Fluffy and moist vegan apple bread that comes together in one bowl using only 8 ingredients! The bread can easily be made gluten-free and refined sugar-free too.
This vegan apple bread has been adapted from reader favorite recipes: Apple Crumble Cake and Vegan Apple Muffins.
Why you'll love this recipe
TASTE/TEXTURE: This bread is moist, cake-like and uses grated apples for a 'melt-in-your-mouth' texture.
DIFFICULTY: This apple bread uses common pantry ingredients and is easy to make! Alternatively, you may like my vegan pumpkin bread.
OCCASION: Enjoy a plain slice of apple bread for breakfast or top it with frosting and caramelized apples for afternoon tea or a gathering!
Ingredients you'll need
The full list of ingredient quantities and instructions are in the gray recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Notes about the ingredients
All-purpose flour for the fluffiest vegan apple bread! This bread works wonderfully gluten-free (gluten-free ingredient quantities are in the notes of the recipe card at the bottom of this post).
Brown sugar for depth of flavor. If you prefer a less sweet bread, I recommend coconut sugar. Alternatively, you can use a granulated sugar replacer such as erythritol!
Apple, coarsely grated or finely chopped. Similar to zucchini bread, the grated apple 'melts' away and makes this bread very moist! I recommend using a sweet snacking apple such as a Fuji, Gala or Honey Crisp. If you prefer a less sweet apple bread, use a tart apple like granny smith.
Baking powder and soda. We're using double baking agents to make sure the vegan apple bread is fluffy and bakes in the middle. You don't need eggs to make fluffy quick breads!
Apple cider vinegar (optional) helps create a more tender crumb. Alternatively, you can use lemon juice or white vinegar or simply omit it.
How to make vegan apple bread
The batter is easy to prepare! In a large bowl, mix the dry ingredients, add the wet ingredients and mix until combined.
For the best results, here are my top tips:
- Use a scale to measure the ingredients. Mis-measuring the flour, sugar or apples will affect the texture of your final apple bread.
- Your apple shouldn't be too juicy after you grate/chop it. If it leaks any juice, add a little extra flour (details are in the notes of the recipe card at the bottom of this post).
- Don't overmix the batter. I often 'fold' my cake batter to prevent this from happening. A few lumps in the batter are fine, as long as they aren't lumps of flour.
Baking tips: troubleshooting
This vegan apple bread takes around 50 minutes to 1 hour to bake, depending on whether your oven runs hot or cool.
If the top of your bread is browning quickly at the 30 to 40 minute mark, loosely cover your baking pan with aluminum foil. Some ovens have very strong top heating elements and will cook the surface more quickly. If so, cover your apple loaf once the top looks dry to the touch.
On the other hand, make sure your oven isn't too cool otherwise your bread will be too dense!
Making caramelized apples for the topping (optional)
I love topping my vegan apple bread with caramelized apples. It's not only very eye-catching but adds a lot of flavor!
My top tips for caramelizing the apples are:
- The longer you cook the apple pieces, the softer and more caramelized they will be.
- Once you add the sugar, don't walk away from the stove as sugar burns easily!
Other topping suggestions
The vegan apple bread is delicious by itself with no toppings!
However, before baking, you can top the bread with:
- rolled oats
- pumpkin seeds, just like my vegan pumpkin bread
- crumb topping, either a plain cinnamon crumble or pecan crumble
- chopped apple. I recommend covering your loaf pan with aluminum foil as the apples may burn.
After baking, I topped my bread with a soft cream cheese icing and caramelized apples. Alternatively, you can top it with:
- simple sugar glaze, like my lemon olive oil cake
- vegan buttercream, from my ginger cake (minus the coconut)
- coconut yogurt (like below)
Customizing this recipe
I recommend replacing the all-purpose flour with whole wheat flour or spelt flour and using coconut sugar instead of brown sugar.
Some readers have successfully substituted the oil with unsweetened applesauce, however I haven't tested it myself.
Unfortunately, a liquid sweetener such as maple syrup won't work well in this recipe. The apple bread is already packed with fruit and a liquid sweetener will make the bread too dense.
For a round cake, I recommend using my apple crumb cake recipe. For muffins, check out my vegan apple muffins recipe.
Yes, to the batter, you can also add:
- Raisins
- Cranberries
- Walnuts or pecans, just like carrot cake
- Vegan chocolate chips
You can also incorporate a cinnamon swirl to the loaf! Use the swirl from my cinnamon bread recipe and layer it into this apple bread.
More vegan apple recipes
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Vegan Apple Bread
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups (315g) all-purpose plain flour, (note 1 for gluten free)
- 1 cup (190g) packed brown sugar, coconut sugar or granulated sugar (note 2)
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Pinch of salt, optional
Wet Ingredients
- 1 x (~180g) medium-sized apple, grated very coarsely OR chopped finely (note 3)
- 1 cup (250g) dairy-free milk
- ½ cup (120g) neutral flavored oil
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar, optional
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, optional
Cream Cheese Icing (optional, see note 5 for alternatives)
- ¼ cup (60g) vegan cream cheese, room temperature
- ½ cup (50g) powdered sugar / icing sugar, or to taste
- 2 tablespoons (20g) vegan butter, room temperature
Caramelized Apples (optional)
- 1 x (~180g) medium-sized apple, cubed
- 1 tablespoon (30g) vegan butter, oil or water
- 2 tablespoons (25g) packed brown sugar, or coconut sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Grease or line an 8-inch (20 cm) loaf pan with parchment paper.
