Are you looking for an heart healthy, easy apple and cinnamon loaf cake?
Our annual apple picking trip has become one of my family’s favourite traditions. Without fail, we bring home far more apples than we can eat, which means I’m always looking for new ways to use them. Last year, this apple and cinnamon loaf cake joined our classic applesauce as a new family favourite.
This loaf is packed with fiber from oats, oat flour, flaxseed, and apples, and swaps butter for heart healthy extra virgin olive oil. This loaf that’s nourishing, comforting, and perfect for sharing with friends and family.
Why You Should Make This Apple Loaf
This apple oat loaf is ideal if you’re looking for:
- A cozy, fall inspired treat without overly refined ingredients
- A fiber-packed recipe that supports digestive and heart health
- A loaf that’s naturally sweetened with apples and just the right amount of sugar for texture and flavor
- A recipe your kids will love. My kids calls it “apple pie” in loaf form!
Whether you’re enjoying it for breakfast, as an afternoon snack, or as part of a weekend brunch spread, this loaf is simple to make, hearty, and delicious.
How to Make Apple and Cinnamon Loaf Cake
Mix the dry ingredients in one bowl, and the wet ingredients in another. Then combine them together without overmixing. Fold in the apples, and put into a 350F oven for around an hour.
Health Benefits of This Apple Loaf
This apple oat loaf is more than just cozy, it’s nourishing:
- Fiber: Oats, oat flour, flaxseed, and apples provide both soluble and insoluble fiber to support digestive health and help keep you full.
- Healthy fats: Extra virgin olive oil adds heart healthy monounsaturated fats.
- Natural sweetness: Apples and just enough sugar give you a treat without overloading on refined sugar.
Why Fiber Matters to Heart Health
Fiber does much more than keep digestion on track. It plays a key role in protecting your heart. There are two main types of fiber: soluble and insoluble. While both are beneficial, soluble fiber is especially powerful for heart health.
Soluble fiber dissolves in water and forms a gel like substance in the digestive tract. This gel can help reduce the absorption of cholesterol into the bloodstream, which in turn lowers LDL (“bad”) cholesterol levels. That’s why foods rich in soluble fiber, such as oats, apples, flaxseeds, and beans, are staples in heart healthy diets like the Mediterranean diet and the DASH Diet.
In fact, soluble fiber is a cornerstone of the Portfolio Diet, a dietary pattern shown to lower cholesterol and improve cardiovascular outcomes. By regularly including these foods, studies have found people can reduce their LDL cholesterol by up to 30% when combined with other heart healthy strategies (1).
On top of cholesterol-lowering benefits, fiber also helps:
- Regulate blood sugar by slowing the absorption of glucose or sugar
- Support weight management by promoting satiety and fullness.
- Fuel a healthy gut microbiome, which may play a role in reducing inflammation linked to heart disease.
Most adults fall short of the recommended daily intake of 25–38 grams of fiber. The good news? Simple swaps, like adding these 39 foods that unclog arteries to your diet can help you easily boost your fiber intake while supporting long-term heart health.
Watch Video Tutorial
A post shared by Veronica 💛 Heart Dietitian (@the.heart.dietitian)
Other Loaf Recipes
Apple and Cinnamon Loaf Cake Final Thoughts
This high fiber apple and cinnamon loaf cake is the perfect fall recipe. It’s cozy, wholesome, and easy to make. Whether you bake it to enjoy at home, share it with friends, or savor it with your family after a day at the orchard, it’s a delicious way to celebrate apple season. My son’s verdict? “It tastes just like apple pie!”
If you try it, rate this recipe and let me know what you think. I’d love to hear from you!
Apple and Cinnamon Loaf Cake
Equipment
- 2 bowl
- 1 loaf pan
Ingredients
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1/4 cup oat flour (this can be made by pulsing oats in a blender)
- 3/4 cup old fashioned rolled oats
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground nutmeg
- 3 tbsp ground flaxseed
- 2 large eggs
- 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1/3 cup white sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups apples peeled and finely chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Grease or line a 9×5 inch loaf pan.
- In a large bowl, whisk together whole wheat flour, oat flour, rolled oats, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and flaxseed.
- In another bowl beat eggs, olive oil, apple sauce, sugar, vanilla until combined.
- Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and still just until combined. Fold in apples.
- Pour batter into the loaf pan. Bake 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cool in pan for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack before slicing.