Baked Apple Slices

This easy baked apple slices recipe is everything you love about apple pie, without the crust. Apple slices are bathed with a sweet buttery sauce and then baked to perfection.

Caramel sauce is being drizzled over ice cream atop baked apple slices. There is an apple and a blue kitchen towel behind it.

I love apple recipes, like vegan apple pie and vegan apple spice cake. But this recipe has a special place in my heart.

Why? Because I know you’ll love these tender, lightly-spiced baked apple slices thanks to a combination of apples for the best flavor and texture.

This healthy baked apple slices recipe is simple down to the list of ingredients — only eight, most of which you probably have on hand right now.

I love serving baked sliced apples with a big scoop of vegan no-churn ice cream on top and a drizzle of vegan caramel sauce. It’s delicious!

Why This Recipe is a Winner

  • Using a combination of apples brings together sweet and tart flavors
  • Lemon juice brightens the flavor and cuts the sweetness, in addition to tenderizing the fruit and helping it release its juices
  • Vegan butter added right before it’s baked adds moisture and a delicious butter flavor to ever bite.

What You Need

You can find the full printable recipe, including ingredient quantities, below. But first, here are some explanations of ingredients and steps to help you make this recipe perfect every time.

Here are the ingredients you’ll need for this recipe:

  • Apples — I prefer using a mixture of tart apples, such as pink ladies, Granny Smith, honey crisp, combined with either red or yellow delicious. Here’s more on choosing apples for apple pie and how to slice apples.
  • Lemon juice — this helps keep the apples from browning and adds a little fresh zest to the apple slices too.
  • Brown sugar — I love the caramel flavor that comes from brown sugar. If you want to go healthy, use coconut sugar instead.
  • Cornstarch — We want to create a nice thick sauce around the sliced apples and just a bit of cornstarch does the trick.
  • Ground cinnamon — There’s nothing like the flavor combination of cinnamon and apples. I add a generous portion of cinnamon to make this recipe sing!
  • Pumpkin pie spice — Adding pumpkin pie spice really takes this to another level.
  • Salt — A bit of salt brings out the sweetness in the tart apples.
  • Vegan butter — We’ll add just a bit of vegan butter to keep the apple slices moist while they bake.

How to Make Baked Apple Slices

It’s so easy to make this sliced baked apple recipe! Here are the steps to make it:

  1. Prepare the apple slices, add them to a mixing bowl, and toss with lemon juice.
  2. Stir together the brown sugar, cornstarch, spices, and salt and sprinkle this over the apples. Toss to coat all the apple slices.
  3. Spoon apple slices in layers in the prepared dish. Cut the vegan butter into small cubes and distribute it equally across the top of the apples.
  4. Bake for 15 minutes, then stir the apples. Bake for another 10 to 15 minutes, until apples are golden and tender. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly before serving.
  5. Serve warm.

Here are step-by-step instructions on how you can make Baked Apple Slices:

Step One: Peel and Slice the Apples

Peel and slice the apples and add the slices to a mixing bowl. Immediately toss the apple slices with lemon juice to prevent them from browning.

There are a few tricks for cutting apples. I prefer using a vegetable peeler to remove a thin layer of the peel around the apple. It’s ok if a little bit of peel is left on. Be sure to save those apple peels! I love adding them to my green smoothies.

Then, cut the apples in half and remove the core and slice them into 1/4 inch slices.

Here’s more about the best apples for apple pie (which also works for this recipe) and how to slice them.

A hand pours a bowl of cinnamon spices over a bowl of freshly sliced apples.

Step Two: Create the Cinnamon Drizzle

We’re going to be drizzling the apple slices with a mixture that will create a wonderful sauce around the apples. Here’s how we do that.

In a separate bowl stir together the brown sugar, cornstarch, spices, and salt. Feel free to substitute coconut sugar for a healthier option.

Pour this mixture over the apples and toss to coat all the apple pieces.

A casserole dish is full of sliced apples covered with cinnamon.

Step Three: Bake

Let’s get to the good part — how to bake apple slices.

  1. Spoon the prepared apple slices in layers in the prepared dish. 
  2. Distribute vegan butter cubes and distribute them equally across the top.
  3. Bake for 15 minutes, then stir the apples. This cooks the apple slices evenly and prevents the top layer from getting dry.
  4. Bake for another 10 to 15 minutes, until the top is golden brown around the edges. Remove the dish from the oven and allow it to cool slightly before serving.

Marly’s Tips

For more tender apple slices, bake them for another 3–5 minutes. But be careful because if you bake them too long they will get mushy. I prefer a little spring to my apple slices.

Serving Tips

Serve this dessert warm with any of the following:

Storage Tips

Cover any uneaten apple slices and store them in the fridge for up to 7 days. Apple slices can be frozen for up to 3 months.

Vegan Apple Recipes

Want some more vegan apple recipes? These are some favorites:

A bowl of baked apple slices is topped with ice cream and caramel sauce. There are apples behind it and a blue kitchen towel.

That’s it for these baked apple slices!

Caramel sauce is being drizzled over ice cream atop baked apple slices. There is an apple and a blue kitchen towel behind it.

Baked Apple Slices

This simple Baked Apple Slices recipe is easy to make. It's a healthy, easy, gluten-free dessert recipe. Serve it with a dollop of vegan ice cream or vegan whipped cream!
5 from 2 votes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 50 minutes
Resting Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Servings: 6
Calories: 168kcal

Ingredients

  • 8 cups peeled and sliced apples (see note on apples)
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • cup brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • 2 tablespoons vegan butter

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350°F/175°C. Spray a 9×13 dish or 1.5 quart casserole dish with vegetable spray.
  • Peel and slice the apples and add to a mixing bowl. Immediately toss with lemon juice. In a seperate bowl stir together the brown sugar, cornstarch, spices, and salt. Sprinkle this over the apples and toss to coat all the apple slices.
  • Spoon prepared apple slices in layers in the prepared dish. Cut the vegan butter into small cubes and distribute it equally across the top of the prepared apples.
  • Place in the heated oven. Bake for 15 minutes, then stir the apples. Bake for another 10–15 minutes, until apples are golden and tender. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly before serving.
  • Serve warm with vegan vanilla ice cream or and vegan caramel sauce.
  • Cover any uneaten apple slices and store in the fridge for up to 7 days. Apple slices can be frozen for up to 3 months.

Recommended Equipment

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Notes

Regarding Apples. I used a mixture of pink lady apples and red delicious for this recipe. However, you can use a mixture of different apples, such as Granny Smith apples for their tartness and firmness, and yellow delicious for their sweetness and tenderness. Honey crisp is another variety that can be used in this recipe.
It takes around 7–8 medium apples to create 8 cups of apple slices.
Calories: 168kcal | Carbohydrates: 37g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 132mg | Potassium: 195mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 29g | Vitamin A: 268IU | Vitamin C: 9mg | Calcium: 26mg | Iron: 1mg

The nutrition information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator and should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

This post was originally published in 2020 and was updated to include new photos, new text, and an updated recipe in 2021.

One Response to Baked Apple Slices

  1. Avatar thumbnail image for MarlyMarly Reply

    5 stars
    As the recipe author, I’m pleased to say this is an easy recipe to make and results in a simple, healthy, and tasty baked apple dessert.

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