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Apple recipes - Our favourite apple recipes so you can make the most out of your organic apples

apple recipes

Here's a collection of apple recipes from our weekly newsletters, and some lovely ones you've sent in. If you'd like more please have a look at our recipe index! To find out about our apple producer and order yours click here.

Apple Dressing For Salads
Balsamic Pork Loin with Apple Crisps and Puree
Caramelised Apples
Baked Apples with Maple Syrup
Apple Crumble
Toffee Apples
Apple and Bacon Salad
Apple and Cottage Cheese Pancakes
Rum and Honey Fruit Salad
Garlic Roast Pork with Caramelised Apples, Onions and Gravy
Quick Bramley Apple Bread
Dorset Apple Cake
Apple Rarebit
French Cheese and Apple Tart
Easy Apple Cinnamon Rolls
Pimhill Porridge with Grated Apple and Raisins
Roasted Garlic and Apple Chutney
Mulled Cider
Tumble Crumble
Apple Porridge
Apple Rarebit
Apple and Celeriac Salad
Honeyed Apple Cranachan

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Apple Dressing For Salads

This is the basic recipe for an apple vinaigrette, which is lovely on any salad. Try it with mixed greens, goat cheese and walnuts. Or toss with shredded cabbage and red onion for a dynamic cole slaw. Approximately 4 servings.

3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
3 tablespoons walnut oil
1 large apple, cored and diced
salt and pepper to taste

Whisk vinegar and oil to blend, and season with salt and pepper. Stir in the apple, and marinate at room temperature for 30 minutes before serving.

Balsamic Pork Loin with Apple Crisps and Puree

Serves 2.

450g (1lb) sweet red apples such as Jonagold or Cox
100ml water
1/2 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Sprinkle ground nutmeg
450g (1lb) pork loin, cut into 6 medallions
3 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons cooking oil
120ml white wine
60ml balsamic vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat your oven to 225°F, 110°C, gas mark 1/4. For crisp apples, cut half of the apples into thin slices. Spread them in a single layer on a baking sheet, and bake for 4 hours so they dry out slowly.

Peel and roughly chop the remaining apples, and place them in a saucepan with the water, sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg, and bring them to a boil. Reduce to a low heat and simmer gently until they are soft, 10-15 minutes. When soft, puree in a blender or food processor. Set aside and keep

Put the flour in a shallow dish and season with a little salt and pepper. Press each pork medallion in the flour, covering both sides. Heat the oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat until hot but not smoking, and sear each medallion for 2 minutes on each side. Add the white wine and cook for 3 minutes, until the alcohol has evaporated. Add the balsamic vinegar and let it reduce for 1 minute. Remove the pan from the heat.

Serve the apple crisps, pork medallions and apple puree as soon as the pork is finished, drizzled with any remaining balsamic sauce from the pan. Excellent with roasted or steamed vegetables.

Caramelised Apples

An excellent accompaniment to savoury meats or desserts - try stuffed in a crepe and drizzled with cream!

3 tablespoons unsalted butter
100g sugar
900g (2lbs) not-too-sweet apples, like Granny Smith, peeled, cored and thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 200°C, 400°F, gas mark 6. Combine half of the butter with half of the sugar and 1 tablespoon of water, in a large non-stick frying pan over a medium heat. Cook, shaking the pan occasionally, until the sugar melts into butter and the mixture bubbles. Turn off the heat, and add the apples in layers. Halfway through, dot with some of the remaining butter and sugar. Use the rest of the butter and sugar on top, along with the cinnamon. Place in the oven and bake until the apple liquid has evaporated and the sides are dark brown, about 40 minutes. Remove and allow to cool before serving.

Baked Apples with Maple Syrup

4 medium red eating or baking apples, core the top 3/4 but leave the core in the bottom quarter
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
6 tablespoons maple or golden syrup
1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
4 cinnamon sticks

Heat oven to 230°C/450°F. Peel the top third of the skin from the apples and cut a sliver off the bottom so the apples can stand upright. Place them in a glass pie dish. Cut 1 tablespoon of butter into 4 pieces; fill each apple core with a piece of butter, 1 tablespoon maple syrup, 1/8 teaspoon ginger, and 1 cinnamon stick. Place the remaining butter and syrup in bottom of pie dish. Bake the apples, basting occasionally, until golden and tender, between 15 and 40 minutes. Serve warm with cream.