Make the Vegan Apple Bread:
- Add all the dry ingredients to a large mixing bowl. Mix until there are no lumps. Add all of the wet ingredients to the bowl and mix until combined. Pour the batter into your prepared loaf pan and smooth the top.
- Bake the apple bread for around 50 minutes to 1 hour or until it is done. Check the bread at the 35 minute mark and if it's browning quickly on top, loosely cover the bread with aluminum foil. The bread is ready when you can insert a toothpick in the center and there's no wet batter on it, though some crumbs on your toothpick are fine. (note 4)
- Let the apple bread rest in the pan for at least 10 minutes. Remove the bread from the pan and let it cool on a wire rack.
Cream cheese icing (optional)
- Add all the icing ingredients to a small bowl and mix until smooth. This icing is quite soft at room temperature but if you'd like a firmer icing, double the amount of butter and add more sugar, to taste.
Caramelized apples (optional):
- Add the apples and butter to a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Saute until the apples are almost tender and slightly golden brown.
- Add the sugar to the saucepan and gently mix the apples while they caramelize. If the apples stick to the saucepan, add a dash of water. The longer you cook the apples, the more caramelized they will be.
Serving the apple bread:
- When the apple bread has cooled down, dollop the cream cheese frosting (or desired frosting) on top and top with caramelized apples. Slice and serve!
- Store the apple bread in an airtight container at room temperature for 1 day or in the fridge for 4 days. Or store individual slices of the undecorated apple bread for up to 1 month.
Notes
- To make gluten-free apple bread, substitute the flour with 1 ½ cups (150g) almond flour and 1 cup (160g) gluten-free all-purpose flour (or fine white rice flour).
- This amount of sugar creates a mildly sweet apple bread. To make the bread less sweet, I recommend using ¾ cup (140g) of brown or coconut sugar.
- This bread will be too moist if you grate the apples too finely. Ideally, the grated apple shouldn't leak any juice. If your apple is extra juicy, use an extra 3 tablespoons (25g) of flour to the batter.
- The baking time will hugely depend on your oven. If it takes longer than 1 hour to bake, that's absolutely fine. If your oven has strong heating elements on top, I recommend tenting your loaf pan with aluminum foil at the beginning of baking. Alternatively, place a rack at the top of the oven (above your apple loaf) and an empty baking tray on the rack. This will prevent your loaf from burning.
- The apple bread is wonderful by itself. Alternatively, you can top the bread with a simple buttercream made by whipping 100g vegan butter and 200g powdered sugar, a simple sugar icing such as from my lemon olive oil cake recipe or coconut yogurt. See the post above for more suggestions.
Nutrition
This post was originally published in October 2019 and has been updated several times since then.
This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I may earn a small commission from qualifying purchases at no additional cost to you.
Freshleesh says
I subbed one cup of the A.P. flour with whole wheat, doubled the cinnamon and added 1/4 cup each pecans and walnuts. Fantastic!
Anthea says
I love your ingredient changes (sounds like what I would do for family) and glad you enjoyed this recipe 🙂
Wendy says
My husband loves it! I used coconut sugar and it worked out great!
Anthea says
Aw, I'm so glad to hear! I prefer the coconut sugar version as well :). Thanks for your feedback x
Mimi says
I can't believe how delicious this loaf cake is, despite its simple ingredient list. It tastes like snickerdoodle cookies to me! I used applesauce in place of oil and the texture still came out great. I've been enjoying thick slices served warm with yogurt, almond butter, and roasted apples - YUM. Thank you for sharing this recipe!
Anthea says
Thanks so much for your comment and for brightening up my day! Glad applesauce worked for you and looove the idea of topping it with yoghurt, almond butter and apples. Drooling already!
Peiyi says
So easy and a foolproof recipe! Tasted great!
Anthea says
So glad to hear! Thanks for your feedback 🙂
Isis says
Great recipe and easily adaptable, I didn't have plain flour so used SF and reduced the baking powder. I used half brown sugar because I like the flavour and added walnuts, ginger and a pinch of nutmeg. Instead of grating the apple (it was a very juicy apple and I thought that it might make the dough too wet) I cubed it and that seemed to work perfectly. I'm interested to try with almond flour next!
Anthea says
Yay, that's amazing Isis! Love the idea of adding brown sugar and all those additions. Would be perfect for Winter/Autumn! Thanks so much for leaving your positive feedback xo
Christine says
This was truly amazing - the bread is absolutely delicious and the right texture. I was a bit hesitant to use just coconut yogurt for the frosting, so I added icing sugar and lemon juice, and it was great!
