Spiced Carrot Apple Oat Bread made with whole grain oats, pure maple syrup, and fresh apples and carrots for a little boost of clean energy. This simple quick bread recipe is perfect for those who love a mindful treat!
If you’re like me, and you couldn’t be more excited for fall flavors to slam dunk you in the face, this easy healthy carrot apple oatmeal bread is here to delight!
Made with wholesome ingredients like rolled oats (or oat flour), fresh apples, grated carrots, and a touch of pure maple syrup, it is a lower sugar quick bread that still tastes indulgent.
I modeled the recipe off of my classic Almond Flour Morning Glory Quick Bread and my Healthy Carrot Cake Bread, with a few small tweaks.
I love a thick slice of this easy loaf with a hefty pat of butter warmed up as an afternoon snack or even dessert!
Let’s discuss the simple ingredients for this apple carrot bread!
Ingredients For Carrot Apple Oat Bread:
Quick Oats or Oat Flour: Rather than using all-purpose flour, we’re using whole grain oats or oat flour. This adds complex carbohydrates to the bread and a hearty texture.
Be sure to use certified gluten-free oats to make gluten-free quick bread if need be. I use gluten-free sprouted oats.
Eggs: Chicken eggs help lighten the texture of the otherwise dense oatmeal and create a fluffy quick bread.
Avocado Oil: A little fat brings richness and moisture. I like using avocado oil due to the neutral flavor and the omega 3 fatty acid content, but melted coconut oil, butter, or olive oil works too.
Pure Maple Syrup: We only need a little pure maple syrup to add some sweetness to the bread.
Unsweetened Applesauce: Adds moisture and sweetness to the apple cinnamon bread without adding extra calories or refined sugar.
Pure Vanilla Extract: A little warm flavor creates an added nuance!
Grated Carrots: Bringing Vitamins and natural sweetness, grated carrots provide a boost of nutrition in addition to earthy flavor.
Grated Apple: One tart apple like a Granny Smith levels up the fall flavors to make this bread taste like an autumn infusion.
Ground Cinnamon: Go heavy on the cinnamon for that warmly-spiced essence!
Fresh Ginger: Fresh grated ginger adds a kick of spice that is common in fall baked goods. I love going heavy on the ginger!
Sea Salt: This big flavor enhancer makes the bread taste sweeter without the need for excess sugar.
Recipe Customizations:
- If you enjoy sweeter treats, add 1 to 3 tablespoons of brown sugar, coconut sugar, or white sugar to the bread.
- Swap the oats for gluten-free all-purpose flour if you prefer baking with GF AP flour.
- Use pumpkin pie spice instead of ground cinnamon for a bigger boost of spice.
- Swap the applesauce for sour cream, cottage cheese, or Greek yogurt.
- Use gluten free flour instead of oats if you prefer.
- Mix in 1/2 cup to 2/3 cup of chocolate chips if you have a chocolate-loving family!
How to Make Carrot Apple Oat Bread:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan with parchment paper. If you don’t have parchment paper, spray the bread pan with cooking spray.
Grate a carrot and an apple using a box grater. We need one cup of each.
Transfer the oats to a high-powered blender and blend on a low speed for 1 minute, or until they form a flour. Note: if you have store-bought oat flour, skip the blending and use 2 cups of your oat flour.
Add the baking powder, ground cinnamon and sea salt to the blender (or a mixing bowl with the oat flour) and mix for another 10 seconds or so until the dry ingredients are combined.
Whisk together the eggs, applesauce, pure maple syrup, avocado oil, and vanilla extract in a large bowl until the wet ingredients are combined.
Transfer the flour mixture to the mixing bowl bowl with the wet mixture and stir well.
Stir in the grated carrot and apple.
Pour the quick bread batter into the prepared pan and spread it into an even layer. Cover the loaf pan with aluminum foil and bake on the center rack of the preheated oven for 50 minutes.
Remove the sheet of foil and bake for another 15 to 20 minutes, or until the bread is fully baked and golden brown. Insert a digital thermometer into the center of the bread to check its internal temperature. If it reads 190 degrees Fahrenheit or higher, it is cooked through.
Allow the bread to cool completely to room temperature before slicing and enjoying. I love heating up a thick slice with butter.
Storage Options:
- Room Temperature: Cover the loaf pan with plastic wrap and store on the countertop for up to 2 days.
- Refrigerator: Transfer leftovers to an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 1 week.
- Freezer: Cut the remaining loaf into individual slices and freeze in a large zip lock bag for up to 3 months.
