Sweet, moist Gluten-Free Apple Bread with delightful chunks of fresh apples, warm spices and an amazing cinnamon swirl. This satisfying comforting treat is ideal for breakfast or snack when you’re craving apple cinnamon flavors! Refined sugar-free, moist, fluffy, and an absolute explosion of fall!
If the whole season of fall could be summarized in the form of a single quick bread recipe, it would be this moist loaf.
This gluten-free apple cinnamon bread is that warm surprise that makes you take a deep breath and sigh, “Life is good.”
I first shared this recipe back in 2014 and it has been one of my favorite fall treats ever since!
While I typically make my treats lower in sugar and dairy-free, this particular apple bread recipe pulls out all the stops. It’s rich in that iconic buttery bliss and is so nice and sweet that one slice will actually be enough!
In my humble opinion, it is truly the best apple bread recipe (and has been loved by thousands of readers over the years).
This yummy apple bread includes a secret ingredient – Greek yogurt! – which helps leaven the bread and also gives it a moist buttery tang.
Trust me, you will just want to hide pieces of it in the pockets of your enormous fall scarf and pull them out whenever you feel the need for something remarkable.
It is just the absolute perfect recipe for apple bread. I bet it will become a staple in your household not just during apple harvest season, but regardless of the time of year!
If you’re looking for a lower sugar apple bread, you can make my Healthy Apple Oatmeal Muffins and bake the batter into a loaf.
The best part is this easy apple bread recipe requires ingredients you likely already have on hand and is just such a blast to make!
Let’s chat about those basic ingredients for this cinnamon apple bread.
Ingredients for Apple Bread:
Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour: To make this apple cinnamon quick bread gluten-free, we use a gluten-free flour blend.
I make this apple cinnamon bread with Bob’s Red Mill’s Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour, which makes for a fluffy loaf that you’d never in a million years guess was gluten free. I’ve been raving about this blend because just as the package says, it works perfectly as a 1:1 replacement for regular all-purpose flour.
If you have a favorite brand of gluten-free flour, feel free to use it here! King Arthur and Pamela’s will work great!
If you don’t follow a gluten-free diet, use regular all-purpose flour.
Coconut Sugar: To keep the bread refined sugar-free, I sweeten it using coconut sugar, which is lower on the glycemic index than cane sugar.
If you prefer baking with cane sugar, you can replace the coconut sugar with brown sugar or white sugar – either work!
If you’d like to keep it added sugar-free (the apple has natural sugar), use your favorite sugar-free sweetener!
Butter: Unsalted butter is the fat portion of this recipe and it makes for such luscious flavor and texture!
Greek Yogurt: Non-fat plain yogurt is added for two main reasons. It brings moisture and creamy tangy flavor to the bread and it helps to leaven it, similar to buttermilk or sourdough. This all star secret ingredient plays a huge role in the deliciousness of the bread.
Eggs: A couple large eggs help fluff up the bread to give it that delicious airy rise. You want the eggs to be at room temperature (same as the butter) so that the wet ingredients mix together easily.
Baking Powder: The leavening agent here, baking powder helps ensure the bread bakes evenly and stays held together nicely once it is sliced.
Cinnamon: A generous amount of cinnamon complements the fresh apple chunks and also gives a hearty fall vibe. For the best result, use a good quality Ceylon cinnamon.
Apples: One large Granny Smith apple goes into this bread to bring all that delicious tart flavor. I find granny smith apples are the best apples for apple recipes because they boast such huge apple flavor.
You can use any kind of apples if you have a favorite, such as honeycrisp apples or pink lady apples.
Optional Additions:
Add ⅔ cup of finely chopped pecans or walnuts to the bread if you love a nutty flavor and texture.
Enjoy the combination of chocolate and apples? Add up to 1 cup of chocolate chips.
Now that we’ve covered the simple ingredients list, let’s make a loaf of this Life is Good Bread, shall we?
How to Make Gluten-Free Apple Cinnamon Bread:
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Lightly oil a 9″ x 5″ loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray (or line a loaf pan with parchment paper).
In a small bowl, add the ingredients for the apple cinnamon mixture. Stir well, and set aside.
In a stand mixer or a mixing bowl, cream together the butter, coconut sugar, and vanilla extract (wet ingredients) with the paddle attachment on medium speed. Note: if you don’t own a stand mixer, you can use a large bowl and a hand mixer.
Add the eggs one at a time and continue mixing on medium speed until well combined. Scrape the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula.
In a separate mixing bowl, stir together the gluten-free flour, baking powder, and salt (dry ingredients).
Pour the flour mixture into the bowl with the wet mixture and mix just until combined (avoid over mixing).
