I’m not a big fan of the gloppy syrup that often comes with cooked apples. It’s too sweet for me and it kind of has a glue-like consistency. Yuck! Many sauteed apple recipes are very saucy and syrupy, so when I make them myself, I prefer a very dry sauteed apple (which also means they have less calories, sugar, and fat). So if you want to make sauteed apples with lots of syrup, I’m sorry to say, you’re going to need to look elsewhere!
Here’s how to make sauteed apples my way. You’ll need a few things…
- Apples! I like using Braeburn or Fuji. You don’t want to use something that’s going to get all mushy on you. If you’re serving the apples alone as a side dish, one apple serves about two people; as a topping one apple is about four servings.
- Butter! Use 1/2 tablespoon of butter for every apple you’re sautéing.
- Cinnamon! I’m a cinnamon lover, so I go heavy on it and use 1/4 teaspoon for each apple. You can use less, omit it altogether, or try something else (apple pie spice perhaps?).
- Maple Syrup! I like to steal an apple from the skillet about halfway through the cooking time and taste it to see how much syrup I want to add. Typically, I add between 1/2 to 1 tablespoon per apple. If maple syrup isn’t your thing, use brown sugar or honey.
Now you can get started. Heat the butter over medium heat until it’s melted.
Add the apple and cinnamon and saute for 10 minutes, or until softened, stirring frequently.
Stir in the maple syrup and continue to cook until it evaporates. Remove from heat and serve.
The obvious way to use sauteed apples is to eat them the way they are. Serve them as a side dish, a light dessert, or a snack.
I like to put them on sandwiches. Is that crazy? No, it’s not, it’s delicious! Here’s one I made with a cinnamon raisin English muffin and aged cheddar.
You can use them as a topping. I put them on oatmeal, but they’d be great on vanilla ice cream too.
And as long as you’re topping things with them, what about waffles or pancakes?
Do you make sauteed apples? What’s your favorite way to use them?
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I haven’t made those with maple syrup before but you can bet I will now! I like to sandwich mine between 2 pumpkin pancakes with some butter pecan syrup on top. Man, I need to eat breakfast.
YUMMMM! I’ve never heard of this butter pecan syrup, but I need it now!
The ones that come in a can make me want to wretch, but I hadn’t found a suitable alternative recipe… until now. Thanks!
HA! Me too! This is why I never buy apple pies and pastries from grocery stores because some of them use the canned pie filling–or at least, it tastes like it. Why don’t they just let apples taste like apples?!
I’ve never even thought to saute apples like this! Yummy! Your sandwich looks perfect for lunch. I just love apples and cheese. Well, lets be honest, I love cheese with just about anything!
Sometimes when I don’t have bread, I just put the apples right on the cheese. In Wisconsin, there was this cheese store that served samples like that sometimes & it’s messy but SO GOOD! They also served aged cheddar with mango chutney (yes, the Indian kind!) and that was a good combination too.
OMG, I love cooked apples and never thought about doing them this way -so simple! THank you!
Yup, it’s so simple to do that it’s one of the few things I’m actually willing to cook for breakfast.
Is there a story behind the spoon?
(I like it)
Nope–I got it from Sur La Table a few years ago when I was visiting Chicago.
Those look really yummy! I wonder if my kiddos will eat them?
I think they’re very kid-friendly.
You could try using brown sugar in place of the maple syrup too if that’s not a flavor your kids like!
Sometimes I swear we’re cooking in the same kitchen. Your recipes seem to always speak my language!
These are my kiddos very favorite dish. By. Far.
And I love apple in grilled cheese… never thought about doing sauteed apples, but bet it’s super yum!
Aw, thank you.
I still need to try doing a grilled cheese with raw apples–I can’t imagine it not being absolutely delicious!
I have to confess, I love gloppy, syrupy apples in pie! But I totally have to steal your sauteed apple with cheddar idea. Yum!
I like a little bit of syrup in my apple pastries, but not the cloyingly sweet, glue-y kind. I need a little bit of tartness!
I’d love that sandwich! I top toasted pound cake with vanilla or cinnamon ice cream and sauteed apples.
I love the idea of putting them on pound cake. I haven’t had pound cake in so long!
I’d happily try them your way, but I do like the gloppy slop as well!
You can keep your gloppy apples!
wonderful idea! I’ll be making these and eating them with cheese for lunch.
I hope you like them!
I love that the apples wont lose the crunch and the zest. I’d love this for breakfast. Healthy and delicious!
Yup, these are definitely perfect for breakfast, especially if you’re groggy in the morning like I am and can’t manage to make anything too involved.
Looks phenomenal! And great pics too, can almost taste the mapley, cinnamoney, goodness. I make something similar and always throw in walnuts or pecans. I’ve never thought to try it on an english muffin with cheddar, gotta give it a go now!
Ooh, I like the idea of throwing in walnuts or pecans too! I’m going to steal that one and you can have my English muffin idea.
These look and sound really yummy! I have some apples too!
I almost always have apples on hand, which is why I love this recipe so much.
These looks great! My daughter would love them
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Thanks! They are very kid-friendly.
wow, those are great ideas that I never thought about. I would love to try them in oatmeal
I love sauteed apples, especially on pancakes.
Was looking for a side dish to go with whole wheat sweet potato pierogi sauteed with raisins, sage and walnuts, and this looks perfect. Thanks!
Your pierogi sound absolutely amazing–why have I never thought to put sweet potatoes in mine?! I hope the apples turned out well for you!
Full disclosure — they’re Mrs. T.’s Whole Wheat Sweet Potato Peirogi, and I buy them frozen!
Ha! Why don’t they sell those at my grocery store?! I’m going to have to keep an eye out for them.