Applesauce Bread (Vegan + Oil-Free)
Vegan Applesauce Bread is made healthy with whole grains, naturally sweetened with pure maple syrup, and spiced with cinnamon and other warming spices for an easy breakfast or snack!
Hello, healthy bread lovers!
This applesauce quick bread is just for you! It’s moist and delicious, and pairs perfectly with a cup of tea or coffee any time of day!
Why We Love This Recipe!
- It’s healthy. It’s naturally refined, sugar-free, and uses only whole-food plant-based ingredients. This apple bread is dairy-free, egg-free, and, as a bonus, oil-free!
- Easy to make. This one-bowl recipe is made with everyday pantry ingredients. You may already have everything you need on hand!
And if you’ve already made this recent applesauce recipe, Instant Pot Applesauce (+ Slow Cooker), and haven’t devoured it yet, then you’re all set. If not, there’s still time to make a batch, and I know you’re going to love it.
Ingredient Notes
- Flour – I have used a variety of flours with this recipe with success – spelt, whole wheat flour, all-purpose, or 1 to 1 gluten-free flour blend all work well.
- Applesauce – If you don’t have time to make your own applesauce, feel free to use unsweetened, store-bought applesauce.
- Oats – Wholesome and healthy, oats add fiber and whole grains but feel free to omit them.
- Pure maple syrup – This natural sweetener is fantastic with the applesauce and makes this bread refined sugar-free. However, if you prefer, you can substitute pure cane or coconut sugar instead, date syrup, or chopped dates as noted in the recipe card.
- Non-dairy milk – Use your favorite unsweetened, plain, or vanilla, almond milk, cashew milk, soy milk, oat milk, etc.
- Spices – A mix of cinnamon, allspice, and nutmeg add tons of flavor. Feel free to use only cinnamon if you prefer.
How To Make Applesauce Bread
Here is a quick overview with photos for reference:
- Add the flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, and salt to a mixing bowl and combine.
- Next, add the applesauce, maple syrup, and milk to the dry ingredients.
- Mix the dry and wet ingredients until just combined.
- Pour batter into a greased loaf pan or loaf pan lined with parchment paper, and bake for 55 minutes at 350 degrees F.
- Once done, let cool for a few minutes and cover right away. Once covered for a few hours, the outside of the bread will moisten more, and the flavors will enhance overnight.
Top Tips
- Spoon & level the flour. When measuring flour, it’s helpful to use the ‘spoon & level’ method to ensure you don’t add too much. Instead of scooping the flour with a measuring cup, use a spoon to scoop the flour into the measuring cup without packing it and level with the back of a knife.
- Don’t overmix the batter. It’s best baking practice when making any quick bread not to overmix. Overmixing the ingredients will cause the gluten proteins to create an elastic batter that tends not to rise well. Instead, mix just until there are no streaks of flour.
- Add extra add-ins. For variation, stir in 1/2 – 3/4 cup of raisins or walnuts at the end with the wet ingredients.
How To Store
- Counter: Usually, my fresh-baked loaf is gone within a day or two. I like to store it on the counter covered in an almost airtight container. It will last up to 4 – 5 days.
- Refrigerator or Freezer: For longer storage, keep in the refrigerator for up to 7 – 8 days. Can be stored in the freezer for 2 – 3 months. To freeze, let the applesauce bread cool completely, cut it into slices, and store it in a freezer-safe container or baggies with parchment paper between the slices so they don’t stick together. Then, let thaw in the fridge overnight when ready to eat.
FAQs
Can I make this recipe gluten-free? Yes, you can make this apple bread GF using a good gluten-free flour blend. I suggest using Bob’s Red Mills 1 to 1 Gluten-Free flour blend (affiliate link). Oat flour will work too, but the loaf may be a little denser – but will still be delicious!
Can I make this sugar-free? Absolutely, you can easily make this applesauce loaf sugar-free by substituting the pure maple syrup with a zero-sugar sweetener such as Monk Fruit Sweetener.
Can I make muffins instead? Yes, instead of using this recipe to make bread, you can make applesauce muffins. To make muffins, spoon batter into a well-greased or paper-lined muffin tin, and fill each muffin about ⅔ – ¾ full. Bake for 20 – 25 minutes.
More Ways to Use Up Applesauce!
More Vegan Quick Bread Recipes!
If you try this applesauce bread recipe, please let me know! Leave a comment and rate it below. I love to hear what you think, or any changes you make.
PrintCinnamon Applesauce Bread
Made with whole grains, spiced with cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, and naturally sweetened with pure maple syrup and applesauce, this healthy applesauce bread is made in 1 bowl and bakes up moist and delicious!
