Apple Carrot Bread — This apple carrot bread tastes like carrot cake that’s been infused with apples. It’s a no mixer recipe that goes from bowl to oven in minutes!
Apple Carrot Bread Recipe
This is carrot cake that’s been infused with apples and baked as a loaf. So it’s not cake anymore. It’s bread. Therefore you can have more and definitely can have it for breakfast.
Baking with both carrots and apples not only adds chewy texture and natural sweetness, but they also add so much moisture that it’s impossible to have a dry loaf. I adapted the basic ratios from my Cream Cheese-Filled Pumpkin Bread, a personal and fan favorite, to make way for grated carrots and apples.
I grated the carrot and apple by hand using the coarsest blade on a box grater. It literally takes two minutes and I’d spend much more time washing food processor parts than quickly doing it the old-fashioned way.
It’s an easy, no mixer recipe that goes from bowl to oven in minutes. The batter is very thick and that’s by design. The carrots and apples release juices while baking and if you start with a thin batter, it’ll turn too soupy during baking.
It’s soft, tender, uber-moist, dense enough to be satisfying, but still light. The cinnamon and nutmeg really shine and add so much wonderful, rich, depth of flavor to the carrots and apples. The carrots dominate and the bread has a more pronounced ‘carrot cake’ taste than apple.
It was so flavorful and moist that I didn’t even need butter. Although a browned butter glaze can do no wrong if you’re so inclined.
What’s in Apple Carrot Bread?
For this carrot apple bread recipe, you’ll need:
- Egg
- Light brown sugar
- Coconut oil
- Granulated sugar
- Sour cream
- Vanilla extract
- Cinnamon
- Gound nutmeg
- All-purpose flour
- Baking powder and baking soda
- Salt
- Grated apples
- Grated carrots
Can I Substitute the Coconut Oil?
I used melted coconut oil so there’s no butter to cream and no mixer to dirty. Oil keeps bread softer and springier than butter, and I prefer the taste.
Coconut oil adds a nearly imperceptible undertone that’s sweeter and more fragrant than canola or vegetable oil, but substitute with them if you’d like.
What Are the Best Apples for Apple Bread?
Any apple will work for this carrot apple bread recipe! I used a large Fuji apple, but Gala and Honeycrisp would work as well.
How to Make Carrot Apple Bread
This carrot apple cinnamon bread couldn’t be easier to make! Simply whisk together the egg, sugars, melted coconut oil, sour cream, vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg, then fold in the remaining ingredients.
Turn the batter into a greased 9×5-inch loaf pan and bake until the top is golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Once the bread is out of the oven, let it rest in the pan for about 15 minutes before removing it to finish cooling on a wire rack.
Can I Make This in a Smaller Loaf Pan?
I baked the bread in a 9×5-inch pan because I was concerned that the moisture-heavy ingredients crammed into an 8×4-inch pan would take forever to cook through and a larger pan felt safer. In retrospect, an 8×4-inch would probably have been fine. The shorter height of the bread didn’t effect our inhaling of it in one day.
Can I Double This Recipe?
Yes, simply double the ingredients and bake in two loaf pans. I’ve also had readers report success doubling the recipe and baking it in a metal 9×13-inch pan or a metal bundt pan.
Can I Freeze Carrot Quick Bread?
Absolutely! This apple carrot bread recipe is great for freezing. Wrap in a few layers of plastic wrap and a layer of foil, then freeze for up to three months.
Tips for Making Carrot Loaf Bread
When mixing together the batter, make sure the sour cream and egg are at room temperature. If they’re both still cold, the melted coconut oil will partially resolidify and you’ll wind up with chunks of oil running through the batter.
When baking the bread, you may need to tent the pan with a sheet of foil draped loosely over it at the 35-minute mark if you feel the tops and sides will become too browned before center cooks through.
Baking times will vary based on moisture content of carrots, apples, climate, and oven variances. You need to bake the carrot bread until done; watch your bread, not the clock and don’t worry if it takes longer to bake than the baking estimates provided.
When serving this apple cinnamon bread, I highly recommend slathering it with Homemade Honey Butter or Cinnamon-Sugar Butter, or drizzling it with a Vanilla Bean Browned Butter Glaze. It’s delicious as is, of course, but these extra toppings really take it up a notch.
Pin This Recipe
Enjoy AverieCooks.com Without Ads! 🆕
Go Ad Free
Carrot Apple Bread
Ingredients
- 1 large egg
- ½ cup light brown sugar, packed
- ⅓ cup liquid-state coconut oil, canola or vegetable may be substituted
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup cup sour cream, lite is okay; or Greek yogurt may be substituted
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- pinch salt, optional and to taste
- ¾ cup grated carrots, about 1 large peeled and trimmed carrot
- ¾ cup grated apples, I used 1 medium unpeeled Fuji; try Gala, Honeycrisp or similar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Spray one 9×5-inch loaf pan with floured cooking spray, or grease and flour the pan; set aside. (I haven’t tried the recipe in an 8×4-inch pan and cannot comment on how long it will take to bake, but use an 8×4 pan if you prefer a taller loaf.)
- In a large bowl, add the the first eight ingredients, through nutmeg, and whisk to combine.
- Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, optional salt, and fold with spatula or stir gently with a spoon until just combined; don’t overmix.
- Add the carrots, apples, and fold gently to combine.
- Turn batter (it’s very thick, this is what you want) out into the prepared pan, smoothing the top lightly with a spatula.
