My easy applesauce bread is super moist, lightly sweet, and bursting with autumnal apple flavor that can be enjoyed all year long--ready in under an hour! The crumb topping takes it over the top, but takes next to no time. Let's get into the deliciousness!
And if you enjoy this recipe, you'll love my applesauce crumb muffins, too!
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What does it taste like?
You'll taste delicate apple flavor made super cozy by sweet warming spices like ginger and cinnamon. The texture of the bread itself is soft and chewy while the crumb topping is crunchy with buttery, caramelized sweet flavor.
And if you enjoy this recipe, you'll love my Apple Pie Monkey Bread with Praline Sauce or my Pumpkin Apple Spice Cake!
Featured Reader Review
★★★★★
"Just delicious. I loved how moist this cake is. A real winner!"
-Jonathan
What You'll Need for this Recipe
Applesauce - I recommend unsweetened applesauce so that the bread doesn't turn out too sweet. Alternatively, you can adjust the maple syrup and sugar down. Use store-bought applesauce to make this recipe super simple or homemade applesauce if you want more control over the ingredients and flavor.
Brown Sugar adds caramelized sweetness and helps keep the texture of this bread soft. Use dark or light brown sugar here.
Warming Spices make this kind of applesauce snacking cake perfectly cozy for fall and complement the apple flavor. Use pure ground spices in this recipe for the best taste.
Check out the recipe card below for full ingredients list, measurements, nutrition facts, and step-by-step instructions!
Substitutions & Variations
Pear Sauce - Pears are popping during the fall and winter months and you can easily replace the applesauce in this recipe with pear sauce for a different kind of seasonal flavor.
Muffins - Instead of making spiced applesauce quick bread, you can make easy applesauce muffins just by changing the pan. This recipe makes about four jumbo muffins.
Topping - The brown sugar crumb topping is optional but highly recommended as it adds different layers of flavor and texture to the recipe. But you can make a solid loaf of applesauce bread without it, if need be.
Everybody who loves this simple applesauce loaf also goes bananas for my super easy Apple Cherry Crisp made in the slow cooker!
How to Make Easy Applesauce Quick Bread
Step One: Whisk together the dry apple bread ingredients.
Step Two: Mix together the applesauce and other wet ingredients until uniform.
Step Three: Add dry mixture to wet and stir until just combined and no dry pockets of flour remain. Batter will be a bit sticky.
Step Four: Mix up the ingredients to make the brown sugar crumble topping.
Pro Tip: Do not over mix the batter as this can make the batter and resulting bread too dense and tough. Look at the batter after each stir and stop when it's combined.
Step Five: Spread the batter into a loaf pan.
Step Six: Sprinkle the crumb topping mix evenly over top and gently press into batter.
Pro Tip: Line the loaf pan with parchment paper or spray with non-stick oil to prevent sticking.
Step Seven: Bake until topping is crisp and golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of the bread comes out dry.
Pro Tip: The texture of this bread is super moist and more like a pone or bread pudding so while the toothpick should come out dry, a few tender crumbs might cling to it and that's ok!
Fall baking projects aren't limited to apple flavors, boo. Check out my Sweet Potato Bread Pudding and Harvest Banana Bread with banana, carrot, and apple, too.
Frequently Asked Questions
Absolutely. Omit the egg and use a plant-based butter instead of dairy butter.
When baking applesauce bread, the applesauce adds moisture, apple flavor, natural sweetness, and a bit of fiber.
Store leftover applesauce quick bread for up to two days at room temperature in an airtight container with a paper towel inside (to absorb extra moisture and prevent molding) or in the refrigerator wrapped in aluminum foil or plastic wrap for up to six days.
Yes, wrap it in plastic wrap or parchment paper then again in aluminum foil or a zip-top bag to freeze for up to one year!
More Favorite Loaf Cake Recipes
Looking for more recipes like this? Try these:
I hope you'll enjoy a thick slice of homemade apple quick bread soon and very soon. And sharing is caring so be sure to pin this apple cinnamon bread recipe for later and follow me over on Pinterest. Thanks for reading!
📖 Recipe
Moist Applesauce Quick Bread
Equipment
Ingredients
For the Spiced Applesauce Bread
- 1 ¾ cup unsweetened applesauce
- ½ cup butter melted
- ⅓ cup brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 1 ½ cup flour
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ginger
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
For the Brown Sugar Crumb Topping
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup flour
- 3 tablespoons butter melted
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a loaf pan with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a large bowl, mix together applesauce, butter, brown sugar, egg, and maple syrup until uniform.1 ¾ cup unsweetened applesauce, ½ cup butter, ⅓ cup brown sugar, 1 egg, 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, sea salt, and nutmeg.1 ½ cup flour, 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, ½ teaspoon ginger, ½ teaspoon sea salt, ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- Add flour mixture to applesauce mixture and stir until just combined, scraping down sides of bowl, as necessary. Do not over mix batter.