Apple Crumble

Here's a yummy apple crumble recipe that makes enough for the whole family.

5 apples
a splash of water
100 g flour
150 g sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
60 g cold butter

Grease a baking pan and preheat the oven to 180°C. Peel, core and slice the apples and set them aside. Mix the flour, sugar, salt and cinnamon together in a bowl. Then add the lump of butter. Make the crumbly topping by rubbing the flour mixture and the butter between your fingers until all the butter is mixed in evenly. Now spread the apples in the baking pan, add a small splash of water, and cover the whole thing with the crumb topping. Bake for 30 minutes or until the topping is toasty and brown.

Toffee Apples

A bonfire night necessity for the kids! Makes 4.

4 medium apples, washed and dried
400g demerara sugar
100ml water
75g unsalted butter
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
100g treacle (optional)
100g golden syrup

Push a wooden skewer into each apple core. Heat the sugar and water in a large heavy-based saucepan over low heat until dissolved. Add the remaining ingredients and bring to the boil over medium-high heat. Boil, without stirring, until the syrup reaches the "crack" stage, or until a little of the syrup dropped into cold water separates into hard threads, and the syrup is golden brown. Brush down the sides of the pan occasionally with a pastry brush dipped in cold water. Dip the apples into the toffee, twirl around for a few seconds to allow excess toffee to drip off, then leave to cool and set on a buttered baking sheet.

Apple and Bacon Salad

Pile atop lettuce or spinach for lunch. Serves 2.

4 slices streaky bacon, sliced
2 red apples, unpeeled, diced
2 wholemeal bread slices, diced
Ground pepper to taste
2 spring onions, or 1/4 red onion, sliced thinly
1 pinch dried rosemary, crumbled
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon olive or other salad oil

Fry the bacon in a medium frying pan over medium-high heat until it is crisp. Put it in a bowl with a slotted spoon. Add the apples to the pan and brown them lightly on one side. Put the apples in the bowl with the bacon. Add the bread to the pan and 'toast' it briefly, until bread starts to turn golden. Add the bread to the bowl, along with onions and rosemary. Whisk together the vinegar and oil, drizzle over salad and toss together. Season to taste with pepper and serve.

Apple and Cottage Cheese Pancakes

Top with maple syrup, yoghurt, sour cream or apple sauce. Serves 4.

Separate 4 egg whites from the yolks. Whisk the whites until stiff. In a separate bowl mix the yolks, 225g cottage cheese, 2 grated apples, 100g flour, 2 teaspoons lemon juice, 1 tablespoon honey, 1/2 teaspoon each cinnamon and salt, and 2 tablespoons of ground nuts (optional). Gently fold in the whites. Heat some oil/butter in a large frying pan over medium heat; add spoonfuls of batter. Fry on both sides until firm and lightly browned. If cooking in batches, keep the finished pancakes in a warm oven..

Rum and Honey Fruit Salad

Whisk together 3 tablespoons each honey, dark rum and orange juice. Create a salad using 1 chopped apple, 1 chopped pear, 1 sliced banana, 2 sliced kiwis, and 1 segmented orange. Combine the dressing and salad and chill for 30 minutes, and up to 5 hours.

Garlic Roast Pork with Caramelised Apples, Onions and Gravy

A gorgeous roast dinner to serve with your favourite sides like mash and steamed cabbage. The servings depend on the size of your pork leg – roast 30 minutes per 1/2kg (450g), plus 30 extra minutes. Allow 100-175g of raw meat per person.

