Have a delicious, filling start to the day with this healthy apple quick bread, made with thoughtful ingredients that count!
One of my favorite apple picking memories, and a staple apple recipe!
I will never forget taking this photo. It was the first year that my youngest could actually participate in a fun way with our yearly apple picking, and it was just so fun! I remember thinking…”man, it doesn’t get any better than this!” And honestly it just got better with time. My teens still ask to go apple picking, and I hope that whatever produce grows were you live, that you have the opportunity to show your kids a little slice of where their food comes from. I’m going to share our favorite apple quick bread that I’ve tweaked over the years to make it just how we like it – and with ingredients that count so we can feel good about having it regularly!
Cut from the cookbook!
This healthy apple quick bread was actually one of the recipes I had to cut out of my new breakfast themed cookbook, Nourished Mornings! I just had too many recipes, and some of them had to go! It was painful to cut this one out since we use it so much. That makes it a bonus for you, though, and I’m so glad you’ll get to use this recipe sooner than when the book publishes next summer!
Thoughtful ingredient goals
At the forefront of every recipe that I created for Nourished Mornings was “making every bite count.” A mantra that I have been shouting from the rooftops since the beginning of this blog, the goal is simple: Use thoughtful ingredients that have purpose. Everything from the healthy fats for satiating hunger, to the fiber-rich flax and whole fruit apples to slow carb burn and assist digestion are all strategically placed to make this more than just yummy to eat. Paired with some protein rich sides, this apple quick bread makes a filling breakfast that will help your kids feel full and focused for the start of their day.
The Method :: The batter base
To get started, you’ll blend the wet ingredients until creamy. The dry ingredients are next, and will blend into a slightly thick batter. They don’t call these quick breads for nothing! It’s just this simple!
The Method :: The apples
The apples add needed moisture to the batter, so don’t add more wet ingredients! Pulse your apples in a food processor, or chop them into coarse bits, and then fold them into the batter. You could potentially cube the apples if you prefer to feel and see the apples more. I love the simplicity of pulsing them up, making this quick bread prep even quicker!
The Method :: Baking the apple quick bread
Once the batter is combined, you’ll scoop it into a buttered loaf pan and spread the top out even. At this point you can pop it into the oven and you’re hands free for about an hour until it is done baking! Be sure to let the quick bread cool for 15 minutes before turning it out to slice up.
Tips for making this apple quick bread an easy school morning breakfast
I didn’t just create the breakfast recipes for the Nourished Mornings cookbook to taste good. I wanted to be able to use these breakfast recipes for my own children too. Intentional ingredients as well as sustainable prep time make these recipes something that I want to use too. So here are some tips for making this quick bread a reality on a school morning.
- Make the quick bread on the weekend or during a weekly food prep time. Once the quick bread is made, it can store on the counter for a few days in an airtight container. If you make it on Sunday, you could have it for the first couple of school mornings.
- If your crew likes the bread warm, you have a couple options. The bread will toast in a toaster or toaster oven well. Or you can slice up as many pieces as you wish and place them on a sheet tray in the oven to warm up. When I warm them up this way, I place the sheet tray in the cold oven, and then pre-heat to 350 degrees. By the time the oven hits 350 the bread is nice and warm!
- You can absolutely double this recipe up to freeze. I like to freeze the bread in slices so they are easy to pull out and either toast or warm up. It also makes the thawing process quicker when they are sliced. You can pull slices out of the freezer to thaw out overnight, or you can pop frozen slices in the toaster or warm in the oven.
Healthy Apple Quick Bread
Ingredients
- 2 eggs
- ¼ cup coconut sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp molasses
- ½ cup butter melted
- 1 cup full fat coconut yogurt or whole yogurt
- ½ cup full fat coconut milk or whole milk
- ¾ cup Namaste Gluten Free Flour Blend
- ¾ cup almond flour
- ¾ cup buckwheat flour
- ¼ cup flax seed meal
- 3 tsp cinnamon
- ¼ tsp nutmeg
- 2 tsp aluminum free baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp sea salt
- 2 medium apples coarsely chopped (I just cored the apples and pulsed them in my food processor. You’ll want 2 heaping cups of chopped apples.)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and butter a standard sized loaf pan (8.5"x4.5").
- Blend the eggs, coconut sugar, vanilla extract, and molasses until frothy, about 1 minute. Then, add the melted butter and blend until smooth.
- Add the yogurt and milk and blend until creamy.
- Add the Namaste flour, almond flour, buckwheat flour, flax seed meal, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, baking soda, and sea salt, and blend until combined. The batter is thick. Do not add more liquid because the apples will give the batter enough moisture.
- Fold in the chopped apples.
- Scoop the batter into your prepared loaf pan, smooth out the top, and bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes to 1 hour, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean and the top is golden brown. Let the apple bread cool for 15 minutes before turning out onto a cooling rack to cool completely.
- Serve with a smear of butter and breakfast protein sides such as eggs and/or breakfast meat. Leftover slices of apple bread can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days and warmed through in the oven or toaster for eating. Or, you can freeze the slices of apple bread for another time.
Notes
- We have so many varieties of apples available at different times of the fall season, and I have used them all in this apple bread! Use what you have and what is in season!
what apples do you use? i live in north carolina we have rome apples
Hi Caroline! The apples in this post are honeycrisp because that is what our farm stand has right now, however I have used many different varieties of apple and they all work! Rome apples will be fine!