Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly spray an 8 inch loaf pan and set aside.

Place the walnuts in a single layer on an ungreased baking sheet; place in the oven and cook until just toasted, about 7-8 minutes. Nuts can burn very quickly, so I recommend keeping the oven light on and checking every minute after 5 minutes. Remove, let cool slightly and roughly chop. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, add the ground flax seed along with 2 tablespoons water and mix together until combined. Set aside until just gelled, about 5 minutes.

While the flax seed mixture is coming together, place the flour, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice and salt in a separate large bowl. Whisk until well-mixed.

To the flax seed bowl, add in the applesauce, oil, non-dairy milk, brown sugar and vanilla extract. Whisk until well combined, then add the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Mix until just combined, the batter will be very thick- that’s normal!

Add in the apples and walnuts and mix together, either with a spoon, spatula or your hands. You want to just mix the apples into the thick batter, taking care as much as possible not to overmix.

Place the batter into the prepared loaf pan, pressing the top down as much as possible. Lightly cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil, then bake another 15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove and let cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then gently remove and let cool on a wire rack until mostly cooled.

Slice and enjoy! We love this most with almond butter and more sliced apples on top!