- Bake for about 45 to 52 minutes (I baked 50 minutes) or until the top is golden, the center is set, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, or with a few moist crumbs, but no batter.*
- Allow bread to cool in pan for about 15 minutes before turning out on a wire rack to cool completely before slicing and serving.**
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
©averiecooks.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited.
More Easy Quick Bread Recipes:
Cinnamon Spice Applesauce Bread with Honey Butter — Applesauce keeps this bread so soft & moist! It’s like apple spice cake, disguised as ‘bread’ so you can have extra!
Cinnamon and Spice Sweet Potato Bread — Eating your vegetables via soft, moist bread is the best way! My favorite way to eat sweet potatoes!
Apple Fritter Bread — The bread tastes as decadent as the apple fritters of my childhood, no deep frying required and it’s more like cake disguised as bread.
The Best Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread — This pumpkin chocolate chip bread is truly the best homemade pumpkin bread you’ll ever make. It’s moist, packed with chocolate chips, and tastes like fall!
Blueberry Zucchini Bread — This blueberry zucchini bread is a quick, no-mixer recipe that’s sweet, but not too sweet. Each bite is bursting with fresh blueberries!
Pumpkin Banana Bread — Soft, moist, fluffy and so much better than another loaf of plain banana bread.
Snickerdoodle Bread — Between the cinnamon-sugar on top, cinnamon in the batter, and the cinnamon chips, the bread is full of wonderful and prominent cinnamon flavor without being overpowering.
Originally published November 9, 2014 and republished on Friday, March 13, 2020 with updated text.
Thanks so much for the recipe…and beautiful pics….your recipe lacked one crucial step….DO NOT ONLY MAKE ONE LOAF!! I knew I would be making this for our post Thanksgiving get together but I didn’t know I would be making it twice in one day!!
Used the coconut oil, full fat greek yogurt and a honey crisp apple. I can’t wait for my family to devour it. I just know it will be a new favorite. Thanks again.
Love comments like this! Thanks for trying the recipe and so glad it was such a hit you had to make another one the SAME day! Love that you used coconut oil, too, and so glad this is a hit for you! :)
Nothing is better than Sunnday baking…Mine’s in the oven now, and I am so excited! I love moist cakes and breads. They are just……AMAZING! Love your food blog, Averie. :)
Thanks for the compliments and thanks for trying this recipe! Hope you love it!
Somehow, I think you’ve managed to convince even a carrot cake hater like myself to want to polish off every last crumb of this moist, tender bread. It looks GREAT and I love the addition of sweet apples. This would make for a badass Thanksgiving morning breakfast with coffee!
No way, I didn’t know you were a carrot cake hater! Learn something new every day!
what to replace with sour cream or greek yoghurt ?? :) first time on your place.. carrot cake is just awesome :)
There’s not really any replacement. If it’s a dairy allergy/aversion, then I’d use vegan (soy-based, coconut milk-based, etc.) products.
Carrots and apples? I think you just created a match made in heaven. I love your use of coconut oil too. It always gives me the most tender cookies, muffins, breads, etc. This one is a keeper!
Well, baked this today, and half the loaf just got demolished in about a 10 minute time period. SO good. I would definitely bake it in an 8×4 pan next time. This is a super-versatile recipe–as mentioned in your comments, you could add raisins or dried fruit …. I also think, if you wanted to health-it-up a little, you could switch out half the flour for white whole wheat (the loaf is darker from the brown sugar and carrots, anyway, so visually it would be an easy trade and I think white whole wheat works well with heartier loafs like this) … a drizzle of icing on top would be tasty … yup, my kind of recipe!
Glad to hear it was a success and half the loaf demolished in 10 mins! That’s success :) Good to hear you think it could be in an 8×4 as well. And yes to dried fruit, nuts, and you’re right about w.w. flour and since this is a darker loaf visually anyway, that the flour’s color is a non-issue. Great point :)
Thanks for trying this recipe the day after I posted it! Some recipes of mine you try right away and some (I think it was the frozen pink lemonade bars?) they’re on your list for literally years…but I’m glad you got around to this one so fast!!
I sub in white WW flour all the time in pancakes, and frequently in muffins/quick breads if I think it will work out (although I don’t mess with WW cinnamon rolls! I don’t want to be “healthy” when I’m trying to make something decadent!). The beauty of baking is that you can adjust things to meet your own needs.
If I had time, I’d be baking constantly and I’d try your new recipes sooner. Life has an irritating habit of getting in the way. :)
Life has an irritating habit of getting in the way. :) <---- That is the story of things around here too!
Averie this is fantastic! What a great combo. All those veggies and fruit totally makes it healthy too. :)
drooling over here! :D
Mmm…this looks phenomenal!! I do love how moist apple baked goods always are…and I also love that you’ve given us the green light for having this bread for breakfast – excellent!!
I love soft and tender quick breads that taste like cake :) Love the idea of using both carrots and apples. This looks absolutely delicious and perfect for breakfast and snacking!
I would have never in a million years paired apple and carrot together, but I will now! This just looks amd sounds so wonderful and has me thinking why on earth I disnt think of it!
Yum! This looks so moist and delicious!
I like the way you think. This looks delicious!!!
This looks so good and moist! Carrot cake is the best, so I can only imagine how good this bread is. Officially on my ‘to-make’ list.
Totally trying this recipe next week when my mother-in-law comes to town! She’s a HUGE lover of all things carrot cake :)
LMK if it passes her test :)
Oh dear save me. What a moist bread. It’s not really bread—more of yummy loaf cake. Delicious to even look at.
Loaf cake indeed and super soft and moist!