Baked Stuffed Apples

March 22, 2021

These vegan baked stuffed apples are a delicious, wholesome treat! Enjoy the benefits of whole fruit with a warm, delicious streusel filling. The apples are perfect for snacking, dessert, or breakfast.

A parchment lined baking sheet holds six baked stuffed apples, with streusel crumbs on the parchment.

Apples are just about my favorite fruit, and I’m very lucky that they’re in season pretty much year-round where I live. I love eating apples every which way: raw, as a snack, in a crisp, cubed and baked, in cake, in slaw, and even in soup.

These baked stuffed apples are going to be a new favorite for me. They’re so versatile and such a good happy medium. The ratio of fruit to streusel is greater than it is with crisp or crumble. But the apples still feel like a treat, thanks to the buttery, brown sugary crumbs.

I’ve now eaten them happily for breakfast (with some vegan yogurt on top) and for dessert (with ice cream). They’re good in either fashion, and they’re great with tea for an afternoon treat.

Picking the perfect apple for baked stuffed apples

A photograph of three crimson red and golden apples on a bright, white backdrop.

Before making the baked stuffed apples, I was lucky enough to get a delivery of New York State RubyFrost apples.

These apples are so special. They’re a perfect balance of sweet and tart. They’re super crisp—which is how I like apples to be—and they have the most beautiful crimson and golden color.

RubyFrost apples are especially high in vitamin C, and they have a high acid content. Both factors allow them to stay fresh for longer than other apple varieties. I’ve been delighted at how crispy and juicy mine remained as I made my way through the bag that I had.

The juiciness and sweet/tart flavor balance of the apples also makes them an ideal apple to bake with. These baked stuffed apples become so sweet and tender in the oven, yet they stay firm enough to hold their shape.

A baking sheet is covered with parchment and bright red apples that have been stuffed with a filling of oats, flour, and brown sugar.

How to make baked stuffed apples

The trick to making baked stuffed apples is to remove the apple core. That’s it! Once there’s a nice empty space where the core of the apple lived, it’s easy to fill them with your streusel mixture.

To remove the core of the apple, I recommend using a corer. It’s not an expensive appliance, and it makes cutting up apples for snacks—or making these baked stuffed apples—really easy.

If you don’t have or want a corer, there are other ways to make space for the filling. This video will show you how to core an apple with a spoon, and this one has instructions (toward the end) for coring with a melon baller.

Once the apples have been cored, you simply use a spoon to fill them up with the streusel, then bake the apples. You may have some streusel left over, which is A-OK (better too much than too little). I like to sprinkle mine on the baking sheet and bake it along with the apples.

Main ingredients

Once your apples are cored, the baked stuffed apples are pretty easy to make. Here’s a short list of the main ingredients you’ll need:

Apples

The most important ingredient! I loved making this recipe with local, New York State RubyFrosts. You can use another tart or sweet tart apple that’s available to you. Choose apples that are medium in size, if you can. Too large, and they’ll take a long time to bake. Too small, they’ll be difficult to stuff.

Vegan butter

Use the vegan butter that suits your budget and needs. I like to melt the butter before adding it to the streusel. If you don’t have vegan butter, you can use vegetable oil in its place.

Flour

I use all-purpose flour in the recipe, but a whole wheat flour works well here, too! If you’d like to make the recipe gluten-free, you can use a gluten free, unbleached flour in place of wheat flour.

Brown sugar

I think that brown sugar is best for streusel. If you prefer, you can use coconut sugar as a good substitute.

Rolled oats

The rolled oats in the baked, stuffed apple filling give this recipe some texture and substance. I tried making the filling with and without oats, and I really liked the heft that the oats provide. I also like the fiber they provide, which helps to make the stuffed apples more wholesome.

An overhead photograph of baked, stuffed apples, which are still resting on a parchment-lined baking sheet.

Storing baked stuffed apples

I recommend storing the apples in an airtight container in the fridge for up to four days. They’re very cravable, so it’s not hard to eat them all in that period of time!

Accompaniments and serving ideas

I think that the baked stuffed apples are pretty perfect on their own. But there are a few fun ways you can add to their goodness!

A generous drizzle of salted date caramel sauce
A scoop of vanilla ice cream
Cashew whipped cream
A sprinkle of chopped walnuts, pecans, or sliced almonds
A dollop of non-dairy yogurt (vanilla, plain, or another flavor you like)

Be sure to serve each apple with a little of the extra baked filling, if you had any leftover on your baking sheet!