The BEST Apple Cider Bread
This apple cider bread is loaded with fresh apples, spiced cider and plenty of fall flavor. It’s simple to make and tastes even better the next day. It’s the perfect recipe to try if you are looking for an easy fall quick bread!
I always start my fall baking off with recipes that use apples. They are the first in season and there are so many recipes that use them. I love a good quick bread recipe so I decided to make an apple cider bread with fresh apples and a cinnamon glaze. It tastes like apple cider donuts, but as a quick bread with chopped apples in every bite!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Lots of flavor. The apple cider, fresh apples and warm spices make for a tasty treat!
- Quick and easy. The batter comes together in minutes, then all you have to do is bake!
- Amazing texture. The moist and tender crumb envelops the apple pieces in every bite.
- Delicious glaze. I use it on my pumpkin scones and people love it!
- Perfect fall treat. Whether you enjoy a slice for breakfast or an afternoon snack, this bread is perfect for a crisp fall afternoon.
Ingredient Notes
- Apples: Tart crisp apples work best! I like Honeycrisp or Granny Smith. Peel them, then chop into pieces.
- Apple cider: Fresh spiced cider will provide the best flavor.
- Spices: Cinnamon and cloves are my favorite to use in apple recipes. If you don’t have ground cloves, you can substitute with allspice or nutmeg.
- Lemon juice: This helps keep the apples crisp and fresh. I recommend fresh lemon juice, not bottled.
Refer to the recipe card for ingredient details and measurements.
Recipe Variations
Add some more mix-ins. Chopped nuts, such as walnuts or pecans, would be a delicious addition as would raisins. I suggest 1/2 cup mixed in with the apples.
Try a streusel topping. Whisk together ¾ cup flour, ¼ cup light brown sugar, 2 Tablespoons sugar, ½ teaspoon cinnamon. Stir in 1/4 cup melted butter and put the mixture in the fridge while you make the bread batter. Sprinkle streusel on top right before baking.
Make muffins. Try my apple cider muffin recipe for this variation. They are so delicious!
How to Make Apple Cider Bread
- Make an apple cider reduction. Over medium-low heat, simmer the cider in a saucepan. Once the cup simmers down to about 1/2 cup, set aside to cool.
- Whisk together dry ingredients—flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves and salt. Set aside.
- Combine butter, brown sugar and sugar in a bowl using an electric mixer. Add eggs one at a time.
- Alternate adding dry ingredients and cider to the wet ingredients.
Expert Tips
Use the right apples. Tart, crisp apples are best. I prefer Granny Smith, Honeycrisp or Braeburn. Soft, sweet apples will make the bread turn out mushy.
Measure your ingredients properly especially the flour. If you don’t have a kitchen scale, fluff up your flour with a fork and spoon it into a measuring cup. Level it off with a knife (never pack down flour!)
Use room temperature ingredients. They will mix together more easily to create a smooth batter. As a result, the texture of the bread will be more tender.
Let the bread cool before adding the glaze. If the bread is still warm, the glaze will become thin and messy. It helps to take the bread out of the pan after 10 minutes so it cools more quickly.
Storage Tips
Store in an airtight container at room temperature for 3 or 4 days.
Freeze after the loaf has completely cooled. Securely wrap it in plastic wrap and store in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months. Defrost in the refrigerator before bringing to room temperature and serving.
Recipe FAQ
Granny Smith, Honeycrisp or Braeburn are my go-to’s. However, my mom swears by Northern Spy and many people love Jonagold too.
Most likely the bread was overbaked. Check that your oven temperature is correct with an oven thermometer. It’s also possible too much flour was added. Use a kitchen scale for accurate measuring.
Yes, in a pinch, you can use apple juice instead (I suggest unfiltered). Double the spices to make up for the loss of flavor that spiced cider would provide.
Related Recipes
Here are some more delicious recipes to try this fall.
Did you love this recipe? Please leave a 5-star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 rating in the recipe card below and if you REALLY loved it, consider leaving a comment further down the page.
Get the Recipe: The BEST Apple Cider Bread
Ingredients
Apple Cider Bread
- 1 cup (240 ml) fresh apple cider, to be reduced to 1/2 cup
- 2 cups (250 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves
- 6 Tablespoons (100 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- ½ cup (112 g) granulated white sugar
- ½ cup (100 g) packed light brown sugar
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 2 ¼ cups chopped apples, about 3 small apples, peeled and cored**
- 1 tablespoon (15 ml) freshly squeezed lemon juice
Cinnamon Glaze
- ½ cup (60 g) confectioners' sugar
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2-4 teaspoons whole milk
Instructions
Apple Cider Bread
- Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease and flour a 9×5-inch loaf pan.
- Make the apple cider reduction. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, bring 1 cup cider to a simmer. Cook until reduced to approximately 1/2 cup, about 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and cool completely
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients—flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda, cinnamon and cloves.
