With a simple apple cinnamon flavor, this gluten-free Cinnamon Applesauce Oat Bread is the perfect bread to bake up for picky eaters or apple and cinnamon lovers!
Have you ever had Applesauce-based bread before?
A majority of the sugar is replaced with applesauce, creating a lightly sweetened bread, with a hint of apple flavor.
My kids go crazy for this Cinnamon Applesauce Oat Bread (in loaf or muffin form!) because of it’s simple flavors. A breeze to whip up, this bread is a family favorite that never gets old.
I love topping this bread with butter, cinnamon sugar, or peanut butter! Do you love apple and peanut butter together? Then you’ve gotta try topping this bread with peanut butter! It’s my favorite.
This Cinnamon Applesauce Oat Bread also goes beautifully with a cup of hot apple cider. On a windy, blustery Autumn day, it doesn’t get much better than that!
Let’s talk all things bread.
First, to make this Cinnamon Applesauce Oat Bread gluten-free be sure to use a gluten-free all purpose flour blend and certified gluten-free oats. If you don’t need it to be, you can use regular flour and oats as well.
To make this bread dairy-free, use coconut oil (or a dairy-free butter alternative) and dairy-free milk (I recommend almond or oat milk).
And to make this bread in high altitude, I recommend using quick-cooking oats instead of rolled oats. And if you live in altitude higher than 6,000 ft, omit the baking powder and only use baking soda. Because baked goods tend to dry out in high altitude faster, so you want to use oats that draw out less moisture, which would be quick-cooking oats.
A few more tips and tricks…
I recommend using brown sugar for the best flavor of bread. This recipe already has less sugar in it, so reducing the sugar any further or substituting it could result in bland bread. However, if you’re used to very lightly sweetened breads, you can use coconut sugar as a 1:1 substitute. Or, you can try 1/3 cup maple syrup instead as well.
For the applesauce, you can use unsweetened or sweetened, whatever you have on hand! I also like to use homemade applesauce if I have it. Cinnamon applesauce would also be delicious.
Be sure to line your loaf pan with two edges of parchment paper sticking out, so you can easily remove your baked loaf of bread later. This method is a whole lot easier (and turns out prettier) than the old method of putting a plate on top and flipping it over and out of the pan. My mom taught me that one.. and sorry, Mom, but I prefer parchment paper! 🙂
Last but not least: add-in’s!
If you’d like to go even more apple cinnamon, you can add 1 cup of finely diced apples to the batter (I recommend Fuji, Gala or Granny Smith). Alternatively, you could add about 1/2 cup of cinnamon chips or chocolate chips for something a little sweeter.
Either way, you should be left with a light, moist, healthy apple cinnamon bread that’s perfect for cozy Fall mornings.
Your Cinnamon Applesauce Oat Bread should have a little bit of a crusty top, with a moist interior. The perfect texture for a quick bread! Filled with a light applesauce flavor, cinnamon, nutmeg, and brown sugar, this simple bread is one we can’t get enough of.
After you make it, let me know what you think! Take a picture and tag me on Instagram, and/or leave a comment and rating below. I love to hear from ya’ll!
Looking for other easy, family breakfast ideas? Check out my Banana Bread (gluten-free option, with a high altitude option) or my gluten-free Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Breakfast Cookies (that fly off the counter crazy fast!).
- 1/3 cup coconut oil, melted (or butter)
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 cup applesauce
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1/2 cup almond milk (or milk of choice)
- 2 eggs
- 1 1/2 cups gluten-free all purpose flour (or regular flour)
- 1 cup rolled oats (certified gluten-free)
- 3/4 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
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Preheat your oven to 350 and line a loaf pan with parchment paper, leaving two edges sticking out to easily remove the baked bread with later.
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In a large mixing bowl, whisk together your coconut oil and brown sugar. Add in your applesauce, vanilla and almond milk and whisk again till all is well incorporated. Add your eggs and briefly blend in.
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To the same bowl, add your dry ingredients (flour, oats, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg) and stir everything together till you have a smooth bread batter.
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Pour into your loaf pan and bake in the oven for 50-60 minutes, or till the top of the bread is set and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
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Let your loaf cool entirely before removing and slicing. Devour!
