Gluten Free Apple Bread

This gluten free apple bread is moist, full of fresh apple flavor and all the best Fall spices. It’s easy to make with both fresh apples and apple sauce and just the right amount of sweetness. A no fuss fall dessert!

You guys have been asking for a gluten free apple bread for a few years now (sorry it’s taken me so long) but it’s finally here and I know it’ll be worth the wait! I love my gluten free apple cake and pumpkin bread, but I know you’re going to love this recipe too!

It has the perfect apple flavor thanks to both apple sauce and fresh apples, plus lots of spices like cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg. If you love this recipe and need more Fall flavors, try my gluten free pumpkin cinnamon rolls or pear crumble next!

Before we get started…

• I used one granny smith and one honey crisp apple here. I like the more tart flavor in the granny smith and sweetness in the honey crisp, but anything goes here! You need 1 1/2 cups diced, so you may not need two full apples depending on their size.
• If you can, try to use room temperature eggs. Because we are melting the butter, if you use cold eggs, it can cause the butter to solidify a bit. If you forget, don’t worry, but you may notice some butter solids when you add in the cold eggs!

How to make gluten free apple bread

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease and line a loaf pan with parchment paper and set aside.

In a small bowl, combine the diced apples, brown sugar and cinnamon. Set aside. Whisk together the melted butter, white sugar and brown sugar. Whisk in the remaining wet ingredients.

Add in the dry ingredients, aside from the walnuts. Mix until smooth. I actually prefer to just put the walnuts on top, but you can add them into the batter if you prefer.

Fold in half of the apples. Add half of the batter to the prepared pan, then the remaining apples, then top with the rest of the batter. Add the walnuts on top with a sprinkle of brown sugar if desired.

Bake for 60-70 minutes (depends on your oven) or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Let cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then lift out by the parchment paper and let cool on a wire rack for at least 2 hours. You really want to make sure you let the loaf cool completely before slicing as it can get crumbly otherwise. Cooling allows the texture to really set!

Once cool, slice and enjoy. I love it with some butter on top or even a drizzle of gluten free caramel sauce, but it’s delicious as is! Try my gluten free orange cranberry bread next!

Topping options

Apples. Instead of adding half of the apples into the batter and doing a middle layer of extra apples, you can do a layer of apples in the middle of the batter and add the other half on top. However, I do not recommend folding all of the apples into the batter since it can lead to a dense bread.

Walnuts. I opted for crushed walnuts and cinnamon on top because I love the crunch factor! Pecans are also great here!

Cinnamon streusel. You can use the streusel recipe from our oat flour pumpkin bread but swap the pumpkin pie spice for cinnamon. This adds some extra sweetness and a bit of crunch as well. You can also use the maple glaze from that recipe as well- which would also be great on my coffee cake muffins!

How to store

Once prepared, this recipe will keep for about 3 days on the counter or 5-7 days in the fridge. Keep it in a container to prevent it from drying out. Because of the butter and apple sauce in the recipe, it will stay pretty moist on it’s own. I do find it can get a bit soggy if left in an air tight container, so I like to either leave the lid ajar or just over with foil.

If stored in the fridge, however, I suggest keeping it in an air tight container so it doesn’t dry out prematurely.

Frequently asked questions

Can I make it dairy free or vegan?

You can definitely make this apple bread dairy free! Just swap the butter for a dairy free butter like Earth Balance. You can also swap for oil, but I prefer the flavor and texture with butter. I do not recommend subbing the eggs for an egg alternative since they are a key ingredient for binding and giving the bread a nice rise.

What apples are best for baking?

If you’ve tried my apple crisp, you know I always recommend firm apples for baking, not soft. You can use tart or sweet apples, I like a mix of both! Granny smith, Pink Lady, Honeycrisp and Fuji are all great apples to use for baking.

More Fall desserts you’ll love!

• Gluten Free Pumpkin Cake
• Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Baked Pumpkin Oatmeal
• Gluten Free Pumpkin Pie

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