Healthy Whole Grain Vegan Apple Bread

My Healthy Whole Grain Vegan Apple Bread is a mildly sweet treat that’s moist and delicious even without eggs, oil, dairy, or refined sugar! It is also incredibly versatile and allergy-friendly and can be made gluten free and nut free! Only takes a few minutes of active prep with simple ingredients you might even already have on hand.

It is mildly sweet with just a small amount of date sugar (try this one), so it’s a great healthy apple bread recipe option for those looking to watch their sugar intake. While many a vegan apple cake recipe – even the healthier ones – still contain a good amount of sugar, I have even made this without any date sugar at all – sweetened only with applesauce – and I love it that way, too, though it is obviously not very sweet. I sometimes make it without date sugar and add in a cup of raisins, and the raisins sweeten up the whole dish, in addition to providing a richer, deeper flavor. My favorite mix-in is chopped walnuts, which take the flavor and texture to a whole new level!

One of my favorite things about this vegan applesauce cake is how incredibly versatile it is – you can use whole wheat flour or oat flour, you can use tahini, almond butter, or coconut milk for the fat (and I suspect you could use any other nut or seed butter not mentioned here), you can do it with or without date sugar, you can make it plain or add in your favorite mix-ins…I have tried it so many ways, and it just keeps turning out amazing.

You don’t need any special skills or equipment to make this vegan apple cake – if you can stir stuff and put it in a loaf pan, you’re good to go!

I love this vegan gluten free apple cake all on its own, but it’s also really good topped with my homemade vegan sunflower sour cream and thinly sliced fresh apples or even grated green apples, or with fruit compote. 

It is also amazing for kids and even babies! Soft enough for cuties who are teething, great for baby-led weaning, plus it’s nutritious and low in sugar. I love that I can send it with my kids to school because it can be made without major allergens. And adults love it too. Bring it to your next brunch or family breakfast!

This recipe calls for a loaf pan, but I have also done this many times in a square brownie pan, and you could use a round cake pan or even a muffin tin (perfect for little ones), or really anything you want – just adjust the baking time accordingly. It also freezes wonderfully – you can even freeze it in individual portions so it’s that much easier to take out a piece and throw it into a lunch box in the morning.

Special Dietary Needs

Many healthy apple bread recipes still contain ingredients many wish to avoid. I’ve tried to eliminate as many of those as I could while still making a tasty treat. This healthy apple cinnamon bread is suitable for many diets, such as:

Clean eating
Dairy free
Egg free
Gluten free
Oil free
Kosher
Low calorie
Low fat
Low sugar
Natural
Nutritarian inspired (Fuhrman, Eat to Live, ETL)
Nut free
Oil free
Plant based
Refined sugar free
Soy free
Unprocessed/minimally processed
Unrefined
Vegan
Vegetarian
Weight Watchers
WFPB (whole foods plant based)
WFPBNO (whole foods plant based no oil)

Check out my FAQ and Resources pages for more on the philosophy behind this low-fat apple cake and whole-foods-plant-based eating.

Ingredients

(available for purchase* and delivery via links below)

Unsweetened apple sauce – for mild fruity sweetness

Apple cider vinegar – to help the apple bread rise

Cinnamon – for some spice

Salt (optional if on low-/no-salt diet – to bring out all the flavors

Vanilla – for a sweet undertone

Tahini, raw almond butter, or coconut milk (I suspect any other nut or seed butter would work, as well) – for richness

Whole wheat flour or oat flour (you can easily make oat flour by blending whole oats in your high-speed blender) – for hearty substance

Baking powder – to make it rise

Baking soda – to make it rise some more

Date sugar – for natural sweetness

Optional:

Walnuts (optional) – for crunch

Raisins (optional) – for extra sweetness and depth

Whole apple (optional) – to slice thin as a beautiful garnish

Equipment

(some available for purchase* and delivery via links below)

Spoon and/or spatula

Mixing bowl

Loaf pan

Parchment paper

Check out my online shop for all my top picks for everything you could possibly need for your plant-based, naturally minded life!

*Salad Therapy is reader supported. As an Amazon Associate, I may earn a small commission from qualifying purchases – at no extra cost to you. Making purchases through my links helps me continue providing you with free recipes. I only recommend products I would happily use myself!

Instructions

First, preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line your loaf pan with parchment paper.

