This applesauce bread recipe is full of delicious apple flavor. With only three basic ingredients, it’s an easy treat you can make any time inspiration strikes.
Three ingredient applesauce bread might just be the perfect simple quickbread recipe for all your cozy fall and winter baking needs. Of course, my 3 ingredient banana bread is an absolute staple easy recipe in our household and something I make year-round, but there’s something about the comforting apple cider flavor of this particular recipe that just feels so welcome during the chillier months of the year when you’d like a bit of extra sweetness. If you happen to have any picky eaters in your household, this recipe is perfect because it uses applesauce instead of cut-up chunks of apple, so you get a nice overall apple flavoring without the big pieces of fruit that can make some people a bit squeamish. Whether you call this an apple cake or an apple bread, it’s flavorful, quick, and easy to make, even if you’re short on time for things like baking.
Another delish apple recipe: Family Favorite Apple Harvest Cake
Ingredients Needed to Make the Applesauce Bread
You’ll need:
- Golden or yellow cake mix
- Unsweetened applesauce (Homemade is great, but store-bought is just fine, of course)
- Ground cinnamon
Who knew it could be so easy to make a yummy fall treat? This is one I’ve been meaning to attempt for years and now I’m kicking myself for taking this long. These are ingredients I always have in my pantry, so it really is a great anytime treat. Because this recipe doesn’t use any eggs, milk, or butter, if you choose a cake mix without any animal ingredients, this recipe is completely vegan, so you can share it with all of your plant-based friends and family as well.
If you’ve like to make this apple bread without using a boxed cake mix, follow this recipe to make a homemade mix using your own ingredients like whole wheat flour, or even gluten free: Homemade Cake Mix Recipe
Method for Preparing This Loaf Cake
If you’re familiar with my other three-ingredient recipes that I love to share, you’ll notice that this one is even simpler. One could almost argue that this could be a two-ingredient applesauce bread, but I think that the bit of cinnamon is absolutely necessary to enhance the mild apple flavor from the applesauce.
To prepare the batter, dump the golden cake mix into a medium size bowl, sprinkle the cinnamon on top and stir the dry ingredients together until the spice is evenly distributed.
Pour in the applesauce, then mix everything together until you have a smooth batter and the applesauce has been fully incorporated into the mixture.
If you’re using a good quality loaf baker, like one made from ceramic or glass, that you know to be fairly non-stick, I’d recommend not greasing the pan because that might results in an overly-moist loaf cake. If you’re concerned about sticking, line your baking dish in parchment paper instead before pouring in the batter.
In the photos for this post, I added my best-ever 4 ingredient streusel topping to elevate this apple bread just a little bit with its crunchy brown-sugar and melted butter bakery goodness. If you’d like to do the same, prepare the topping and sprinkle it on top of the batter before placing your baking dish in the oven.
Your applesauce bread is finished when a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Allow it to cool for a few minutes in the baking dish before turning it from the loaf-pan out onto a cooling rack to cool completely or slicing it to serve for breakfast, brunch, or an afternoon snack.
Try this one next: Amazing 3 Ingredient Pumpkin Bread
Delicious Variations to Make
If you’d like, you can turn this recipe into applesauce streusel muffins to take along with you on all your adventures. As well as the apple muffins, I also love this as a dense coffee cake baked in a square baking dish or bundt pan with lots of crumbled streusel topping and maybe a drizzle of homemade plant-based caramel sauce.
If you like something a little heartier, this recipe is delightful if you add dried fruits such as dried cranberries or raisins to make an apple raisin bread, and nuts like walnuts, almonds, or toasted pecan pieces. Serve with hot tea or a tasty homemade latte with nutmeg and ground ginger for an indulgent treat.
Whether you make this as a muffin recipe or a loaf cake or other baked goods, the freshly baked apple bread freezes very well. Thaw an entire loaf at room temperature, or defrost individual slices or muffins in the microwave for a few seconds.
This applesauce bread recipe is full of delicious apple flavor. With only three basic ingredients, it's an easy treat you can make any time inspiration strikes.
- 1 box Yellow cake mix
- 1.5 cups Unsweetened applesauce
- 1.5 tsp Ground cinnamon
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Preheat oven to 350°.
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In a medium bowl, combine the cake mix, applesauce, and cinnamon. Mix together until all ingredients are well-combined.
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Pour the batter into a loaf baker lined with parchment paper, if desired.
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Bake at 350° for one hour or until a toothpick inserted into the bread comes out clean. Allow to cool in the baking dish for a few minutes before turning it out and slicing the apple bread.
Courtenay Hartford is the author of creeklinehouse.com, a blog based on her adventures renovating a 120-year-old farmhouse in rural Ontario, Canada. On her blog, Courtenay shares interior design tips based on her own farmhouse and her work as founder and stylist of the interior photography firm Art & Spaces. She also writes about her farmhouse garden, plant-based recipes, family travel, and homekeeping best practices. Courtenay is the author of the book The Cleaning Ninja and has been featured in numerous magazines including Country Sampler Farmhouse Style, Better Homes and Gardens, Parents Magazine, Real Simple, and Our Homes.