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If it’s Fall, then you have to make this easy, one-bowl Spiced Apple Bread! This loaf is stuffed full of apples and raisins and is so moist. Made using a nut-free blend of oat flour and coconut flour, it’s also dairy-free and refined-sugar free. It’s the perfect weekend (or weeknight!) baking project, especially after a day of apple picking, that will be loved by everyone, gluten-free or not!
Healthy Spiced Apple Bread
Well if this doesn’t make your house smell like Fall when it’s baking, I don’t know what will! Trust me when I say, this Spiced Apple Bread is a winning recipe! It’s easily made in 1-bowl, with simple (and healthy!) ingredients, perfectly spiced with just the right amount of sweetness.
It’s the kind of gluten-free recipe that nobody will know is gluten-free at all, and everybody will love it. It’s made using oat flour and coconut flour, so the bonus is it’s nut-free too. This recipe has been on repeat in our house, and have a feeling it’s going to be on repeat in yours too!
Ingredients Needed
- Oat Flour
- Coconut Flour
- Raisins
- Apples
- Eggs
- Coconut Sugar
- Coconut Oil
- Vanilla Extract
- Baking Powder and Soda
- Spices
- Raw Sugar (for sprinkling the top of the bread, this is totally optional)
Substitutions
Flour: Unfortunately, for gluten-free baking that does not use a gluten-free flour blend, it can be really tricky to substitute in different flours in place of the ones called for in the recipe. In this case, we call for oat flour and coconut flour. At this time, we can’t recommend any substitutes for the flours called for. But we do have plenty of bread recipes on the site that use a different variety of flours!
Oil: We loved the flavor and the texture of this bread with the coconut oil, but if need be, it can be swapped out with a different oil such as avocado, or even melted butter.
Eggs: We haven’t tried making this without an egg, and can’t recommend it as the eggs are an important structural component to this.
Raw sugar: Adding the raw sugar in on top is totally optional. Most of the time our recipes don’t use refined sugars, but we really liked the crunch of the added raw / turbinado sugar. If you want to skip it, that’s totally fine!
What kind of oat flour should I use?
As we’ve said in previous oat flour recipes, we recommend you buy premade oat flour. It isn’t expensive and it’s easy to purchase in stores these days. We feel the final result is affected by using homemade oat flour. However, if you want to make your own oat flour, you certainly can. We just recommend you try to get it as fine as possible.
How to Measure Oat Flour
If you have an electronic kitchen scale at home, it’s best to use it here to measure. Oat flour can be tricky to measure as it can be easily compacted, even straight from the bag. The same goes for coconut flour because such a small difference in measuring can impact a recipe because it’s such an absorbent flour. So we’ve included the weight in grams here. Any electronic kitchen scale can switch between grams and ounces, and grams are more precise so we’re offering that. If you don’t have a scale lightly packing the oat flour into the cup measurement gets you as close to the correct measurement as possible. For coconut flour scoop it in the tablespoon and then level it off.
Baking Tips
Measure out your flour correctly! Oat flour can be tricky to measure as it can be easily compacted, even straight from the bag. The same goes for coconut flour because such a small difference in measuring can impact a recipe because it’s such an absorbent flour. If you don’t have a scale lightly packing the oat flour into the cup measurement gets you as close to the correct measurement as possible. For coconut flour, scoop it in the tablespoon and then level it off.
Measure the apples. While we love the idea of being able to just grate 3 apples and not worry if it will affect the final bread, the truth is adding too much or too little apple can impact this recipe depending on how large the apple is. We measured this by weighing out the whole apple and used about 1 pound of apples, which for us was about 3 medium-large apples. If you have 3 very large apples or 3 very small apples, it might drastically change the amount of grated apple you add in. If possible, weigh the apples first!
Bake it correctly. Bake it until the bread springs back lightly and there are no wet crumbs on a toothpick when it’s inserted into the middle of the bread. If you have an instant-read thermometer it should read about 200 degrees when measured from the middle of the bread.
Let the bread cool slightly before cutting. Like any quick bread, cutting the bread too soon after taking it out of the oven with result in a bread that tastes too moist at first, and then later, one that is dry as all the steam has escaped from the bread when it was hot. Let it cool until the bread is no longer warm to the touch, about 3-5 hours.
How to Store Apple Bread
This apple bread is best stored at room temperature in a covered container for up to 3 days. For longer storage, place in the refrigerator. You can also freeze this loaf for up to two months! Defrost at room temperature.
