Paleo Morning Glory Quick bread made grain-free, refined sugar-free, and dairy-free. This flavorful, healthful bread includes all the flavors of morning glory muffins, and is easily prepared in your blender. A marvelous go-to treat.
The older I get, the more importance I attach to life’s little comforts…
Whether it be relishing my steamy morning beverage, sweating it out in a hot yoga class, or setting aside a moment to enjoy a slice of quick bread alongside a good read, these are the little “me” sessions that, while small and seemingly insignificant, make waves in helping me stay relaxed and focused.
Everyone has their own approach to treating him or herself, but the key for me is to keep my daily comforts well-conceived, uplifting, strengthening, or healthful…
Wise indulgences, as I like to think of them.
In my late twenties, I would have needed to justify or earn any of these little pleasures before slowing down and taking a breather.
You know, because: guilt, self-loathing, self-imposed pressure to embody perfection while still remaining cool, but not displaying any of the effort that goes into it.
Ohhh momma has that changed.
Being human is challenging enough as it is…we deserve to throw ourselves a bone.
Enter: Dis bone.
All the trappings of a morning glory muffin, but in the form of a loaf.
What is “Morning Glory” Quick Bread?:
What exactly is a Morning Glory Muffin (or in this case, Morning Glory Quickbread)? It’s a sweet baked treat filled with grated carrots, applesauce, walnuts, shredded coconut, sometimes raisins, and sometimes pineapple?
Quite honestly, morning glory baked goods are very similar to carrot cake!
Depending on your approach to either, the two can be one and the same. Which quite honestly is fine by me, because I love both so dearly. Way I see it, whatever adventure you choose, you’re bound to end up with a comforting result.
You’ll observe the recipe here is similar to the Paleo Carrot Cake I showed you last week.
Same awesome concept, just a few minor tweaks, and in the form of a quick bread rather than a tiered cake.
Psst! If you want to frost this loaf to give it an extra pizzaz, I 200% recommend my Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting!
What Does This Bread Taste Like?:
This bread is everything a good quick bread should be: tender and moist, dense, but airy, sweet but not too sweet, fluffy, full of flavor, the perfect accompaniment to your mug of coffee or tea.
Just like carrot cake, there are plenty of ways you can make this recipe your own by customizing the recipe.
For me, breads like this are that slow morning or afternoon experience, where you cut off a thick slice, pair it with your favorite hot drink, and slowly savor each bite while surfing the internet for quality information or reading a great book, researching getaways, etc.
I’ve also been known to down a huge hunk lickety split after a sweaty hot yoga class, so there’s always that option, too.
Recipe Adaptations:
- Add applesauce, subtract oil
- Incorporate up to 1/2 cup of crushed pineapple, subtract oil
- Add 1 large ripe banana, subtract pure maple syrup
- Hazelnut flour in place of almond flour? Sure, we can dig!
- Pecans in place of walnuts, or go nut-free
- Add raisins
- Whip up that Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting I showed you last week and frost the dang thing!
- Easily turn this bread into muffins by baking the batter in a muffin tray.
Looking for more healthy grain-free quick breads? Here are some reader favorites.
More Quick Bread Recipes:
- Paleo Double Chocolate Banana Bread
- Paleo Strawberry Banana Bread
- Paleo Carrot Cake Banana Bread
- Paleo Cranberry Orange Bread
Throw yourself a loaf of morning glory quick bread!
Paleo Morning Glory Quick Bread
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 large eggs
- 1/3 cup pure maple syrup
- 1/4 cup avocado oil see note*
- 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 2 tsp orange zest
- 1 1/2 cups finely ground almond flour
- 1/2 cup tapioca flour
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1 1/2 cups grated carrot
- 1/2 cup grated apple about 1/2 an apple
- 1/3 cup raw walnuts chopped
- 2/3 cup unsweetened shredded coconut plus more for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and line a 9" x 5" loaf pan with parchment paper. You can also oil or spray the pan if you don't have parchment paper.
- Add the first 11 ingredients (eggs through salt) to a blender and blend until smooth. Stir in the remaining ingredients until the batter is well-combined. Note: if you don't have a high-powered blender, use one large mixing bowl to mix all of the ingredients together.
- Transfer the batter to the prepared loaf pan and cover it with aluminum foil. Bake for 40 to 60 minutes, or until the bread is firm in the center. The best way to tell if quick bread is fully baked is by taking its internal temperature. To do so, insert a digital thermometer into the center of the bread and wait until the numbers stop moving. The ideal temperature is 190 to 205 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Remove the bread from the oven and allow it to cool for 1 hour before cutting. When you're ready to slice the bread, pull the loaf out of the pan using the edges of the parchment paper (or if you sprayed the pan with oil, run a knife along the edge of the bread and turn it out onto a cutting board). Use a sharp knife to cut thick slices and enjoy!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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I doubled this recipe and made roughly 3 dozen muffins…my family loved them! I just kept checking them as I wasn’t sure of the cooking time. They took about 15 minutes. I am going to make the loaf next as this is a delicious recipe….wondering if the loaf can be frozen?
Aww yaaay, I’m happy to hear your family enjoyed the muffins! Yes, you can definitely freeze the loaf (or the muffin)…I’ve done so in the past and it works out great! I slice the loaf before freezing it so that I can warm up a slice at a moment’s notice. Happy baking! 🙂
I’ve made this bread twice and I love it! It is so much easier and less time consuming to make than many Paleo breads.
Thank you!
Thank you so much, Ang! I appreciate you taking the time to share your feedback!
Hi Julia! I’ve been following you for years and have truly enjoyed so many of your recipes with my family! Generally, I am grain and processed sugar free, and am always looking for new baking recipes. This one is fantastic! It’s an amazing recipe as a base for many different add on ingredients as well. My current fave is removing the last four (carrot, apple, walnuts, coconut) and replacing with one overripe banana. No adjusting with the rest of your recipe! Utterly delicious, and as a bonus, my husband and three boys all loved it! This is HUGE because they can always tell when something is paleo (and I don’t tell them what I’ve baked until after they taste it!). I still haven’t told them this is paleo and don’t plan on it, haha. Making a few loaves right now. Thanks, Julia 🙂
I love hearing this, Nicole! Thank you so much for sharing your experience with the recipe and for your sweet words! Comments like this really brighten my day…I appreciate you taking the time to share! 🙂 xo
Unfortunately I’m allergic to eggs , wondering if anyone has tried this with flax eggs? Not sure if the qty of 3 would work, usually a flax egg replacement is only good for up to 2…I’m open to any ideas!
Hi Teri! In my limited experience with grain-free egg-free baking, recipes tend to turn out very dense with a “raw-like” consistency in the center. For this reason, I generally shy away from making almond flour recipes without eggs, although that doesn’t mean it isn’t possible. For the best results, I would try googling an egg-free version to ensure it turns out well. Happy baking!
It is zucchini season so I am always looking to use it in breads and muffins.
Do you think I could sub some shredded zuke for the apple ?
Hi there! If you’re alright with the bread being a little less sweet, zucchini works great as a replacement for the apple. Hope you enjoy!