Have you ever added apple slices to grilled cheese? Get ready to! There are 7,500 different kinds of apples in the world, with 2,500 in the States alone. Just walking around an orchard will show you how incredibly varied this fruit really is. Some are sweet, others are sharp, but they’re all delicious in their own way, and they should be celebrated in all kinds of dishes. This list of 30 amazing apple recipes will give you some fantastic ideas on what to do with that apple haul, from smoothies to salads to sweet treats.
Apple Recipes For Breakfast
1. Apple Smoothie
You won’t often see apples in smoothies because of their watery and acidic nature. But when they’re mixed with banana and oats, you’ll get such a great flavor and a wonderful texture. Using frozen bananas is a sure-fire way of making any smoothie ultra-creamy, and this recipe even has peanut butter for extra richness.
2. Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal Stovetop Recipe
This quick little breakfast is like eating a slice of warm apple pie. I usually have a batch of baked apples in my fridge already, but this is so fast. Your prep is still just 10 minutes. If you like your oats creamier, feel free to use milk instead of water, and play around with the spices until you get it just right.
3. Apple Cinnamon French Toast
French toast is already pretty sinful for breakfast. It’s thick and sweet, and you just have to cover it with syrup. Now imagine it covered with tender, spiced apples! Wait… that makes it healthy, right?!
4. Old-Fashioned Apple Crisp
You might have to skip the ice cream here, but I stand by apple crisp for breakfast. Just one look over the ingredients, and it looks very similar to the oatmeal recipe from above. Oats, apples, spices, some sugar – it all scream breakfast to me!
5. Apple Cinnamon Pancakes
If you’re on the lookout for ways to add more fruit into your and your kids’ diets, this one is for you. There’s grated apple right in the cinnamon batter, so you’ll get a serving of fruit before you even finish your coffee.
6. Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal Cups
Can I tell you a secret? These are more or less apple cinnamon oatmeal cookies! They’re just thicker, and you won’t feel as guilty when you eat more than one first thing in the morning. Better yet, the prep time is just 5 minutes, and they freeze like a dream. I like to make a big batch and freeze half. Just pull a few out the night before and leave the thaw in the fridge.
Savory Apple Recipes
7. Coconut-Apple-Ginger Dal
Dal are dried lentils that don’t require soaking before you cook them. Cayenne, cumin, and turmeric make up the base for the apple, ginger, and coconut sauce in this recipe. It’s vegan and packed with fresh flavors. Serve this with a rice bowl, and you can even throw in some chicken if you want some extra protein.
8. Easy Apple Stuffing Recipe
I love adding something sweet to my stuffing. It can be raisins or even diced pears, but I find the pops of sweet flavor complement the savory notes so well. As this dish cooks, some of the apples will soften and release their juices into the bread, and some will hold their shape, adding some great crunch to the mix.
9. Chicken Waldorf Salad
Chicken Waldorf salad got its name after a maitre d’ at the Waldorf Hotel in New York City made it for a charity function. From then on, it’s been made the world over, and for a good reason. The fruity, crisp, creamy chicken salad is so well balanced and turns a boring old sandwich into something straight out of the Big Apple. The main mixture includes chicken, apple, walnuts, golden raisins, and grapes. Even if you serve this with a touch of mayo, it will be a hit. But then it gets a dressing made out of mayo, orange juice, and yogurt to bring all that fantastic flavor together.
10. Apple Pecan Feta Spinach Salad with Maple Cider Vinaigrette
If you know me at all, you’ll know that I only eat salad when it’s loaded with extras. I’m talking about chicken, bacon, boiled eggs, corn, peppers, onions, etc. This recipe definitely qualifies! I love the use of spinach rather than sad, wilted lettuce leaves, and there’s so much going on here, you’ll be sad when it’s gone.
11. Pork Chops and Applesauce
I think we all can agree that pork chops and applesauce go together like peanut butter and jelly. It works, and it always will. If you’ve never made your own applesauce before, you’re in for a treat. Using a slow cooker takes all the guesswork away, and you can adjust the spices to your liking.
12. Grilled Cheese and Apple Sandwich with Sriracha Butter
This grilled cheese is on another level. Adding apple slices to a strong cheese sandwich is already super extra, but the sriracha butter is exceptional. I always use mature cheddar in my grilled cheese, or something smoky is always a good choice. For something creamy to balance out that spice, maybe try adding some thin slices of brie.
Apple Snacks
13. Apple Fritters
Apple fritters are like warm apple donuts. They’re deep-fried, fluffy on the inside, and coated in cinnamon sugar for good measure. But unlike donuts, they have no yeast in the dough and can be ready in just 30 minutes. Fry them in batches, and why not add a drizzle of vanilla glaze, too?
14. Apple Chips
We all like chips for their crunchy, too-easy-to-eat snackability. But if you’re trying to cut back on the salty snack, these apple chips are the next best thing. There’s no need for an expensive food dehydrator either. You can bake these right in your oven. I like to use a mandolin to ensure they’re all the same thickness, and baking them on a Silpat mat makes taking them off much easier.
15. Apple Peanut Butter Sandwiches
What I love about these little snacks is that they’re surprisingly versatile. You can keep it simple with apple and peanut butter, or go bananas (literally) with everything from banana slices, toasted coconut, chopped nuts, and plump raisins. Don’t cut your apples too thick, or the fillings will squish out when you bite in. You could use any kind of nut butter you prefer here, or even Nutella if you want something chocolatey.
