You aren’t going to believe how incredibly delicious (and HEALTHY!) these Warm Baked Apples are! To make them, all you have to do is fill them with my special gluten-free cinnamon granola mixture, bake, and eat…preferable with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream on top!
Every year when Fall rolls around, I start thinking of all the ways I can get creative with apples, because apples are the only fruit in season this time of year. Lucky for me, I love apples, so any time I get to play with apples, I’m pretty lucky with the results. Which is actually a blessing for you, because you can be assured that when you make said recipes, they will turn out perfect every time – like these Warm Baked Applies with Cinnamon Granola! Can we say gorgeous?! This is exactly what they look like when they emerge from the oven. Place them on a pretty plate, and they will look like they came out of Bon Appetit Magazine!
What I love the most about this recipe, is it’s simplicity. These baked apples look pretty fancy, but the are so easy to make, and surprisingly so healthy. In fact, sometimes I have one for breakfast. Other times, I love adding a scoop of vanilla ice cream and some caramel sauce on top, and hot damn, you’ve got the best ever dessert.
What’s in these baked apples?
I am so glad you asked. The answer? Real, simple, whole food ingredients.
- Apples – Of course the star ingredient in this recipe is the beloved apple. There are so many apple varieties out there, but I find that the best apples for this recipe are Honeycrisp, Jonagold, Braeburn, and Pink Lady. But if you can’t find any of these varieties, don’t worry about it. Just purchase what you can find and make it work. I feel like so many recipes out there nowadays make it so complicated to make a damn thing. Just buy apples and continue on. The end.
- Coconut sugar – I love the texture and taste of coconut sugar in this recipe, but if you are avoiding coconut sugar, feel free to use any sugar substitute. You can use maple syrup, date syrup, honey, brown sugar or cane sugar.
- Gluten-free rolled oats – If gluten-free is important to you, make sure to pick up a package of gluten-free rolled oats on your next grocery store trip. They do cost about $1 more than regular oats, but for me, it’s worth it. While I am not gluten-free, I do notice that my stomach feels a little uncomfortable when I consume gluten. But do you!
- Pecans – Pecans scream fall, and so you’ll need to pick up a package of pecans and chop them up. If you aren’t into pecans, you can use walnuts, almonds, or any nuts of your liking. If you are nut-free, feel free to leave them out. You’ll still end up with incredibly delicious Warm Baked Apples!
- Cinnamon & Nutmeg – These two spices are essential in this recipe, so make sure to use them both! And if all you’ve got on hand is Pumpkin Pie spice, use that!
- Coconut oil – For the fat in this recipe, I love using coconut oil. But other alternatives are butter, ghee, and even vegan butter. You’ve got options.
So that’s it? Yes. Get to work, you’ve got apples to make!
How to prepare your apples
The first thing you will want to do is wash your apples, and get out your apple corer. If you don’t have an apple corer, I recommend that you purchase one, because it’s almost impossible to core an apple without one. Next, take a knife and slice off the top of the apple, about 1/2 inch off. Then you will want to use the corer and remove the apple core. It’s really as simple as that. And of course, once you make the cinnamon-granola mixture, you will want to shove as much of that mixture inside the apple core, and top each apple with remaining mixture. That will help ensure that your apples have enough of that delicious topping both inside and on top!
Finally, my last tip for making this recipe is to cover your apples with a piece of foil before you put them in the oven, and that’s because you don’t want the topping to burn. Just remove the foil when you have 5 minutes left in the oven, and that will ensure that you get just the right amount of browning on top!
If you love apples as much as I do, here are a few of my favorite apple recipes for you to check out!
Deconstructed Healthy Apple Pie
Healthy Apple Spice Oatmeal Pancakes
Paleo Sea Salt Caramel Apple Tart
Enjoy this recipe and my favorite season, aka apple season! If you make this, be sure to leave a rating and comment below, and tag me on Instagram so that I can repost your creations!
Ingredients
- 6 large apples, I love Honeycrisp, but any apples will do!
- ½ cup coconut sugar
- ¾ cup gluten-free rolled oats
- ½ cup chopped pecans
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- 3 tablespoons coconut oil, melted
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350.
- Slice the top of the apple off, and then use an apple corer to scoop out the core.
- Next, in a medium size bowl, mix the coconut sugar, gluten-free rolled oats, pecans, cinnamon, nutmeg, and 2 tablespoons of the melted coconut oil.
- Fill each apple with the cinnamon-granola mixture, making sure the mixture gets into the apple core that you just scooped out.
- Place the stuffed apples in a deep baking dish, topping each apple with any of the remaining cinnamon-granola mixture, then drizzle the remaining melted coconut oil on top of each apple, along with an extra sprinkle of cinnamon.
- Pour about 1/2 inch of water into the baking pan, around the apples.
- Cover the apples with a piece of foil.
- Bake for about 35 minutes, uncovering the last 5 minutes. so that the granola topping gets nice and brown.
- Serve with caramel sauce or scoops of vanilla ice cream on top!
Rate & review
SELECT A RATING and tell me what you think!
What others are saying
Tried this out and oh my goodness so delicious. Tastes like fall like an apple spice deliciousness in your mouth!
Hi Lexi! I am so happy you loved them, they are DEFINITELY one of my favorite recipes! Happy holidays! 🙂