Yes, you can air fryer apples and they turn into the most delicious treat! Get perfect fall flavor anytime, ready in less than 15 minutes.
Looking for an easy snack that tastes a bit like apple pie? Air fry some apples with this delicious recipe that only takes a couple minutes of prep time. These air fryer cinnamon apples are sure to hit the spot when you need a little something sweet. It’s also a great way to use up some apples that are past their prime and are going a bit soft.
Scroll down to read more about how it all comes together or click here to jump straight down to the recipe.
What Type Of Apples?
You can use any kind of apples for this recipe, but I suggest using ones you enjoy in apple pie. Something crisp and a little sweet like Fuji, Honeycrisp, or Gala apples. If you want it to be less sweet, you could even go with Granny Smith apples. It’ll be delicious no matter your choice.
Honestly though, my favorite thing to use this recipe for is when I have a couple of apples that are a bit bruised or past their prime and going a bit soft. If an apple doesn’t seem like one me or my kids wants to eat fresh, then I quickly slice it up, put it into the air fryer, and we have a delicious snack that we all want.
Putting Plain Apples Slices In The Air Fryer
Yes, you read that right. This recipe really has you just slice the apples and put the slices straight into the air fryer, as is. I discovered this one day when I had two apples that had gone a bit soft. I wanted to see if I could make them more palatable by cooking them. But I really didn’t want to make a mess of any pots, pans, or even my air fryer for just two apples. So I just sliced them up and put them in the air fryer just plain and as is – no sauces, syrups, or seasonings.
Try to put them skin-side-down in the air fryer. If most of them are like that, you end up with virtually no mess in the air fryer. A quick wash and your air fryer is clean again. You can use an air fryer parchment sheet as well, and then there’s even less cleanup.
After ten minutes the apple slices were soft and just a tiny bit caramelized. I tossed them with a dribble of hot water from my kettle and a pinch or two each of cinnamon and sugar. They were lovely.
Sugar Versus Maple Syrup
I made another batch of the air fryer apples (with fresh, not going-soft apples, to test it) and my kids liked them too but wanted them sweeter. I tried adding more sugar but it didn’t end up dissolving properly and was grainy. That’s why I tried syrup. The result? Perfections! This recipe really is perfect now. You can make them sweeter, if you’d like, by adding more maple syrup.
Alternatively, you can use honey instead of maple syrup, or use any syrup really. If you really want to use brown or white sugar, dissolve it well in some hot water or melted butter so that it’s no longer grainy before adding it the cooked apples.
Spices for Air Fryer Apples
The recipe below calls for just a little cinnamon because that’s all that was ever put on baked apples when I was growing up. But you can use any of those warm, cozy, fall spices for your treat.
Nutmeg, a tiny pinch of cloves, and allspice are good choices. I’ve also tried it with cardamom once already, using honey instead of maple syrup, and it tasted like Christmas! Instead of one single spice, you can use more than one, or use a pre-made blend like this Homemade Pumpkin Pie Spice.
Time and Temperature
If you have your apples cut into thin wedges like in the recipe below, they will only need 10 minutes at 400°F. If they’re thicker, they’ll need a longer cook time.
Serving Air Fryer Apples
You can absolutely eat these apples right out of the air fryer as a snack and I’ve done that multiple times.
But you could also turn it into a dessert by serving them on top of vanilla ice cream. Or make them at breakfast time to top your pancakes or waffles with. When I’m using them as a topping like that, I usually give them a quick rough chop after they’re finished cooking in the air fryer. I don’t like to chop them smaller before cooking them because they make more mess in the air fryer. It’s best to cut them in wedges and arrange them skin-side-down in the air fryer. The skin protects the air fryer from any sticky mess that results from apple juices caramelizing. Then give them that chop afterwards, if you’d like.
More Simple Air Fryer Recipes
If you love making simple, basic things like this in the air fryer, check out all of my air fryer recipes here, or check out some of my favorites:
- Air Fryer Sweet Potatoes
- Air Fryer Cabbage
- Balsamic Brussels Sprouts in the Air Fryer
- Air Fryer Southern Fried Squash
- Air Fryer Mushrooms
Podcast Episode: Making Air Fryer Apples
Listen to me explain briefly about how to make this recipe, with some great tips along the way, by clicking the play button below:
Listen to more Recipe of the Day episodes here.
PrintAir Fryer Apples Recipe
Yes, you can air fryer apples and they turn into the most delicious treat! Get perfect fall flavor anytime, ready in less than 15 minutes.
- Prep Time: 2 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 12 minutes
- Yield: 2 servings 1x
- Category: Side Dish
- Method: Air Fryer
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 2 medium apples
- 1 tsp. maple syrup*
- 1/8 tsp. cinnamon
Instructions
- Core apples and cut into 16 wedges each.**
- Arrange the apples skin-side-down in the air fryer. Set air fryer to 400°F and cook until apple slices are fork-tender, 10-12 minutes. Don’t open the air fryer before 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, in a medium-sized bowl, mix the maple syrup and cinnamon.
- Transfer cooked apples slices to the bowl with the maple syrup mixture. Stir to coat.
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Notes
*Honey or any other syrup may be used instead of maple syrup. And you can use more than a teaspoon if you like them sweeter.
**The wedges need to be fairly thin so that they heat through and soften in the time listed. If your apples are large, cut more wedges. If you have small apples, fewer wedges will be fine. If your apples aren’t soft after the 10 minutes, leave them in for a bit longer.
Carly says
I use my air fryer all the time and never even thought of doing this! This turned out amazing, I’ll be doing this a lot now. Thank you!
Christine Pittman says
You’re welcome, Carly! Glad you loved it.