Add the Greek yogurt and mix until smooth and well combined. If need be, use a rubber spatula to gently fold the bread dough together.
Spread half of the bread dough in the prepared loaf pan.
Spread about 2/3 of the apple cinnamon mixture over the dough evenly.
Spread the remaining bread dough on top, followed by the remaining apple cinnamon mixture.
Bake the loaf for 50 minutes in the preheated oven, or until it tests clean. The bread will be very dark because of the cinnamon. I assure you, it isn’t burned. This is just due to the darkness of the cinnamon.
Remove the apple bread from the oven and let the bread cool for at least 20 minutes before transferring it to a cutting board. Cut thick pieces of this healthy gluten-free apple bread and serve it warm with butter and honey.
Store any leftover apple bread in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 7 days. If you’d like, you can cover the bread pan in aluminum foil or plastic wrap and store it at room temperature for the first two days. You can also freeze it in a zip lock bag for up to 3 months.
And that’s it!
This delicious cinnamon swirl apple bread is the perfect breakfast or snack for apple season and beyond. We also enjoy it as dessert!
If you’re really wanting to get genius, you could add pecans or chopped walnuts to the bread batter. You can even drizzle the whole thing with a powdered sugar glaze or homemade caramel or serve it with apple butter. Just throw your sails to the wind. Grab life by the Moist Breads.
If you love sweet quick breads, also check out these gems!
More Healthy Gluten-Free Bread Recipes:
- The BEST Gluten-Free Banana Bread
- Chocolate Oatmeal Banana Bread
- Paleo Double Chocolate Banana Bread
- Paleo Strawberry Banana Bread
- The BEST Gluten-Free Zucchini Bread
- Paleo Carrot Cake Banana Bread
- Healthy Cinnamon Swirl Banana Bread
- Paleo Lemon Blueberry Bread
- Healthy Oatmeal Zucchini Bread
- Paleo Cranberry Orange Bread
May all your loaves be moist!
Gluten Free Apple Cinnamon Bread
Ingredients
Apple Cinnamon Mixture:
- ½ cup coconut sugar*
- 1 Tbsp ground cinnamon
- 1 granny smith apple peeled, cored, and finely chopped
- 1 tsp olive oil
- pinch salt
For the Gluten Free Bread:
- ½ cup unsalted butter softened
- 2/3 cup coconut sugar**
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 2 eggs
- 1½ cups gluten-free flour blend
- 1½ tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- ½ cup full-fat Greek yogurt
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9" x 5" loaf pan with parchment paper or spray it with cooking oil.
- Add the ingredients for the apple cinnamon mixture to a small mixing bowl. Stir well, and set aside.
- In a stand mixer or a mixing bowl, cream together the butter, coconut sugar, and vanilla extract (wet mixture).
- Add the eggs one at a time and continue mixing until well combined.
- In a separate mixing bowl, stir together the gluten-free flour, baking powder, and salt (the dry ingredients).
- Pour the flour mixture into the bowl with the wet mixture and mix just until combined.
- Add the Greek yogurt and mix until a smooth and well combined. The mixture will be very thick and doughy – this is normal.
- Spread half of the bread dough in the prepared loaf pan.
- Add 2/3 of the apple cinnamon mixture and press it into the dough with a spoon.
- Spread the remaining bread dough on top, followed by the remaining apple cinnamon mixture.
- Place on the center wrack in the oven and bake for 50 minutes. Turn the oven off and allow the bread to sit in the oven an additional 5 minutes or until it tests clean.
- Remove bread from the oven and allow it to cool for at least 20 minutes before slicing and serving.
- Serve warm with butter!
Notes
Nutrition
This post contains affiliate links, which means I make a small commission off items you purchase at no additional cost to you.
This post was originally published on November 7, 2014 and was sponsored by Bob’s Red Mill.
What would happen if I used oat flour or almond flour? Also I use monk fruit, which is a 1:1 with sugar and no blood sugar spikes. Thanks!
BTW, I loved your chocolate banana bread!
Hi Vickie! I’m so thrilled you hear you enjoy my chocolate banana bread! That one is one of my favorites as well. I believe oat flour would work as a 1:1 replacement for this bread, but you may end up needing to add slightly more. Almond flour will likely work as well, but I think you may end up needing 1/2 to 1 cup more, as it isn’t quite as absorbent as a gluten-free flour blend. That said, I think the oat flour version may turn out pretty dense, but will still have good flavor. I think an almond flour version may turn out better, but I’m not positive. As a side note, I shared an apple muffins recipe that calls for almond flour a few years ago and it has been a pretty well-loved recipe: https://www.theroastedroot.net/healthy-apple-muffins-paleo-no-added-sweetener/ You may want to give that a shot! Let me know what you end up trying! xo
Looks like this bread has been in your rotation for a while but it was new to me this week thanks to your post. Just pulled my second loaf in as many days out of the oven. I didn’t see the need for the olive oil in the apples and I subbed sour cream for yogurt cuz that’s what I had. Delicious!!
