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These easy baked apples are sliced and baked with butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon until tender and caramelized. A simple fall dessert that’s delicious with vanilla ice cream.
Apple Pie Without The Crust
These easy baked apples are soft, buttery, and covered in warm cinnamon and brown sugar. Thinly sliced apples are tossed in a simple sweet cinnamon mixture, then baked until tender and coated in a delicious caramel-like sauce.
They’re everything you love about apple pie, but without making a pie crust.
This is one of my favorite easy apple desserts because it takes just a few minutes to prepare and fills the kitchen with the smell of warm cinnamon and baked apples. The whole family (especially the kids!) love these! Serve them straight from the oven with vanilla ice cream, spoon them over pancakes or waffles, or enjoy them alongside a cozy fall breakfast.
And because the apples are sliced before baking, they cook much faster than whole baked apples.
Why We Love this REcipe
- Easy to make
- No pie crust required
- Ready in about 30 minutes
- Uses simple ingredients
- Soft, tender apples with caramelized edges
- Perfect for fall and the holidays
- Delicious for dessert or breakfast
- Great with vanilla ice cream
What Are Baked Apples?
Baked apples are apples that are seasoned and cooked in the oven until tender.
For this recipe, the apples are peeled and sliced before baking, which means every piece gets coated in the buttery cinnamon mixture.
Instead of stuffing whole apples, you’re essentially creating all the best parts of apple pie filling in a simple baking dish.
The apples soften in the oven while the butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon melt together into a sweet sauce making the best warm dessert for chilly nights.
Ingredients Needed
- Apples: Use firm, fresh apples and slice them into relatively even pieces so they cook at the same rate.
- Butter: Butter melts into the apples and creates a rich sauce.
- Brown Sugar: Brown sugar adds sweetness and a deeper caramel flavor.
- Vanilla: A little vanilla makes the buttery cinnamon sauce taste even richer.
- Lemon: the lemon juice adds a bit of acidity to help balance out the sweetness of the dish.
- Spices: this recipe uses cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. This is what gives the apples their classic warm, cozy flavor.
The secret to the flavor is the balance. The apples are naturally sweet, while brown sugar and butter create a rich caramel-like sauce. Fresh lemon juice cuts through that sweetness, adding just enough acidity to keep the finished apples bright instead of heavy or overly sweet.
The Best Apples for Baked Apples
You want an apple that becomes tender in the oven without completely falling apart.
Some of my favorites are:
- Honeycrisp
- Granny Smith
- Fuji
- Gala
- Pink Lady
- Braeburn
You can also combine sweet and tart apples.
I especially like using a slightly tart apple because the brown sugar and butter balance it beautifully.
How to make Baked Apples Step-By-Step
Find the complete recipe card below with measurements and full instructions.
- Peel and core the apples. You could use an apple corer for this, but a paring knife works just as well! Then slice, make sure the slices are 1/3 to 1/2 inch thick. If the slices are too thin they will bake too quickly and turn to mush.
- Combine the apples with the spices.
- Spread the cinnamon apples evenly into a baking dish.
- Lay the cubes of butter on the very top before baking, this helps to create that luscious cinnamon caramel sauce that you want to drizzle over the top.
- Bake until tender, at 350 degrees F this takes about 30 minutes. Be sure to stir every 15 minutes during baking to avoid drying out the top layer.
Expert Tips
- Size of the Slice: cut into slices about 1/3 to 1/2 an inch thick. If the slices are too thin they will very quickly turn to mush during baking.
- Stir during baking: set a timer to stir every 15 minutes during the baking, this helps ensure that the top layer doesn’t dry out during the bake time. Simply stir around and spoon some of the sauce over the top to keep everything tender and moist.
- Don’t overbake: the cooked apples should still have a little bite to them and not be baked so long that they become overly soft and mashed.
Can I Make These Baked Apples Ahead?
You can prepare the apples and cinnamon mixture ahead of time and refrigerate until ready to bake.
You can also bake them ahead and gently reheat them before serving.
They’re especially convenient for holiday meals because most of the work can be done before dinner.
