12 No-Fuss Apple Desserts I'm Making On Repeat
These easy apple recipes will make you want to go apple picking.
It wasn’t until I moved to Washington state that I discovered the euphoria of biting into a crisp, juicy apple. The Red Delicious apples of my youth became a distant memory as I discovered an array of sweet and tart apples. I especially love Honeycrisp, Pink Lady, and Cosmic Crisp.
Apples are harvested in the fall, making it the perfect time of year to indulge in apple desserts. You can bake chopped apples into a cake, slice apples for a pie, and coat a juicy apple in caramel.
1. 3-Ingredient Apple Crisp
Simply Recipes / Shilpa Iyer
Get Recipe: 3-Ingredient Skillet Apple Crisp
No one will guess that this buttery dessert starts with a couple of packets of instant oatmeal, which contains sugar and seasonings. All you need to do is add butter and chopped apples. Use a combination of sweet and tart apples that will hold up to sautéing and baking, such as Honeycrisp and Pink Lady.
2. Easy French Apple Cake
Simply Recipes / Mark Beahm
Get Recipe: For the Best Apple Cake, Make It the French Way
Contributor Stephanie Loo says, "Although it takes a few extra minutes, it’s worth it to peel the apples for this recipe, as the skin of the apples will become chewy in the oven."
3. Apple Fritter Bread
Simply Recipes / Micah Siva
Get Recipe: Make This Apple Fritter Bread and Get Donut Shop Gratification at Home
Skip the donut shop and make apple fritters, in bread form, at home, no frying required. This bread is full of chopped apples and has a tendril of streusel running through the middle of it, as well as scattered on top. Look for tart apples, such as Granny Smith, that hold up well to baking.
4. Caramel Apple Nachos
Simply Recipes / Laurel Randolph
Get Recipe: Caramel Apple Nachos
Forget awkwardly eating an apple on a stick and make a platter of decadently topped sliced apples instead. This is a fun way to use up extra Halloween candy (or a good excuse to buy some). It’s best to assemble the apple nachos right before serving to keep them from turning brown.
5. Apple Bread
Get Recipe: Apple Bread
This apple bread effortlessly goes from breakfast to dessert. The streusel topping makes this quick bread extra special with minimal work. Use a mixer to make sure that the batter is smooth but don’t over-mix.
6. Apple Bread Pudding
Simply Recipes / Hannah Zimmerman
Get Recipe: Apple Bread Pudding
If you haven’t had bread pudding before, now is the time to give it a go. The filling of chopped apples, butter, and sugar add a caramel apple flavor to the tender bread pudding. The bread only soaks for 15 minutes so you don’t have to plan ahead if you don’t want to.
7. Apple Carrot Cupcakes
Get Recipe: Apple Carrot Cupcakes
These easy cupcakes will be a hit at the next bake sale. It makes a whopping 24 cupcakes that can be made ahead of time and frozen before thawing and frosting. You can substitute the nuts with pepitas, raisins, or leave out altogether.
8. Apple Coffee Cake
Get Recipe: Apple Coffee Cake
You don’t need a barrel of apples to make a delicious apple dessert. For this coffee cake you only need one apple. The apple is sliced and layered on top of the cake batter and then topped with a streusel.
9. Easy Apple Crisp
Get Recipe: Easy Apple Crisp
The sliced apples go into a 9x13-inch baking dish and then are topped with a streusel made with oats, spices, and butter. You could add chopped pecans or leave the peels on the apples if you’d like.
10. Sour Cream Apple Pie
Simply Recipes / Annika Panniker
Get Recipe: Sour Cream Apple Pie
You know the frozen pie shell you bought on a whim? This is the recipe you've been waiting for. This slightly tangy, custard-ish, apple pie topped with a crispy streusel will leave you swooning. For the crispiest crust, bake on the lower rack of the oven for the first half of the baking time.
11. Buttery Apple Torte
Get Recipe: Buttery Apple Torte
Hailing from Italy, this simple cake is made by cooking sliced apples in butter and then stirring them into a slightly sweetened cake batter. If needed, you can substitute a gluten-free baking flour mix for the flour.
12. Apple Upside Down Cake
Get Recipe: Apple Upside Down Cake
I love upside-down cakes and the allure of a fruit-studded, tender cake that needs no decorating. In this case, the apples are cooked on the stove with butter and sugar before being spread across the bottom of the pan. Make sure to use apples that don’t release too much liquid. Opt for Braeburn, Jonagold, or Golden Delicious.
