These air fryer baked apples are a delicious, easy dessert with a cinnamon, oat, and maple syrup filling. They come together quickly and are a wonderful alternative to traditional baked apples.
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Why You'll Love This Dish
This is a relatively healthy dessert and extremely delicious. The baked apples are filled with a delicious, soft, lightly chewy, sweet oat, cinnamon, and maple filling that's so comforting and warming.
Baked apples are an easy recipe to put together. Plus, baking apples in the air fryer makes for easy cleanup. Check out this post on how to use parchment paper in the air fryer for even easier cleanup!
This baked apple recipe is a great way to use extra apples, too!
What You'll Need
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- Fresh Apples The best apples for this recipe in my opinion are honeycrisp, but pink lady, gala, something milder like golden delicious, or tart apples like granny smith will all work well here.
- Old-Fashioned Oats
- Maple Syrup
- Cinnamon
- Cayenne You don't need to include this if you don't have it on hand.
- Butter I prefer using unsalted butter so that I can decide on the level of salt in my recipes. However, you can use salted butter here as well. Just use a light touch when adding any additional salt.
- Kosher Salt If using unsalted butter, add a pinch of kosher salt to the oat mixture.
- Flaky Sea Salt like Maldon salt
How to Bake Apples in the Air Fryer
Follow the step-by-step directions below to make this recipe.
Step One If you have one, use an apple corer to core the apples, then slice them in half. If not, just slice the apples in half through the core and stem.
Step Two Scoop out a little more of the apple with a spoon or paring knife.
Step Five Air fry apples at 350 degrees F until the apples are soft and the cinnamon oat apple filling is lightly browned and caramelized, 12 to 15 minutes. Let apples cool just enough to handle or use tongs to remove from the air fryer.
FAQ
Yes. Fruits and vegetables cooked in the air fryer retain more of their nutrients than other cooking methods.
Read more about the health benefits of air frying in this article from Healthline.
Air frying fruit allows you to develop a baked texture, with a soft interior and lightly crisp exterior.
You can air fry apples, but there are lots of other fruits that will do well in the air fryer. Try air fryer strawberries, air fryer pears, or blueberries.
Expert Tips
- Air fryers can vary in size and temperature, so your cook time may vary slightly from the recipe. Check early if you believe your air fryer runs on the hotter side.
- Work in batches. If you want to make more than two apples at a time, work in batches to avoid crowding the air fryer.
- Try different warm spices and apple varieties to find the flavor combination that you like best!
Variations
Try adding walnuts for a little extra texture and flavor.
Add brown sugar in place of maple syrup for a sweeter apple.
Nutmeg, apple pie spice, or other warm spices can be added for a more savory note. Use your favorite spices to see what flavor combination you like best.
Leave out the oat mixture and brush apple slices with butter, cinnamon, and maple syrup for a dish more similar to apple pie filling.
You can also make it in the oven. Place the apples in a baking dish with about a cup of water in the base and bake the apples at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for an hour or so, until the apples are soft and the topping is golden brown. You can also try this delicious apple crisp!
How to Store
I recommend serving these apples right away.
Fridge Store any leftover baked apples in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days. Keep in mind that the texture of the filling may become soft.
Freezer I do not recommend freezing.
Reheating Heat your apples in the oven at 350 degrees F for about 10 minutes or until warmed through.
How to Serve
These apples are delicious on their own, but you can also serve them with...
- whipped cream
- a scoop of homemade vanilla ice cream or one of these delicious ice cream sandwiches
- a drizzle of extra maple syrup
- alongside some amazing air fryer cinnamon rolls or Parisian crepes
- other fruit desserts, like fruit salad or these white chocolate covered strawberries
- a cup of the best chai tea for a super cozy evening
Looking for more tasty apple recipes? Try these 3 ingredient apple muffins or this easy apple crisp!
Recipes You'll Love
Here are some other delicious fruit desserts:
📖 Recipe
Easy Air Fryer Baked Apples
Equipment
- Spoon
- Apple Corer (optional)
- Tongs (optional)
Ingredients
- 2 apples large
- ⅓ cup oats
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon divided
- ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper optional
- pinch flaky sea salt or to taste
Instructions
- If you have one, use an apple corer to core the apples, then slice them in half. If not, just slice the apples in half through the core and stem and use a spoon or knife to remove the core and seeds.
