Apple Walnut Bread (with brown butter glaze)

It's fall and that means cozy sweaters, colorful leaves, pumpkin spice lattes, and best of all... APPLE SEASON! If you love apples like I do, you're going to love this Apple Walnut Bread with Brown Butter Glaze.

This Apple Walnut Loaf celebrates fall flavors in a healthy, moist, and delicious bread that's quick and easy to make. This apple bread is a delicious loaf with walnuts, cinnamon, coconut, and prunes. And there is NOTHING like the aroma of apple baking. And although it's healthy, this delicious apple bread is soo good it tastes more like an apple loaf cake. It makes a great quick breakfast, dessert, or snack! And it's great for bringing along to a breakfast potluck. Be sure to check out my other breakfast potluck ideas! 

🥘 Ingredient Notes

I came up with this Healthy Apple Walnut Bread recipe years ago. I use prunes in my Healthy Carrot Cake, and it gives it a great taste and moist texture. And I don't think prunes get used enough in baking. So I added them to this recipe and WOW!

• Walnuts. Buying chopped walnuts will make your life easier. I also recommend toasting your walnuts for extra flavor!
• Prunes. Make sure they are pitted! Puréeing prunes helps distribute their moisture and natural sweetness evenly throughout the bread, giving it a softer texture.
• Quick Rolled Oats. Quick oats are smaller than old-fashioned oats and create a softer texture. Rolled oats and quick oats are the same thing. Don't use instant oats as they will turn to mush.
• Brown sugar. You can use dark or light brown sugar.
• Fresh apples. You can use any type of apple for this recipe, but I find that Ambrosia or Gala work best. I've also made it with apples given to me by my neighbor (from her daughter's tree)! Honeycrisp apples are also great for baking. I do NOT recommend using Granny Smith, as they hold their shape well, and you don't want the apples holding their shape in this recipe; you want them to bake into the essence of the bread. Granny Smiths are better for baked goods like pies and such, where you want them to hold their shape.
• Vanilla Greek yogurt. I use low-fat.
• Coconut milk. I use light.
• Unsweetened shredded coconut. Finely shredded works best in this recipe, but if you want more coconut texture, use medium shredded or coconut flakes.
• Whipping cream. Make sure your whipping cream is 33%- 36% fat.
• Cream cheese. I use light/low-fat, but you could use regular.
• Powdered sugar. This is also known as confectioner's sugar or Icing sugar.

*see recipe card for full list of ingredients and quantities

This apple bread also has a delicious brown butter glaze, which is truly the crowning glory. The photos do not do justice to the deliciousness of this bread - it's that good! My son begged me to make it again and again, but with more brown butter glaze, of course!

I'll admit I'm a little brown butter crazy. I especially love it as a glaze, like on my Saskatoon Berry Loaf with Brown Butter Glaze (shown) and my Butter Tart Bundt Cake with Brown Butter Glaze, but I also love plain brown butter in my  Award-winning Pecan Brown Butter Granola! My glaze is similar to a brown butter frosting, just a little less thick. Brown butter is a little old-timey, but it's a delicious, timeless flavor!

📖Variations & Substitutions

• Nuts- you can use pecans instead of walnuts
• Prunes -you can use dried apricots, if you don't have prunes, but prunes are ideal
• Sugar - you could substitute white sugar for brown sugar or reduce the calories and use a sugar substitute such as monkfruit (but you'll only need half the amount)
• Vegetable oil - you can substitute canola oil
• Vanilla Greek yogurt - you can use plain Greek yogurt and add ½ teaspoon of vanilla extract, as well as 2 additional tablespoons of brown sugar

🎥 Video

If you've never made brown butter, here is a video showing you How to make brown butter

🍽Equipment

For this apple walnut bread recipe, you'll need a 9x5 loaf pan (affiliate link), a cutting board, and a sharp knife. I like the loaf pans that come with lids because you can simply put the lid on and pop them right into the fridge or freezer, once they are completely cooled!

I also recommend you use a bread knife (affiliate link); it makes cutting bread so much easier. You'll also need an electric hand mixer (affiliate link). An apple corer and cake tester also comes in handy!

🌡️Storage

• Fridge: This apple nut bread can be stored in a sealed container or a freezer Ziploc bag for up to 3 days in the fridge. 
• Freezer: This recipe freezes well for up to 3 months. You can leave it in the loaf pan to freeze, if you prefer (I do this sometimes). Simply cover the loaf with Glad Press n' Seal (affiliate link) and slide the entire loaf into an extra large Ziplock freezer bag. Or you can use a loaf pan that comes with a lid (see equipment above). I would still put that into a Ziplock bag, just to ensure it stays as fresh as possible.

👪 Serving Size

This apple bread recipe serves 8, and they are thick slices. You could get 10 pieces out of the recipe by cutting the slices thinner. You can also double or triple this recipe by adjusting the serving size on the recipe card. Just click on the serving size, and select the number of servings you'd like. You'll need extra loaf pans. *You can freeze the extra loaves (see storage, above). 

❔ Recipe FAQs