Vegan Apple Bread
This incredibly soft, fluffy and moist vegan apple bread is made with only 8 ingredients and comes together in one bowl! It’s delicious enjoyed by itself or with a soft dairy-free cream cheese frosting and caramelized apples. This bread can easily be made gluten-free and refined sugar-free too.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
CAKE-LIKE TEXTURE. This bread uses grated apples rather than chopped apples to give it a beautiful ‘melt-in-your-mouth’ texture.
EASY TO MAKE. You probably already have all the ingredients in your pantry to make this bread! Or, if pumpkin is more your thing, check out my vegan pumpkin bread.
VERSATILE. Enjoy a slice of this apple bread by itself for breakfast. Or top it with cream cheese frosting and caramelized apples to share for afternoon tea or any gathering!
This vegan apple bread has been adapted from reader favorite recipes on Rainbow Nourishments: my Apple Crumble Cake and Vegan Apple Muffins.
Simple Ingredients You’ll Need
The full list of ingredient quantities and instructions are in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Notes About the Ingredients
All-purpose flour for the fluffiest vegan apple bread! This bread works well with some gluten-free flour blends – check out the notes in the recipe card for details.
Brown sugar for a cozy 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 in zucchini bread, 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 as they also add natural sweetness the bread. If you prefer a less sweet bread, use a tart apple like Granny Smith.
Baking powder and soda. This recipe uses double baking agents to ensure the bread bakes through and has a fluffy texture. You don’t need eggs to make fluffy quick breads!
Apple cider vinegar (optional) helps break down the gluten to create a more tender crumb. Alternatively, you can use lemon juice or white vinegar or simply omit it.
How to Make Vegan Apple Bread
One of the best things about this recipe is that the batter comes together in one bowl. You don’t even need a mixer! To make the batter, mix the dry ingredients in a bowl until well combined. Stir in the dry ingredients and you’re done!
While this recipe is easy to make, here are some tips for the best results:
- Measure the ingredients accurately using a kitchen scale. Too much flour will create a dry and dense bread and too much apple will make this bread too moist. If you’re in a pinch and only have measuring cups, please use the spoon and level method to measure the flour.
- If your apple is extra juicy, add a little extra flour to the batter. Because no two apples are identical, their moisture levels can vary quite a bit and this can affect how your bread bakes. If your grated apple seems extra juicy, add a tad more flour to ensure your bread bakes up soft rather than heavy and soggy. Check the notes in the recipe card for details.
- Don’t overmix the batter as this will make your bread tough and dense. Try folding your cake batter! It’s ok if your batter has a few lumps, as long as they aren’t lumps of dry flour.
Tips for Baking Apple Bread
This vegan apple bread takes around 50 minutes to 1 hour to bake.
Every oven bakes a bit differently and, with so much dispersed fruit in this bread, sometimes the top can brown quickly. Check your loaf at the 30 to 40 minute mark and if the top is already golden brown, cover the pan loosely with aluminum foil until the bread is ready.
Optional: Making a Caramelized Apple Topping
While this bread is wonderful by itself, topping it with caramelized apples adds even more apple flavor and makes this everyday loaf a showstopper.
Here are my top tips for caramelizing the apples:
- 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!
More Decoration Ideas
Before baking, you can top the bread with:
- Rolled oats
- Pumpkin seeds, just like my vegan pumpkin bread
- Crumble topping, either a regular cinnamon crumble or pecan crumble. This will add another 5-10 minutes to the bake time.
- Chopped apple. I recommend covering your loaf pan with aluminum foil after 30-40 minutes of baking, as the apples may burn.
After baking, the bread will also be wonderful with:
- Cinnamon cream cheese frosting, such as from my sweet potato bread
- Simple sugar glaze, like my lemon olive oil cake. Feel free to replace the lemon juice with milk and add a touch of cinnamon
- Vegan buttercream, from my ginger cake (minus the coconut)
- Coconut yogurt (like below)
Customizing This Recipe
This bread will work if you replace the all-purpose flour with whole wheat flour or spelt flour and using coconut sugar instead of brown sugar. These healthier alternatives are drier than the original ingredients, so you may need to add an extra dash of milk to the batter.
Some readers have successfully substituted the oil with unsweetened applesauce, however I haven’t tested it myself so I can’t vouch for results.
I don’t recommend using a liquid sweetener as it’ll throw off the ingredient ratios and make the bread too heavy and wet. Alternatively, my maple banana bread was designed to be baked with maple syrup.
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
This bread will also be wonderful with a cinnamon swirl! 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 (200g) packed brown sugar, coconut sugar or granulated sugar (note 2)
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Wet Ingredients
- 1 x (~180g) medium-sized apple, grated very coarsely OR chopped finely (note 3)
- 1 cup (240g) dairy-free milk, room temperature
- ½ cup (110g) 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 (60g) 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 (15g) vegan butter, 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 just combined. Pour the batter into your prepared loaf pan and smooth the top.