- In a separate large bowl, use an electric mixer to cream together butter, sugar and brown sugar. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Alternate adding flour mixture and apple cider, ending with flour. Mix just until combined (avoid over mixing).
- In a small bowl, toss chopped apples with lemon juice. Stir apples into the batter using a rubber spatula or large spoon.
- Transfer batter into the prepared pan. Bake 55 to 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then remove to a wire rack and let cool completely.
Cinnamon Glaze
- In a bowl, whisk together confectioners' sugar and cinnamon. Add milk 1 teaspoon at a time until desired consistency is reached (I usually use about 3 teaspoons). Use a spoon to drizzle icing over cooled loaf. Slice and enjoy!
Notes
Inspired by Recipe Girl.
21 Comments on “The BEST Apple Cider Bread”
I saw your link on What’s Cookin Wednesday. This looks delicious!
This is perfect! Can’t wait to go to the orchard, pick apples and make this!
Moist, flavorful and wonderful for fall! My son in law says I better make it again! And soon! Haha
This looks so delicious!! Please come on over to our blog hop and share your awesome stuff with us! https://www.floydfamilyhomestead.com/
Double yum! I love apple cider.. I’m sure this bread is as delicious as it looks. Thanks for sharing your recipe with us at Funtastic Friday.
This looks so good. My grown up sons like hard cider so I think I’ll make this when they come over for dinner sometime soon.
I just found your site on FBC and immediately spotted your Loaded Apple Cider Bread. I too gravitate toward apples when fall arrives, so I made sure to pin this to make. Being in Southern California fall doesn’t start until late Oct/Nov…but I can’t wait to make this. Love this!
I am eating this now and it is DELICIOUS; made with Gala apples and the hard cider and the smell while it was baking was lovely. The center was still not finished for me at 50 minutes, but I didn’t want to overcook the rest.
Chances are I will still be “taste testing” when I reach the center and will need to make a second one for my boyfriend. Thanks again for another terrific recipe Haley!
Oh my god this sounds delish! What kind of hard cider did you use!?
Glad I found this recipe. Used Strongbow Cherry Blossom cider, cut white sugar in half with Monkfruit, added 3/4 C of pecans and a handful of cranberry seed blend.
I did not care fir this at all. My family commented it was missing something.
Delicious! I’ve made it 3 times. I usually double the spices and add 1/2 cup of applesauce
How much butter is needed for the streusel topping?
Four tablespoons (1/4 cup). Thank you for pointing that out!
Hello – I just made this bread for a Thanksgiving dinner with my family and it was a huge hit … thank you! I had won bottle of apple cider in a raffle basket and wanted to use it for a recipe. Found yours and gave it a try. I used granny smith apples and also added chopped walnuts. The bread took a long time to bake, much longer than expected. I was afraid it would be dried out but it was perfect. I didn’t use any glaze and I thought it was just fine on its own.
This is quite literally one of the best breads I’ve ever made. I LOVE this recipe. I did make a few tweaks based on preference: I used a cup of gf flour and a cup of almond flour, cut the sugar to just over half a cup of brown sugar (omitted white altogether), used a half a cup of Trader Joe’s healthy spiced apple cider cold instead of doing the reduction, cut the butter to 4 tbsp, and used more spice (a healthy dose of cinnamon and a lot of pumpkin pie spice blend) — it is unbelievable. SO moist, light, not-too-sweet, and perfectly spiced. I’m making this again and again!
I do NOT recommend using a 9×5 loaf pan. Against my gut feeling, I did. The result…a volcano of batter burning on the bottom of my oven. If I make this again, I will use a one pound loaf pan.
I have yet to actually TASTE the bread, so I cannot comment on the recipe.
Hi Nan – It’s possible you used an 8 1/2-inch by 4 1/2-inch loaf pan. I’ve made this recipe multiple times and so have other readers with no issues of the batter overflowing in a 9×5 pan.
Prep time 10 minutes? More like 30 minutes to gather ingredients, reduce cider and let it cool, chop apples, mix dry and wet ingredients, grease and flour pan … whew … who can do that in 10 minutes?
Bread was way too sweet. When I added cinnamon to the glaze it turned the glaze brown but your glaze looks white with brown specks. How did you do that? Bread took 15 minutes longer to bake than you said. Good thing I had the time to deal with these surprises.
Hi Tommy – Recipe prep time is the time is takes to follow the steps (prepare the batter, not the ingredients). This is standard for most recipes. However, I’ll update the recipe card to include cooling time to give future bakers a better estimate of total time. I appreciate the feedback.
Simply delicious! I was in charge of dessert for dinner at a friend’s house and it was a hit. It was so good, I doubled the recipe and made two more loafs, so I can share it with family and friends. Truth be told, I had one slice and wanted more! It’s a great way to use apple cider and it was easy to make, considering you make it from scratch. You can’t go wrong with cinnamon, apples, ground cloves. I used Granny Smith apples as I already had them. The only real expense was getting the ground cloves and I had to get apple cider which is delicious to drink. I’m happy there’s a blonde in the kitchen! LoL!