Baked Apples are quite possibly the easiest Fall dessert. All you need is 7 ingredients, and about 15 minutes of time to assemble, then it bakes to perfection in the oven!
Baked apples pack all the flavor of apple pie, without the extra effort. Just toss thinly sliced apples with some sugar and spices, and then the oven takes care of the rest!
This healthy dessert is a great option for those who need to serve gluten-free or dairy-free guests. It’s easier than pie, and is suitable for a number of special diets!
Which Apples Work Best for Baking?
You can make baked apples using almost any apples you have on hand, but I do have my favorites.
Here are the 8 most popular apple varieties for baking:
- Fuji
- Honeycrisp
- Granny Smith (if you like them slightly tart)
- Braeburn
- Gala
- Pink Lady
- Golden Delicious
- Jonathan (or Jonagold, which is a hybrid)
There are a few other apple varieties that are famous for apple pie, like Esopus Spitzenberg or Northern Spy, but those names aren’t often available in my local stores.
The one variety of apple that I usually stay away from is Red Delicious. Yes, they’re red, but their texture is usually mealy and crumbly, and the flavor is underwhelming.
How to Bake Apples
Step 1: Prepare the Apples
To get started, you’ll either peel the apples, or skip straight to slicing them. I tend to be lazy and keep the peels on when I’m just making this for my family, which means we’ll eat all the extra nutrition found in the apple peels.
However, if you’re making this dessert for guests you want to impress, take the extra time to peel them first. The apples will feel extra tender that way, more like an apple pie filling.
Step 2: Toss with Sugar & Spices
Once the apples are sliced, you’ll transfer them to a large baking dish, or dutch oven with a lid. (Use the Dutch oven if you have it, so you can skip using foil later.)
Toss the apples with coconut sugar, spices, tapioca starch (which will help the sauce thicken up as it caramelizes), and a splash of orange juice to help keep everything moist and flavorful.
Step 3: Bake
Once the apples are evenly coated, you’ll cover the dish (with an oven-safe lid or foil) and bake at 400ºF for 45 minutes. Then you can remove the lid, give the apples a stir, and return them to the oven uncovered to bake for 10 to 15 more minutes.
The liquid will thicken up even more once you uncover the pan, and the apples should be nice and tender, with a slight bite. (So they’re not total mush!)
Serve baked apples just like you would a slice of apple pie. I like to add a scoop of vanilla ice cream (there are lots of dairy-free options available if you need one), or you can serve with coconut whipped cream on top.
How to Use the Leftovers
Leftover baked apples make an amazing topping for steel cut oats or overnight oats the next morning, too.
Easy Baked Apples
Ingredients
- 6 large honeycrisp apples (about 2.5 pounds)
- 1/2 cup coconut sugar (84 grams)
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (2 grams)
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 2 tablespoons tapioca starch (11 grams; or arrowroot/corn starch)
- 1/4 cup orange juice (65 grams)
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400˚F. Thinly slice the apples into pieces about 1/8-inch thick. I don't take the time to peel the apples, but you can, if you prefer no peel. (The peels become very soft and tender when they cook!)
- In a 6-quart dutch oven, or 9x13 baking dish, toss the sliced apples with the coconut sugar, cinnamon, ginger, tapioca starch, orange juice, and salt. When the apples look evenly coated, cover with the lid (or use aluminum foil to tightly cover), and bake at 400ºF for 45 minutes.
- Remove the lid and give the apples a stir. Return to the oven to help any extra liquid evaporate, about 10 to 15 more minutes. The apples should be very soft, in a rich, caramelized sauce.
- Let the apples cool for 10 minutes, then serve warm with your favorite toppings, like whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.
Video
Notes
- You can use any variety of apple you have on hand for this recipe. I've tested it with Granny Smith and Honeycrisp, but I also love Fuji and McIntosh apples, too.
- If you'd rather use maple syrup as a sweetener, I think you could use 1/4 cup maple syrup to replace the 1/2 cup of coconut sugar with similar results.
- Nutrition information is for 1 of 6 servings, without toppings. This information is automatically calculated, and is just an estimate, not a guarantee.
Nutrition
More Healthy Holiday Desserts
- Vegan Pumpkin Pie
- Vegan Pecan Pie
- Flourless Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
- Vegan French Silk Pie
- Healthy Flourless Chocolate Cake
- No-Bake Peanut Butter Cup Pie
- Healthy Gingerbread Cookies
- Almond Flour Sugar Cookies
If you try this Baked Apple recipe, please leave a comment below letting me know how you like it. And if you make any modifications, I’d love to hear about those, too! We can all benefit from your experience.
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Reader Feedback: What’s your favorite holiday dessert?
This looks absolutely incredible! I think they would be straight up heaven served on top of Coconut Bliss vanilla ice cream 🙂
Thanks for the recipe! I have to send a side dish to my son’s Kindergarten class tomorrow and this is perfect!