Stored in an airtight container in the fridge, this bread lasts about a week. Alternatively, you could store it in an airtight container on the counter for 2 days.
Hi, I made this bread for my gluten free son for Christmas. It tasted delicious but the bread didn’t hold together. I used almond flour and maybe that is why but I just noticed this is a recipe for high altitude and we are not!! maybe that is why. Any tips would be appreciated because we would like to make it again as it was really very tasty and we are very new to this gluten free way of baking and cooking.
Thank you!!
I ran across this recipe looking for an applesauce oatmeal bread. I nearly skipped past when I read “healthy” in the description. To me, “healthy” baking equals dry, tasteless, poor textured products. However, I continued reading the recipe, noting that regular milk, flour, and butter could be used. So I gave it a try. Soooo glad I did! I doubled the recipe and baked the batter in 3 medium sized bread pans for 50 minutes. I did add 2 Tablespoons maple syrup to the wet ingredients. Out of the oven came delicious, firm textured, perfectly less sweetened bread.
My family loved it, and so did friends in my game group. Thanks for a flexible, easy recipe.
Hi, the recipe looks delicious. I only have quick oats on hand. Could I substitute quick for the rolled oats, or would it change the texture.
Hi there. That should work just fine!
Hi, could I change out the gluten free flour for almond flour?
Hi Diana. I wouldn’t recommend trying to switch it out for almond flour, its not a 1 to 1 substitute.
I wanted a healthier, but tasty, quick bread recipe so I am trying this recipe with less sugar and oil than most. I checked the nutritional value while mine was baking. I used two optional ingredients: butter instead of coconut oil and 2% milk instead of almond milk. I cut 12 large slices – below is for one slice.
182 calories
6.8 g Fat
27.7 Carbs
3.7 g Protein
Wow, this was delicious!! My kids and I ad a good time making it and eating it. Absolutely delicious!!! For some reason the bread was very crumbly. How do I get it to stay together?
Hi Michael. What brand of flour did you use? You could try making it with quick cooking oats instead, that may help it be less crumbly.
This recipe made me hungry just reading it. The next morning I made it for our breakfast. Decided to make it in mini loaves and it worked great!
Thoughts on using all oat flour instead of a 1 to 1 gf flour?
I was wondering the same.
Just made this recipe for some drop in company this morning. I used maple syrup instead of the brown sugar and since I was in a hurry, I made muffins instead of a loaf. I had some extra apple crisp topping in the fridge and sprinkled that on top. Baked them for 30 minutes. They were delicious and a big hit with my husband and the company. (I loved them also!) Perfect with a cup of tea. Thanks so much for this delicious and easy recipe.
Tried this recipe this morning and it turned out delicious! Used flax eggs instead and it was still very fluffy and moist! We will definitely be keeping this recipe for future use.
I discovered this recipe about a month or so ago and have made this bread at least a dozen times. I find I can eye the measurements and make wee changes and it comes great every time. Thank goodness for recipes like this when avoiding gluten here in Scotland can be challenging and boring. 👏👏👍👍
Awesome! So happy to hear this Lisa, thank you for the comment!
Looking for advice. I followed directions except used “brown sugar” stevia. I also added some walnuts. The flavour was fine but it was falling into crumbs and chunks. I waited until it was cool to turn it out but it started to go to bits as I turned it.
Any ideas for next time? I’d like to try again since it’s nice to have a slightly sweet bread around. Maybe a 9 by 9 square pan?
Thanks, Margot
Hi Margot. I’m sorry to say I’m not familiar with stevia, so with that substitution I’m not sure that this bread would work.
What size loaf pan???
Hi there, a standard loaf size pan is about 8 1/2 by 4 1/2 inches, which is what I would recommend. A 9×5 should also work just fine, the cooking time just may be a little less.
Hi! Should it be baked through out at 360degree? Or we just have to preheat the oven at this temp
It should be baked at 350 degrees for about 55-60 minutes.
Has anyone figured out the nutritional factors; especially carbohydrate counts for diabetics?
Can you freeze this bread?
Hi Alissa. Yes, that should work just fine! I would recommend defrosting it in the fridge and storing it in the fridge afterwards too.
I am also dairy free. What milk alternative do you suggest? Would Almond, Coconut or oat milk work and would it be measure for measure?