I don’t sit and drink coffee and do crosswords as the post below states but I do cut the loaves in half and give as gifts. And I write reviews like this one. Thanks for the recipes.
I’m so happy you enjoy it, Christina! Thanks so much for the sweet note 🙂 So happy the bread worked out great with sour cream – sounds delicious!
Hello! I just popped this in the oven! It’s spilling over the edges a little bit. Better tasted great. Hoping it still comes out tasty albeit a bit rough on the top. I’ll post back.
@Kori S, I also used a clear loaf pan too. Hopefully that’s fine.
Hi Kori! Oh no, I’m sorry to hear that! Do you know if the loaf pan you used was a 9″ x 5″ pan?
I’m wondering Julia is maple syrup could be used as a substitute for sugar? This recipe has over one cup of sugar which is a lot, so trying to see how I can reduce that. Perhaps I can reduce the sugar content and it’ll still be good to eat? What do you think? Thanks
Making this bread for the second time. This time as a gift to a friend. It’s so delicious!! Just wondered if I should add the liquid the sugar/ cinnamon mixture makes ? Always love a fool proof recipe, thanks!
I really enjoy this recipe! I just made it again for the second time. My husband and I really enjoy this new dessert recipe.( for us it’s new)! THE YOU for this wonderful recipe.
I’m so happy you and your husband like it, Marcie! xo
Baked this bread today and it turned out AMAZING! I replaced the cinnamon mixture with brown sugar and the bread mixture with pure cane sugar (since I didn’t have coconut sugar). I also accidentally bought 0% fat Greek yogurt and didn’t realize it until I was at that step of the prepping process but it still turned out soooo yummy! The whole family love it! Will definitely make again! Thank you for the recipe!
That sounds amazing! I’m so happy you like the bread. Thanks so much for sharing your changes and for the sweet note! xoxo
This turned out so good. I didn’t even need any butter or honey..it was perfectly sweet, moist, and comforting. Even my kids couldn’t get enough of it…and they are picking when it comes to baked goods 🙂
I’m so happy to hear it! Thanks for letting me know, and much love to you and your family! xoxo
Delicious! I used my own gluten free flour mix rather than Bob’s as Bob’s mix has potato starch in it, which due to my allergies, I cannot have. It worked well! I also upped the soda a bit and added 1/4 t. ascorbic acid powder as I cannot have baking powder. That worked well too. Fortunately, none of these adjustments changed the flavor! Will definitely make again! Thank you for sharing your recipe!
Can I use almond flour instead of the coconut flour?
@Gloria, yes!!
This bread was very moist and delicious while warm. Next day it was quite dry and I ended up throwing it out.
Hi Patty. I always reheat the bread with a small amount of butter, and it stays nice and moist and delicious.
Can this bread be frozen
Hi Diana,
Absolutely! Wrap it in plastic wrap and then stick it in a zip lock bag. It freezes really well! xo
Hi! This bread is THE BEST!! Can I just double the recipe to get two loaves?
I’m so happy you like it, Jeanne! Yes, you can absolutely double the recipe for two loaves 😀 xo
I just made this exactly as instructed and it is delicious!! Me and my roommates all love it, we can’t believe it’s gluten free 🙂 It tastes really good with butter on top. I made it using regular white sugar because I didn’t have a chance to get coconut sugar and it still turned out delicious. Thanks so much for sharing.
I’m so happy to hear it, Emily! Thanks so much for the sweet note! 😀
This is amazing! I made it exactly as directed. So moist and yummy. I can’t even believe that it’s gluten free. I can’t stop eating it. Thank you!
Oops – I forgot that I did use brown sugar in the topping and white sugar in the bread dough as suggested instead of coconut sugar.
Yaaaaay I’m so happy you enjoyed the bread, Sue! It’s definitely one of my favorite recipes on this site! Brown/white cane sugar is always an option for replacing coconut sugar, so I’m glad you made the substitution work for ya! Thanks so much for your kind words!
Can you substitute almond milk for the Greek yogurt in this recipe?
Hi Virginia, I wouldn’t use almond milk because it will throw the moisture content off..Greek yogurt can be replaced with buttermilk or kefir – I’d stick to something thick and cultured 🙂 Hope this helps!