ⅓ cup instead.
- vegetable oil - I typically use avocado oil or melted coconut oil, but you can use any vegetable oil you have.
- Greek yogurt - you can also substitute this with sour cream.
- eggs
You will also need measuring cups and spoons (or a kitchen scale), mixing bowls, and a 1 lb. loaf pan (5x9 inch pan).
How to Make the Best Applesauce Bread
- Combined dry ingredients. In a large mixing bowl, combine all the dry ingredients including flour, baking powder, sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Whisk together until evenly distributed and set aside.
- Combine wet ingredients. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk well to combine all the wet ingredients including applesauce, oil, yogurt, and eggs until smooth.
- Add wet ingredients into dry ingredients. Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture and mix together using a spatula until just combined and no dry ingredients are visible. Do not overmix. Overmixing will make the cake dense and hard rather than fluffy.
- Bake. Lightly grease a 5x9-inch loaf pan (1 lb. loaf pan) with cooking spray oil. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Bake in a preheated 350 F oven for 50-55 minutes until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
- Rest and serve. Let cool for 10-15 minutes, then invert the pan onto a cooling rack or plate to remove the loaf. Serve warm or at room temperature. Drizzle with honey if desired.
Recipe Tips and Tricks
- How to serve: This applesauce bread makes an amazing to-go breakfast or snack on its own, but you can also eat it with some Vanilla Ice Cream and Candied Pecans or Dried Fruit (try Baked Apple Chips).
- How to store. The best way to store applesauce loaf is at room temperature in an airtight container or large ziploc bag for up to 2-3 days. This will keep the loaf fresh and moist. To store longer, store in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Wait until the loaf has cooled down to room temperature before storing in the refrigerator to avoid it from getting soggy.
- How to freeze: Once cooled to room temperature, wrap the whole cake in plastic cling wrap, or wrap individual slices and place into a freezer bag. Freeze for up to three months.
- How to thaw: Thaw frozen applesauce bread by transferring them into the refrigerator overnight. If you don't have time, you can also microwave it covered on a low-temperature setting (on the lowest setting) for a few minutes.
More Apple Recipes
- Homemade Applesauce
- Slow Cooker Applesauce
- Applesauce Pancakes
- Spiced Apple Oatmeal Muffins
- Individual Apple Crisp
- Braided Lattice Apple Pie
- Apple-Cranberry-Apple Cobbler with Biscuit Topping
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Recipe
Applesauce Bread
- Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
- Yield: one 5x9-inch loaf
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
Homemade applesauce bread is fluffy, moist, and delicious. Loaded with fall flavors that transforms your favorite snack into a loaf cake.
Ingredients
- 1 + ½ cups all-purpose flour (200 grams)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup unsweetened applesauce (about 220-250 grams), at room temperature
- ⅓ cup vegetable oil (70 grams)
- 2 tablespoons Greek yogurt (or sour cream)
- 2 large eggs
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F. Lightly grease a 5x9-inch loaf pan (1 lb. loaf pan) with cooking spray oil.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine all the dry ingredients including flour, baking powder, sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Whisk together until evenly distributed and set aside.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk well to combine all the wet ingredients including applesauce, oil, yogurt, and eggs until smooth.
- Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture and mix together using a spatula until just combined and no dry ingredients are visible. Do not overmix. Overmixing will make the cake dense and hard rather than fluffy.
- Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Bake for 50-55 minutes until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
- Let cool for 10-15 minutes, then invert the pan onto a cooling rack or plate to remove the loaf. Serve warm or at room temperature. Drizzle with honey if desired.
Notes
How to serve: This applesauce bread makes an amazing to-go breakfast or snack on its own, but you can also eat it with some Vanilla Ice Cream and Candied Pecans or Dried Fruit (try Baked Apple Chips).
How to store. The best way to store applesauce loaf is at room temperature in an airtight container or large ziploc bag for up to 2-3 days. This will keep the loaf fresh and moist. To store longer, store in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Wait until the loaf has cooled down to room temperature before storing in the refrigerator to avoid it from getting soggy.
How to freeze: Once cooled to room temperature, wrap the whole cake in plastic cling wrap, or wrap individual slices and place into a freezer bag. Freeze for up to three months.
How to thaw: Thaw frozen applesauce bread by transferring them into the refrigerator overnight. If you don't have time, you can also microwave it covered on a low-temperature setting (on the lowest setting) for a few minutes.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 55 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Victoria Sosa says
Delicious, quick bread that tastes every bit like fall! I made some adjustments based on reviews and other recipes and it was great! Personally used regular cinnamon applesauce with the 1cup brown sugar, 2tsp of cinnamon, 1tsp nutmeg, handful of butterscotch chips and topped with walnuts/honey!! I found this to be the perfect balance of sweet and spiced
Sam Hu | Ahead of Thyme says
Thank you so much Victoria! Enjoy!