Name: Sweet & Tender Baked Cinnamon Apples
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 50 min
Total time: 1 h
Cuisine: apples
Ingredients: 1 cup oats; 1 cup pecans; ½ cup dates; 1 tsp cinnamon; ¼ tsp nutmeg; Large pinch of salt; 2 tablespoons coconut oil, melted.; 4 apples of your choice (I used pink lady!)

This is an overhead angled image of a baked apple on a white plate. The baked apple is topped with a crumble, vanilla ice cream and caramel drizzle. The plate is on a white table cloth and a baking dish with more baked apples are to the upper left of the image, blurred in the background along with a pink teacup to the right. — Topped with a sweet oat crumble and baked until tender, sweet cinnamon apples will quickly become a fall favorite! Top them with your favorite ice cream and a drizzle of caramel or peanut butter!

Baked Cinnamon Apples will be one of those easy dessert recipes that you make on repeat! This is a simple, easy baked apple recipe perfect for any autumn occasion!

Listen, apple picking is a super adorable autumn activity but then you have bags upon bags of apples sitting on your counter and you’re not quite sure what to do with them?

Welp, I’m about to help you out and give you the apple inspo of you dreams. Easy to prep? Check! Perfectly cozy? You betcha! Loaded with those sweet fall spices we all love? You better believe it!

If you love desserts you have to check out my post of 50+ Gluten Free Dessert Recipes. Try some of my favorite apple recipes like Apple Cider Bundt Cake, Gluten Free Apple Crisp, and Soft Baked Apple Blondies.

Ingredients for Baked Cinnamon Apples

Oats. I’m using gluten free rolled oats here. Stay away from a quick oat, instant oats or thick oats because it should mess with the texture here. You don’t need certified gluten free oats but I just tend to always grab those!

Pecans. For that nutty, fall vibe. Yes you can sub another nut like walnuts or almonds but I really love the flavor pecans add here.

Dates. This is going to sweeten these babies up!

Spices. I’m talking cinnamon, nutmeg and a pinch of salt.

Coconut Oil. I tend to go for refined coconut oil but butter or vegan butter would also work here!

Apples. I used pink lady apples. I’m chatting more about apple selection below!

What are the Best Apples to Use?

Honestly, any apple works here so don’t stress if you just went to the store and grabbed a random apple. If you want to hone this recipe a bit more and achieve a certain flavor combo, here’s a guide:

Tart apples. If you want to try for a tart apple to counterbalance the sweet topping, try for Granny Smith. They are super versatile and tend to be to go-to apple for baking.

Sweet apples. If you are all about the sweet on sweet combo (like me!) grab an apple variety like Pink Lady, Honeycrisp, Fuji, Gala or Golden Delicious.

This is an overhead image of plates and bowls with assorted ingredients: pecans, coconut oil, apples, oats, dates, and spices. There is an apple cut in half toward the bottom of the image with an antique butter knife

This is an overhead image of a beige bowl with an oat pecan crumble mixture in it. An antique spoon is in the bowl leaning against the side. The bowl sits on a white gray surface with apples scattered around.

How to Make Baked Cinnamon Apples

Start the crumble. In a blender or food processor, add ¾ cup of the oats and ¾ cup of the pecans. Pulse until they blend into a flour-like consistency. Add the dates one at a time, pulsing until they are broken down in the flour. It will look like a chunky, sandy texture!
Finish the crumble. Add the mixture into a bowl along with the cinnamon, nutmeg salt, and remaining oats. Chop the remaining ¼ cup of pecans and add them as well. Mix to combine.
To the crumble mixture, add the coconut oil and mix until everything is coated.
Prep the apples. Cut the apples in half and scoop out the core. Lay them skin side down in the baking dish and spoon a few tablespoons worth of the filling into each cavity. Feel free to pack it down with your hands to ensure it doesn’t spill out.
Bake. Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil and bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour, or until golden, fragrant and cooked through.
Serve with ice cream, whipped cream or maple syrup to drizzle on top!

Should I Peel the Apples?

Not necessary! I love the color the apple skin adds to this dessert and it makes for a little bowl to contain all the apple and crumble.

More Ways to Cut the Apples

I’m cutting the apples in half but you can definitely do a more traditional route by keeping them whole and coring out the middle and seeds.

How to Serve these Apples

Vanilla ice cream is a no brainer for me but the possibilities are endless. Caramel drizzle, maple syrup, whipped cream, maybe hot fudge? Peanut butter?

This is a side view of a baked apple cut in half. The apple is topped with a cinnamon oat crumble and vanilla ice cream. The apple is cut into and sits on a white plate with a fork. The plate sits on a white table cloth and a baking dish with more apples are to the left of the image. A teacup are blurred in the background.

How to Store Leftovers

Store leftovers for 3 – 4 days in an airtight container in the fridge. These reheat beautifully in the microwave or in the oven at 350F for about 10 – 15 minutes until heated through.

More Apple Recipes

GF Gluten-Free DF Dairy-Free V Vegan VG Vegetarian EF Egg-Free