22 Delicious Apple Recipes That Have Us Dreaming of Fall
Savory, sweet, a little tart—apples can do it all. Whether you prefer the sweeter crunch of a Honeycrisp or the deliciously sour bite of a Granny Smith, there's a scrumptious apple recipe for you. We've gathered some of our favorite apple recipes, from dinners to snacks and desserts, for a little autumnal preview. Recipes like our Butternut Squash Soup with Apple Grilled Cheese Sandwiches and Sour Apple Slaw are begging to be served year-round.
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Apple-Pie Bread
This easy everyday apple-pie bread makes a great breakfast-on-the-go with a cup of coffee. The fragrant spices typical of apple pie and the tender bits of baked apple inside also make it worthy as a healthy after-dinner dessert. Enjoy it warm from the oven with a pat of butter or cream cheese or keep it on your counter for a tasty treat during the week.
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Butternut Squash Soup with Apple Grilled Cheese Sandwiches
Layering apple slices into grilled cheese sandwiches adds a little crunch to a favorite soup dipper. And creamy butternut squash soup with ginger, cumin and turmeric is a nice change of pace from grilled cheese's usual tomato soup partner. Serve the duo for a comforting and easy weeknight dinner for the family. The soup keeps well in the fridge, so save leftovers for lunch or dinner later in the week.
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Fried Apple Pie Rolls
In this healthy take on apple pie, wonton wrappers stand in for pie crust, saving you calories and the headache of rolling out dough. We like to use Granny Smith apples because they hold their shape and provide tart balance to the sweet filling. Try dipping these handheld crispy treats in whipped cream.
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Sweet Potato Hash Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms
Diced sweet potato, bell peppers and apples make a vegan stuffing inspired by the flavors of sausage. To add that savory flavor, we use poultry seasoning (don't worry, there's no actual poultry in it!). Piled into portobello mushroom caps, it creates a beautiful and filling plant-based main dish--perfect for the holidays.
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Sour Apple Slaw
Michael Twitty, a food writer and culinary historian, celebrates Hanukkah's miracle of oil by making fried chicken and latkes. He serves up this sweet and tangy slaw alongside.
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Caramel Apples
These fall treats have just enough caramel to give a nice hit of salty-sweet flavor in each bite.
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Apple & Pecan Stuffed Butternut Squash
Let this cute little vegetarian stuffed squash side dish steal the show at the dinner table! Butternut squash is stuffed with a sweet and savory filling that gets a crispy finish under the broiler. If you can't find small butternut squash, honeynut squash is a great alternative. Shaped much like a butternut squash (but smaller), the honeynut squash has a deep orange skin and sweet flesh.
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Instant-Pot Apple Crisp
Apple crisp in your Instant Pot?! Yes, you can! This easy Instant-Pot apple crisp has a nice balance of flavors from lemon zest and juice, brown sugar and sweet Honeycrisp apples. The whole-wheat flour and pecans add texture to the topping, which remains moist and delicious as it melds with the other flavors. To keep the texture from getting mushy, be sure not to cut the apple pieces too small. One-inch cubes will do the trick!
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Apple Dutch Baby Pancake
This one-pan puffy oven-baked pancake recipe will wow brunch guests. Make it your own by swapping out the apple for pear slices, or switch up the spices and try cardamom or ginger in place of the cinnamon.
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Apple-Cranberry Spinach Salad with Goat Cheese
The tangy-sweet dressing in this spinach salad beautifully amplifies the apples and cranberries--and the creamy goat cheese transforms it into the perfect salad. Tasters raved about this easy fall salad. If you can't find Pink Lady apples, any sweet, crisp apple is a worthy substitute. Want to make this salad a main meal? Top with some rotisserie chicken, chickpeas or tofu.
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Apple-Cinnamon Muffins
These healthy apple-cinnamon muffins will put you in an autumnal state of mind no matter the time of year. Sprinkling the muffins with sugar before baking gives them a crispy top, just like a coffee-shop muffin--but these are a whole lot more nutritious than your average coffee-shop muffin, thanks to wholesome ingredients like white whole-wheat flour. Serve them for breakfast or a grab-and-go snack.
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Brioche French Toast with Griddled Apples
This brioche French toast recipe calls for cooking the bread and the apples over high heat in coconut oil--a fat with a high smoke point that adds its own delicious flavor--for a nicely caramelized crust. This recipe was developed as a deluxe breakfast for a camping trip, but you can also cook it at home on the stovetop.
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Apple & Cheddar Side Salad with Mustard Vinaigrette
This salad is easy and festive--the perfect healthy addition to your holiday table. The no-sugar-added dressing blends well with the sweet notes of apple and sharp Cheddar cheese, and crunchy pecans round out the dish.
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Apple Spice Muffins
Think of crème fraîche as sour cream's richer, thicker, less-sour sibling. In this healthy muffin recipe, it's the secret ingredient that gives these muffins a light texture and rich flavor. The batter is made with extra spices and tons of sweet fruit, which means you won't notice the minimal amount of white sugar.
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Chorizo, Chestnut, Brussels Sprout & Apple Stuffing
Who says a Thanksgiving stuffing recipe has to be dominated by the bread? Check out this veggie-packed healthy stuffing, with 4 cups of Brussels sprouts topping the list. Chorizo adds some piquant flavor, in this case a zesty chile-pepper-and-vinegar kick found in the Mexican version of the sausage, but quite frankly you won't go wrong using any type of fresh, spicy sausage.
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Ham, Gruyère & Apple Galettes
Prepared pie crusts make assembling these free-form tarts quick and fast. Feel free to swap in your favorite jam, meat or cheese. Serve with a simple green salad for an easy brunch or light dinner.
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Sweet Potato, Sausage & Apple Casserole
This sweet potato, sausage and apple casserole is perfect for brunch or dinner. The crunchy top of the toasted bread combines winningly with a custardy filling studded with apples, sweet potatoes and savory sausage.
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Apple Cobbler
This easy apple cobbler recipe takes just 15 minutes of active time to prep, then it's a hands-off affair as it bakes up to bubbly goodness. Granny Smiths add a nice tartness to the cobbler and play nicely off the Honeycrisps. You could swap other sweet apples, such as Gala or Fuji, for the Honeycrisps. The part of the cake topping coming in contact with the apple mixture stays moist while the top gets crispy--the perfect combo of textures. Serve as-is or with vanilla ice cream for a classic fall dessert that can't be beaten.
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Flaky Apple Pie Bars
Grab your box of puff pastry for these easy and delicious apple pie bars.
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Apple, Bacon and Sweet Potato Mini Casseroles
These sweet and savory mini casseroles are ready in just an hour. Refrigerate or freeze the leftovers to enjoy later.
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Apple Ricotta Pancakes
These healthy apple pancakes puff to perfection thanks to the right combination of ingredients, including a mixture of double-acting baking powder and baking soda (using both ensures the batter will spread out evenly and rise well). Ricotta cheese makes pancakes moister than using milk alone, and it packs nearly four times more protein than whole milk. Walnut oil is full of healthy fats and has a rich, nutty flavor, and white whole-wheat flour packs in more fiber than all-purpose flour. A bit of buttermilk adds a nice tang to these flapjacks. All in all, it adds up to a healthy breakfast that's sure to impress.
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Apple & Ham Stuffing
Smoky Black Forest ham, celery and onion are common in stuffing, but the real surprise here is the addition of applesauce, which keeps the stuffing moist while boosting the flavor of the diced Granny Smiths.