Cinnamon Apple Bread

Cinnamon Apple Bread is moist, sweet, and filled with fresh apples and warm cinnamon, making it the perfect fall treat. Layered with tender apple chunks and cinnamon sugar, it bakes up like a cozy cake in loaf form. Simple to prepare and ideal for bakers of any skill level, it fills your home with the irresistible aroma of a bakery.

Love More Apple Bread Recipes? Try My Apple Pie Bread Pudding or this Amish Apple Fritter Bread next.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

This easy, no-yeast bread uses simple pantry staples like flour, sugar, brown sugar, butter, milk, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and fresh apples. Soft, moist, and fluffy, it gets its light texture from layering apple chunks with gooey cinnamon sugar instead of mixing them into the batter. The result is a cozy fall flavor combination of sweet apples, warm cinnamon, and caramel-like brown sugar, with delicious pockets of spiced sweetness in every bite.

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Ingredient List

For the Bread:

• 1/2 cup butter (soft, not melted)
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1½ cups flour
• 1¾ teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup milk

For the Apple Layer:

• 1 big apple, peeled and chopped (about 1½ cups)
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

If you don’t have something: Butter – vegetable oil works but tastes different. Milk – I’ve used almond milk when I was out of regular milk. Apples – any firm apple except Red Delicious which gets mushy.

Why These Ingredients Work

Okay so I’ve probably made this bread sixty times by now because Dave keeps requesting it and the kids’ friends always want some when they come over. The butter absolutely has to be soft but not melted – I learned this when I microwaved it too long once and the whole thing turned out dense and weird. Brown sugar in the cinnamon layer gets all caramelly when it bakes, which is way better than using regular white sugar like I did the first few times.

I’ve tried probably eight different kinds of apples and Granny Smiths win every single time because they don’t turn into applesauce when they bake and they’re tart enough to balance out all the sugar. Karen always uses Gala apples and hers comes out fine but sweeter. The layering instead of mixing is what makes people think you’re some kind of baking genius when really you’re just being strategic about where you put the good stuff.

Essential Tools and Equipment

You need a 9×5 loaf pan, a big bowl for mixing, either a hand mixer or stand mixer, measuring stuff, something to peel apples with, a knife, and a small bowl for the cinnamon sugar. That’s it. Don’t overthink this.

How To Make Cinnamon Apple Bread

Step 1: Get Everything Ready

Heat your oven to 350°F and grease that loaf pan really well. I learned the hard way that skimping on the grease means your beautiful bread sticks to the pan.

Step 2: Mix Your Cinnamon Sugar

Stir the brown sugar and cinnamon together in a small bowl. This is going to create those amazing gooey layers.

Step 3: Prep the Apples

Peel and chop your apple into chunks about the size of your pinky nail. Too big and they sink, too small and you won’t taste them.

Step 4: Make the Base

Beat the butter and sugar together until it looks fluffy – takes about 4 minutes with my hand mixer. Add eggs one at a time, then vanilla.

Step 5: Add Dry Stuff

Mix flour, baking powder, and salt in another bowl first. Add this to your butter mixture along with the milk, mixing just until you can’t see flour streaks anymore.

Step 6: Layer It Up This is the fun part! Half the batter goes in the pan, then half the apples, then half the cinnamon sugar. Repeat with everything else.

Step 7: Bake

50 minutes at 350°F, but start checking with a toothpick at 45 minutes. Done when the toothpick has just a few crumbs on it.

Step 8: Wait (The Hard Part)

Let it cool completely in the pan. I know it smells incredible but hot bread crumbles when you slice it.

Expert Tips

Personal Secret: I sprinkle just a little bit of salt on my chopped apples and let them sit there for maybe ten minutes while I’m getting everything else ready. My mom’s sister taught me this weird trick when I was maybe twelve – it sucks out some of the water so your bread doesn’t get soggy, and somehow the apples taste more apple-ish afterward. Sounds dumb but it works.

Don’t screw this up: Never ever slice this bread when it’s still warm unless you want a pile of crumbs instead of actual slices. I ruined my very first loaf doing exactly this because I have zero patience and the smell was driving me crazy.

