Sauteed Apples are the perfect healthy dessert idea for any meal. Flavors of cinnamon and nutmeg blend perfectly with the sweetness of maple syrup and citrus juice. A must-try healthy dessert recipe.
This simple, healthy dessert recipe is delicious and nutritious. Sauteed apples smell like an apple pie baking while they are cooking and the flavor is like eating the apples right out of the center of that pie. This recipe is gluten-free, vegan, and dairy-free.
Apples are a great base for healthy desserts – the natural sweetness of apples satisfies your need for a sweet taste, but you get the fiber and nutritional boost that go hand in hand with this yummy fruit.
What’s healthier: Cooked Apples or Raw Apples?
Cooking apples tend to decrease vitamin C content because vitamin C is susceptible to heat. If apples are cooked with the skins on, you can retain most of the fiber and some of the phytochemicals. If you peel them, you remove a lot of the fiber.
Fill your house with the smell of baking apples tonight with this simple dessert recipe.
How To Make This Easy Apple Recipe
- Peel and core the apples, then dice
- Juice the orange
- Combine all ingredients into a pan on the stovetop
- Cook over medium heat for 10 minutes, stirring frequently until apples are soft and the syrup thickens
Check out these other healthy dessert recipes:
- Chocolate Chip Pumpin Muffins
- Strawberry Triffle
- Toffee Apple Salad
- Fruit Waffle Cones
- Chocolate Black Bean Brownies
- Bran Muffins
How To Make
Start by selecting the apples you’d like to use. I choose a blend of red and green apples because I like the tartness from the green apples combined with the sweeter red apples, but you can use any combination you’d like.
Peel the apples, remove the core, and dice evenly.
Kitchen Tip: Dicing the apples into similar sized pieces helps them cook evenly.
Place the diced apples into a skillet or pan. I love using my favorite pan, my dutch oven, as I’m less likely to spill and make a mess to clean up on my stove.
After you have the apples diced and in the pan on the stove, you’re ready to add the rest of the ingredients.
First up, add the maple syrup. Fresh maple syrup is going to cost more than pancake syrup, but the flavor it provides is worth the cost.
Maple syrup works as a great sweetener in other healthy dessert recipes such as Blueberry Stack and dinner recipes like Pumpkin Chili.
Next up is juicing an orange. I like using a handheld juicer because it helps grab the seeds and it’s less messy than squeezing by hand – but you don’t need to use a juicer if you don’t have one.
I like the flavor an orange gives this dish, but you could try grapefruit or lemon as well.
Now you can go ahead and add the spices. I loved cinnamon, vanilla, and nutmeg, but you could use pumpkin pie spice and almond extract for a totally different flavor!
Cook the apples on the stovetop until they become soft and the syrup starts to thicken about 10 minutes.
FAQ
Yes, you can. Place them into a freezer-safe container and freeze for 3-4 months. The apples will be soft once you reheat them, but they will still taste great!
Yes. You should be able to blend all the ingredients into a microwave-safe bowl and microwave in 1-2 minute increments, stirring in between until the apples are done to your liking.
Substitutions
- Sub honey for maple syrup
- Try almond extract instead of vanilla
- Use pumpkin pie spice rather than cinnamon and nutmeg
- Use orange juice or apple juice rather than freshly squeezed juice
- Add a touch of coconut oil for a lite and delicious coconut flavor
- Try replacing the apples with pears
How To Serve
- Serve in glass ice cream sundae bowls with cool whip on top
- Add a touch of ice cream
- Serve apples drizzled over ice cream
For more healthy dessert ideas you might consider Strawberry Lemon Trifle or Double Chocolate Brownies.
You Might Also Enjoy:
CKC Features both Gluten-Free Guidance and Kids Cooking Instructions: If you’re new to eating gluten-free we understand it’s overwhelming trying to figure out which foods may contain gluten and which ones don’t. All of our gluten-free recipes marked with this symbol ✅ represent foods that need to be checked for gluten or cross-contamination.
The ⭐️ symbol in the recipe below denotes the steps in which kid cooks may need a helper (depending on age). If there is no ⭐️ symbol, that step (or recipe) doesn’t require a helper.
Easy Sauteed Apples
Ingredients
- 4 green apples, peeled, cored and diced
- 2 red apples, peeled, cored and diced
- 1/3 cup maple syrup ✅
- 1 small orange, juiced (or other citrus fruit)
- 1 tsp. cinnamon ✅
- 1/2 tsp. vanilla ✅
- 1/8 tsp. nutmeg ✅
Instructions
- Combine the ingredients. In a medium-sized saucepan, combine all ingredients.4 green apples, peeled, cored and diced, 2 red apples, peeled, cored and diced, 1/3 cup maple syrup, 1 small orange, juiced (or other citrus fruit), 1 tsp. cinnamon, 1/2 tsp. vanilla, 1/8 tsp. nutmeg
- ⭐️Cook. Simmer on medium heat for 10 minutes or until apples are softened and syrup thickens.
- Serve. Serve as is or top with cool whip or vanilla ice cream.
Notes
Nutrition
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Deborah @ Confessions of a mother runner says
10 minutes? That’s great!
Create Kids Club says
Right?! I love that it uses up food in the fridge and is quick as well!
GiGi Eats Celebrities says
HOLY DELICIOUSSSSSS!!! I always tell people who are trying to eat healthier that a great dessert is BAKED APPLES or PEARS – and ummmmmmm THIS RECIPE = prime example of delicious!!!
Create Kids Club says
I agree Gigi – the perfect dessert for those occasions when you just need something 🙂
Abbey Sharp says
Yum. I bet that smells amazing. I go gaga over nutmeg. Thanks for sharing 🙂
Create Kids Club says
Me too, Abbey. And yes, the smell is amazing 🙂
Jill Conyers (@jillconyers) says
Warm cinnamony apples. Yum!
Create Kids Club says
I agree, Jill!
Carmy says
I loooooove the scent of baked apples with cinnamon. I’ll have to give this a go!
Create Kids Club says
Me too, Carmy! It is so simple to put together 🙂
ilkasblog says
This is such a beautiful and simple dessert and snack idea! I can literally smell the cinnamon through the screen!
Create Kids Club says
Thank you Ilka! They do smell wonderful 🙂
Mary says
We loved these apples.