Apple Bread with Cinnamon Swirl
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If you love apple-cinnamon treats, this apple bread is for you. It’s soft and tender, packed with apples, and swirled with sweet cinnamon—basically fall baked into a loaf pan.
This cinnamon swirl apple bread will give you all the cozy fall feels. Packed with tart apples, it has a generous cinnamon swirl running through the center and a crisp, sugared top. Like other fall quick breads—pumpkin bread, cranberry orange bread, and banana bread—this apple bread recipe is easy to whip up and perfect any time of day.
My kids insist I ruin everything with nuts, so I’ve intentionally kept this recipe nut-free, but I think a handful of walnuts or pecans would be a delicious addition to the batter. Just be sure to let the bread cool completely before slicing—or even let it sit overnight. It stays moist for days! A special thanks to Caitlyn over at Erhardts Eat for the recipe inspiration.
“I made this recipe, and entered it in my local Apple Bake Contest in Pennsylvania that me and my sisters always enter and it won best of show!!! It’s so good! 🍁♥️”
What You’ll Need To Make Apple Bread With Cinnamon Swirl
- Sugar & Spice: A mix of light brown sugar, granulated sugar, and cinnamon sweetens the bread and gives it that classic warm, aromatic flavor.
- Wet Ingredients: Butter, milk, vanilla, and eggs add richness, moisture, and structure, creating a soft, tender crumb.
- Dry Ingredients: All-purpose flour forms the base of the batter, while baking powder helps the bread rise and stay fluffy. (For best results, spoon and level the flour rather than scooping.)
- Apples: Tart baking apples, like Granny Smith, provide a bright contrast to the sweetness and add juicy texture throughout the loaf.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-By-Step Instructions
Step 1: Mix the cinnamon-sugar. In a small bowl, stir together the brown sugar and cinnamon, then set the mixture aside.
Step 2: Beat the eggs and sugar. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or beaters, combine the eggs and granulated sugar. Beat on medium speed until pale and creamy, about 2 minutes.
Step 3: Add remaining wet ingredients. With the mixer on low, slowly pour in the melted butter, then add the milk and vanilla. Mix just until everything’s evenly combined.
Step 4: Mix in the dry ingredients. Add the flour, salt, and baking powder to the bowl and mix on low speed until everything is evenly combined and no dry spots remain.
Step 5: Mix in the apples. Add the chopped apples to the batter and fold with a rubber spatula until evenly incorporated.
Step 6: Layer the batter and cinnamon sugar. Line the long side of the pan with a parchment paper “sling” and spray lightly with nonstick cooking spray again. Spoon about 2/3 of the batter into the prepared pan, then sprinkle about 2/3 of the brown sugar–cinnamon mixture on top.
Step 7: Add the final layer and swirl. Spoon the remaining batter over top and sprinkle with the rest of the brown sugar–cinnamon mixture. Using a butter knife, make a gentle zigzag motion through the batter once in each direction to create a swirl—don’t overdo it!
Step 8: Bake and cool. Bake the apple bread for 50 to 55 minutes, until the bread is golden brown and a cake tester or toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let it cool on a rack for about 30 minutes, then use the parchment sling to lift the bread onto the rack. Let cool completely before slicing, a few hours or overnight. Store the bread loosely covered with aluminum foil on the countertop.
More Apple Recipes You May Like
Apple Bread with Cinnamon Swirl
Ingredients
- ½ cup light brown sugar packed
- 1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
- ½ cup milk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour, spooned into measuring cup and leveled-off
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 cup peeled cored, and finely diced tart baking apples, from 1 apple (preferably Granny Smith)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C) and set an oven rack in the middle position. Spray an 8½ x 4½-inch (22 x 11-cm) loaf pan lightly with nonstick cooking spray. Line the long side of the pan with a parchment paper “sling” and spray lightly with nonstick cooking spray again.
- In a small bowl, mix the brown sugar and cinnamon until evenly combined. Set aside.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or beaters, beat the eggs and granulated sugar on medium speed until pale and creamy, about 2 minutes.
- With the mixer on low, gradually add the melted butter followed by the milk and vanilla, and mix just until evenly combined.
- Add the flour, salt, and baking powder to the batter and mix on low speed until evenly combined.
