Looking for quick and easy desserts? This skillet-fried cooked apples recipe will be sure to hit the spot. Grain-free and with no added sugar, a friend of mine described these as, “apple pie without the pie.”
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve made these apples, never using measurements or worrying about an exact outcome. They’re always delicious, and they make their own ooey gooey sauce, without any added sugar. That’s the miracle of caramelization!
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- Lots of apples 7 pictured here
- t Butter don' be afraid
- Cinnamon
- Pumpkin pie seasoning mix or other spices you want to include
- Vanilla extract or Vanilla bean paste
- Peel and cut your apples. Sometimes I do slices like this. Other times I cube them. It doesn't matter.
- Heat your skillet on high.
- Add your apples and top with butter. Don't touch for a couple of minutes. Wait for the apples to get a little bit crisp on the bottoms.
- Stir/flip the apples around, and let new parts get a little bit brown/crisp.
- Stir/flip again and turn the heat down to medium low. Now you're just going to let the caramelization happen.
- Add cinnamon and other spices at any time. I like to do it a few times while the apples cook, after stirring/flipping.
- Keep stirring/flipping every 5 minutes or so.
- When the buttery/caramelized-apple-juice-y sauce thickens and the apples are soft, you'll know your apples are finished.
- Splash in a little vanilla extract or add a dash of vanilla bean paste toward the end.
- Don't forget to let them cool a little before you dig in!
Note: You can leave the peels on if the apples are organic, but I don't love the texture when the apples shrink but the peels don't as much... so I'd leave them out even then, too.
So what do you think? Will you be making these soon? They’re great for topping pancakes or waffles, or as a side dish for pork or ribs. And of course they’re amazing on top of some vanilla ice cream.
Does it frustrate you when I write these recipes that don’t really have measurements or times? (Sometimes the “quick and easy” recipes just don’t need them!) Or does it inspire you to loosen up in the kitchen?
Originally published November 2013. Updated October 2015.
28 Comments
Can you give measurements for the cinnamon and spices
sorry i can’t… measure with your heart. 🙂
This was so good! *tear* I mostly have to follow an AIP lifestyle because of my autoimmune condition. If you know anything about AIP then you know it’s pretty restrictive. This was such a treat!! Thank you, thank you, thank you!
oh my goodness i’m SO happy you loved it so much!!
How well does this reheat? I need to be able to make it in advance and reheat it later.
I make these a couple days in advance sometimes…..but here is another quick entertaining tip : You can also make these in a crock pot.!
Love that they don’t have added sugar. What kind of apples do you like to use best?
I like gala, but granny smith are great for this too.
Have made these quite a few times now. And they are really delicious. A very good way to use up extra apples and not have to throw them away. I use these on ice cream(warmed up a litlle), 0n top of cheesecake and they are so good in my morning oatmeal. And as for the measurements needed, I cook this way all the time. That’s why when someone wants a recipe from me, I tell them about how much, but they have to do it according to taste. Thanks for this recipe.
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I love cooked apples. I like the fact that you don’t use sugar.
Pining and making these.
Thanks for sharing at Wake Up Wednesday,
Bev
My boyfriend loves apples, I’ll have to make this for him! Thanks for linking up to Home Matters Party. #HomeMattersParty
Apple pie without the pie – this is right up my alley! I love some yummy caramelization and this is just too easy and delicious not to have very very soon. YUM! Thanks for sharing!
This was delicious made without any sugar! I did add a couple dabs of raw honey after cooking. I used organic Pink Lady and Granny Smith’s keeping the skin on, organic ghee, a lot less organic true cinnamon (Ceylon) dashes of sea salt and the raw honey. Eaten alone like a breakfast item in our array of choices.
Your version sounds fantastic too! Thanks for sharing it. 🙂 Glad you enjoyed the apples.
I was looking for a dessert using apples for a friend who was coming for dinner but can’t have sugar and your carmelzed apples was perfect. I used 3 lg. Delicious apples and about 1/3 cup butter and although the finished apples look like your picture I don’t know if they carmelzed because the juice didn’t thicken up even though there was very little to none left. I cooked them for about an hour in all stirring every 5 minutesas you said. They taste great and I know she will enjoy them. Thanks so much for the recipe.
YUM! These sound fantastic!
Thanks Katie! Hope you try them and let me know how it goes. 🙂
I used to hate when my mom would tell me to “just put a little in”. What is a little? Now that I’m the mom and doing most of the cooking, I tend to just look at recipes that add or omit what I want. I also like to just guessimate how much, partly to be creative, partly cause I’m lazy and I don’t want to wash a bunch of cups and teaspoons. Some recipes I tend to stick to it and measure.. some I love to just guess. Sometimes you hit a jackpot, and sometimes you forget how much you used or what you used when it’s good. 🙂
this looks AWESOME, i can’t wait to try it.
About how much butter would you say is “not afraid”. Butter lover here but I don’t want to ruin this.
maybe half a stick for the 7 apples i did? i didn’t measure.
When I do this for a pork side, I don’t put in cinnamon, but add onions with the apples. A little bit of white wine, Pinot , splashed in instead of vanilla makes this really yummy.
yummm
LOVE these throw n go type recipes:)
oh i’m so glad! 🙂
Yummmmm
Pretty much!