I think I might make this for Thanksgiving! Thanks for sharing such a delicious recipe.
This dish sounds great & is perfect for Fall! Thank you! I’m glad it’s delectable & uses a lot of my favorite ingredients but isn’t intimidating :0)!
& my favorite apple dish is apple quick-bread!
i just did an elimination diet and posted all about it on my blog. nuts were one of the things i eliminated as well, and when i reintroduced them they caused some problems. glad to know, but also a bummer. i hope yours continues to go smoothly! 🙂
Wow, this is perfect! I have been thinking of baking an open apple pie and thinking of a topping. This might be just it. Thanks!
I made this. It is was easy and clean and made my whole apartment smell great. Thanks!
I have been making a Dr. Fuhrman version of this without any oil or sugar. I don’t have to eliminate nuts so I top it with almonds, pecans and oatmeal. The recipe calls for apples, bananas & raisins. Satisfies the sweet-tooth for sure!
I think I am going to make this tonight! I love love love baked apples!
Making this now! Thanks for the recipe. Happy Thanksgiving!
These are so incredibly amazing! My whole family devoured them. They are even better than the traditional baked apples I have been making for years. I used golden delicious apples (peeled). So delish!!! Thank you for this and all of your other amazing recipes.
This recipe is delicious! I’ve made it once as is, and once with an extra apple because I wanted to use it up. It looked a bit plain and healthy and I thought for sure I’d end up wanting to put some crunchy sweet topping on in, but I love it just the way it is.
These look fantastic, can’t wait to make them. Thanks for sharing your recipe.
Hello,
Love you site…!
Did you leave the skin on?
Yes, I do!
I baked these with rest of shish kabobs on skewers. Very good
This sounds like exactly what I was looking for as a “sweet” way to bring in the Jewish New Year- how would you modify it to bake in a date/walnut crust as a pie? Thanks for this and all of your recipes– you’ve become a real Go To source of deliciousness in our home 🙂
Great recipe! After a failed apple crisp recipe with coconut flour, I was determined to find something delicious to do with our freshly picked apples. It was yummy, other than the mouth feel of so much cinnamon (I may have over-measured as it dumped out). I used pink ladies and added a splash of lemon juice. Also used half honey, half maple syrup because I ran out of syrup. I suggest at least doubling the recipe though, it goes fast. Thanks for a go-to recipe for fall!
I made these for my fall party last night and they were a hit! It was a last minute decision, and I was looking for something exciting to do with the green apples I had.
Any thoughts on trying this in a crockpot? I want to add this to our holiday dinner but our oven will already be full 🙂
I substituted the maple syrup with 4 tbsp. of mango jam – WOW! Love this!!
What a creative idea.
Can you please give me the nutritional value? Thanks
I made this last night for the 4th of July, and I made it again tonight! It’s honestly the best apple “filling” and my house smells amazing! Didn’t miss the crumble or icecream either!
Could I use apple cider instead of orange juice? Thank you!
Ooh, yes, I bet that would be delicious!
We just came back from apple picking, and I picked a few Ida Reds for baking. The thought of coring the apples for the traditional recipe made me tired just thinking about it. Came across your recipe while scrolling for vegan baked apples. It couldn’t have been easier, especially with the no-peel option. The sauce was syrupy; apples tender. Breakfast: non-dairy yogurt, apples, dried cranberries, and walnuts. Thank you.
Thank you. This is so Easy and delicious it is like eating caramel toffee apples 🤗
Hi Megan! Thanks for this, I’ve been making your baked apple recipe for years! But it’s been a while since I tried it, and the recipe on this page looks a little unfamiliar. Didn’t it used to have coconut oil and maple syrup? Please let me know, I really loved the one I used to make!
Yes, this recipe has been updated to be easier! The original recipe had you saute the apples first, then bake them… but that is too much effort for me now, so I wanted a way that you could just dump the apples in a pot and bake them. If you would rather use maple syrup instead of coconut sugar, just 1/4 cup of maple syrup should do the trick. (That’s what the original recipe called for.) And you don’t need coconut oil when you don’t saute them first.
I’ve just made this, and it was the first recipe I’ve ever made from the website. It’s truly delicious, I think I found one of my favorite desserts to make ever.
Thanks for your comment, Romina. I’m so glad you enjoyed this dessert, and I can’t wait to hear what you try next!
This is amazingly good! I would give it 10 stars if I could. I used green apples and kept the skin on. My kids and husband ate the whole thing in a day and left a little bit for me, and asked for more pie. Thank you Megan, your recipes are amazing and I’m recommending your website to my buddies.
I love the consistent taste*ease*healthy ratio of Megan’s recipes. These don’t disappoint!
So good and quick to make. We had it on thanksgiving with vegan pumpkin pie and coconut milk whipped cream.