Paleo Morning Glory Quick bread made grain-free, refined sugar-free, and dairy-free. This flavorful, healthful bread includes all the flavors of morning glory muffins, and is easily prepared in your blender. A marvelous go-to treat.
The older I get, the more importance I attach to life’s little comforts…
Whether it be relishing my steamy morning beverage, sweating it out in a hot yoga class, or setting aside a moment to enjoy a slice of quick bread alongside a good read, these are the little “me” sessions that, while small and seemingly insignificant, make waves in helping me stay relaxed and focused.
Everyone has their own approach to treating him or herself, but the key for me is to keep my daily comforts well-conceived, uplifting, strengthening, or healthful…
Wise indulgences, as I like to think of them.
In my late twenties, I would have needed to justify or earn any of these little pleasures before slowing down and taking a breather.
You know, because: guilt, self-loathing, self-imposed pressure to embody perfection while still remaining cool, but not displaying any of the effort that goes into it.
Ohhh momma has that changed.
Being human is challenging enough as it is…we deserve to throw ourselves a bone.
Enter: Dis bone.
All the trappings of a morning glory muffin, but in the form of a loaf.
What is “Morning Glory” Quick Bread?:
What exactly is a Morning Glory Muffin (or in this case, Morning Glory Quickbread)? It’s a sweet baked treat filled with grated carrots, applesauce, walnuts, shredded coconut, sometimes raisins, and sometimes pineapple?
Quite honestly, morning glory baked goods are very similar to carrot cake!
Depending on your approach to either, the two can be one and the same. Which quite honestly is fine by me, because I love both so dearly. Way I see it, whatever adventure you choose, you’re bound to end up with a comforting result.
You’ll observe the recipe here is similar to the Paleo Carrot Cake I showed you last week.
Same awesome concept, just a few minor tweaks, and in the form of a quick bread rather than a tiered cake.
Psst! If you want to frost this loaf to give it an extra pizzaz, I 200% recommend my Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting!
What Does This Bread Taste Like?:
This bread is everything a good quick bread should be: tender and moist, dense, but airy, sweet but not too sweet, fluffy, full of flavor, the perfect accompaniment to your mug of coffee or tea.
Just like carrot cake, there are plenty of ways you can make this recipe your own by customizing the recipe.
For me, breads like this are that slow morning or afternoon experience, where you cut off a thick slice, pair it with your favorite hot drink, and slowly savor each bite while surfing the internet for quality information or reading a great book, researching getaways, etc.
I’ve also been known to down a huge hunk lickety split after a sweaty hot yoga class, so there’s always that option, too.
Recipe Adaptations:
- Add applesauce, subtract oil
- Incorporate up to 1/2 cup of crushed pineapple, subtract oil
- Add 1 large ripe banana, subtract pure maple syrup
- Hazelnut flour in place of almond flour? Sure, we can dig!
- Pecans in place of walnuts, or go nut-free
- Add raisins
- Whip up that Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting I showed you last week and frost the dang thing!
- Easily turn this bread into muffins by baking the batter in a muffin tray.
Looking for more healthy grain-free quick breads? Here are some reader favorites.
More Quick Bread Recipes:
- Paleo Double Chocolate Banana Bread
- Paleo Strawberry Banana Bread
- Paleo Carrot Cake Banana Bread
- Paleo Cranberry Orange Bread
Throw yourself a loaf of morning glory quick bread!
Paleo Morning Glory Quick Bread
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 large eggs
- 1/3 cup pure maple syrup
- 1/4 cup avocado oil see note*
- 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 2 tsp orange zest
- 1 1/2 cups finely ground almond flour
- 1/2 cup tapioca flour
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1 1/2 cups grated carrot
- 1/2 cup grated apple about 1/2 an apple
- 1/3 cup raw walnuts chopped
- 2/3 cup unsweetened shredded coconut plus more for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and line a 9" x 5" loaf pan with parchment paper. You can also oil or spray the pan if you don't have parchment paper.
- Add the first 11 ingredients (eggs through salt) to a blender and blend until smooth. Stir in the remaining ingredients until the batter is well-combined. Note: if you don't have a high-powered blender, use one large mixing bowl to mix all of the ingredients together.
- Transfer the batter to the prepared loaf pan and cover it with aluminum foil. Bake for 40 to 60 minutes, or until the bread is firm in the center. The best way to tell if quick bread is fully baked is by taking its internal temperature. To do so, insert a digital thermometer into the center of the bread and wait until the numbers stop moving. The ideal temperature is 190 to 205 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Remove the bread from the oven and allow it to cool for 1 hour before cutting. When you're ready to slice the bread, pull the loaf out of the pan using the edges of the parchment paper (or if you sprayed the pan with oil, run a knife along the edge of the bread and turn it out onto a cutting board). Use a sharp knife to cut thick slices and enjoy!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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Are you able to substitute coconut flour for almond flour?
Hi Heather,
Great question! Because almond flour and coconut flour absorb different amounts of liquid, you’d need to change the whole recipe to accommodate for the coconut flour. I just found this recipe for Morning Glory Muffins using coconut flour: http://comfybelly.com/2013/06/morning-glory-muffins/#.WPDf5tLythE – you can turn the recipe into a loaf instead of muffins if you’d like!! Hope you enjoy! xo
The morning glory is in some sense WAY better than carrot cake because you can acceptably eat it for breakfast without any trace of judgment! I’m all for that. Amazed at how moist and glorious this looks. You did it again!
Do you have a nutrition guide about this bread. I need the carb count
I love it – looks absolutely delish!
This looks so moist and delicious!!! And I completely agree…being human is totally hard AF. Bones are necessary to keep on trucking’ 🙂
This looks perfect for a drizzling rainy day like today!. Have you tried making it without eggs? I seem to be in the middle of an age where what I used to eat has finally caught up with me.
I hadn’t noticed that morning glory muffins and carrot cake are so similar. That must be why I love those muffins so much :). This looks delicious, Julia! Have a great weekend!
This won’t take too time. it can be made quickly. Thanks for posting this. I got new Dish to prepare.
Getting older definitely has a way of making one take care of oneself…I oughta know because I’m hitting a big milestone soon. lol . I’m a huge fan of morning glory anything, so I’m all over this health-ified morning glory bread!!
Yessss! Morning glory … carrot cake … I love em, love em! Seriously though. A favorite! haha This bread sounds soooo good! And I’m with you – my perspective on self-care / taking time for myself has changed now that I’m in my 30s … funny how that happens.
This landed in my inbox and I made it straight away. Without the nuts, and used applesauce. It is amazing!!!!! With a slab of butter. Gah!!! So good!
Lol I love your enthusiasm! I’m so happy to hear you love the bread, and your changes sound great! Thanks so much for the feedback! xo
Julia,
This looks yummy. Have you tried including crushed pineapple in these and if so did it work?
Hi Amy! I haven’t used crushed pineapple in this particular bread yet, but I’ve used it in place of oil in carrot cake recipes and muffins, and it works great! If you omit the oil to add pineapple, you may need to let the bread sit a little longer when it comes out of the oven just to be sure it sets up nicely. Let me know if you try it!
Mornings are my favorite. This would be the perfect breakfast!
Morning Glory is my favorite muffin. Thank you for making a healthier (guilt free) version!
This looks incredible! I love how healthy it is and all the flavors you’ve packed in there. Sipping a hot cup of tea with a thick slice of this and some Netflix sounds like my perfect afternoon!
I too, am all about savoring the little moments, specifically the mornings because they are my favorite. This bread looks like the perfect way to do that!