Bake these amazing Cinnamon Baked Apples slices until tender in coated caramelized sauce! This will be an easy dessert recipe to serve with a scoop of ice cream during the Fall and the holiday season!
These delicious Cinnamon Baked Apples are one of the best desserts during the Fall season! They are slowly baked until tender in an aromatic caramelized sauce and served with a scoop of your favorite vanilla ice cream.
Like my other apple desserts (Apple Crumb Cake, Old Fashioned Apple Crisp, Classic Apple Pie Recipe, and Apple Coffee Cake Recipe), this recipe is very easy to make. All you need to do is peel and slice the apples, mix them in a baking dish together with a few ingredients, and bake until tender. The best part about this recipe is that your whole house will be filled with the mouthwatering aroma of cinnamon apples, that will make everyone hungry!
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Apples. Granny Smith apples are my favorite for baking. They are tart enough to balance the sweetness of the dessert. You can easily substitute them with any apples you have on hand. Although, if you use a sweet variety like Fuji or Gala, you might want to decrease the amount of sugar.
- Sugar. I like to use a mix of granulated and brown sugar for the best caramelization and flavor.
- Cinnamon. Good quality ground cinnamon makes all the difference in flavor and aroma in this dessert.
- Lemon juice. It prevents the apples from browning while prepping and adds extra tartness to balance the sugar.
- Cornstarch. To make the sauce thicker, add a bit of cornstarch.
- Butter. Adds the richness and creaminess to the sauce.
How to make it
Preheat the oven to 375°F.
Peel, core, slice 5-6 apples, and transfer them to a 9×13-inch baking dish.
Add 1 tbsp lemon juice, ¼ cup light brown sugar, 1 tbsp granulated sugar, 2 tsp cinnamon, 2 tsp cornstarch, and mix everything together.
Spread evenly and top with sliced 2 tbsp butter.
Cover with foil and bake at 375°F for 30-40 minutes, stirring every 10-15 minutes.
How to serve
The best way to serve this recipe as a dessert is with a scoop of vanilla ice cream (I like to use my French Vanilla Ice Cream Recipe) or whipped cream.
If you have any leftovers, they will be perfect for breakfast with Buttermilk Pancakes, Crispy Crapes Recipe, or Instant Pot Oatmeal.
Tips for best results
- Baking. The baking time depends on how thin or thick you cut the apple slices. I personally prefer to cut them thinner to make sure they bake through and get soft.
- Stirring. Make sure you stir them at least a couple of times while baking to mix all the sauce ingredients together. At first, when the butter is melted, it might look like the sauce is greasy and the fats are separating. After you bake it longer and stir a few times, everything will bind together and the sauce will caramelize.
Options and substitution
- Sugar. If you want to make this recipe a bit healthier, you can substitute granulated and brown sugar with coconut sugar or even maple syrup. Although, you won’t have the same caramelization in the sauce.
- Nuts and berries. Depending on the season, I love adding some other fruit, berries, or nuts to the apples, like pears, fresh or dried cranberries, raisins, walnuts, or pecans.
- Spices. To enhance the flavor, sometimes I like to add more spices, like nutmeg and allspice.
Frequently Asked Questions
I prefer to use tart apples, like Granny Smith variety, because they balance well with the sweetness. Although you really can use any variety you have on hands, like Honeycrisp, Fuji, Golden Delicious, Gala, etc.
Yes, it’s better to peel them so the fruit is soft and caramelized after it’s baked. The apple peel has a tendency to get tough and chewy when baked.
You can store them in an air-tight container and keep in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. To reheat, bake it at 350°F for about 15 minutes.
More dessert recipes:
- Pistachio Cookies
- Zucchini Banana Bread
- Strawberry Crumble
- Buttermilk Blueberry Muffins
- Chocolate Chip Blondies
- Chocolate Cake from Scratch
- Old-Fashioned Peach Cobbler
- Classic Tiramisu
- Apple and Blueberry Crumble
Cinnamon Baked Apples
Ingredients
- 5-6 large apples peeled, cored, and sliced
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- ¼ cup light brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F.
