Dutch Apple Bread is an amazingly tender and flavorful quick bread packed full of sweet apple chunks. Basically, it tastes like apple pie, in bread form!
Why I love Dutch Apple Bread
- It's perfect for snacking or for breakfasts
- it makes one large loaf or several smaller loaves, perfect for gifting!
- quick breads in general are one of my favorite things every!
- there's a slight sweetness without being overly sweet.

Ingredients in Dutch Apple Bread
If you have apples on hand, chances are everything you need is already in your kitchen! To make this apple bread from scratch, we'll need:
- butter
- sugar
- eggs - if possibly at room temperature so they blend the best
- milk - we use whole milk because it's what we drink. But really, any milk you have on hand works here
- vanilla extract - for flavor
- baking soda - to help the bread leven, or rise.
- flour - because it's bread
- salt - just a smidge
- apples - I like to use two different blends of apples to make it extra fruity.
- What kind of apples should you use? I like to use HoneyCrisp and Granny Smith if I have them. But Pink Lady, Gala, Fuji....they'll all work.
- walnuts (optional) - based on your feedback people seem to either love them in bread or not at all. It's a free country, so add them if you want or omit them if you don't! It will be delicious either way.
For the streusel topping:
Streusel is just an added layer of goodness we're adding to the bread. To make it, we need:
- butter
- flour
- brown sugar
- cinnamon
How to make Dutch Apple Bread
This is one of my biggest sellers at our local farmer's market.
It's safe to say I could make this in my sleep, if I was that motivated. But I like sleep.
Anyway, here's how we make it!
Step 1: Preheat your oven to 350° F. This is a great time to remind you to remove any pots or pans you may have temporarily located there. Just sayin'...
Step 2: Combine wet ingredients. Using a hand mixer or a stand mixer, cream together your butter and sugar. Once they're combined, light and fluffy, add the eggs, milk and vanilla. Give it another mix and scrape down the sides.
Step 3: Combine the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, combine the baking soda, flour, and salt. Give them a little stir with a fork or a whisk. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, mixing between additions and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
Don’t worry about lumps, they’ll work themselves out. Basically, we want to just mix until the flour is absorbed. Overmixing is going to make your bread tough, and we don't want that.
Step 4: Add apples and optional nuts. Fold in your chopped apples and nuts (optional). Grease a 9x5 loaf pan and add the batter to the pan. Heads up, the batter will be very thick! Use a spatula to evenly spread the batter in the pan.
Step 5: Make the streusel topping: Use your fingers or a fork to combine butter, flour, brown sugar and cinnamon until it forms crumbles. Sprinkle over the top of the bread.
Step 6: Bake. Bake for 60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. This is a pretty dense bread, so make sure it's cooked all the way through.
What kind of apples should I use to make this apple quick bread?
I like to use a variety of apples in my apple bread. Granny Smith and Honeycrisp are two of my favorites.
Apple Bread for Gifting
Gifting mini loaves of bread is one of my favorite things to do! Especially because this makes three perfect mini loaves. I like to wrap the bread in waxed paper if I'll be gifting right away.
Otherwise plastic wrap will keep it fresh longer. In fact, you can even wrap it in plastic wrap to freeze for up to three months!
Quickbread Recipes You'll Enjoy
Other Apple Recipes
When you make this apple bread recipe, leave a comment or review below. I'd love to hear from you!
Dutch Apple Bread
Ingredients
- ½ cup butter
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 eggs at room temperature
- 2 tablespoon milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 cups flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 cups chopped diced peeled apples
- ½ cup chopped walnuts optional
For the streusel topping
- 2 tablespoon butter
- 2 tablespoon flour
- 2 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° F. Cream together butter and sugar using a hand mixer or stand mixer. Add eggs, milk and vanilla and mix to combine.
- Combine dry ingredients (baking soda, flour, and salt) in a separate bowl. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, mixing between additions and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Fold in apples and nuts (optional).
- Grease a 9x5 loaf pan with non stick cooking spray. Add batter to the pan. Heads up, the batter will be very thick! Use a spatula to evenly spread the batter in the pan.
- To make the streusel topping, use your fingers or a fork to combine butter, flour, brown sugar and cinnamon until it forms crumbles. Sprinkle over batter.
- Bake for 60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. This is a pretty dense bread, so make sure it's cooked all the way through.
Luisa
Thanks for this delicious easy and wonderful recipe!!!!!!