Easy Baked Apples
These 5-ingredient Easy Baked Apples are low in sugar for breakfast, but delicious enough for dessert!
Gluten Free, Grain Free, Nut Free, Dairy Free, Soy Free
I am totally crushing on apples right now.
If I had to name a quintessential fall activity, I would say apple picking. The window is short, but there’s nothing better than getting cold apple cider and biting an apple straight from the trees!
It’s been quite a few years since I’ve been apple picking, but it’s an adventure that totally makes you feel like a kid again! And now I can’t wait to bring my son!
Returning home from apple picking makes me feel giddy all over… so many apples and what to do…
There’s always room for a healthy apple crisp…
But there’s nothing better to me than my grandma’s easy baked apples.
Baked apples are one of those foods I associate with grandma’s house. Kind of like my favorite rainbow sprinkle cookies the size of my face, grandma’s (we call my grandma Mommoy, pronounced MOM-OY) famous spaghetti and meatballs and chicken cutlets. Since it was a favorite, grandma always had it in the house!
Well, after making her recipe to the T, I decided I now like baked apples better with the skin ON (helloooo, more fiber and antioxidants!), with tons of cinnamon, and with a secret ingredient of mine.
Baked apples are a cross between applesauce and apple pie, but without the crust and not as mushy. I ate at least 2 baked apples everyday this week – one for breakfast and one for a snack or dessert. Soooo good!
[Tweet “Try these Easy Baked Apples via @ChelseyAmerRD”]
Before I get to the recipe, let’s talk about fall’s superstar fruit, the APPLE…
- A medium apple (~3 inches in diameter) contains 95 calories, 0g fat, 4g fiber, and 14% your daily value of vitamin C.
- Apples are packed with phytonutrients, like quercetin, which can help regulate your blood sugar.
- Eating a whole apple – versus their broken down form in applesauce or apple juice – leads to increased satiety. One study proved that healthy adults eating a medium-sized apple 15 minutes before a meal, CUT their caloric intake at that meal by about 15%! That’s staggering!
So let’s get to it so you can enjoy these benefits of whole apples…
To make this recipe you’ll need…
- Apples
- Honey (or another liquid sweetener you prefer)
- Cinnamon (I love the cinnamon from Costco!)
- Ground ginger (trust me, you want to add this spice to your pantry!)
- An 8 x 8 baking dish
These Easy Baked Apples are…
- Easy to make
- Just sweet enough, but…
- Low in added sugar
- A delicious fall dessert
- Food allergy friendly
- Vegan
- Gluten free
- Grain free
Easy Baked Apples
Ingredients
- 4 Macintosh apples
- 1–2 tablespoons honey (depending on your sweet tolerance)
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon (more to taste)
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Carefully cut out the top core of the apples and set aside. If desired, you can peel the apples halfway down (I used a vegetable peeler), but this is not necessary.
- Place the cored apples in an 8 x 8 baking dish and drizzle honey over the top of the apples. If you’re using freshly picked apples, you probably only need 1 tablespoon of honey.
- Then sprinkle cinnamon and ginger over the apples.
- Return the tops of the core to the apples and fill the dish with enough water to cover at least the bottom 1/3-1/2 of the apple. For me, this was about 1 ½ cups. Add vanilla and an extra drizzle of honey to the water.
- Bake for 45 minutes to an hour. Enjoy!
Don’t Forget to PIN IT…
Have a FABULOUS weekend full of apple picking, baked apples and more!
XO
Although I prefer my apples raw, the smell of apples baking is amazing!
We’re going apple picking tomorrow and I can’t wait to try out some new apple recipes. These look like the perfect thing for breakfast
I love this! It’s so pretty and so simple. I too love a delicious apple. I may have to add a scoop of PB2 to mine, is that okay :)… lol #obsessed!
I’ve eating one warmed up with sunflower seed butter and chia seeds for breakfast all week long! Soooo good! 🙂
We went apple picking last weekend also! Was so much fun and we have been making loads of apple-included dishes since! Love how simple and clean these baked apples are!
Thanks Jessica! I love drowning in apples…things could be worse! 😉
All of your apple recipes look delicious. I appreciate how simple these baked ones are. And yes to keeping the peels on!
Thanks Katie! Simplicity is best (most of the time!). Enjoy 🙂