Pork leg, boned and rolled
4-6 garlic cloves, chopped
2 tablespoons orange juice
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon wine vinegar
1 teaspoon each salt and pepper, or to taste
Fresh rosemary, chopped
2-6 eating apples
2-6 onions, peeled
2-4 tablespoons honey
700-900ml chicken or vegetable stock
25g plain flour 80ml orange juice, or to taste (for the gravy)

Preheat oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4. Pat the pork dry. with a sharp knife, score the skin and fat of the pork deeply in a criss-cross or diamond pattern. In a blender puree the garlic with the orange juice, oil, vinegar, salt and pepper, and rub the mixture all over the pork. Place on a rack in a roasting tin and roast for the calculated cooking time. 50-60 minutes before the end of cooking, add the apples and onions to the roasting tin, or a separate tray, and drizzle with honey, and some chopped rosemary. After cooking, remove the apples, onions and pork to the carving board, and transfer 2 tablespoons of the fat from the roasting tin to a small saucepan. Pour or scoop off the remaining fat from the pan juices, add the stock and deglaze the tin over high heat, scraping up the brown bits. Add the flour to the fat in the saucepan, and stir for 2 minutes over low heat. Strain the mixture from the roasting tin through a sieve into the flour mixture, whisking all the time. Whisk in the orange juice, and simmer the gravy, whisking, for 5 minutes. Season to taste, and serve.

Wine match: Cotes Du Rhone, France, 2005 (£6.99) - you don’t want too much tannin with pork but the soft tannins in this wine will lift the whole dish. Or, if you prefer white, try the Viognier, Vin de Pays d'Oc, France, 2004 (£8.99).

Quick Bramley Apple Bread

Preheat oven to 180C/350f/gas4. Combine 150g plain flour, 200g whole-wheat flour, ½ teaspoon salt, and 1 teaspoon baking soda. In a separate bowl blend 50g butter or margarine with 100g sugar (or 4 tablespns honey). Beat in 1 egg. Add in 2 medium grated Bramley or other tart apples. Add the dry mixture alternately to the apple mixture with 240ml buttermilk or milk. Stir the batter a few times until just blended. Fold in a handful of chopped nuts if you like. Place the dough in a greased loaf pan and bake for 1¼ hours, letting it cool in the pan.

Dorset Apple Cake

I spent my summer holiday in Dorset, where apple cake is a popular treat. Now that English apples are back on the menu, it's a great time to make it. Serves 8

150g butter
150g granulated sugar
2 eggs
300g self-raising flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground ginger
100ml milk
400-450g apples, peeled and finely grated
1 tbsp cider or apple juice
1 tbsp Demerara sugar

Line a 20cm/8in cake tin with parchment paper - rub a bit of butter on the tin to help the paper stick.

Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs. Sieve the flour, salt and spices together and add this to the creamed mixture. Add a little milk to loosen the batter up, but don't over do it; the mixture should be on the stiff side.

Very gently fold the grated apple and cider or juice (or you could use cognac or apple brandy) thought mix.

Put the cake mixture into the tin. Sprinkle the top with demerara sugar. Bake in a moderate oven at 190°C for 1 hour and 10 minutes. Serve warm with cream, or at room temperature (with clotted cream, if you like!).

Apple Rarebit

I love eating apples with cheese. This is a great, autumnal way of combining them. Serves 4 as a starter, or as a light lunch or brunch with nice salad – perhaps a waldorf salad and some crunchy little gem leaves.

4 x 4cm-thick slices white bread, like pain de campagne or a farmhouse loaf
Knob of butter
300g Cheddar, grated
150ml Samuel Smith's cider
1 tbsp Berkeley Farm pouring cream
1 tsp Tracklements tarragon mustard
1 tsp wild flower honey
1 large apple or 2 small apples

Preheat the oven to 170°C, gas mark 3.

Remove the crusts from the bread. Cut a square out of the centre of each slice, without going through the base, leaving a 1.5-2cm border around the edge, in effect creating a bread case. Roughly crumble the cut-out pieces with your fingers and set aside. Dot the hollowed-out bread cases with little bits of butter, place on a baking tray and bake for about 10 minutes until toasty.

Meanwhile, melt the cheese, cider, cream and mustard in a pan over a gentle heat. Stir until smooth then beat in the reserved breadcrumbs.