- Add the apples to the batter and fold with a rubber spatula until evenly incorporated.
- Spoon about ⅔ of the batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle about ⅔ of the brown sugar-cinnamon mixture on top of the batter. Spoon the remaining batter over top, followed by the remaining brown sugar-cinnamon mixture. Using a butter knife, swirl the layers by making a zig-zag motion through the batter once in each direction (don't overdo it!).
- Bake for about 50 minutes, until the bread is golden brown and a cake tester or toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let the bread cool on a rack for about 30 minutes, then use the parchment sling to lift the bread out of the pan and onto the rack. Let cool completely before slicing, a few hours or overnight. Store loosely covered with aluminum foil on the countertop for up to 4 days.
Nutrition Information
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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Love this! Have been wanting a good apple bread recipe. This is it! Moist, not too sweet, lovely topping. Will make it again.
Another winner Jen! Just made your fabulous cinnamon bread and it did not disappoint.
The apple adds a hint of freshness that takes it over the top! Thank you for another great recipe that makes me look like a rockstar!
HI, I have been loving your recipes and tried a few dinner dishes and loved them all. Today I tried the cinnamon swirl apple bread and it was very thick in the batter and then once cooked extremely crumbly. (I could barely cut it into a loaf slice). What did I do wrong?? I followed this exactly as written. I am not much of a baker but this looked simple. help? Leah
Hi Leah, This bread should be very moist. Is it possible you made a measuring error or inadvertently left something out?
Hi Jenn
Loved your French apple cake recipe and would like to try making your apple bread this weekend.. I was just wondering – can I use light brown sugar instead of granulated? Thanks
So glad you like the French apple cake! For the most predictable results, I’d stick with granulated sugar here. Sorry!
I have made this a few times already and the family loves it. It is the perfect apple bread recipe. I just now have to double the recipe whenever I make it because the first loaf is gone before it even has a chance to cool for the 30 minutes! Definitely a keeper. Thank you Jenn!
It is delicious. Can the recipe be doubled?
Glad you liked it! Yes, you can double it and make two loaves.
I doubled the recipe and it made two beautiful loaves!
This recipe was delicious!
I did make some changes however
1.Substituted goat milk kefir instead of milk
2.Added extra 1/2c of chopped apples
3.Added 1/2c of raisins
4.Used a 6×91/2 Bread pan (clesest I had)
5.Lightly greased bread pan with Ghee (no parchment paper)
Turned out perfect- Moist and crumbly texture, so so tasty!! Just enough sweetness.
Hi Jenn
I have made several of your recipes and they always turn out great…however, this one didn’t and I’m not sure why. The apple loaf tastes good, but it didn’t rise at all. I measured everything accurately, I checked to make sure my baking powder is still active, and I did not overmix….
The only thing I did differently was I used the standard Paderno loaf pan 9.25 x 5.25 inches (I didn’t have one that was 8.5 x 4.5). Any idea of what could have gone wrong?
Ann
Hi Ann, I feel confident that it was the size of your loaf pan. Although the difference between what the recipe calls for and what you used seems small, it has a big impact on the height of the bread.
Thanks, Jenn – I will try again (just ordered a 8.5 x 4.5 pan).
This is fantastic! I’ve made it a bunch of times. Didn’t peel the apples since I don’t mind the peel, and it worked great — they were soft and unnoticeable. The cinnamon swirl is very tasty. Decreased the salt by nearly half since I was using salted butter. Some variations I’ve tried: dairy free with Earth Balance for pan greasing and melting into the batter (it was great) and swapping the apples for fresh cranberries and adding a couple handfuls of chopped pecans (also superb). In my experience, if you end up with more than a cup of apple chunks due to the size of the apples you’re using, you may need to increase baking time.
Hi. Will this work with skim milk? Thank you
Sure, Lori. Enjoy!
Can I use skim milk?
Yep 🙂
I made a loaf using Splenda granulated sugar and Splenda brown sugar 1/4 cup of each instead of the 1/2 cup of regular called for and it turned out perfectly delicious and tasted the same as the regular loaf. My family didn’t even know I used Splenda. I did this because my husband is a diabetic and loves his sweet every now and then. Thank you for sharing this recipe. 5 star in my book👍