- Scoop out a little more of the apple with a spoon or paring knife to create a round cavity.
- Make the filling: combine the oats, melted butter, maple syrup, ½ teaspoon cinnamon, cayenne, and a pinch of salt to a medium bowl and mix well.
- Sprinkle each apple half with ½ teaspoon cinnamon and fill each apple cavity with the oat mixture. Place the apple halves in the air fryer basket.
- Air fry apples at 350 degrees Fahrenheit until they are soft and the cinnamon oat filling is lightly browned and caramelized, 12 to 15 minutes. Let apples cool just enough to handle or use tongs to remove from the air fryer.
Notes
- I like to use honeycrisp apples, but any variety of apple should work well.
- Fridge Store any leftover baked apples in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days. Keep in mind that the texture of the filling may become soft.
- Freezer I do not recommend freezing.
- Reheating Heat your apples in the oven at 350 degrees F for about 10 minutes or until warmed through.
Vanessa says
I loved the ease of this dessert! I thought the flavor was so good, which was amazing with so few ingredients. I had some apples from my local CSA that were not my favorite for fresh eating, so I thought they would work well. They tasted much better cooked, but the skin was so tough that it was difficult to chew. I wonder if I could peel the apples before making this recipe? Would I end up with applesauce?
Genevieve says
I'm glad you enjoyed it! I haven't tried this recipe with peeled apples! If you did give it a try, you may want to line your air fryer with something as there's a potential for things to get mushy. 😅 You might also try just scooping out the interior of the apples once cooked if you aren't fond of the texture of the skin.
Susan says
Super quick and delicious dessert to whip up. I only made it once so far & I have others dying for the recipe! Can’t wait to try more recipes!
Genevieve says
Thanks so much, Susan!
Faye says
My air fryer is busted so I tried this recipe in the oven. I just followed the instructions to a T and they turned out fantastic! I also added a pinch of cayenne as suggested and it just gave that subtle heat to each bite. Unexpected but totally delicious.
Genevieve says
I'm so glad to hear the oven worked out well for you, Faye!
Joanna says
This is such a healthy simple snack. They turned out crispy and delicious. The kids loved them!
Genevieve says
Glad the kids enjoyed them, Joanna!
Maya says
Nomnom - what a tasty treat! The perfect combination minus the hassle, now I have additional snacks for kids in school in an instant!
Genevieve says
Fantastic! Thanks Maya!
Tommy says
I had way too many apples sitting around so I made them for breakfast, and everyone loved them. I'll be making these regularly from now on. Thanks! I also loved that these apples call for maple syrup instead of regular sugar.
Genevieve says
Yes, isn't the maple syrup great? Thanks Tommy!
Gena says
I love quick and easy air fryer recipes and this one has been great for healthy breakfast and even a late night sweet snack! I really love the added cayenne!
Genevieve says
Thanks Gena! That cayenne is the best part in my book 😀
Lucia says
At what point do I use the 1 tablespoon of maple syrup?
Looking forward to trying this whenever I get my air fryer!
Genevieve says
Thanks so much for pointing this out! I updated the recipe to clarify. 🙂 I hope you get that air fryer soon!
JD Alewine says
I absolutely love how simple, and delicious these are! It's always great to be able to have a sweet treat and not feel guilty about it as well.
Genevieve says
So glad you enjoyed them, JD!
Rupali says
Loved this with some sweet yogurt on the side. This is going to be my regular for breakfast time!
Genevieve says
Good idea with the yogurt! Thanks Rupali.
Vladka says
We received a bucket of apples from my neighbor that were not tasty. So I was glad to find this recipe that turned them into a healthy and delicious snacks. Thanks.
Genevieve says
Yay! Glad the not-so-good apples could be saved.
Traci says
I absolutely loved this recipe! I always love a good baked apple treat this time of year and loved that I was able to make this in the air fryer!
Genevieve says
Thanks Traci! I'm glad to hear it.
Bella B says
These were soooo good! I was a bit hesitant to add the pepper, but the zing was such a great touch.
Genevieve says
Thanks Bella! Glad you enjoyed them.