- Peel, core, slice 5-6 apples, and transfer them to a 9×13-inch baking dish.
- Add 1 tbsp lemon juice, ¼ cup light brown sugar, 1 tbsp granulated sugar, 2 tsp cinnamon, 2 tsp cornstarch, and mix everything together.
- Spread evenly and top with sliced 2 tbsp butter.
- Cover with foil and bake at 375°F for 30-40 minutes, stirring every 10-15 minutes.
- When done, take it out of the oven and let sit on the counter for 10 minutes beofre serving.
Notes
- The baking time depends on how thin or thick you cut the apple slices. I personally prefer to cut them thinner to make sure they bake through and get soft.
- Make sure you stir them at least a couple of times while baking to mix all the sauce ingredients together. At first, when the butter is melted, it might look like the sauce is greasy and the fats are separating. After you bake it longer and stir a few times, everything will bind together and the sauce will caramelize.
- Depending on the season, I love adding some other fruit, berries, or nuts to the apples, like pears, fresh or dried cranberries, raisins, walnuts, or pecans.
- You can store them in an air-tight container and keep in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. To reheat, bake it at 350°F for about 15 minutes.
This is a delicious way to use up apples that are a little soft for day to day eating. I chopped my apples, did not peel them, used coconut sugar in lieu of brown sugar, followed the recipe with all the other ingredients. Delicious definitely recommend!
Thank you so much, Michelle!
“Jump to recipe” – and this is why I’m bookmarking and searching through your other recipes and giving you clicks!
Thank you.
This was delicious! I cooked a slightly smaller batch for 2 and it still came out perfect.
I think I might make these again next week as a dish for our family Thanksgiving!!
Thank you, Brie! Glad you liked it!
This is a very good recipe and we enjoyed it. I took you up on adding extra fruits later on and nuts. I like to change up. It was all good.
Thank you, Alice! I like the idea of adding some nuts to the recipe.
How much allspice do you add?
Hi Valerie! I don’t add allspice to this recipe. But if you would like to add some, I wouldn’t add more than 1/4 teaspoon.
Hi Veronika I just happened upon your baked apple recipe it looks amazing. Just wondering I don’t have cornstarch can I substitute flour?
Hi Anne! I never tested this recipe with flour, so I don’t know if that will work.
This is my second time making this, great recipe, thank you!
Thank you so much, Sara!
9wnbty
Delicious!!
Thank you!
I’ve tried this recipe twice now and I love it! The apples turn out so sweet and the cinnamon isn’t overly spicy. The apples are bit more on the soggy side fresh out of the oven but I put them in the fridge overnight and then microwave them when I’m ready to eat!
Extra: I don’t add lemon juice and I add a pit of syrup (or honey).
Thank you, Ky! If your apples come out a bit runny, I would add a bit more cornstarch next time. Hope that helps.
The photo shows a liquid that must be the lemon juice, way more than 1 tablespoon, I’d say. My apples looked like they needed some liquid so I added 1/2 cup of water. Peeling is not necessary since a lot of vitamins lie under the skins. So many folks don’t seem to know how good cooked apples are — thanks for the recipe!
If you’re at a high altitude that’s why.. if not you probably did something wrong.
I ❤️ this recipe! Easy to follow directions and I like the photos. Second time making it and this time I made a few modifications. I used Fuji apples for a sweeter taste and doubled the cinnamon and butter. For the cinnamon I ground my own from 5 sticks. Previously I ate it as is but this time I’ll attempt to make a pie. Thank you!
Thank you, Rhen!
This was really tasty. I wanted it saucy so I doubled the rest of the ingredients except the apples. We had them over grilled pork chops. Loved it!!
Wonderful apples. Hard to put into words how these taste poured on top of a tender roast pork loin with a few walnuts. Delicious.
Thank you, Gwyn! Love the ideas to pair this recipe with pork chops!
l will be making these for Thanksgiving as a side dish with the crown roast of pork my family does not like turkey l will add cranberries and pecans and some bourbon