Here's the thing (about carrot apple bread with walnut streusel)...

Carrot, Apple & Walnut Streusel Bread on a wire rack

What makes carrot apple bread with walnut streusel so darn good

I was never sure if it's possible to fall in love with a food, but if anything will reassure me that it can indeed happen, it's this bread. I made a loaf of carrot apple banana bread over the weekend and it just didn't wow me.

It was tender, but it needed help in the flavor department and I wanted something crunchy on top to elevate the whole texture thing.

So I made a few tweaks which led me to the most incredible loaf of bread in all of life.

It's even more tender, packed with spices and juicy pieces of apple, has just the right amount of sweetness and is topped off with a delightful crumble made of walnuts, brown sugar, butter, cinnamon and oats.

I could honestly end this blog right now because I'm pretty sure everyone is already on board with either making or eating this bread.

Of course one of those things has to happen before the other (unless you stop over sometime today... before I eat it all).

Carrot, Apple & Walnut Streusel Bread in a baking tin

What makes this quick bread so special!

But I'll continue on to tell you that it's not an ordinary quick bread recipe. It's made with oat or whole wheat pastry flour (but can be made with all-purpose, if desired), almond flour, ground flax, cinnamon, nutmeg, bananas (the kind that are on their last leg), and handfuls of carrots and honey crisp apples.

It reminds me of fall but it's not in-your-face fall. I like to think of it as the perfect transition recipe from summer to fall for those of us who are on the fence about the change in season.

Either way, you're gonna love it.

Carrot Apple Bread with Walnut Streusel

Print Recipe

A quick bread made with shredded carrots, apples, banana and whole grain flour with a nutty oat topping.

Author: Julie Andrews
Prep Time: 15 min
Cook Time: 55 min
Total Time: 1 hr 10 min
Yield: 1 loaf 1x
Category: Breads
Method: Baking
Cuisine: American

Ingredients

Scale

Bread:

1 ¼ cups oat, whole wheat pastry, whole wheat or all-purpose flour
¼ cup almond flour
2 tablespoons ground flax seed
1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¾ teaspoon baking powder
¾ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon coarse salt
2 medium ripe bananas (about 1 cup)
½ cup dark brown sugar
¼ cup oil
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 medium carrots, shredded (about 1 ½ cups)
1 medium apple, shredded or diced (about 1 ½ cups)

Streusel:

3 tablespoons melted butter
½ cup old-fashioned rolled oats
½ cup chopped walnuts
2 tablespoons brown sugar
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a loaf pan with cooking spray. Set aside.
In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together oat flour, almond flour, flax seed, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
In another medium bowl, use a hand mixer to whisk together bananas, brown sugar and oil until fluffy. Whisk in egg, then vanilla extract until thoroughly combined. Slowly add dry ingredients to the banana mixture while whisking on medium speed, just until combined. Fold in shredded carrot and apple. Pour mixture into the loaf pan.
In a small bowl, whisk together streusel ingredients. Evenly coat top of bread batter with the streusel mixture. Bake for 50-55 minutes, until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool, then slice and serve.

Notes

Storage Tip: This bread can be sealed and frozen for up to 2 months. Thaw at room temperature.

Nutrition

Serving Size: 1/12 of recipe
Calories: 252
Sugar: 16
Sodium: 319
Fat: 13
Saturated Fat: 3
Unsaturated Fat: 10
Trans Fat: 0
Carbohydrates: 32
Fiber: 4
Protein: 5
Cholesterol: 39

Keywords: fall recipes, easy, quick, healthy, simple, make ahead, freezer friendly, best