This old fashioned Baked Apples recipe is my favorite light, cozy dessert, using an apple that’s stuffed with a nutty, cinnamon sugar filling and baked until caramelized and tender.
I love apple recipes this time of year. Make sure to try Apple Crisp, Apple Pie, Apple Cake, Caramel Apple Dip, or learn how to make perfect Caramel Apples!
Find me making Baked Apples every night during the fall.
Find me making Baked Apples every night during the fall.I love how this Baked Apples dessert is a little lighter, and easily portion-sized for an apple per person. And the best part is it only takes 5-minute to prep; you get the flavors of my famous Apple Crisp, without the peeling and slicing. It’s the perfect dessert to satisfy your sweet tooth. For extra special indulgence, serve it with a scoop of ice cream and caramel sauce.
How to make Baked Apples:
Prep Apples: Make a deep hole in the center of the apple with a paring knife and carefully remove the core.
Make Filling: Mix together brown sugar, butter, and cinnamon. Add nuts, if desired. Fill each apple with filling.
Bake: Pour ¼ cup water in a baking dish and place apples on top. Bake at 350°F for 40-45 minutes until apples are tender when poked with a fork. Cool for a few minutes before serving. Enjoy warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce drizzled on top. I love to spoon the sauce drippings from the pan over the top too.
Recipe Variations:
- Baked Apples in Microwave: I recommend using the oven, but if you’d like to use the microwave, you can. Just place filled apples in a microwave safe dish and cook on high for 5-8 minutes, until tender.
- Sliced Baked Apples: Check out my Apple Crisp!
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Recipe
Baked Apples
Ingredients
- 4 good-quality apples (I like to use red apples, but baking apples, such as Granny Smith, work great to!)
- 1/4 cup chopped walnuts , or pecans
- 1/4 cup light brown sugar , packed
- 2 Tablespoons butter , room temperature
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 cup water
- vanilla ice cream , for topping, optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Use a paring knife or apple corer to remove the stem and seeds from the apples, making a deep hole where the filling will go.
- Combine the brown sugar, butter and cinnamon in a small bowl and mix well to combine. Add the nuts. Spoon mixture evenly into each of the apples.
- Add ¼ cup of water to a baking dish and place apples on top.
- Bake for about 40-45 minutes, or until apples are tender when pierced with a fork. Remove from oven and allow to cool for a few minutes.
- Spoon the sauce drippings from the pan over the apples. Serve with ice cream, if desired.
Notes
- Baked Apples in Microwave: Baking in the oven is preferred, but for the microwave, place prepared apples in a microwave safe dish and microwave on high for 5-8 minutes, or until tender.
- Sliced Baked Apples: Try my Apple Crisp!
Nutrition
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*I originally shared this recipe September 2015. Updated October 2018, December 2021 and August 2024.
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loved your Baked Apples can’t wait to try more
I made this tonight. I followed the recipe with the exception of putting about a tablespoon of cinnamon candies in the water and I basted the apples with those throughout the baking process. Mine baked for 40 minutes at 350 and were done. The apple I used for Honeycrisp from an Orchard here in North Carolina. My apples were medium sized, and I had plenty of filling for them per the recipe.
Very good, don’t listen to the other people that rated it bad, they don’t know how to follow a recipe lol it turned out perfectly and was really good with ice cream. Thank you so much. I made 5 apples instead of 4 cause mine were smaller just added a little more ingredients!
This is a good basic recipe. I made a few changes. I peeled the apples, added nutmeg to the mix then I wrapped them in pie crusts. Instead of using water in the pan to bake them, I made simple syrup and spooned the syrup over the apples. Served with a side of vanilla ice cream and caramel! Yummy
So basically, “I didn’t want to make your recipe because mine is better… here it is.”
That is insulting.
I made it. It is good. Thank you to the creator.
Awful, didn’t bake at all. Total mud Puddle, followed recipe and everything.
very dissapointed as this was Supposed to be for a Special occasion….
No One,
Who/what did you find yourself disappointed in? I presume you to mean that you were disappointed in the oven for not turning on after your having asked it to do so, rather than in the recipe itself yea…..?
You said that you even ‘followed the recipe and everything’…..darling, isn’t that why we are all here? Having said that, the recipe does say to preheat the oven to 350…..did you do that? Did the oven heat to 350 as instructed? And then you put the apples in a pan and into the hot oven, closing the door and not opening it until about 40/45mins later? Then VOILA!!! HOT, juicy, soft and mushy, sweet and yummy baked apples!!!
I think that it would be more fitting, and less ‘review’-like, if you had said something like.,’haha, oh boy! Did everything just as the recipe said…..except I didn’t turn on the oven….’ lol. Or ‘gosh these would’ve been so good if .y oven hadn’t failled on me! 🙁 I can’t wait to try again once I can buy a new stove! Mmmmmm)
“Awful, didn’t bake at all……followed the recipe and everything……..very disappointed”
Made these tonight! excellent!
Easy to make and delicious!! I added a touch of vanilla and a splash of rum. I’m always improvising!!
Lovely substitute for apple pie with less sugar/fat and all the flavor. Love the sauce that forms under the apples. We drizzled it over the ice cream and the apple. Yummm!!
The baked apples were amazing and easy to make! I will save this recipe for future use. I didn’t care for the apple peel because I always peel my apples so next time I will try to make this without it.