- In another bowl, mix together brown sugar, flour, butter, cinnamon, and sea salt until crumble topping forms.¼ cup brown sugar, ¼ cup flour, 3 tablespoons butter, ½ teaspoon cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- Spread applesauce bread batter evenly into prepared loaf pan then sprinkle crumb topping mixture over top and gently press into the batter.
- Bake loaf for about forty minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of loaf comes out clean. Cool in pan until comfortable to handle (about 20 minutes) and serve warm.
Elvira Baker says
Why is there no flour that’s why its not like a bread or cake it’s not right..
Jazzmine Woodard says
Hi Elvira. There is flour in both the bread and the crumb topping, as listed in the recipe card, which is just above where you left your comment. Hope this helps you!
Chelsea says
This turned out… so bad. The taste is great but the texture is terrible- what did I do wrong? It’s gooey and dense and gummy on the inside. Not break like at all. I even baked it an extra 20 mins and it never got browned either.
Jazzmine Woodard says
Hi, Chelsea! I'm not sure where things may have gone wrong here but, if you'll shoot me an email to [email protected] with more details and maybe even some photos, we can try to figure this out. One thing I'll note is that although it's called applesauce bread, the texture should be more like a moist cake--think banana bread rather than a cake sponge.
Tina Brenton says
Hi Chelsea, I’m wondering if you figure out what happened to your loaf because mine actually came out the same way I did it today the toothpick when I checked, it was clean however, when I cut it, it was very sticky on the inside not fluffy on the inside at all
Jazzmine Woodard says
Hi, Tina! Just want to note that this loaf should not come out fluffy. The texture is moist and chewy--more like a banana bread than a light and airy cake. If you want to send pictures of what you're experiencing, please shoot me an email for 1:1 troubleshooting.
Kim says
What size loaf pan did you use? 8 inch or 9 inch?
Jazzmine Woodard says
Hi, Kim. I used a nine-inch loaf pan, however, you can use a eight-inch, too. The loaf will just come out a bit taller but the bake time should be roughly the same. Hope this is helpful!
Crystal says
Could you add Walnuts and Raisins?
Jazzmine Woodard says
HI, Crystal! Yes, you can add walnuts and raisins, if you like. I recommend mixing them in with the flour and other dry ingredients (step three in the recipe card) to keep them from clustering together or sinking to the bottom of the pan while baking. Hope this turns out for you!
Johnathan Hamiter says
Just delicious. I loved how moist this cake is. A real winner!
Jazzmine Woodard says
Thanks so much for your feedback Johnathan! I'm glad you enjoyed this one.
Tana Nichols says
This was perfect! The only alteration I did was add a couple tablespoons of quick oats to the crumb topping. I’m so excited to try some of your African recipes and the Mac and Cheese with bacon. Came here for the Apple quick bread and found my new favorite recipe blog.
Jazzmine Woodard says
Thanks for your feedback, Tana! I'm so glad you enjoyed this recipe--the oats sound like a great addition.
LIZ says
I’ve made this several times using Monkfruit sugar & their brown sugar and my friend says it is SO good. I atually plan to make a loaf for him for Easter dinner tomorrow. Great recipe!!
Jazzmine Woodard says
Hi, Liz! I'm so glad you could make this bread your own. Happy Easter!
Julie says
confused - do you bake & THEN ut streusel topping on? Recipe unc;ear. thanks
Jazzmine Woodard says
Hi, Julie. As stated in the recipe instructions steps 6 and 7, you press the streusel topping into the batter and bake altogether. Hope that helps!
Krysten says
I recently tried the applesauce bread recipe, and it turned out incredibly moist and delicious. It's a delightful treat that's perfect for any season, and the crumb topping adds the perfect crunch that takes it to the next level. Definitely a recipe worth keeping!
Marcus Avery Christon says
It's unbelievable how a simple ingredient like applesauce can make such a huge difference in flavor and moistness. This was soooo good!
Kaluhi says
What a unique quick bread that I very eagerly made to take a break from the usual pumpkin/banana bread! We really enjoyed the texture and the flavor and my favorite was the crumbly top! So yum!
Marta says
When you said moist you weren't lying. I made this applesauce bread to eat for breakfast during the week and, unlike with other quick breads, didn't reach for my coffee once to wash it down.
Jess says
This recipe is great. I had all of the ingredients at home and it was super simple to put together - swapping vegan ingredients wherever necessary. Looking forward to my next slice!
Jazzmine Woodard says
Thanks for your feedback, Jess. So glad you enjoyed this recipe and could make it your own!
Deb says
Sounds delicious, can't wait to try it. Love Quick Breads!
carol hawley says
This recipe sounds delicious. Can the recipe be doubled and put in a larger loaf pan?
Jazz says
Hi, Carol! Yes, you can absolutely double the recipe and bake in a larger pan.
Carolyn W says
Hope to make today