Anthea says
Aw, I'm so glad to hear Christine! And glad that icing sugar and lemon juice for the top worked for you. Thanks for your lovely feedback!
Lara says
Wow! This is by far one of the easiest and fast to assemble apple cake I’ve ever made. I put some walnuts and pecans into the dough and only had to bake it for 35 minutes and it came out perfectly! Thank you for this recipe - my home really smells like a mixture of cozy autumn and Christmas! Have a nice day & I’ll excuse myself because I want to eat another piece of this deliciousness ?
Anthea says
Aw I'm so glad to hear and I love that you added nuts to it! Thanks for taking the time to leave your feedback Lara xo
Rebecca says
So delicious! I actually ended up using white sugar and vegan butter instead of oil, and after 60 minutes it came out perfect. Not too sweet and a nice crunch on the end pieces, which I love. This is so easy to make and I’ll definitely be doing it again soon!
Anthea says
Soo glad to hear Rebecca and great minor substitutions! I love the end pieces too. Thanks for the kind comment 🙂
Lylina says
tried it absolutely delicious! Reminded me of Christmas! Although ive made some changes it turned out great and my house smells amazing !thank you for the recipe xo
Anthea says
Oh I'm so glad to hear! And glad it worked despite your changes. Enjoy the rest of your loaf xo
Lotte Berendsen says
Hello! I'm wondering if I did something wrong? Mine came out very pale and super super moist, but not undone. I cooked it as long as the recipe called for. Thank you!
Anthea says
Hey! Oh that's odd - did you substitute any of the ingredients? Or sometimes our ovens are a lot cooler (or hotter) than we set it so it could be that your oven wasn't hot enough!
Marisa says
I’m just making sure the mix is supposed to be more like a dough instead of too runny, it smells amazing! I’m just hoping I didn’t mess up hahah!
Anthea says
It's meant to be thick batter (like a very thick pancake batter). I hope yours worked?
Suri says
Hi Anthea! Thanks for sharing the recipe! Question for the gluten free option; if i use almond meal, will it be the same measurement as the plain flour written in the recipe?
Thanks xoxo
Anthea says
My pleasure! I've listed the exact amounts of gf flour you'd need to use in the notes at the bottom (1 1/2 cups or 150g almond meal and 1 cup or 160g of white rice flour). Thank you!
Sandra (Foodblogjunky) says
Huge thanks Anthea , I "adapted " your recipe to make this into Apple and Walnut muffins for isolation Easter 2020 . Who needs that much chocolate ? Such an esy to follow recipe and reheated slightly they made a great grab and go breakfast option with a dollop of coconut yoghurt on the side. I did the one cup GF flour and 1 1/3 cup almond meal but used only half the coconut sugar as I have trained my taste buds to accept less sweetness. I added a cup of chopped walnuts to the original recipe too. Made a double batch and got 24 muffins cooking time in my oven was 25-30 mins at 175C. I topped the muffins with the apple caramel while still slightly warm and half got toasted coconut flakes on top. They were a big hit at home and where I work. These are my toughest critics . I will be using this recipe again switching out the fruit and nuts for other flavour combinations. Will tag you on Instagram when i do
Anthea says
Hi Sandra! Oh that's amazing! I agree - I get over chocolate over easter and crave wholesome bakes like these! Glad you liked it with half the amount of coconut sugar and that gf flour worked too! It's always super nice when a recipe gets the tick of approval from your toughest critics - the same for me too! Looking forward to seeing your other adaptations and thanks for leaving such a kind comment 🙂
Christina Read says
This was a very easy cake to make and I loved the moist texture. My whole family enjoyed it with frosting. I used coconut cream instead of coconut yogurt with the caramelised apples and it was delicious. Will definitely make this more often! Thank you for this recipe
Anthea says
So glad to hear! I love that you used coconut cream instead of yoghurt to top it. Thanks so much for the kind comment 🙂
Kym says
I absolutely love this recipe and so does my family. "Mum can you make that Apple bread again?" Is a common request at my house. It's moist and delicious.
Anthea says
Oh that's so sweet and makes my heart melt! Thanks so much Kym! 🙂
Kaori says
I just made this with gluten-free flour. I didn't have yogurt so I made frosting from cashew nuts. I made the apple topping as well. It was delicious! Thank you for posting the recipe 🙂
Anthea says
Glad the loaf worked for you with gluten free flour and love the idea of your cashew frosting! Thanks for leaving such a lovely comment 🙂
Angela says
Anthea I could only get self raising flour from the supermarket. Can I use this instead?
Stay safe. Angela X
Anthea says
Yes absolutely! With self-raising flour, you don't need to use any baking powder. I hope you stay safe too xo
Veronica says
Looks delish! My housemate is both gluten-free and nut-free though - do you think I'd be able to substitute the almond meal for a gf-flour blend?
Anthea says
Thanks Veronica! Yes that substitution would work! I've tried the gf blend/rice flour combo with other similar recipes and it's good :).