Easy Southern Style Apple Bread is the perfect dish to welcome fall. In this easy recipe, crisp apples, pecans, and sour cream fill the moist bread with pure deliciousness!
A generous slice of this apple bread is fabulous with a cup of coffee for a light breakfast, a yummy snack, or even as a sweet ending to a good meal.
Freshly picked apples and newly harvested pecans are synonymous with fall in our area, and the grocery stores and farmers’ markets are full of every type of apple imaginable.
Here’s why you will love this recipe:
- This apple quick bread is simple to make and only takes minutes to prepare. Also, you won’t need to pull out your mixer because you can mix everything by hand.
- It’s a healthier option than some other types of bread or desserts. Apples and pecans are both loaded with fiber, vitamins, and other nutrients.
- It can also be made ahead, and it freezes beautifully.
Here’s what you will need:
To make this recipe, you will need fresh apples (I used Honey Crisp apples, but you can use any variety you like or have on hand), applesauce (optional), vegetable oil, granulated sugar, brown sugar, eggs, sour cream, vanilla, all-purpose flour, baking soda, kosher salt, toasted pecans, and ground cinnamon.
How to make it:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Use a non-stick baking spray with flour to grease the bottom of a large loaf pan. You can also use butter to grease the bottom and then sprinkle a tablespoon of flour or sugar over it. Tap the pan on the counter to evenly distribute the flour or sugar and pour out any excess.
Add both sugars and oil to a large bowl and mix well.
Add the eggs, sour cream, vanilla, and applesauce (if you are using it) and mix well.
Combine the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon in a small bowl and add to the wet ingredients. Mix well. Add the grated or chopped apples and pecans and stir to combine.
Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake for 50-55 minutes or until the sides of the bread start to pull away from the pan, or when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean with no streaks of batter.
Slice and serve.
Related recipes:
If you like this recipe, you might also like these popular recipes: Apple Dumplings, Easy Southern Peach Bread, Apple Pecan Salad, Apple Dapple Cake with Caramel Glaze, Buttermilk Banana Bread with Blueberries, or Easy Crockpot Pork Chops and Apples.
Sharon’s Expert Tips:
You only need the applesauce if your apples are not juicy. (For example, I had a little over a tablespoon of apple juice in the bowl after grating my apples, so I didn’t add the applesauce.)
Since you only need one half of a cup, I think it’s easiest to toast the pecans in the microwave. Place the chopped nuts on a microwave-safe plate and microwave for two minutes. Taste and continue microwaving them in 30-second increments until they are toasted.
Be sure to place the pan with the batter in the oven immediately. If you allow it to sit too long before baking, it may not rise properly.
If you have extra blueberries, feel free to throw in a handful to change things up a bit.
Easy Southern Style Apple Bread Recipe
Ingredients
- ½ cup vegetable oil you can substitute coconut oil
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 2 eggs large, beaten
- 2 cups apples peeled and grated or finely chopped
- ¼ cup applesauce optional, see notes*
- ½ cup sour cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ cup pecans toasted and chopped
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Use a non-stick baking spray with flour to grease the bottom of a large loaf pan. You can also use butter to grease the bottom and then sprinkle a tablespoon of flour or sugar over it. Tap the pan on the counter to evenly distribute the flour or sugar and pour out any excess.
- Add the sugar and oil to a large bowl and mix well.
- Add the eggs, sour cream, vanilla, and applesauce if you are using it and mix well.
- Combine the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon in a small bowl and add to the wet ingredients. Mix well. Add the grated apples and pecans and stir to combine.
- Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake for 50-55 minutes or until the sides of the bread start to pull away from the pan, or when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean with no streaks of batter.
Notes
Nutrition
**This recipe was originally published on November 3, 2017. It was republished on October 15, 2020, with expanded tips and directions.
Ahhhh! The perfect recipe for this “apple-picking” season. I love sour cream in breads and how moist it makes them. This is such a lovely recipe and truly the best for welcoming Fall. Thanks so much for sharing.
I made this .the batter was very runny. Dont think the amount of flour is right. Smelled good as it cooked tho…
Hi Mary, I’m so sorry I couldn’t get back to you in time to save your loaf of apple bread. I looked at the recipe and immediately knew that you were right, and the flour measurement had to be off. It should have been 1-1/2 cups of flour. I just made a test loaf to confirm it.
I know how frustrating it is to take the time to make a recipe and not have it turn out, and I apologize again. I have corrected the recipe! I know it was right when I first posted it because I had several friends make it and comment on how easy it was to make and how good it was. The only thing I can think of is something must have happened when I converted some of my recipes to a new format and I didn’t catch it.
I hope you try it again!
All the best,
Sharon