- Bake the apple bread for 50 minutes to 1 hour or until done. Check the bread at the 35 minute mark and if it's browning quickly on top, loosely cover it 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 moist crumbs are fine. (note 4)
- Let the apple bread rest in the pan for at least 10 minutes the transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Make the 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 so if you'd like a firmer icing, double the amount of butter and add more sugar, to taste.
Make the 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 in the freezer for up to 1 month.
Notes
- Gluten-free apple bread: Substitute the flour with 1 1/2 cups (150g) almond flour and 1 cup (160g) gluten-free all-purpose flour (or fine white rice flour). Alternatively, this bread works well with King Arthur’s gluten-free measure for measure flour by itself. Your batter will be thicker and I recommend baking the bread for 65-70 minutes. I don’t recommend using Bob’s Red Mills 1:1 gluten-free flour.
- This amount of sugar creates a mildly sweet apple bread. To make the bread less sweet, use 3/4 cup (150g) 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, add 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, tent your loaf pan with aluminum foil at the beginning of baking to prevent it from burning.
- The apple bread is wonderful by itself. Alternatively, you can top the bread with a simple buttercream, icing such as from my lemon olive oil cake recipe or coconut yogurt. See the post above for more suggestions.
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.
Hi,
Looks like a great reipe I want to make gluten free; however, your gf note incorrectly states 1 cup KAF weighs 160g. The correct weight for 1 C KAF is 120g. Do you recommend following the cup weight or the total flour weight in this recipe? Thankis!!
Hi Kim, I think you misread the notes. The recipe works with a blend of almond flour and gf all-purporse. It also works with just King Arthur’s gluten-free measure for measure flour (in the bag). This is not the same as their gluten-free all-purpose flour (in a box). Different brands of gf all-purpose flour weigh differently (you can see some cups to grams conversions here). The gf all-purpose that I used weighed 160g for 1 cup. Hope that helps!
I didnt have vanilla extract, and didnt make the icing….very moist , baked an extra 15 mins… and I used coconut milk (Silk)
Hi Michelle, we’re thrilled to hear you enjoyed the recipe! It’s great to know it works with Silk coconut milk, thanks for sharing!
This recipe is fabulous with no complicated ingredients!! The plain cake alone is great for an everyday snack/counter/teatime cake, but with a few extra steps can be a rather impressive dessert!
I made some changes, so I’d love to share those in case anyone else is interested! I did 215g of AP flour, and 100g of whole wheat flour. I did grate the apple to the point that it had liquids coming out (read this note after I’d done it), but I think the whole wheat flour compensated for it nicely. I also did less sugar, totalling 2/3 cups packed brown sugar. Finally, I added some extra spices: 1/2 tsp ginger and 1/4 tsp nutmeg. I topped the baked cake with the caramelized apples and a simple powdered sugar + vanilla + almond milk icing.
My husband is already requesting this to be made every week this autumn and I can’t even deny the need for that! Next time I might add the chopped apples right on top of the filled pan so they can bake right in, or perhaps do a streusel with apple mixed in. Thanks again for a fabulous recipe!!!
Hi Sarah! Thank you so much for taking the time to share all of this. We agree, the whole wheat flour likely helped balance out the extra liquid from the grated apple.
Weekly requests from your husband is the best kind of feedback! We also love your ideas for baking the apple right into the batter or trying a streusel, just be mindful of not adding too much, as extra weight could make it harder for the batter to rise. Would love to hear how you get on if you give either a try!
I’ve been vegetarian for about 8 years, and I was a bit nervous about transitioning to veganism as a baker. But WOW this recipe is INCREDIBLE. I used almond milk and vegetable oil, along with lemon juice in place of vinegar, and I’m seriously astonished by how perfectly this turned out. Thank you!
Aw this comment has made our day! Thank you so much for giving the recipe a go and we hope you enjoy this new vegan baking adventure 💛
Made it last week (only the loaf and no toppings) and it turned amazing. Moist but well cooked and flavors on point. Will make it again for sure. Thanks for the recipe!
Hi Estefanía, I’m soo glad you enjoyed this recipe and especially enjoyed the texture and flavor! Thanks so much for your lovely feedback 🙂
This recipe was so easy and the apple bread is delicious I will definitely be making this again and I am looking forward to trying some of your other recipes! Quick question can this be frozen in separate slices for a month?
Hi Rachel, sorry for the late reply! I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe and that it’ll be a keeper for you. And yes, this bread freezes really well and it can definitely be frozen as individual slices for a month. Hope that helps!
This bread was delicious! I added chopped dates and walnuts along with the apples and frosted it with buttercream frosting! It was more like a cake and so moist.
I’ll definitely be making this recipe again! Thank you for posting!
Hi Lynn, I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe and I love how you customized it! Thanks so much for your lovely feedback 🙂
Would chickpea flour work ?
Hi, chickpea flour won’t work as a sole replacement as it’s more absorbent than AP flour and doesn’t have any gluten in it to bind the ingredients. You can try replacing a portion of AP flour with chickpea flour but will need to experiment with ratios. Hope that helps!