How to Store Baked Apples
- Store leftover baked apples in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- Reheat gently in the microwave or in a covered dish in the oven.
What to Serve With Baked Apples
These are especially good served warm with:
- Vanilla ice cream
- Whipped cream
- Caramel sauce
- Chopped pecans
- Walnuts
- Cinnamon sugar
But don’t limit them to dessert.
Serve Them for Breakfast
These baked apples are delicious spooned over:
- Pancakes
- Waffles
- French toast
- Oatmeal
- Yogurt
They’re an easy way to turn a basic breakfast into something special.
Baked Apples FAQs
No. You can leave the peel on if you prefer. Peeling them creates a softer, more tender finished dish.
Fresh apples are best for this recipe because frozen apples release more moisture and can become softer during baking.
Yes, although the flavor will be different. You can substitute granulated sugar or maple syrup depending on your preference.
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Easy Baked Apples
Ingredients
- 3 pounds apples peeled, cored, sliced (favorites include Honeycrisp, Gala, and Granny Smith)
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
- 1/8 tsp salt
- juice from 1/2 a lemon
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
Instructions
- Preheat: Preheat the oven to 350℉ degrees.
- Prepare Apples: Peel the apples, cut and remove the core and cut into slices about 1/3-1/2 an inch thick.
- Combine Ingredients: Add the apples to a large bowl or you can mix right in a pie dish, or 2 quart baking dish. Add the light brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, salt, lemon juice and vanilla extract. Stir to combine. If using a bowl, spoon the apples into a pie dish or 2 quart baking dish.
- Butter: Cut the butter into small squares, and place them over the top of the apples.
- Baking: Bake for 30 minutes, stirring after the apples have baked for 15 minutes. This prevents apples on the top from drying. Bake until the apples are tender and soft.
- Serve: Remove and serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top. Serve warm.
Video
Equipment
Notes
- Apples: use a combination of sweet and tart apples. Best options include: Honeycrisp (sweet), Gala (sweet), Granny Smith (tart).
- Lemon: the lemon juice adds a bit of acidity to help balance out the sweetness of the dish.
- Spices: this recipe uses cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. Other spices you may like to try include: ginger, allspice, cardamom.
- Apple slices: slice the apples into 1/3 to 1/2 inch sizes, if the sliced too thinly they won’t hold their shape during baking.
- Bake time: test the apples texture after 30 minutes, if they have too much bite left and you want them softer bake in additional 5 minute increments to get desired texture. The longer they bake, the softer they become.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
More Apple Desserts
Recipe first published October 2, 2018. Updated August 26, 2022 with new information and images.
Photography by the talented @ModernFarmhouseEats.
It could be a 5 after i make it and eat. I like it because it is a pie without the pastry. I love pastry, but, it goes to my thighs. My hubby and I will be sure to like this recipe.
Can you use coconut brown sugar?
I haven’t tried this recipe with that particular sugar, but I’m sure it will turn out.
We had Granny Smith apples left over after making apple pie for Thanksgiving, so I made this recipe and it was outstanding!
This sounds great. I am trying it tonight. But i do have a question… Can you can this when it is done cooking? I am new to canning and this sounds like exactly what i was thinking about when it came to canning apples.
Thanks!
This is so yummy. It’s like eating apple pie without the crust. This is my new favorite recipe!
Yum, this looks absolutely delicious! I can’t wait to try baking it.
So I am currently in the process of making this recipe for a client-slightly altered because the house didn’t have all of the ingredients, but pretty close. I was checking the nutritional content because I have to label the container I put any leftovers in with fat and cholesterol content. I see that the fat content is 4g per serving, but is there any cholesterol?
Good with greek vanilla yogurt too. I made this for my wife with a recent tooth extraction, who couldn’t eat our crisp apples or pears. Threw in some hard blueberries.
Made this for a company luncheon to rave reviews. Mixing the types of apples is definitely the key.
There’s no mention at what temperature we bake it at—350F?
Yes! Sorry I left that out. I’ll get it updated. It is 350.