These air fryer apples are lightly air fried until warm and crispy, then topped with a super simple cinnamon oat crumble. Enjoy it as a healthier apple crisp with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or over fluffy pancakes as an indulgent breakfast treat. Have these apples ready in just over 30 minutes!
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📋 About the Recipe
- A great way to use up apples. These air fryer apples are made with a lot of apples. If you just went apple picking or happen to have a large stash of apples in the fridge, this recipe is the best way to use them.
- Simple to make. If you love the flavors of apple pie or apple crisp, but don’t love the tedious process of making these classics from scratch, you will love these air fryer apples. All the same flavors without all the labor.
- Kid friendly. These apples are a great recipe to make together as a family. And when served with ice cream, the kids won’t be able to resist!
🛒 Ingredients
A few notes about the ingredients:
- apples - You will need 6 apples or about 2 ½ to 3 pounds. I like to use honeycrisp or gala apples because they are some of the sweetest red apples. If you prefer a mix of sweet and tart apples, you can use a couple of granny smith apples mixed in with the honeycrisp or gala.
- coconut oil - Coconut oil helps the ground cinnamon stick to the apples and helps the apples crisp up nicely in the air fryer. Make sure to melt it prior to adding to the apples to help coat the apples evenly.
- butter - Unsalted butter is used in the homemade oat crumble to help it stick together in pea-sized crumbles and turn a beautiful golden brown color. Please don't substitute the butter for oil - this would significantly change the texture of the crumble.
- oats - Adding raw, rolled oats to the crumble gives it great texture and makes it slightly chewy.
- brown sugar - The mixture of brown sugar with sweet apples is one of the best fall flavor combinations! I prefer to use light brown sugar but you can substitute dark brown sugar for a deeper, more caramelized flavor due to the additional molasses.
📓 Instructions
- Prep your air fryer basket. In most of my air fryer recipes, I don’t recommend using foil, but we do need to line the air fryer basket with foil here to prevent the oat crumble from falling through the bottom. After lining the air fryer basket (or tray depending on your air fryer appliance), lightly coat the foil with nonstick spray. This is going to help prevent the apples from sticking as well as help them crisp up on the bottom.
- Cut your apples. I recommend cutting the apples into ½-inch thick slices with skin on. Once cut, transfer the apples to a large mixing bowl. Follow my how to cut an apple tutorial if needed.
- Toss the apples in spices. Pour melted coconut oil, ¼ cup maple syrup and 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon overtop the apple slices and toss to coat evenly.
- Air fry the apples. Transfer the apples to the foil lined air fryer and air fry the apples at 380 degrees F for 8 minutes. Depending on the size of your air fryer, you may need to air fry the apples in batches.
- Make the cinnamon oat crumble. While the apples air fry, prepare the crumble. In a medium sized mixing bowl, add the cold butter, flour, brown sugar, oats, salt and cinnamon. Using a fork, your hands or a dough cutter, cut the butter into the other crumble ingredients until it resembles a pea-sized crumble. If you choose to work with your hands, work quickly so the warmth from your hands doesn’t melt the butter.
- Sprinkle the crumble over the apples. Once the apples have air fried for 8 minutes, sprinkle the crumble on top and cook for another 6 minutes, or until the crumble is golden brown.
- Serve. Serve the apples warm with a scoop of ice cream, a dollop of whipped cream or on top of pancakes, waffles, or crepes.
⁉️ Substitutions and Alterations
- Coconut oil substitutions: The coconut flavor from the coconut oil is very mild, however, if you do not like coconut, use refined coconut oil or another neutral oil like vegetable oil.
- Flour substitution: If necessary or preferred, substitute the all purpose flour with a 1:1 gluten free flour blend.
❄️ How to Store
To store: These apples are best served warm right from the air fryer. If needed, you can store the crumb topped apples in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. If storing, allow the apples to cool completely before covering with a tight-fitting lid.
To freeze: I have not attempted to freeze these air fryer apples and do not recommend it.
To reheat: Place the air fryer apples back in a foil-lined air fryer and cook for 5 minutes, or until warmed through at 350 degrees F.
🔍 FAQs
Yes! These warm apples are reminiscent of apple pie, but made with less sugar and butter. Plus, they have a homemade crumble topping which is a bit healthier than an all-butter pie crust. Enjoy this lighter version with significantly less prep time, too!
Yes, the apples can be overdone and become overly soft. The goal is to soften them enough, but still be crisp enough to hold their shape. Depending on your air fryer, you may need to adjust the cook times, but use my timing as a guide and watch the apples carefully.
Follow my easy tutorial on how to cut apples and easily remove the core. For these air fryer apples, ½-inch thick apple wedges are the best cut to use.
If you’d like to prep the apples in advance, cut the apples into ½-inch thick apple wedges and prevent the apples from oxidizing by submerging the cut apples in water, storing them in an airtight bag or container, or coating them lightly in fresh lemon juice.
💭 One More Tip
Use crisp, firm apples. The fresher your apples are, the more delicious your air fryer apples will be. Save softer, mealy apples for making things like apple butter where the texture of the apples is less of a concern.
🍴 Related Recipes
Share your cooking with me! If you make this recipe, I'd love to know! Tag @yourhomemadehealthy on Instagram or leave a comment with a rating and some feedback at the bottom of this page!
📖 Recipe
Air Fryer Apples
Equipment
Ingredients
For Air Fryer Apples
- 6 honeycrisp or gala apples (2 ½ to 3 pounds), washed and cored
- ¼ cup melted coconut oil
- ¼ cup pure maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
For Cinnamon Oat Crumble
- 4 tablespoons (½ a stick) unsalted butter, cold
- ½ cup all purpose flour
- ¼ cup light brown sugar
- ¼ cup old fashioned rolled oats
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
- Line the basket or tray of your air fryer with foil. Spray with nonstick spray.
- Cut apples into ½-inch thick slices. Add to a large mixing bowl.
- Pour coconut oil, maple syrup, and cinnamon over top. Gently stir to coat the apples.
- Add apples to the air fryer basket. You may need to cook them in batches, depending on the size of your air fryer. Air fry apples at 380 degrees F for 8 minutes.
- While the apples are cooking, add cold butter, flour, brown sugar, rolled oats, cinnamon, and salt to a mixing bowl. Cut the butter into the other ingredients, until it resembles a pea-sized crumble. You can use a fork, your hands, or a dough cutter to do this.
- Once the 8 minutes are up, sprinkle the crumble on top of the apples and cook another 6 to 8 minutes, until golden brown.
- Serve apples on top of ice cream, with a dollop of whipped cream, or scooped on top of pancakes, waffles, or crepes.
Notes
- Air fryer apples are best served freshly warm right from the air fryer.
- If needed, let apples cool completely before storing them in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to 3 days.
Nutrition
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