Healthy Apple Recipes

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.

This salad with lentils, feta and apple is a satisfying vegetarian entree to whip together for lunch. To save time, swap in drained canned lentils--just make sure to look for low-sodium and give them a rinse before adding them to the salad.

In this apple-cinnamon oatmeal recipe, we use the fruit in two forms, shredded and chopped, to maximize flavor and texture. Enjoy a bowl of this oatmeal and you'll start your day right with whole grains and a serving of fruit.

These healthy apple cookies made with oats, shredded apples and brown sugar make snack time enjoyable for everybody.

This tender apple-caramel pound cake has tons of flavor from the apples, brown sugar and cinnamon. The caramel glaze sends this easy cake over the top with a sweet and buttery finish.

To make this green smoothie recipe a meal-in-a-glass, musician Mraz adds a tablespoon of coconut oil and some sprouted flax or chia seeds.

Creamy apple butter and sharp Cheddar cheese are a perfect match in these easy party hors d'oeuvres. This recipe calls for prepared pie crust, which is pressed into mini muffin tins to make little tart shells, so it's super easy to make as well. Add slices of apple for extra crunch, if you'd like, or keep these bites simple. Either way, consider making a double batch--they'll go quickly.

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.

These apple-stuffed pork chops are tender and juicy, with an apple-flavored stuffing featuring cornbread, apples and fresh sage. Whole-wheat bread can stand in for the cornbread if you prefer a more savory stuffing.

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.

This healthy oven-dried apple recipe is perfect if you want to make dried apples at home and don't have a dehydrator. Great for lunchboxes or as a snack, homemade dried apples are easy to make in the oven and are high in fiber and nutrients. To retain the fiber from the peels and to save time, we skip the step of peeling the apples first. We also skip coring--the star-shaped core makes a pretty shape in the center of each dried apple. For crispy apple chips, bake the apples about 1 hour more.

Kaylena Bray shared this recipe, which was passed down to her by her parents, David and Wendy Bray. They're both Seneca White Corn educators in New York State who share their knowledge at hands-on workshops hosted by universities, Native community centers and farms across the country. These no-bake energy balls get lots of staying power from a mix of oats and corn flour, peanut butter, coconut, dried fruit and mixed nuts. They're easily customizable by changing up the dried fruit and nuts. This recipe is part of our spotlight, There's a Movement to Revitalize Indigenous Cuisines and Knowledge—Here's Why That Matters.

The Sugar and Spice Rub makes extra. So another time, use it to season pork tenderloin or lean burgers before broiling or grilling.

The key to this chicken salad is the homemade bacon dressing, which is made directly in the pan used to cook the bacon. Brussels sprouts are tossed with the dressing in the warm pan, allowing the residual heat to gently wilt the shredded sprouts.

This carrot and apple smoothie is creamy and has a light tropical flavor thanks to coconut milk. It's naturally sweetened from the carrots and apple, and the combination of ginger and lemon juice adds just a bit of spice and helps balance the flavor. The turmeric, fresh or dried, gives the smoothie a vibrant bright orange color.

Caramelized onions are a sweet and savory addition to this healthy stuffing recipe. Choose an apple that becomes tender yet holds its shape when cooked—try Jonagold or Cortland.

Using kale leaves instead of bread to wrap your filling makes this healthy chicken lunch recipe low-calorie (and lower in carbs!). If you can't find lacinato (aka Tuscan) kale, try cabbage for your wrap.

When Paul Newman and Michel Nischan opened their Westport, Connecticut, restaurant Dressing Room, Paul's request was that the menu always include a chopped salad that you could eat with a spoon. This chopped salad recipe is full of great flavors, colors and textures, featuring celery, carrots, red pepper, apple, cucumber, greens, cabbage, goat cheese and almonds. This is great for any holiday meal: you can let it stand and it stays crisp.

These gluten-free muffins use finely ground rolled oats in place of flour. That gives the fruit- and nut-studded muffins a tender texture and fluffy crumb. To make the muffins even easier, everything is combined in the blender so you can blend, pour, bake and enjoy.

This quick homemade applesauce recipe makes a healthy snack or fruit dessert for kids. Applesauce is also a fabulous complement to potato pancakes or latkes.

Move over, oatmeal! Get a satisfying serving of healthy whole grains in the morning with this breakfast quinoa bowl.

These sweet, cinnamon-flavored apple bars are the perfect accompaniment for your afternoon cup of coffee or tea.

This creamy apple salad is crunchy, sweet and just a tad bit tart thanks to dried cranberries. Make this easy salad ahead for your next lunch, brunch or picnic.

Leftover cooked chicken makes this chicken Waldorf salad, loaded with apples, grapes, celery and walnuts, a snap to assemble. If you use rotisserie chicken, keep in mind that it's salty and omit the salt in the dressing. Serve over watercress, with a chunk of whole-grain baguette.