Preheat the grill to high. Peel and core your apple and cut into thin, ½-1cm thick slices. Place in the centre of each bread case. Pour the cheese mixture over the apple and place under the hot grill until they are golden and bubbling. You will need to serve them straight away before the bread softens.

French Cheese and Apple Tart

This is an adaptation from a gorgeous book called Culinaria France published by Konemann. It's fantastic for regional specialties. This is a classic in Burgundy, though it's normally made with the famous Epoisses, but I've Anglophile-d it by using the extremely rich and creamy Old Burford from Somerset. Serves 6-8

For the pastry:

250g plain flour
1 tsp salt
1 egg yolk
125g unsalted butter
3 ½ tbsp cold water

For the filling:

3 eggs
3 ½ tbsp crème fraiche
220g Old Burford cheese (or a ripe Epoisses of similar weight)
3 medium-sized eating apples
100g unsmoked ham
Freshly grated nutmeg
A pinch of sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Sift the flour and salt into a large bowl. Make a hollow in it. Cut the butter into small pieces and add it along with the egg yolk. Rub this into the flour and then fold the water through, sprinkling it over little by little. Work this with your hands until you have a soft dough. Wrap in clingfilm and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 200°C. Roll the dough out thinly. Butter a spring-form pan (about 26cm diameter) and line with the dough.

Remove the rind from the cheese and cut into a 1cm dice. Peel and core the apples and cut to a similar size. Ditto with the ham. Whisk the eggs for the filling until frothy. Whisk in the crème fraiche. Fold the cheese, apple and ham into the egg mixture. Season with a tiny pinch of sea salt, a grating of nutmeg and some freshly grated black pepper.

Pour this into the pastry-lined pan. Bake for 5 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 180°C and bake for another 30 minutes or until set. Best served hot.

Easy Apple Cinnamon Rolls

This yeast-free cinnamon roll recipe is so easy to make. You child will love getting their hand stuck in the bowl, rubbing the butter into the flour, or helping you roll the dough out onto a floured surface. Makes 10 rolls

3 medium-sized apples, peeled, cored, cut into 1cm cubes
2 tbsp raisins
50g unsalted butter, chilled butter, cut into cubes, plus 2 tsp for glossing the rolls
150g self-raising flour
100g rolled porridge oats
¼ tsp salt
1 tbsp brown sugar
3 tbsp honey
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tbsp natural yogurt
100ml milk

Place the apples in a pan with 2 tablespoons of cold water and the raisins. Cover and simmer over a medium heat for 5 minutes. Strain liquid off and leave cooked apples to cool completely. Preheat the oven to 220°C. Butter an 18-20cm loose-bottomed, round tin thoroughly. Line the base with baking parchment. Sift the flour with the salt. Grind the oats in a food processor until they resemble the texture of wholewheat flour. Fold them through the flour. Drop the butter cubes one by one in the flour, coating each with flour until all of the butter is in the bowl. Use your hands to gently rub the butter cubes into the flour until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Fold in the sugar, 1 tbsp of the honey and cinnamon. Whisk yogurt with the milk. Gently incorporate into the flour. Mix until you have soft, slightly sticky dough. Turn dough onto a generously floured surface – if it’s is too wet to roll out, fold in a bit more flour. Pat into a 18 x 30cm rectangle – about the size of a large cutting board. Spoon the cooled apple mixture evenly over the dough. Sprinkle 2 tbsp cinnamon sugar over the apples. Roll the whole lot up tightly from the longer edge. Use a serrated knife and cut into 10 even slices. Position the rounds in the tin, cut side up, and with a bit of space between them. Add a pinch of the reserved butter to the top of each roll. Sprinkle over the remaining cinnamon sugar, covering the tops of each round. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes or until golden. Turn the oven off. Drizzle the remaining 2 tbsp honey over and pop back into the switched-off oven for 5 minutes, just to let the honey set and soak into the rolls. Remove and cover with a clean tea towel and leave to cool slightly before eating warm or cold.