Watch the video here:
If you like this quick bread, check out these others:
- Gluten Free Pumpkin Bread
- Double Chocolate Zucchini Bread
- Paleo Banana Bread with Chocolate Chips
- Healthy Carrot Cake Loaf
If you like this fall-inspired recipe, check out these others:
- Gluten Free Apple Cider Donut Holes
- Apple Sage Turkey Meatballs (Gluten-Free)
- Skillet Pork Chops with Apples and Onions
- Gluten Free Apple Galette
Gluten-Free Spiced Apple Bread
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup raisins
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup coconut sugar
- ⅓ cup coconut oil melted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1-1/4 cups 150 grams oat flour (see note)
- ½ cup 48 grams coconut flour
- 1-½ teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1-1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger or 1” piece fresh ginger, grated
- Pinch nutmeg
- 3 peeled apples grated (16 ounces whole apple)
- 1 tablespoons raw sugar optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375ºF and grease a 8×5 baking dish and line it with a parchment paper sling. Set aside.
- Add raisins to a heat proof bowl and cover with hot water. Set aside.2/3 cup raisins
- Whisk together eggs, coconut sugar, coconut oil and vanilla extract in a bowl until fully combined.3 eggs, 1 cup coconut sugar, ⅓ cup coconut oil, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Add in oat flour, coconut flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg and mix with a spatula until smooth.1-1/4 cups 150 grams oat flour (see note), ½ cup 48 grams coconut flour, 1-½ teaspoons baking soda, 1 teaspoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon salt, 1-1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, ½ teaspoon ground ginger, Pinch nutmeg
- Drain the raisins. Fold in raisins and apples to the batter.3 peeled apples
- Transfer batter to the prepared baking dish and smooth over the top. Sprinkle raw sugar on top, if desired.1 tablespoons raw sugar
- Bake in the middle rack for 50 to 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean and the bread gently springs back when touched.
- Let the bread fully cool before slicing into it.
Notes
- We found store-bought oat flour to be work the best in this recipe because it is very fine. Homemade oat flour can work in a pinch but it may not produce exactly the same results as store-bought.
- Like any quick bread, cutting the bread too soon after taking it out of the oven with result in a bread that tastes too moist at first, and then later, one that is dry as all the steam has escaped from the bread when it was hot. Let it cool until the bread is no longer warm to the touch, about 3-5 hours.
- Store leftover apple cinnamon bread covered in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. Or, store it in the fridge for up to 1 week.
- Freeze leftovers for up to 2 months. To do so, wrap the baked apple loaf tightly in plastic wrap followed by aluminum foil, or transfer the bread to a sealable bag. If freezing slices, place pieces of parchment paper between each slice to prevent them from clumping together. Defrost at room temperature when you’re ready to serve.
Could I leave the raisins out without drastically altering the results? Or could I add more apple or to ensure a moist result?
You can leave out raisins.
So yummy – changed the recipe up a little as I didn’t have the correct flour. I used 1cup chickpea flour (instead of oat flour) and almond flour (instead of coconut flour) and skipped the raisins. So moist and yummy! Will be making again
What type of coconut oil should be used – refined or unrefined?
I’ve made this two times and will be making it again tomorrow. I use a monk fruit sweetener in place of sugar, but other than that, I follow the recipe, and it’s perfect!
Oh so happy that sub works! Great to know!
Looks so good! Could this be made into muffins?
With adjusted baking times I don’t see why not!
Substituted with flax eggs and recipe works great! Delicious! Will definitely be making it again.
Thanks so much for sharing!
I forgot to say that I added a cup of chopped walnuts, as we love nuts in everything! So yummy!
We LOVE this recipe! So delicious! I’ll be making it again for sure! It’s a little crumbly, so may try muffins next time. But the taste is perfect!
We loved this recipe. Allergy friendly and the ingredients are easily adaptable. I used honey and ghee instead of coconut sugar and coconut oil. AND I made muffins instead of bread, baked for about 20 minutes! My children enjoyed them too! The combo of oat flour and coconut flour is a winner! I’m thinking of using the base of this recipe with carrot or zucchini. Thanks Lexi!
Thank you for another great recipe ?
The bread came out moist and had a great crispy crust.
I’ve made this recipe a few different times now and it’s excellent. The texture is perfect.