These Air Fryer Baked Apples are a sweet treat that is easy to prepare and can satisfy your sweet tooth without the guilt. They are soft and gooey on the inside, with a crunchy cinnamon sugar oat topping. This recipe is perfect for the fall season and requires only a few simple ingredients.
Why Air Fryer Baked Apples?
Fruit-based desserts are often a good option for a low-calorie dessert. While apples do have some sugar, the natural sugar in the apples means that you don't have to add much more sugar to make a yummy dessert out of them. This recipe is also very easy to portion size, making it a great option for those watching their calorie intake.
Key Benefits
- Quick and Easy: Making baked apples in an air fryer requires less than 15 minutes and almost no preparation.
- Healthy and Nutritious: With no added sugar, oil, or butter, these air fryer apples fit perfectly into low-calorie, low-fat, and gluten-free diets.
- Customizable and Versatile: You can easily adapt this recipe with different toppings, such as oats, peanut butter, dried fruits, or nuts to suit your taste.
Ingredients
This recipe uses just a handful of pantry staples, you probably have everything at home.
- Apples (Honeycrisp, Golden Delicious, Gala, and Pink Lady)
- Cinnamon
- Melted butter
- Brown sugar or sugar-free alternative
- Oats
- Optional toppings: Greek yogurt, chopped walnuts, maple syrup, whipped cream, vanilla ice cream
Choosing the Right Apples
My favorite choice for this recipe is green granny smith apples. I love the slightly tart flavor to balance out the brown sugar. However, pretty much any type of apple would work for this recipe. On the sweeter side, I also really like gala apples.
I recommend sweet varieties such as Honeycrisp, Golden Delicious, Gala, and Pink Lady. These options offer a perfect balance of sweetness and texture for baking. Keep in mind that sour green apples, like Granny Smith, may require a touch of added sweetness to enhance the flavor.
Read also: Easy Low-Carb Cheese Crackers
Step-by-Step Instructions
Here are the steps to make these delicious air fryer baked apples:
- Prepare the Apples: Wash and cut your apples in half, then core to form a “cup” shape. The trickiest part of this recipe is coring the apple halves. You want to remove the core while keeping the apple halves intact. There are several different methods for coring apples. The easiest method is to use a cylindrical apple corer. These will accomplish the job easily. I don't have one of these, so I use a melon baller scoop to scoop out the core. If all else fails, you can try to use a knife to cut out the core, but that method is a little dangerous and hard to manage. Make sure you remove all of the tough apple core before baking. Grab your apple corer or melon baller and make sure you remove all of the tough insides before baking! This will help you achieve the best texture.
- Air Fry: Place the apple halves in the air fryer basket, sprinkle with cinnamon and cook for 12-15 minutes, or until they’re tender. Lay cored apple halves in a single layer in the Air Fryer basket (the flesh of the apple should be pointing up). Air fry plain apple halves at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. If your apples are trying to fall over, you can use scrunched up aluminum foil to help keep them upright.
- Make the Topping: While the apples are baking, mix up the topping. Combine the melted butter, oats, cinnamon, and brown sugar in a small mixing bowl.
- Add Topping and Continue Baking: After air frying apples for 10 minutes, remove them and add the topping. Distribute the topping evenly among the apple halves. Put the apples back in the air fryer and continue baking at 350 degrees for 5-10 minutes or until apples are soft in the center. Bake the apples for 10 minutes before adding the topping. When I tried adding the topping before doing any baking, the topping became too crunchy and burnt in the air fryer. It's good to let the apples bake some on their own so that they can start to tenderize before you add the oatmeal topping.
- Top and Serve: Remove the baked apples from your air fryer and let cool for 2-5 minutes. Add a spoon of Greek yogurt into the center of each, then top with chopped walnuts, a sprinkle of cinnamon and a drizzle of maple syrup.
Tips for Perfect Air Fryer Baked Apples
- Don't overcrowd the air fryer: Arrange the apples in a single layer on the prepared tray. To ensure even frying, it is important to not overcrowd the apples. If your machine is small, it may be best to do this in two batches so as not to overcrowd the apples.
- Check for doneness: To make sure your apples are soft, poke them with a fork and check if the inside is soft. If the apple still feels firm inside, continue air frying for a few more minutes. You know they are ready when tender and soft inside. I recommend using a fork or toothpick to check for doneness.
- Balance: Use aluminum foil for balance if your apples topple over.
- Prevent burning: Bake the apples for 10 minutes before adding the topping. When I tried adding the topping before doing any baking, the topping became too crunchy and burnt in the air fryer. It's good to let the apples bake some on their own so that they can start to tenderize before you add the oatmeal topping.
Serving Suggestions
Toppings will make these air fried apples even better! My favorite is to use a dollop of low-fat whipped cream, which doesn't add too many calories. If I'm feeling extra indulgent, a little vanilla ice cream is always delicious!
In the following list you will find some other delicious ways to top and serve air fried apples.
- As a topping, served over protein pancakes or banana waffles for a delightful twist.
- Serve with caramel sauce or a scoop of vanilla ice cream for a decadent upgrade, or make this breakfast-y and serve with a spoonful of Greek yogurt.
Variations
- Sugar-Free: While you can't eliminate the sugar from the apples themselves, you could substitute the brown sugar for a sugar-free alternative.
- Spicy: Add red pepper flakes or a teaspoon of sriracha to the marinade for a spicy/sweet combo.
Storage Instructions
If you have leftovers or plan to meal prep, these air fryer baked apples can be stored either in the fridge or in the freezer.
- To store: Place into an airtight container and refrigerate for a maximum of 3 days.
- To freeze: Store carefully in a freezer-safe food container or in zipper bags and freeze up to 2 months. While you can technically freeze this recipe, it will change the texture of the apples once they thaw.
Nutritional Information
One apple half has about 100 calories per serving. You can even have two apple halves for under 200 calories! Adding two tablespoons of fat-free whipped cream will only add about 5 calories.
Read also: Keto Calorie Counting: A Detailed Guide
Other Delicious Apple Recipes
If you love apples, you should also try my invisible apple cake, my homemade apple chips, fluffy apple pancakes and cinnamon apple muffins.
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