The next time you’re craving a steamy loaf of quick bread, whip up these easy healthy carrot apple oatmeal bread! I love this healthy apple bread no matter the time of year, but particularly during the fall season when I’m craving warm spices.
If you love baking homemade quick bread recipes, also try some of my other favorite bread recipes.
More Bread Recipes:
- Peanut Butter Banana Bread
- Yogurt Zucchini Bread
- Almond Flour Chocolate Zucchini Bread
- Lemon Poppy Seed Bread
- Cranberry Orange Bread
Where carrots go to thrive!
Carrot Apple Oat Bread Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 cups quick oats or oat flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ¾ tsp sea salt
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 2 large eggs
- ⅔ cup unsweetened applesauce or cottage cheese or Greek yogurt
- ½ cup pure maple syrup
- 4 Tbsp avocado oil
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 Tbsp fresh ginger grated, or ½ tsp ground ginger
- 1 cup grated carrots
- 1 granny smith apple peeled and finely chopped or grated
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line a 9” x 5” loaf pan with parchment paper.
- Transfer the oats to a high-powered blender and blend on a low speed for 1 minute, or until they form a flour. Note: if you have store-bought oat flour, skip the blending and use 2 cups of your oat flour.
- Add the baking powder, ground cinnamon and sea salt to the blender and mix for another 10 seconds or so until the dry ingredients are combined.
- Whisk together the eggs, applesauce, pure maple syrup, avocado oil, vanilla extract, and fresh grated ginger in a large mixing bowl.
- Transfer the flour mixture to the bowl with the wet mixture and stir well. Stir in the grated carrot and apple.
- Pour the quick bread batter into the prepared loaf pan and spread it into an even layer. Cover the loaf pan with foil and bake on the center rack of the preheated oven for 50 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for another 15 to 20 minutes, or until the bread is fully baked. Insert a digital thermometer into the center of the bread to check its internal temperature. If it reads 190 degrees Fahrenheit or higher, it is cooked through.
- Allow the bread to cool completely to room temperature before slicing and enjoying. I love heating up a thick slice with butter.
This sounds delicious. I was going to make it tonight with cottage cheese but decided to wait until I buy some apple sauce. Not only do I think it will have more flavor, the texture will be different with cottage cheese. Do you agree?
I’d like to bake in a silicone mini loaves pan. Have you tried making muffins with this recipe? If not what would you suggest for baking time?
Hi Dawn! I actually think using cottage cheese would be fantastic! The applesauce gives the bread extra sweetness and a touch more apple flavor, but I cottage cheese will add protein and a little creamy tang. I say either version is great!
I haven’t tested this recipe using mini loaf pans, but I googled the baking instructions and it looks like 20-30 minutes at 350 should do the trick. I would still test the bread using a thermometer (as indicated in the recipe) for the best results 🙂
Thank you for replying. I will make them within the week and let you know how they turned out I wasn’t sure with the baking due to the tinfoil cover.
These are delicious, soft, moist. They freeze and thaw well in a vacuum seal bag. I baked them for 25 minutes in my silicone mini loaf pan. Each cell holds 1/4 cup. Made 12. Macros per one muffin with brands I use, calories 161, carbs 23 g, fats 6.3 g, protein 2.8 g.
Amazing! Thanks so much for sharing, Dawn!!
Im vegetarian, pls suggest replacement of egg in this recipe
Thanks
Deepa
Hi Deepa! In my limited experience with baking without eggs, recipes involving oats instead of flour tend to turn out very dense when baked with an egg replacement. If you’re alright with very dense bread that has a raw-like consistency in the center, I would say any egg replacer like flax eggs will work. For the best results, I would go for an egg replacer that uses some kind of flour, such as Bob’s Red Mill egg replacer.
If you’re okay with swapping out the oats for gluten-free all-purpose flour or regular all-purpose flour, You will have a higher likelihood of an egg replacer turning out well, as both flours contain enough starch to rise to a fluffy texture. Let me know if that makes sense, or if you have any other questions! Happy baking!
When do we put in the ginger!
Looking forward to making this soon.
My apologies for leaving that out! If you’re using fresh ginger (my recommendation), add it at the same time as the other wet ingredients (eggs, pure maple syrup, etc), or when you add the grated carrot and apple. If you’re using ground ginger, add it at the same time as the wet ingredients. If you ended up adding it at any other time, the recipe will still turn out great 🙂 The goal being to mix everything well enough so that the batter has an even distribution of ingredients. Happy baking!