Pimhill Porridge with Grated Apple & Raisins

Serves 2

150g Pimhill jumbo porridge oats
2 tbsp raisins
½ tsp cinnamon
200ml water
100ml milk (any, even soya – but the best for flavour and body is full cream or Guernsey milk), plus 2 tbsp to top finished porridge
1 eating apple – any variety
1 tbsp runny honey

Fold the raisins and the cinnamon into the oats.

Place water and 100ml of milk in a sauce pan over medium-high heat and bring just to the boil. Stir in oats with raisins and cinnamon, lower heat and cook for 5-7 minutes, stirring frequently.

Once all the liquid has absorbed into the oats, remove from the heat. Grate the apple (skin and all – unless you’re totally against it), gently fold in. Place into bowls. Splash 1 tbsp milk over each and drizzle over a swirl of honey. Serve immediately.

Roasted Garlic and Apple Chutney

This is a great chutney to make at the start of the apple season, so it has enough time to settle before the Christmas cheesefest begins.

Fills about 7 good-sized jam jars
Prep time: 15 mins
Cooking time: 2 hrs
Storage: Eat on the day, or store in a cool, dark place for up to 1 year

1 whole bulb of garlic
3 large onions, peeled and chopped into small chunks
1.5kg apples, cored and roughly chopped into small chunks
A couple of large handfuls of raisins
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp mixed spice (or make your own with a pinch of ginger and one of cinnamon) or just throw in a cinnamon stick
1 tsp salt
1 mug of brown sugar (white will also do)
2 mugs of cider vinegar

Preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F/gas 5.

The first thing to do is slice the very top off the garlic bulb so that you can just see the flesh of the garlic cloves through the skin. Pop this onto a baking tray, top side up, and into the oven.

The garlic should take about 45 mins to roast, so start preparing and cooking the other ingredients meanwhile.

Put all the other ingredients into a large saucepan and bring to the boil. Give them a stir now and then and bring back to a simmer. When your garlic is roasted (it'll be soft and squishy), squeeze the garlic from the root end out of the bulb and into the pot. Let the chutney simmer uncovered for about 1½-2 hrs, stirring from time to time. Feel free to add a little more sugar or vinegar to the pot to get your chutney the way you like it.

The chutney should be ready when it becomes a thick porridge-like consistency. Spoon this into sterilised jars, close, cool and store in the cupboard until December. Give everyone chutney for Christmas!

Mulled Cider

Prep time: 5 mins
Cooking time: 20-30 mins

Serves 4-6

4 bottles Luscombe Devon Cider
4 tbsp Demerara sugar
Cinnamon bark
12 whole cloves
2 apples, thinly sliced

Pour cider in a pan or pot. Add the sugar, spices and apple slices. Let it simmer away for 20-30 mins. Serve warm.

Tumble Crumble

The best thing about crumble is that it's accommodating. If you've got a cracking top mix, like this 'ere one, you can pretty much bundle any fruit under it. New fruit, foraged fruit, and slightly dodgy-looking fruit that's been skulking in the fruit bowl a bit too long – all's welcome in this tumble crumble.

Prep time: 15 mins
Cooking time: 30 mins

Serves 4

1 mug of plain white flour, plus 1 tbsp for filling
1 mug of rolled oats
A pinch of sea salt
1 mug of brown sugar for topping, plus 2 tbsps for filling
1 mug of cold butter, cubed or ¾ of a mug walnut oil
6 mugs of fruit, cut into chunks
A splash of brandy (optional but nice)
A pinch of ground cinnamon, ginger or your favourite spice (not cumin though - it's not curry)

Preheat your oven to 190°C/375°F/gas 5.

Mix flour, oats, sugar and salt. Rub butter or oil into the mix until it's a mix between fine breadcrumbs and larger clumps.

Tumble the fruit, sugar, spice and a dash of brandy into the baking dish, and mix. Dust flour over. Mix again. Pile the topping on.

Pop in the oven for 30 mins, or until the top is golden.

Apple Porridge

Cold cereal is not for autumn days. This takes seconds to stir and has a portion of fruit in it.