- Prep Time: 5 min
- Cook Time: 55 min
- Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
- Yield: Serves 8 – 10 1x
- Category: Bread
- Method: bake
- Cuisine: American, Vegan
Ingredients
- 2 cups light spelt flour (all-purpose and whole wheat flour ok too)
- 1/2 cup old fashioned oats, optional
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon allspice
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- pinch of salt
- 1 1/2 cups unsweetened applesauce
- 1/2 cup maple syrup
- 1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla, optional
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9 x 5 loaf pan with oil, or line with parchment paper.
Mix dry ingredients: In a medium/large mixing bowl, combine the flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, and salt.
Add wet ingredients: Add the applesauce, maple syrup, and milk to the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Be careful to not overmix.
Bake: Pour batter into prepared loaf pan, optionally top with a small handful of whole or quick oats, place pan in the oven and bake for 55 minutes. Let cool before slicing.
Makes 8 – 10 slices
Store: Keep leftovers covered for 4 days. To keep longer, store in the refrigerator for 2 weeks or in the freezer for up to 2 months.
Notes
Since this bread doesn’t have much fat, it has a slightly chewy texture. If it bothers you and you don’t mind oil, feel free to replace the non-dairy milk with oil.
In place of pure maple syrup, use pure cane white or brown sugar, coconut sugar, date paste, or 1/2 cup chopped dates. It’s extremely versatile!
Gluten-free: To make this GF, use a good gluten-free flour blend such as 1 to 1 Gluten-Free Flour Blend by Bob’s Red Mills.
Sugar-free: Sub the maple syrup with a zero sugar Monk Fruit Sweetener.
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Ahhhhmazing !!! I made this for the first time and it won’t be the last. I used a combination of jar applesauce and left over stewed apples. The taste and texture is perfect. I was a little bit naughty and sprinkled brown sugar on the top with the oats before baking (yum). Next time I will try a little bit of ginger and cloves as suggested by Jen above.
Thank you for a great recipe 👏🏼
I baked it this afternoon and it is chewy. If I sub the almond milk with olive oil, will it make it softer?
You can certainly give that a try if you don’t mind the oil. It should help with that. Do let us know how it goes!
Very good! I subbed persimmon pulp, which is ripening in the backyard and I pushed through a food mill, for the applesauce and used half white and half WW flour. Thanks!
I made this exactly as recommended, except 3 changes: 1. I used only blanched almond flour and 2. I substituted maple with date syrup. 3. I baked for 60 minutes. It turned out amazing! I Wish I could upload a photo to share with you! IT was so good. I doubled the recipe and made 8 muffins and 1 loaf of bread! Worked wonderful! Thanks for this awesome recipe!
Thanks so much for this recipe! I used molasses instead of maple syrup because of its nutritional value (and I like the taste). It turned out great. I also changed the spices (2 t ginger, 1 t cinnamon and 1/4 t cloves) to make it more like my favourite molasses cookies.
Next time I’m going to use some whole wheat flour (whole wheat pastry flour isn’t available where I live) and substitute fortified infant cereal for the oatmeal flakes to up the nutritional value further and make it even more kid friendly. Great recipe!
I love this bread! I made it gluten-free with Bob’s Red Mill gluten free all purpose flour. The maple syrup taste is amazing with the applesauce. I used only half of the maple syrup and added another 1/4 cup of applesauce because I like things less sweet and it turned out perfect for me. Next time I’d like to try it with walnuts.
I would love to try this for my kids…will gluten free flour work ?
Great question, Gina! It should be just fine if you use a 1 to 1 gluten free flour blend. Would love to know how it goes, it’s super helpful to others as well!
Used all-purpose flour at high altitude, and it’s gooey on the inside. I’d say use more if you’re high-altitude (I typically don’t adjust and things turn out fine, but then, I don’t make bread much!). The only other alteration I made was using half whole mole and half oil in place of the almond milk… not sure that would have affected it though.
Thanks for the recipe. This is the healthy applesauce-with-oats bread I’ve been wanting, so I’ll keep trying!
Thanks Michelle! Not sure if your loaf has cooled completely yet, but that my help dry up the gumminess. It’s happened to me before with various loafs and muffins, but once cooled all the way, they end up being normal. Hope that is the case!
I’d like to use GF almond flour, do you recommend this for this bread?
Great question, Mary! You can replace up to 1/3 cup of the flour with almond flour, but I don’t recommend using only almond flour for this recipe. Hope that helps, and would love to know how it goes!
Thanks
What a wonderful recipe! I just tried it, but I replaced the maple syrup with more applesauce (about 1/3 cup). I also added raisins. Both the texture and taste were great! This is definitely becoming a house favorite! I might also try to mix the spelt flour with a little bit of buckwheat flour next time… We’ll see how it goes :) Thanks so much for sharing this recipe!