Baked Apples are a cozy, comforting dessert or homey breakfast. Filled with pecans, walnuts, dates, dried cherries, cinnamon, and orange zest, they are maple-sweetened with no refined sugar! This baked apples recipe is vegan and gluten-free.
Beauty is not caused. It is. ~Emily Dickinson
Tender Baked Apples with a gooey flavorful center are like eating apple pie and pecan pie in one bite. Lightly sweetened with maple syrup and dates, these are good for breakfast or dessert. My mom makes these apples for holiday breakfasts when you just want something light yet homey and special. You can prepare apples a day ahead and bake the next day. They are perfect with a little ice cream, whipped cream or greek yogurt.
Our favorite Baked Apples Recipe!
These baked apples have so much flavor! Pecans and walnuts are toasted first for added depth. Dates and dried cherries are pulsed in the food processor along with the nuts just enough to bring it together. Toasted fennel seeds, cardamom, cinnamon and nutmeg combine to create lively complexity. Orange peel and ginger give a bright zesty balance.
Baked Apples Ingredients
- apples- chose apples with a softer consistancy
- pecans and walnuts
- orange zest & orange juice
- dried cherries
- dates
- cinnamon powder
- fennel seeds or powder
- cardamom powder
- fresh grated nutmeg
- fresh ginger grated
- pure maple syrup
The Best Apples for Baked Apples!
There are so many apple varieties available these days! Good baking apples work good here. You want the apple to break down a bit.
- Honey crisp
- Gala
- Johnathan
- Braeburn
- Fuji
- Pink lady
- Granny Smith
How to make Baked Apples
Step one
Toast nuts in a preheated oven at 350 F for 8-10 minutes.
While they are baking, toast whole fennel seeds in a dry skillet until just slightly color and smell fragrant.
Step two
Coarsely grind the fennel by hand or in a spice grinder.
Gather spices, zest orange and grate ginger.
Step three
In the food processor pulse together toasted nuts, orange zest, dried cherries, dates, cinnamon, fennel seed, cardamom, nutmeg and ginger.
It’ll just take about 6-8 pulses, you want the pieces to be coarsely chopped, keeping the texture.
Step five
Add orange juice and maple syrup and pulse 2 -3 times just to incorporate.
Step six
Core the apples. The easiest way to do this is with an apple corer.
Alternatively, you can hollow them out with a knife, just enough to remove the entire core.
Step seven
Eyeball the mixture dividing it in 6 clumps. Squish and roll together and push into the cored apples.
Step eight
Place stuffed apples in an oiled pan (coconut oil is nice here).
Step NINe: Bake!
Place in oven, covered with foil at 350 for 45-70 minutes. Baking until tender.The baking time greatly depends on the type of apple you use.
Ways To serve Baked Apples
- Serve as a dessert with ice cream or whipped cream.
- Serve as a brunch or breakfast entree with creamy vanilla yogurt
- Serve as an afternoon snack with chai tea.
Such a fun and delicious treat. Apples keep up to 4 days in the fridge and can be reheated.
Hope you give this recipe for Baked Apples a try! Let us know what you think in the comments below.
~Tonia
More recipes you may enjoy
- Easy Apple Pie with Pie Crust Cookies
- Apple Crisp
- Baked Apple Pancake (Pannekoeken)
- Apple Brown Butter Bouchons
- Vegan Cranberry Cake
- Rustic Pear Galette with Walnut Crust
- Poached Pears with Pomegranate
- 65 Best Breakfast Ideas!
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Baked Apples Recipe
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Yield: 6 apples 1x
- Category: Dessert/ Brunch
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Healthy and delectable Baked Apples with Maple Syrup are filled with spiced toasty nuts, dates and dried cherries. Serve for dessert or brunch. No refined sugar, vegan and gluten-free!
Ingredients
- 6 medium sized apples
- 1 1/2 cup nuts pecans and walnuts, toasted
- 1 tsp freshly grated orange zest
- 1/4 cup dried cherries
- 1/4 cup pitted dates (medjool are recommended)
- 2 tsp cinnamon powder
- 2 tsp roasted whole fennel seeds (lightly ground)
- 1 teaspoon cardamom powder
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoons fresh ginger grated
- 2 tablespoons orange juice or water
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
Instructions
- In the food processor pulse together pecans, walnuts, orange zest, dried cherries, dates, cinnamon, fennel seed, cardamom, nutmeg and ginger. It’ll just take about 6-8 pulses, you want the pieces to be coarsely chopped, keeping the texture.
- Add orange juice and maple syrup and pulse 2 -3 times just to incorporate.
- Core the apples. The easiest way to do this is with an apple corer. Alternatively, you can hollow them out with a knife, just enough to remove the entire core.
- Eyeball the mixture dividing it in 6 clumps. Squish and roll together and push into the cored apples.
- Place stuffed apples in an oiled pan (coconut oil is nice here).
- Place in oven, covered with foil. 350 for 45-70 minutes. The baking time greatly depends on the type of apple you use.
Notes
Toast nuts in a preheated oven at 350 F for 8-10 minutes.
Good baking apples work good here such as: Honey crisp, Gala, Johnathan, Braeburn, Fuji, Pink lady, Granny Smith
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 apple
- Calories: 330
- Sugar: 29.4 g
- Sodium: 4.2 mg
- Fat: 20.1 g
- Saturated Fat: 1.8 g
- Carbohydrates: 40.9 g
- Fiber: 8.1 g
- Protein: 3.3 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
This was fantastic. The perfect blend of sweet, tart, and warm spices. It’ll definitely be on repeat at our house.
Awesome Paula, great to hear!
Hi there from across the pond! I want to make this gorgeous looking dessert for my family which includes vegans. To not trip up on the timing, please state which apples you usually prefer to use and/or used here and how long they took to roast until soft. Many thanks.
P.s. I’ll be starting the meal with your Vegan Shepherd’s Pie, it looks totally yummy!
Hi Maggie, Glad you are here! In the notes of the recipe card I just added apple variety suggestions. The softer the apple the faster it will break down. I like to use something in between firm and soft. 🙂 Even the same brand can vary in baking time depending on the freshness of the apple. You also can also bake a couple hours ahead of time and then reheat if desired.
They were yummy! Not too sweet and wholesome
Julie
Thanks Julie!
Excellent recipe with great instructions. Used medium sized honey crisp apples. Baked it for about 50 minutes. Served with ice cream. What a treat!
Thanks Lisa, so glad you enjoyed!
Hi,
I tried making these today and while the the filling turned out great, the apples stayed pretty hard, even after cooking an hour and a half. Should I have added apple juice or, maybe, water to the pan?
Thanks for all the wonderful recipes.
Shoot Pete, that is a bummer. The type of apple does make a difference. A good baking apple should break down more easily. Though adding water or apple juice is a really good idea!