Easy enough to make. Came out of the oven better than expected. Delicious! Thanks for sharing.
I used Granny Smith apples and had pecans on hand, and just a little granola left. Decided to throw that in too. They were very good!
Smooth Carmel and salty
Very bland
yum! this was amazing! so easy and versatile! and i feel like i’m being somewhat healthy:) !!! such a cozy snack for fall and winter! one question: if i split the recipe and put 2 apples in a smaller pan should i still add 1/4 cup of water or a 1/8 cup?
Just made this last night and it was delicious and, even better, very easy!
Clear and easy! Thanks
This recipe made exceptional baked apples! Super easy and quick too. I used Jonagold Apples -awesome! I added a little extra of each ingredient to fill 6 medium apples. Served them for breakfast with creamy vanilla yogurt on the side, beautiful presentation, wonderful flavor! Thank you for such a great recipe!!!
This was great! I do have a few notes I would add. The filling recipe is there for the ratios not for an exact amount. The amount you need will depend on your preference, the size of your apple and how big you make your hole. Bake time will depend on the type of apple you choose as well crispier apples will take longer to cook. Finally this is not super sweet so don’t expect that if you have a massive sweet tooth look for something else.
When I made it I did make extra filling because I needed it. I used Envy apples which are known for being crisp so I cooked them an extra 15 minutes and they were soft but still held a little crispiness which was awesome with some vanilla ice-cream and Carmel
Soooooo good!!! Saved this to my favorites.
Hi,
I am not able to find USA Apple here in Singapore. Can I use pacific rose Apple from New Zealand and cut down the baking time?
Thanks
Yes, that should work! IF the apples are smaller then cut back slightly on the baking time. It’s a pretty forgiving recipe.
Horrible. There isn’t enough cinnamon/brown sugar filling to fill 4 apples and, I used the exact amounts listed. Even when baked longer than called for, the apples remained too crisp. The flavor is bland, not sweet enough and, did absolutely nothing for me. I couldn’t even eat half of one and, the other 3 still remain in the pan…. probably won’t get eaten.
Hi Sherrie,
I’m sorry you didn’t enjoy the recipe. I wonder what type of apples you were using; could it be that your apples weren’t great baking apples?
As for the filling, given the enormous variety in apple types and sizes, it’s hard to make a “one-fits all” apple filling. If you have large apples, chances are you may need make extra filling.
add more sugar and cinnamon and rebake
Wow, you seem to be mad about this. Dont you have 1 positive thing you can say about the recipe? At least it’s somewhat healthy.
Why would people post “Horrible” and say other negative things. Shame on them. This is a great recipe. Get a life you troll people! Its almost impossible to screw this up. If it isn’t sweet enough, put more sugar in it.
Wow… Listen to you. I’ve tried this recipe twice using the sane amount of ingredients as listed and they’ve always came out delicious? Obviously you did something wrong. Lol.
But you know what they say, it’s wonderful after it cooks unless you’re not doing a wonderful job. 😉
Did you use crabapples? 🙃. I’m making this recipe for the first time tonight and used four pretty large honey crisp apples. At first I didn’t think there was enough filling, but it was perfect. We’re having guest over for chili and then the baked apples with ice cream for dessert. A perfect fall dinner.
Just double the stuffing !!
Perfect dessert for 2. Our empty nest loves these baked apples for a warm dessert that’s not too sweet. Delicious!
Delicious recipe, easy, simple, common items that you may have already. We used red delicious apples, we didn’t have nuts on hand so we used dried cherries, they came out perfect. Thank you for sharing this recipe which will now be a dessert staple in our home.
I love to hear that you made it work with what you had on hand! I’m really happy you liked them! 🙂
You only publish the good reviews?
I had a baby and have been taking time to recover :).
Bake covered or uncovered?
Uncovered. Enjoy!
What temperature to cook apples
Hi Frances,
You can find all the instructions in the recipe card. Cook the baked apples at 350 degrees!
Hmmm…..breakfast or dessert? Hard to decide! Going for dessert…..a needed change from Christmas cookies! Also, I had an epiphany on coring……cut out the stem per usual, then…..a grapefruit spoon to dig out core!
Why does the recipe call for 1/2 cup water but the directions say add a 1/4 cup? Sorry Im confused
Hi Becky,
Thanks for pointing out the typo. The recipe should call for just ¼ cup water!
Try a few raisins or dried cranberries in the sugar/nut filling. Adds a little complementary flavor.
Love that idea!
I make these with golden raisins instead of pecans, skip the water in the bottom of the bowl and microwave them. I eat them for breakfast, either plain or with a little milk poured over. I’ve never tried topping them with yogurt, but thats an option. And I will try adding the pecans.
I have made these for years they are always popular, I even put sultanas inside the apples too, nice with custard if you want something hot
We were really looking for something to satisfy our sweet tooth, without a ton of calories, and decided on your baked apples recipe. They were exactly what we were looking for, and sooooo good.
Looks delicious! I feel silly asking, but do you make two holes to scoop out the seeds or just one so the filling doesn’t fall out?
Made these tonight. Even made the caramel sauce (my husband dove into the sauce with a spoon!!!) Served with ice cream and it was heavenly. The apples baked while we painted pumpkins. I think we have a new family fall tradition.
Sounds like the perfect night! I’m so happy you liked them!