One of my favorite dishes is baked apples with granola topping. I have been making them for years, and they are a family favorite. The apples are delicious and the granola adds a nice contrast to the sweet, soft apple interior. I don’t know why, but there is something very satisfying about eating baked apples with granola on top. . . . . . . . .
Baked Apples With Granola Topping
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!
As apples are the only fruit in season during this time of year, I always start brainstorming inventive ways to use them when Fall arrives. Fortunately for me, I adore apples, so whenever I get the chance to play with them, the outcomes are usually very favorable. Which is actually a blessing in disguise for you because you can be confident that every time you create the aforementioned dishes, they will come out perfectly, just as these Warm Baked Apples with Cinnamon Granola! Can we say stunning? As they come out of the oven, they exactly look like this. These will appear to have been taken straight out of Bon Appetit Magazine if you arrange them on a nice dish!
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
Washing your apples and getting your apple corer ready should be your first priorities. It’s practically hard to core an apple without an apple corer, so if you don’t have one, I advise you to buy one. The apple’s top should be cut off by about 1/2 inch using a knife. The apple core should then be removed using a corer. That’s actually how easy it is. Naturally, after making the cinnamon-granola combination, you’ll want to stuff the apple core with as much of it as possible before topping each apple with the leftover mixture. Your apples will be more likely to have plenty of that delectable topping both inside and on top if you do so.
Last but not least, to avoid the topping from burning while cooking this recipe, cover your apples with a piece of foil before placing them in the oven. To guarantee that you get the perfect amount of browning on top, simply remove the foil with 5 minutes remaining in the oven.
Granola baked apples
- Preparation and cooking time
- Prep:10 mins
- Cook:30 mins
- Easy
- Serves 4
The perfect last-minute dessert – this simple warming winter pudding is budget-friendly and delicious served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream
- Vegetarian
| Nutrient | Unit |
|---|---|
| kcal | 231 |
| fat | 10g |
| saturates | 4g |
| carbs | 27g |
| sugars | 21g |
| fibre | 4g |
| protein | 4g |
| salt | 0.1g |
Ingredients
- 5 heaped tbsp granola
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tbsp light brown soft sugar
- ½ orange , zested and juiced
- 4 dessert apples (such as Cox’s or Braeburns), cored and scored around the circumference
- 20g butter
- crème fraîche or ice cream, to serve
Method
- STEP 1Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Mix together the granola, cinnamon, sugar and orange zest and juice. Put the apples on a baking tray and spoon the granola mixture into the hole, spooning over any juice left. Top each one with a knob of butter and bake for 30 mins until soft and sticky. Serve with a scoop of crème fraîche or ice cream.
Baked Apples Filled with Granola Streusel
This is a sweet little delicacy from the past that combines fruit, a spicy filling, and sauce in one serving. The butter, flour, and chewy, textural ingredients of oats and roasted almonds make up the granola streusel. Choose baking apples that will maintain their shape during cooking.
- Yield: 4 to 6 servings
- Difficulty: Easy
- Total: 1 hr 5 mins
- Active: 20 mins
Ingredients (11)
For the granola streusel:
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter (a scant 2/3 stick), melted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup old-fashioned oats
- 1/3 cup chopped toasted almonds
- 1/3 cup dark brown sugar
- Pinch kosher salt
For the apples:
- 4 to 6 sweet-tart baking apples, peeled and cored but left whole
- 1 cup light brown sugar
- 3/4 cup water
- Kosher salt
Instructions
- Oven temperature set at 375 °F.
- Melted butter and vanilla are combined to produce the streusel in a bowl. The flour, oats, almonds, sugar, and salt should all be combined in a separate basin and stirred with a fork. Stir the flour mixture before adding the butter mixture until everything is well-combined and crumbly (the streusel will be slightly wet).
- Each apple should have streusel uniformly distributed inside the core.
- A glass baking dish just big enough to hold the apples should have them evenly spaced apart so they don’t touch.
- Stir the brown sugar, water, and a dash of salt together in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Pour the sauce evenly over the apples in the serving dish after bringing to a boil while stirring.
- Bake the apples for about 45 minutes, spooning the sauce over them a few times as they bake. Serve the dish hot with the sauce.
Health Benefits Of Apples
Apples are one of the most commonly consumed fruits worldwide, and they are known for their nutritional value and various health benefits. Here are five health benefits of apples:
- Heart health: Apples contain a high amount of soluble fiber, which helps to reduce the risk of heart disease by lowering cholesterol levels. They also contain flavonoids, which have antioxidant properties that may help to prevent heart disease by reducing inflammation and oxidative stress.
- Digestive health: Apples are rich in fiber, which can help to regulate bowel movements and prevent constipation. They also contain pectin, a type of soluble fiber that acts as a prebiotic and feeds the beneficial bacteria in the gut, promoting overall digestive health.
- Blood sugar control: Apples have a low glycemic index, meaning they release sugar slowly into the bloodstream, which helps to prevent spikes in blood sugar levels. They also contain polyphenols, which have been shown to improve insulin sensitivity and reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes.
- Immune system support: Apples contain vitamin C, an antioxidant that plays a crucial role in the immune system by protecting cells from damage caused by free radicals. Vitamin C also helps to stimulate the production of white blood cells, which are responsible for fighting infections.
- Cancer prevention: Apples contain flavonoids, which have been shown to have anti-cancer properties by reducing oxidative stress and inflammation. They also contain quercetin, a type of flavonoid that has been shown to induce apoptosis (programmed cell death) in cancer cells and inhibit the growth of tumors. Additionally, the high fiber content of apples has been associated with a reduced risk of colon cancer.