This easy quick bread features fresh, in-season apricots and crunchy pecans. With a hint of ginger and nutmeg, it’s a delicious breakfast or afternoon snack.
When I spotted apricots at the farmer’s market recently, I realized I’ve never shared a single recipe that used fresh apricots. And I thought it was time to change that! So I bought enough to make some delicious Apricot Pecan Quick Bread.
You’ll need about 8 apricots for this quick bread (maybe a few more, depending on their size). I diced mine pretty small, so they were well distributed throughout the loaf.
I really love the hint of nutmeg and ginger in this bread, and the fact that it isn’t too sweet made it perfect for breakfast. Of course, I nibbled on it all day long.
If you have a sweet tooth, you may want to add another 1/4 cup of sugar or so to the batter, but I thought it was perfect as is.
This is totally optional, but I decided to sprinkle my apricot loaves with some rolled outs before baking. A streusel topping would also be delicious. But you don’t need any extra topping at all. This bread is perfectly delicious on it’s own.
If you don’t have pecans, walnuts also work well in this recipe. For even more flavor, try toasting the nuts before adding them to the batter.
My family loves this bread, and it always disappears quickly. Which is funny, because I don’t think I could get my kids to eat an actual apricot to save my life. But toss it into a loaf of sweet bread and they love it!
I was able to make one large loaf and a few mini loaves with the batter, and I’m sure it would make fabulous muffins too!
How ever you decide to bake up the batter, summer is the perfect time to try this Apricot Pecan Quick Bread. Enjoy!
Be sure to save this Apricot Pecan Quick Bread recipe to your favorite Pinterest board for later.
Tips for Choosing and Storing Apricots
Appearance: When choosing apricots, look for fruit that is fragrant and slightly soft, but not mushy. Avoid apricots with any green areas. They should be yellow to deep orange in color, and may have touches of red.
Storage: Store unripened apricots in a paper bag at room temperature, away from sunlight. Once ripe, put your apricots in a plastic bag in the refrigerator, where they will keep for a day or two.
Here’s what you’ll need to make Apricot Pecan Quick Bread
- Apricots
- Lemon juice
- Butter
- White sugar
- Brown sugar
- Eggs
- Vanilla
- Flour
- Baking powder
- Spices: nutmeg, ginger, salt
- Milk
- Pecans
- Rolled oats (optional)
Apricot Pecan Quick Bread
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 cups finely diced fresh apricots
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1/2 cup butter softened
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 1/2 cups flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ginger
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/2 cup finely chopped pecans
- 1/4 cup rolled oats for topping (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Generously grease loaf pans. (I made one 9x5x2 loaf and 1 mini loafs). In a small bowl, toss diced apricots with lemon juice.
- With an electric mixer, cream together butter and sugars until. Beat in egg and vanilla. Stir in apricots.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, nutmeg and ginger. Add flour mixture to creamed mixture, alternately with the milk, starting and ending with the flour. Fold in chopped pecans.
- Fill loaf pan(s) 2/3 full with batter. If desired, sprinkle rolled oats over tops of batter. Bake for about 50 minutes for a large loaf (about 25 for a mini loaf), or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cool bread for 10-15 minutes in pan before turning onto a wire rack to cool completely.
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Nutrition
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Who Dished It Up First: Inspired by Food.com
16 comments
Margaret
I had enough batter two fill two small “bundtlettes” and one 7″ x 3″ loaf pan. All were baked together and were done in slightly less than 40 minutes in my oven set at 350 degrees. I reduced the lemon juice to two teaspoons and used chopped walnuts only because I didn’t have pecans on hand. While I prefer the taste of plum bread, this recipe for apricot bread is still good! Thank you!
Janice
I made this today with apricots from my tree. Unfortunately, although I added many minutes to the baking time, it turned out gummy and rubbery. I don’t know how much time I added, I lost count. My guess is at least 30 more minutes if not longer. It just didn’t rise. It’s too bad, the batter tasted great. My baking powder is new and I weighed the flour. I’m sorry it didn’t turn out.
Jamie
Made this today because my neighbor’s apricot tree is bursting with fruits and majorly hangs over the wall so we have lots at our disposal 🙂 I didn’t want to wait for the cook time of a loaf so I made muffins instead – took about 20-22 min to bake. They were great! I forgot the nuts but it didn’t matter, although I could’ve had more apricots. I took reviewers advice and added a teaspoon of cinnamon and I think it made a difference. I’ll be making these again!
Kathy harryman
Awful recipe. No taste. Very disappointed.
Rola
I used dried apricots and it was delicious! Thank you.
Brie
This recipe turned out perfectly! I doubled the recipe to make a loaf and a small Bundt, substituted nectarines for apricots, and used coconut milk. They needed closer to 60-70 minutes but were dense and delicious when done. I’ll definitely make this again!
Judy B
And it’s fabulous. Just remember 2 tsp baking powder (not tablespoons)
Judy B
I agree with Judy. I saw the note for 2 Tablespoons and reduced it to teaspoons which is more in line with what other quick breads use. I’m guessing this was a typo? I had some bananas that required using and added them for Banana Apricot Bread. It’s in the oven.
Judy Tereshinski
I just made this recipe and I too think 2 TABLESPOONS WAS A LOT OF BAKING POWDER. The bread tastes bitter and maybe it is a result of the baking powder. I also think I will add more apricots, if I make it again.
Gina B
I made the bread for work. The batter was very thick and hard to spread in pan. Turned out very brown and at first was not done in the middle, so I put into the oven to cook longer. I used dried apricots because it is not he season for fresh apricots. The apricots were bitter. I am not sure what I did to make the batter thick and the apricots bitter. I am sorry that it turned out this way. I am not sure that I will make it again. Is 2 Tbs. backing powder correct for this recipe? It seamed like a lot.
Aan het strand van Oostende
Hi Danelle, this is a good basic recipe. Nothing hard or fancy. Easy ingredients with quick preparation time. I didn’t have dried apricots so I used bottled ones from last season. I drained them in the fridge overnight in a colander over a bowl. They made the bread extremely moist. I’d try this again and maybe add cinnamon & cloves to make it tastier.
Danelle
Great ideas! Thank you. 🙂
Linda
This sounds wonderful. I have to try it. Thanks for sharing.
Wishes for tásty dishes, Linda
Suzanne
The work “quick” always brings things to my attention!!!! I love these type of bread/cakes. Lovely with a cup of tea sitting out on my back veranda listening to the Lorikeets screeching in the gum trees…..oh and the overhead sound of planes…..we live on the flight path to the airport. Will be making this very soon but with dried apricots as they are not in season here at the moment. Thanks for this lovely recipe Danelle.
Danelle
Thanks so much Suzanne!
Joanne
Hi Danelle! I like apricots, but don’t ever think of baking with them. Your bread looks delicious, especially with the addition of pecans. Did you use whole milk?