Skillet Cinnamon Apples
Published on September 22, 2023
Quick Summary
Skillet Cinnamon Apples-sautéed apples with butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon are a real fall treat and they take less than 10 minutes to make. Serve as a side dish, breakfast topping, or dessert!
As soon as there’s a slight crisp in the air I start dreaming of Skillet Cinnamon Apples. They remind me of my childhood. The smell of cinnamon apples sautéing on the stove with butter and brown sugar is pure heaven!
Sure, I love baked apples, apple crisp, and apple cobbler, but sautéed cinnamon apples are SO simple! They only take about 10 minutes to cook and are so sweet and delicious!
Use in-season apples to make this quick dish that works as a side dish, a topping for breakfasts and desserts, or a dip with crackers and cheese. The possibilities are endless, but they all taste really good! You can’t go wrong!
Table of Contents
What Apples to Use
Use your favorite or whatever you have on hand. Here are some of the different flavors you’ll find in popular apple varieties:
- Gala: Gala apples are mostly sweet with a soft, easy-to-bite inside.
- McIntosh: These can be harder to find, but they’re so yummy. McIntosh red apples have a slight tartness and they’re super juicy.
- Honeycrisp: my personal favorite! They are SO good!
- Fuji: A good all-around apple and easy to find at grocery stores.
- Granny Smith: Crisp, tart, and great for cooking and baking!
- Jonagold: Jonagold apples hold up well during baking and cooking, and they’re not quite as sweet as other varieties.
Do I Have to Peel the Apples?
It’s up to you. Peeled apples will have a smoother texture, but if the apple skins don’t bother you, you can leave them on. I make this recipe with and without the skins and both taste great to me! It’s basically personal preference.
How to Make Cinnamon Apples
This cooked apple recipe is SO simple and your house will smell like fall when the apples are sautéing in the skillet. Your family will run into the kitchen begging for a taste, my boys always do:)
- Chop the apples into bite-size pieces that are the same size so they cook evenly. If you want to do slices, you can, just add an additional minute or two to the cooking time.
- I like to add lemon juice to the apples to prevent them from browning, plus I like the fresh zip of flavor.
- I cook the apples in butter for flavor, but if you need the recipe to be vegan, you can use coconut oil.
- Make sure you don’t over cook the apples, you don’t want mushy apples. Take them off the heat when they are soft, but still a little crisp.
Serving Suggestions
There are so many ways to enjoy these sautéed apples that you’ll want to always have a batch on hand! Here are a few of the ways we enjoy them…
- As a side dish with breakfast, lunch, or dinner
- Use as a topping for pancakes, waffles, German pancakes, or French toast
- With a scoop of vanilla ice cream
- Spooned over yogurt with granola
- Spread toasted bread with whipped cottage cheese and top with cinnamon apples
- Served with brie and your favorite crackers
- Stirred into oatmeal or overnight oats
- Use as a topping for pork chops, chicken, or pork tenderolin
How to Store and Reheat
Once cooked and cooled, store the apples in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to one week. Reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop with an additional 1-2 tablespoons of water if needed!
To freeze, let the apples cool completely. Store in a freezer bag or container for up to 2 months. Thaw, reheat, and enjoy!
More Apple Recipes
- Slow Cooker Apple Butter
- Apple Cobbler
- Apple Crisp
- Baked Apples
- Instant Pot Applesauce
- Cinnamon Apple Crumble
- Apple Bundt Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
- Apple Cinnamon Muffins
Skillet Cinnamon Apples
Ingredients
- 3 large apples, peeled, cored, and chopped
- Juice of ½ lemon
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons water
- ¼ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
- Place the chopped apples in a medium bowl. Drizzle with lemon juice and stir. Add the brown sugar and cinnamon and stir until the apples are well coated.
- In a large skillet, heat the butter over medium heat. Add the apples and 2 tablespoons of water. Cook, stirring occasionally, until apples are tender but not mushy, about 7 to 8 minutes. Stir in the vanilla extract and pinch of salt.
- Serve the apples warm.
Notes
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?
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These are so yummy inside or on top of German pancakes!
Sautéed apples were excellent. I added walnuts 1/2 cup for texture. Will make this again
Suggestion for substituting the brown sugar
coconut sugar would work! You could use granulated sugar, but I like a deeper sugar for flavor. You could also try pure maple syrup or honey, just be careful because it might stick to the pan.
Wow! Just made these for the third time in a month. I can’t stop! 🙂
So delicious! I just had them on oatmeal this morning with some pecans and raisins on top. Will have them tomorrow on some french toast made with leftover cinnamon buns. Have had them on ice cream, and of course, just straight up.
Such a fast and easy recipe, with just the combination of ingredients. I used McIntosh apples and left the peels on. I like them like that, and I think it ups the nutritional value. Don’t miss the vanilla at the end, it finishes it off very nicely.
I make these in the microwave – no butter needed. About 6 min. Delicious!
Awesome!
I made these the other night to go with some sausages. Wow!!! That addition of vanilla just made it so over the top delicious. Thanks for another good one.
So glad you loved them!
So easy and so tasty!
And they smell so good!