Pro Tips & Cooking Hacks

Get your eggs and butter out like half an hour before you want to start baking so they’re not cold. If you’re like me and always forget to do this, stick the eggs in a bowl of warm water for five minutes and zap the butter in the microwave for maybe ten seconds. Don’t go longer or you’ll melt it.

Once you add the flour, just stir until you can’t see white streaks anymore and then stop. My first three loaves were tough as shoe leather because I thought more stirring meant better bread. Totally wrong.

If the top starts looking too brown before your timer goes off, just throw some foil over it for the last bit. I burned the top of an otherwise perfect loaf doing this and Dave still brings it up when he wants to tease me about my baking.

Flavor Variations & Suggestions

My sister adds chopped walnuts to the apple layer and it’s fantastic – gives it this nice crunch. I’ve tried pecans too and they work great.

For special occasions, I make a simple glaze with powdered sugar and milk and drizzle it over the cooled bread. My kids love this version.

Last month I accidentally grabbed cardamom instead of cinnamon for part of the sugar mixture and it was actually amazing – like a fancy bakery version. Now I do half cardamom, half cinnamon sometimes.

Different apples change the whole vibe. Honeycrisp makes it sweeter, Braeburn adds this wine-like flavor that’s really interesting with coffee.

Make-Ahead Options

This bread gets better overnight – the flavors kind of meld together and it’s not as crumbly. I make it Sunday night and we eat it all week for breakfast.

You can mix up the batter the night before and stick it in the fridge, then layer and bake in the morning. I do this when I want fresh bread for guests without the morning chaos.

For longer storage, I wrap individual slices in plastic wrap and freeze them. My kids grab frozen slices and toast them for breakfast – works perfectly.

Recipe Notes & Baker’s Tips

Cut your apples the same size or some will sink and some will burn. About the size of dice works best for me.

If the top gets too brown before it’s done inside, just cover it with foil. This happened to me twice before I figured it out.

The toothpick test – when you stick it in and pull it out, there should be a few crumbs stuck to it but no wet batter. Completely clean means it’s overdone.

Serving Suggestions

I eat this plain most of the time because it doesn’t need anything else. But sometimes I toast a slice and put butter on it – that’s pretty amazing.

My husband likes it with cream cheese for breakfast. The kids dip slices in milk like it’s a cookie, which is weird but whatever makes them happy.

When we have company, I serve it with vanilla ice cream and people act like I’m some kind of baking genius. It’s just bread, people!

I hope this becomes your new go-to recipe like it has for me. Nothing beats walking into a house that smells like cinnamon and apples, especially when you know there’s warm bread waiting!

How to Store Your Cinnamon Apple Bread

I keep it covered on the counter and it’s good for about a week. In the fridge it lasts longer but gets a little dry – bring it back to room temperature or warm it up a bit.

For freezing, wrap slices individually in plastic wrap then put them in a freezer bag. They keep for months. I toast frozen slices straight from the freezer and they’re perfect.

Allergy Information

This has eggs, dairy, and wheat. If you need dairy-free, try plant milk and vegan butter – I haven’t tested it but my neighbor with lactose issues says it worked fine.

For gluten-free, you’d need to use a gluten-free flour blend. I haven’t tried this myself so I can’t promise how it’ll turn out.

Questions I Get Asked A Lot

Can I use applesauce instead of chopped apples?

No, don’t do this. Applesauce makes it dense and you lose those chunks of apple that make this bread special.

Why did my bread cave in the middle?

You probably mixed the batter too much or opened the oven door too early. I did both of these things and learned my lesson.

Can I make two loaves at once?

Sure, just use two pans and bake them at the same time. Same temperature, same time.

What apple should I use?

Granny Smith is my favorite because they don’t get mushy and they’re a little tart. Fuji and Gala work too if that’s what you have.

Can I freeze this bread?

Yep! Wrap slices in plastic wrap and freeze them. They keep for months and you can toast them straight from frozen.

💬 Made this bread? Tell me how it went! I love hearing when people try my recipes, especially if you changed something or had issues. Did your kids fight over it like mine do?