If you have an apple and want to decorate the top of your vegan apple loaf, prepare the slices now by slicing your apple down the middle from top to bottom, making a few slices as thin as you can – thicker slices can make the batter directly beneath the slices slower to bake and therefore gummy once the rest of the cake is already baked, so you really cannot go too thin here – even the ones in my pics here are probably a little too thick. I used three slices, but you might opt to use more depending on your aesthetic and the size of your apple. Remove any seeds and set slices aside.

Then, mix your wet ingredients in a mixing bowl, stirring thoroughly to combine. Add your optional raisins and/or walnuts (though it is perfectly delicious without these), and stir to distribute evenly. Now, over the top of the wet mixture or in a separate bowl, add your remaining dry ingredients; be sure to sift your date sugar or break up any clumps with your fingers before adding to the batter. Then, roughly mix just the dry ingredients as best as you can before mixing the entire batter all together. Mix as little as possible until ingredients are just combined. This helps keep the resulting baked texture of your low-sugar apple cake soft and light instead of dense and chewy.

Right away when the batter is mixed, gently press the batter into your prepared loaf pan. Doing this immediately following mixing seems to help give the cake a better final shape, since the batter starts to expand as soon as it’s combined, and pressing it/messing it with when the rising agents have been activated for longer (even for an extra minute or two) seems to deflate the batter somewhat in my experience.)

Make sure the batter reaches all the way into the corners of the pan, and smooth the top by patting gently with wet fingers or a wet spatula. If you are decorating with apple slices, place the them on the top of the loaf and press gently into the batter. Alternatively, you can top with an extra handful of walnuts and gently press them in a bit. Or you can do both!

Bake for 40-50 minutes – it will be ready when the top is golden and firm when you tap it. Let it cool nearly completely before cutting into it – this can take at least an hour. Then slice and enjoy!

Love baked apples? Try these:

Rustic Apple Cinnamon Galette

Tiny Chewy Cinnamon Apples

Healthy Whole Grain Vegan Apple Bread

Salad Therapy

My Healthy Whole Grain Vegan Apple Bread is a sweet treat that’s moist and delicious even without eggs, oil, dairy, or refined sugar! Can be made gluten free and nut free! Only takes a few minutes of active prep with simple ingredients.

5 from 3 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 40 minutes mins

Total Time 50 minutes mins

Course Bread, Breakfast, Cake, Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 16 slices

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 1 1/2 cups unsweetened applesauce
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup raw almond butter tahini, or coconut milk (I suspect any other nut or seed butter would work)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups whole wheat or oat flour you can easily make your own oat flour by blending whole, rolled, or quick oats in the blender
• 1/4 cup date sugar optional if on very low-sugar diet - this will result in a cake that is delicious but only very mildly sweet
• 1/2 teaspoon salt (optional if on no-/low-salt diet
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 cup golden raisins optional
• 1 cup chopped walnuts optional
• 1 apple optional, for decoration

Instructions

 

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line loaf pan with parchment paper.
• If using optional apple slices for garnish, slice apple down the middle from top to bottom, making a few slices as thin as you can (thicker slices can result in the batter directly beneath the slices not fully cooking). Cut 3-5 super-thin slices, depending on your aesthetic and the size of your apple. Remove any seeds and set slices aside.
• Mix wet ingredients in a mixing bowl, then add optional raisins and/or walnuts and stir to distribute evenly.
• Over the top of the wet mixture or in a separate bowl, add remaining dry ingredients; be sure to sift your date sugar or break up any clumps with your fingers before adding to the batter. Roughly mix just the dry ingredients before mixing the entire batter all together as little as possible until ingredients are just combined. This helps keep the resulting baked texture soft and light instead of dense and chewy.
• Right away when the batter is mixed, gently press the batter into your prepared loaf pan. Doing this immediately following mixing seems to help give the cake a better final shape and prevents deflating. Make sure the batter reaches the corners of the pan, and smooth the top by patting gently with wet fingers or a wet spatula.
• If decorating with apple slices, place the them on the top of the loaf and press gently into the batter. Alternatively, top with an extra handful of walnuts and gently press them in a bit. Or you can do both!
• Bake for 40-50 minutes - it will be ready when the top is golden and firm when you tap it. Let cool nearly completely before slicing - cooling can take at least an hour.
• Slice and enjoy!

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