Prep time: 5 mins
Cooking time: 10 mins

Serves 2

1 mug of water
½ mug of rolled oats
A pinch of cinnamon (and a few freshly scraped out vanilla seeds, if you have some)
1 large or 2 small apples, peeled, cored and cut into 1cm dice
A drizzle of honey or a bit of brown sugar
A good splash of full-fat or soya milk (50-100ml)

Place the water and diced apple in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Once bubbling, turn the heat down and stir the oats and spice through. Gently cook until all of the water has absorbed into the oats. Remove from heat. Add a splash of milk and stir through.

Spoon into bowls. Drizzle with honey or sprinkle a bit of brown sugar over the top. Pile on a few blackberries, if you have some growing in your hedgerow. Add a little puddle of milk on top and serve.

Apple Rarebit

Here's a warm, fluffy, autumn twist on the traditional Welsh rarebit – which originally was called Welsh rabbit, but there are no rabbits in this.

Prep time: 10 mins
Cooking time: 30 mins

Serves 4

4 slices of bread
3 tbsp butter, plus more for the bread
2 apples, cored and thinly sliced
1 tbsp plain white flour
²⁄₃ bottle Luscombe Devon cider
125g cheddar, grated
1-2 tsp of Dijon mustard
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat your oven grill to medium-high. Lightly butter the bread (just one side). Under the grill, toast each side. Remove. Cover the buttered side of each slice with apples and pop under the grill to let them soften, while you make the cheese sauce.

Melt the butter in a pan over a medium heat. Once it starts to just bubble, stir in the flour in till you have a smooth paste.

Then, slowly whisk in the cider, stirring vigorously to smooth out the lumps. You'll need about ²⁄₃ bottle of cider but add more if the sauce is too thick. Turn the heat down, stir in mustard, then cheese and stir till just melted – it should look a bit like a fondue, slightly fuller. Pour the cheese mix over the apple-topped toast. Pop back under the grill until the cheese starts to brown.

Apple and Celeriac Salad

Serves 4 as a side or 2 as a main, if you add cold roast chicken to the mix

Prep time: 15-20 mins

2 mugs of celeriac, peeled and cut into matchsticks
2 mugs of cored apples, cut into matchsticks
1 lemon
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
2 mugs of crème fraîche or 1 mug of mayo
A big handful of herbs or rocket
A handful toasted pinenuts or walnuts (optional)
A handful shredded, leftover roast chicken (optional)

Toss celeriac and apples in a bowl along with the lemon juice (and zest, if you fancy). Season well. Fold in the garlic and crème fraîche. Scatter the herbs over the top, along with toasted nuts and/or chicken, if using. Mix. Serve.

You could stuff this between bread and call it a sandwich or add leafy greens to transform it into a more lush salad. If you didn't add chicken, you could serve it with a hot, just roasted bird, or a joint of roasted pork.

Honeyed Apple Cranachan

Try this traditional Scottish pudding with our appley twist.

Prep time: 5-10 mins
Cooking time: 10-15 mins

Serves 4

2 big peeled, cored and finely diced apples
3 tsp runny honey and extra for drizzling
1 mug rolled oats
1 tbsp golden caster or brown sugar
A pinch of cinnamon
A pinch of cloves
250ml double or luxury pouring cream
1 tsp whisky (optional)

Pop the apples in a pan with 4 tbsp water on medium heat. Cover. Cook till soft and easily mashed with a fork. Check often. Add more water if dry.

Meanwhile, warm a frying pan over medium heat. Add the oats, sugar and spices. Cook for a couple of mins till toasted.

Puree or roughly mash the apples with 2 tsp of honey. Add more honey, if needed.

Whip the cream, whisky and remaining 1 tsp of honey.

Layer the toasty oats, apple puree and whisky cream in 4 nice glasses. Loosely fold them together. You can drizzle more honey in too. Serve immediately or chill for a bit. Scrummy!

P.s. Make it a healthy breakfast by dropping the whisky and swapping the cream for yogurt.