16. Homemade Applesauce
Whether you’re making it for the kids, for a pork dinner, or to use in your baking, having applesauce on hand is always a good idea. Depending on how you like it, it’s pretty easy to make this more or less sweet, and it will taste great with any variety of apples you might have.
17. Chewy Oatmeal Apple Cookies
When I’m craving a cookie, I’m usually pretty happy so long as it is soft and chewy. As good as chocolate chip cookies are, these apple oatmeal cookies are pretty hard to resist. The brown sugar in the dough will deepen the flavor and make them super chewy, which pairs perfectly with the cinnamon. I love the chewiness you’ll get from the dried apple chunks, but you could always use freshly diced apples, too.
18. Apple Nachos with Peanut Butter and Chocolate
When I’m trying to be a little healthier, I’ll forgo the chips and salsa in favor of apple slices and peanut butter. And when I’m feeling the need to be naughty, I’ll even dip my slices in thick caramel. These apple nachos are such a fun way to satisfy your sweet tooth. Plus, a little goes a long way with the peanut butter, so there’s no guilt over the chocolate chips. That being said, if you wanted to make them more dessert-like, why not add some marshmallow fluff or caramel?
Easy Apple Dishes
19. Cracker Barrel Fried Apples
These fried apples are served as a side at Cracker Barrel and they’re essentially apple pie filling without the pie. They have apple pie spice and apple juice in the mix for flavor, and cornstarch will thicken it up just right. Make a big batch and use them in your morning granola, or as part of your dinner.
20. Apple Slice Cookies
Full disclosure: these are not cookies. But before you scroll by, hear me out! I know so many parents that struggle to get their kids to eat healthfully, and though adding chocolate might seem counter-productive, even the pickiest eater will gobble these up! Use natural peanut butter to cut down the sugar, and why not sneak in some healthy extras, like dried cranberries, too?
21. Apple Scrunch (Apple Dump Cake)
People aren’t sure where the name came from, but I think I prefer apple scrunch to dump cake – though that’s what this is. Like a good dump cake, all you’ll need to do here is dump the ingredients in your baking dish (in the right order) and let the oven do the heavy lifting. It never ceases to amaze me when these cakes come out perfectly baked and tender.
22. Homemade Apple Cider
Making apple cider from scratch will not only leave you with a warm and sweet drink, but it will make your house smell unbelievable. I’m a huge fan of adding extra citrus to my cider, so usually add extra orange peel, but you can modify that to your taste. Or, if you want to make it for the grown-ups, try adding some whiskey!
23. Microwave Baked Apples
I know it doesn’t make sense when you read it, but these microwaved apples taste just like oven-baked apples. Not only are these baked apples ready in a matter of minutes, but they won’t dry out like they can in the oven. Plus, the juices will stay in the bowl, keeping the fruit plump and sweet. You can eat these as is, with a scoop of ice cream, or even with a chunk of pound cake.
24. Chocolate Turtle Apple Slices
Ok, these little apple pops are amazing! They’re super cute, completely covered in rich chocolate, and take just 20 minutes to make. Fuji apples are ideal for this recipe because they’re pretty big and will give you decent-sized apple pops. And don’t worry about getting the whole slice covered in chocolate. Once you drizzle the chocolate over, you won’t see any apple peeking out.
Apple Desserts
25. Apple Brown Betty
We all have that one friend that refuses a thick chewy oatmeal cookie, or a warm bowl of apple crisp. Some people just don’t like oats, and that’s ok! Well, this recipe is for that friend! Apple Brown Betty is essentially apple crisp, just without the oats. Instead, it has an incredible, spiced crumble topping that will turn golden in the oven. Again, I will argue that this would be perfect for a warm and filling breakfast. Although, I like mine with a generous helping of British custard, so maybe I’ll keep it for dessert.
26. Rustic French Apple Tart
I’ll let you in on an industry secret: if a dish says it’s “rustic,” it just means we didn’t try too hard with the presentation! Rustic still tastes great, it’s just not perfectly polished. I love to make rustic food because I’m pretty impatient. And when you see little tarts like this that look fantastic without too much effort, why not?! This elegant apple tart puts all the focus on the fruit, and it shows. You’ll get a mouthful of apple in every bite, and just enough buttery pastry to balance it all out.
27. Apple Upside Down Cake
Though my all-time favorite is this sticky banana cake, I’ll never say no to a slice of apple upside-down cake. Be sure you cut your apples pretty thick so that they hold up to the bake, and feel free to drizzle with some Fireball Whiskey caramel.
28. Applesauce Cake
This cake is almost like a quick bread and would be just as good for breakfast as for dessert. It’s full of apple flavor, along with warm spices and raisins. Because you have so much applesauce in the mix, it’s almost impossible to overbake this baby, and it’s moist enough that you won’t need frosting.
29. Easy Apple Turnovers
With the bakery-quality frozen puff pastry now available in grocery stores, making breakfast pastries has never been easier. Remember those baked apples I said you should make in bulk? This would be the perfect way to use them up!
30. Apple Pie Recipe with the Best Filling
I just had to include an apple pie. It’s a classic and will always be a welcome sight after dinner. This recipe is particularly great because it uses an all-butter pastry and thinly sliced apples. You’ll make a roux of sorts, which will ensure your apple juice thickens up and that the pie will slice perfectly. Click on a star to rate it!
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