Hi Misty. I like to use almond milk, but I think oat milk would also work well. I would not recommend coconut milk since it’s so much thicker. And yes, measure for measure substitute!
Thank you for the recipe Chelsea! Can you sub honey for the sugar in equal parts? Thanks!
Hi Kathrin. I wouldn’t necessarily recommend changing out the brown sugar, since the recipe already had the sugar reduced significantly. However, if you’re used to recipes low in sugar you could try making it with 1/3 cup of maple syrup or honey instead, it just won’t be very sweet. I hope you enjoy it!
calories?
Hi Michelle. For 10 slices, each slice is roughly 223 calories.
Is the applesauce unsweetened? Thanks!
Hi Rachel. You can use either sweetened or unsweetened in this bread. If you prefer a little bit of a sweeter bread, I would recommend sweetened.
Hi. I’m eager to try this. However, you don’t specify what size loaf pan (I didn’t see it). 8 – or 9 – inch???
Hi Stacy. I would recommend a 9 inch loaf pan. I hope you enjoy this bread!
Do you have a different gluten free flour you like then bobs 1-1? These flours all have xanthum gum in them, which I’m also allergic too (many people intolerant of gluten also have problems with xanthum gum!) thanks!
Hi Shana. I also like King Arthur Measure for Measure and Pamela’s, but I’m not sure if either of those have xantham gum in them or not (I’m guessing they do). Sorry but I don’t have one to recommend to you, other than finding a highly reviewed gluten-free all purpose flour blend to make yourself, like this one where it’s optional: https://www.glutenfreepalate.com/gluten-free-flours/
I have been using oat flour. Simply whit quick oats in a food processor to your desired texture. I double the baking powder and/or baking soda to compensate for the oat’s density.
Sorry, typo: whir the oats in the food processor.
This was so good! I added a handful of chocolate chips to satisfy my sweet tooth. I’ll definitely be making this again soon.
Great to hear that Hunter! And hey, chocolate chips are always a good addition! 🙂
Excellent Bread, thank you so .much for share, I love it and will continue to make it
Can I use regular all purpose flour and regular oats. I don’t want to buy gluten free since I have the regular stuff already.
Hi Laura. Yes, this bread should turn out fine with regular flour and oats too.
How could this be made in a bread machine?
Hi there. No, this does not require a bread machine.
Could you substitute and use all oat flour?
Hi Delci, I haven’t made this particular recipe with oat flour instead but I would guess that it should work okay. I prefer to use oat flour in muffins, rather than loaves though – I think the texture turns out better, so I would recommend making them as muffins if you do try them and bake them for less time. Or, you could try my Apple Cinnamon Oat Muffins that are similar to the bread, but already made entirely with oat flour! http://www.milehighmitts.com/apple-cinnamon-oat-muffins-gluten-free-dairy-free-option/
couldnt you add cranderries for christmas breakfast, or raisins, nuts and coconut flakes or chocolate chips. the ideas or endless. like adding blueberries and make a lemon glaze. just giving you more ideas.
Yes the options are definitely endless, Tracy! That’s one of my favorite parts about baking 🙂
I did it today but reduced the amount of sugar and it still tastes very delicious.
Great to hear that, thanks Claire!
Do I mealy coconut oil and then measure the liquid?
Hi Sara. You can measure the coconut oil just solid at it will be just fine.
This bread came out so delicious and moist! And I can’t believe how easy it was too! Definitely a go-to recipe for our family from now on. 🙂
Love hearing that, Felecia! Thanks for leaving the comment! 🙂
Can this bread be egg free??
Hi Gina. You could try making this bread with an egg replacer or a flax or chia egg, it just may be a little more dense, but should work fine!
Hi! I’m so in love with all your recipes. So many I want to make. One question I have is can I switch out the brown sugar for coconut sugar or any others. My daughter can’t have brown sugar. Thank you. I can’t wait to bake some of these ????
Hi Ashley! Great to hear that you are so excited about my recipes! 🙂 Yes, I would assume that coconut sugar would work well as a substitute for brown sugar in all of my recipes, they just may not be quite as sweet that way. I hope you enjoy!
Loved this bread! We are egg free and used flax eggs and it turned out great!
So glad to hear that! Thank you for stopping by and letting me know! 🙂