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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Hi. I’m wondering if you can switch up the ingredients and add about 1/2 cup of nut milk pulp. Any suggestions?
Hi Bonnie! I don’t have any experience baking with nut milk pulp so I’m not sure what changes you would need to make, if any. My guess is using the pulp would result in a pretty dense bread. If you’re okay with this, it might be worth experimenting. You could try a combination of the pulp and some tapioca flour to try to lighten it up. Let me know if you try it! xo
Made this and it was excellent, perfectly moist.
I love hearing that! Thanks for sharing, Ashlee!
Has anyone tried adding raisins to this?
Hi Stephanie! I have and I think it’s quite enjoyable. If you enjoy raisins, I’d say go for it! I’d recommend using 1/2 cup. Enjoy!
This was such a perfect thing to make on a Sunday afternoon! I didn’t quite have enough orange zest so I added just a bit of orange extract (I realize that makes it no longer paleo,) but it was sooo delicious! Perfect amount of sweetness and love all the goodness added in!
Aww I love hearing that, Tyree! Thanks so much for swinging back around to share your feedback. I’m thrilled you enjoyed the bread! xo
I made this recipe yesterday for the first time and it was a absolutely wonderful! Followed the recipe exactly as written except I made it in a muffin tin. Baked them for 22 minutes on convection bake setting at 350 degrees. They were beautiful! Just a hint of sweetness and the addition of orange zest was great!
My wife and I avoid cane sugar, gluten and dairy, so your recipes are so appreciated. We have enjoyed so many of your recipes from both your Roasted Root emails and your book, “Paleo Power Bowls”. Thank you, Julia, for all that you do!
This bread was delicious! Is there any reason it can’t be made into muffins? I noticed that your muffin recipe is a bit different, but I’d like to use this recipe. Thanks!
Hi! This looks delicious!! Can i make this with flax seed eggs or egg replacer? If not, do you have any bread recipes that are vegan, gluten free and no refined sugar? I’ve tried a couple with no luck 😌 any will do- quick breads or regular bread- i also have a bread maker 🙂
Hi Rose! I wouldn’t recommend making this bread with an egg replacer unless you’re okay with a very dense texture, similar to bars or brownies. In my very limited experience with grain-free baking, almond flour treats don’t rise properly due to the lack of starch. That said, I do have a vegan banana bread recipe, which you can check out here: https://www.theroastedroot.net/vegan-banana-bread-gluten-free/ The recipe calls for brown sugar but you can leave it out or use 2-3 tablespoons of pure maple syrup. Hope you enjoy! xo
I am vegan, can I use an egg substitute, flax or just egg? Thank you
Hi Jeanie! I haven’t tested the recipe myself using an egg replacer but my guess is that the bread wouldn’t have the right consistency. In my (limited) experience, almond flour requires eggs in order to fluff up and have the right texture, otherwise it stays dense and has kind of a raw consistency with egg replacers. That said, it may be worth googling to see if there’s another grain-free morning glory bread with a vegan option!
I just made morning glory muffins adding zucchini. Def will try yours. I like your table prop for this morning glory bread. I’m wondering if this is your table, if so your source…or is it a deck that you used for this shot?
Aww love that! The backdrop is a photography backdrop made by Erickson Surfaces: https://ericksonsurfaces.com/
Just made the Morning Glory bread and it is delicious! It rose very nicely and I dare anyone to say it’s gluten-free. Very moist and satisfying. Thanks for sharing this yummy recipe!
I’m so happy to hear it, Barbara! Thanks so much for leaving a sweet note! xo
Hi, Will flax eggs work in place of eggs?
Hi Sydney! In my experience, egg replacers don’t yield amazing texture in grain-free recipes. The end result is typically very dense with not much rise. That said, the bread will still turn out deliciously – it just won’t have bread-like texture. In recipes that call for a gluten-free flour blend (which contain starchy ingredients like rice flour and potato starch), swapping eggs for flax eggs is typically not an issue. 🙂 Hope this helps! xoxo
@Julia, Ok, thanks so much! 🙂
This looks so good!
Would omitting the shredded coconut change the recipe too much ? I have a “not a fan” in the house.
Not at all! A lot of people end up leaving the shredded coconut out. I personally would add more almond flour to replace the volume lost, but it will still work either way 🙂
can you use just regular flour if you can’t find the other ones?
Hi Bella! Almond flour is a little less absorbent than regular flour, so you would probably need to make other adjustments to the recipe, such as adding oil or milk (of any kind). You can try out the recipe as written using regular flour and add liquid if need be – it may take some experimenting. Another alternative would be to google a recipe for Morning Glory Bread that already calls for all-purpose flour 🙂 xo
Could I use all almond flour and skip the tapioca flour?
Hi Crystal! You can! The bread won’t hold together quite as nicely, but you can definitely use all almond flour. Hope you enjoy! xo
I make this loaf recipe more than any other last or muffin recipe! I also have a few slices in the freezer as a grab and go when I know I will be hungry in an hour. Full of delicious ingredients, moist and wonderful texture. I replace the make sure with applesauce.
I’m so happy you enjoy it, Deborah! It’s been a timeless classic for me too! xoxo
So delicious!! The orange zest gives it an incredible flavor. I did half oat half almond flour (using your same measurements) and it turned out wonderful ❤️
Love that! Thanks so much for sharing!