Stuffed Baked Apples

Stuffed baked apples are one of the best fall desserts. But why limit yourself to just eating it in the fall? The warm flavors from the cinnamon and brown sugar make such a yummy treat for any time of year!! 

There’s nothing better than a whole baked apple, especially when it’s filled with delicious ingredients like brown sugar, walnuts, and spices.

If you enjoy cooking with apples, then you are going to love cooking up this easy apple cranberry crisp, some apple crescent rolls, and of course, a vegan apple pie!

Why You Will Love This Recipe

• Festive but simple dish to prepare for the holidays.
• Easy but impressive! Baked stuffed apples are super easy but make a stunning dish to serve friends and family.
• Healthy apple dessert. Less sugar with all the health benefits of eating apples such as providing the body with vitamins, minerals and fiber, a healthy immune system, improved gut health and more!

What You Need for This Recipe

Let’s take a look at the simple ingredients you need to make baked stuffed apples. For the full list and quantities, check the recipe card further down on the page.

• Apples: You will be using fresh apples for this recipe! See below for my favorite options.
• Brown sugar: You can use light or dark brown sugar.
• Uncooked oatmeal: Used to make the apple crisp stuffing for this recipe.
• Walnuts: Go well with apples but you can also use pecans or experiment with other nuts.
• Raisins: An easy pantry staple but you can use just about any dried fruit or shredded unsweetened coconut.
• Spices: Cinnamon, grated nutmeg and ground cloves adds just the right amount of warmth to the overall flavor.
• Vegan margarine: Plenty of ‘buttery’ flavor without any dairy adds to the flavor and richness of this apple dessert.

What Apples are Best for Stuffed Baked Apples?

Some apples are better for eating fresh, and some are better for baking. The best baking apples are the ones that keep their shape. Here are three of the best apples to consider trying for the stuffed baked apple recipe.

1. Granny Smith. These tart apples help keep any apple recipe from being too overly sweet. They also hold their shape beautifully when baked.
2. Cortland. Though on the smaller side, these apples are a good balance of sweet and tart. They also hold their shape very well, which is perfect for baked stuffed apples.
3. Honeycrisp. These apples are probably the easiest to find and are sweet, but they are still mild enough to play well in any baked good.

How to Make Vegan Baked Apples

Keep scrolling to the recipe card for the complete list of ingredients and recipe instructions!

• 1) Begin by preheating the oven to 375 degrees F. Using an apple corer (or, if you’re like me and don’t have one, a melon baller or, failing that, a paring knife, though be really careful if you go the knife route), remove the stem and core of the apples, leaving the bottom intact. 

• 2) Next, you will mix all the remaining ingredients except for the water, and pack them into the hollowed-out apples.

TIP: You might have some extra, depending on the size of your apples. You can hollow out another apple, or save the remainder for another day. 

• 3) Next, top each apple with half the margarine (if you’re using it) and put the filled apples in a baking dish. (I used an 8″ by 8″ square Pyrex dish.)

• 4) You will then add the water to the baking dish, cover loosely with foil, and bake for 20 minutes. Remove the foil, and bake for 20 minutes more. 

• 5) For the final step, you will remove it from the oven, transfer it to a plate, and let the apples cool for 5-10 minutes before serving. (You can also re-cover them with the foil and let them sit for up to half an hour.)

The resulting dessert is perfect for any occasion!

Expert Tips and FAQs

• You can modify your filling to include some different flavors. Feel free to use chopped almonds or pecans instead of walnuts or omit the nuts altogether if that’s your preference.
• Are you having a hard time keeping your apples upright?  You can cut the bottom of the apple to level it out. Be sure not to cut into the cored hole in the apple.
• When stuffing the apples, make sure to pack the apples with filling.

Variations

• What goes better with stuffed baked apples than some tasty nice cream? Give my banana ice cream a try to make this an extra special treat!
• If you are a whipped cream lover, consider adding coconut whipped cream to the top of your stuffed baked apples.
• Add a drizzle of caramel sauce or vegan chocolate sauce.

More Vegan Fruit Dessert Recipes

• Baked Pears
• Banana Cream Pie
• Roasted Peaches
• Vegan Apricot Crisp
• Vegan Peach Banana Bread

Photos by Alfonso Revilla