Enjoy a warm, cozy treat with this easy vegan baked apple recipe. Throw in your favorite dried fruit and nuts, and let these stuffed baked apples simmer in a sweet, cider caramel.
Baked apples are one of those old-fashioned kinds of recipes that while sometimes forgotten, never really go out of style.
Maybe that’s because it’s such an easy dessert, made without any fuss or pretense, but that always manages to delivers on flavor making it a great choice for busy weekday meals. Maybe because it’s guaranteed to make you feel warm and cozy from the inside out on even the chilliest of days. Or maybe it’s just simple nostalgia, with the smell of apples baking in the oven bringing back fond childhood memories. Whatever the reason, these vegan baked apples are definitely a treat worth making at least once this season.
What is the best kind of apple for baked apples?
You’ll want a variety that’s considered a baking apple, something with a nice flavor when cooked, that also retains its shape but is tender enough to eat with a spoon when done.
A few common but good grocery store varieties are: Pink Ladies, Sweeties, Galas or Jazz apples. Because every apple varies, you’ll want to start checking for doneness around 30 minutes but they may take up to 50 minutes to bake.
For these vegan baked apples, I like to halve my apples, stuff them with a mixture of dried fruit and nuts and bake them in a vegan apple cider syrup for the most intense apple flavor, no butter need!
Ingredient Notes:
(Here are a few notes about the ingredients you’ll need for this recipe. As always find the full list of ingredients and directions in the recipe card at the bottom of the post.)
- Apple Cider or Unfiltered Apple Juice - Either fresh pressed apple apple cider (non-alcoholic) or unfiltered apple juice will work. If you’ve gone apple picking and picked up a big jug of cider, this would be a good place to use it, but if not any sort of unfiltered apple juice will do the trick. The cider creates the syrup that the apples will bake in, keeping them from drying out as the cook.
- Maple Syrup - I'm using maple syrup as the sweetener since it pairs well with the apples but you can also use coconut sugar.
- Coconut Oil - You can use either a refined or un-refined version.
- Baking Apples - Use apples with a sweet-tart flavor such as Pink Lady, Gala, Sweetie or Jazz apples.
- Dried Fruit - -You can use any combination of dried fruit you'd like such as raisins, dates, figs and apricots.
- Nuts - Use your favorite nuts such as pecans and walnuts.
How to Make Vegan Baked Apples:
(Here are the basic steps and some helpful tips on how to make the recipe. Find the full directions in the recipe card at the bottom of the post.)
- You'll start by reducing your cider or apple juice gently over low heat for about 10 minutes (the cider should be reduced almost by half) then whisking in the maple syrup, coconut oil and a pinch of sea salt. As the syrup reduces it thickens and creates a caramel-like sauce that’s then poured over the top of the apples as they bake and again to serve.
- Next you'll core and halve your apples. Cutting the apples in half rather than leaving them whole creates more surface area for the syrup to soak into the apples as they bake, with the end result being apples that are tender throughout and fully infused with flavor.
- Spoon the chopped dried fruit and nuts into the center of the cored apples, pour the cider caramel mixture onto and into the centers of the apples and into the bottom of the baking dish.
- Bake for 30 to 50 minutes, basting the apples every 15 minutes with cider mixture in the bottom of the dish until tender.
- Serve the apples warm with leftover cider caramel syrup from the bottom of the pan spooned over.
How to Serve Baked Apples:
These stuffed baked apples are equally good served warm from the oven, plain or with a scoop of ice cream on the side, as they are the next day cold from the fridge with a dollop of yogurt.
More Apple Desserts:
Stuffed Baked Apples
Make the most of in-season apples by making stuffed baked apples in cider caramel sauce.
Ingredients
- 2 cups/480ml apple cider or unfiltered apple juice (plus extra for basting)
- 3 Tablespoons/45ml maple syrup
- 2 teaspoons/10ml coconut oil
- Pinch of sea salt
- 3 small to medium baking apples, such as Pink Lady, Gala, Sweetie or Jazz apples, halved and cored with a melon baller
- ¼ cup/28g chopped dried fruit such as raisins, dates, figs and apricots
- 2 Tablespoons/14g chopped nuts such as pecans and walnuts
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 375° F.
- Pour cider or apple juice into a small saucepan and bring to a simmer. Simmer gently over low heat for about 10 minutes (the cider should be reduced almost by half). Whisk in maple syrup, coconut oil and a pinch of sea salt (the mixture should be syrupy at this point).
- Place the cored apple halves in a low sided baking dish (the apples should fit snuggly). Spoon chopped dried fruit and nuts loosely into the center of the cored apples. Pour cider caramel mixture onto and into the centers of the apples, filling up each half and pouring the remaining sauce into the bottom of the baking dish.
- Place baking dish in the oven, and bake for 30 to 50 minutes, basting the apples every 15 minutes with cider mixture in the bottom of the dish (adding more apple cider to the bottom of the pan as needed if the syrup looks like it’s about to dry out). Test for doneness by inserting a skewer or sharp knife into the apples, the apples should be soft enough to eat with a spoon but not totally collapsed.
- Serve the apples warm with leftover cider caramel syrup from the bottom of the pan spooned over.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
6Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 236Total Fat: 5gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 39mgCarbohydrates: 50gFiber: 4gSugar: 41gProtein: 2g
Nutritional information for recipes contained on this website, such as calories, fat, carbs, etc. are only estimates and are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Sylvie Shirazi is the recipe developer and food photographer behind Gourmande in the Kitchen. For the last 10 years she's been making eating more healthfully easy and accessible with gluten-free, grain-free, paleo and vegan recipes that are free from processed ingredients.
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