Today, I'm going to tell you about fried apples. They are so good! They are a perfect side dish, especially with any pork or sausage! First, I'll tell you a little story about how I learned to make them!
When I was sixteen years old, my husband took me home to meet the family in his hometown, a tiny farming community of less than 500 hearty souls.
That winter day, I met everyone on both sides of his big German family, but the most memorable were his three precious maiden aunts, Dora, Christina, and Martha! What a whirlwind it was!
Dora was the oldest girl in the Streff family, which made her the boss of the kitchen and pretty much everything else. I'm certain Dora had a direct pipeline to God, and I adored her.
Even though she never had children of her own, Dora had more youngsters who loved her than anyone I have ever known. And all three of those wonderful women could cook! I'll be sharing their recipes with you as well!
Simply because it's hearty, full of flavor, and super tasty! My husband is German to the core, and he loves to eat! We have a great arrangement because I love to cook!
His ancestors on both sides immigrated from Germany to Nebraska, and they were all hard-working, thrifty farmers. His dad was the baby of nine children in the Streff family (and that's a whole other story for another day!) This photo was taken on Easter Sunday in 1932.
Aunt Dora (that's Dora in the middle of the back row) taught me how to fry apples. She often served them alongside sausage or ham, and I fell in love with them on the spot.
Oddly enough, that dish fell off my mealtime playlist until lately. What a silly thing to do! They're so easy and so good with so many things! Make some now while apples are abundant and at their peak of perfection!
Use your favorite! These are Fujis, which we love, but Jonathans, Granny Smiths, Braeburns, or the new Cosmic Crisp apples make mighty good fried apples, too! Allow about one large apple per serving.
Start with some nice firm apples.
Quarter them and remove the core.
Slice the apples into thin half-moons.
Put them in a non-stick skillet with a tight-fitting lid.
Add about one tablespoon of real butter per apple. Cover and cook on medium heat until liquid is released and apples are tender. Cook time will depend on the variety of apple, but it should be around 15 minutes.
Now, remove the lid and sprinkle on about a teaspoon of sugar per apple. Cook until the apples begin to brown along the edges, stirring occasionally.
Don't worry if they get a bit brown; that crispy edge is delicious! When they're brown to your liking, sprinkle them ever so lightly with some coarse salt for the ultimate naturally sweet-salty side dish.
But fried apples are amazing with sausage, sauerkraut, and plain buttered potatoes. They're also yummy with ham, pulled pork, pork chops, or oven-roasted chicken.
Sometimes, when I want them more savory, I add thinly sliced sweet onion to the apples, let the flavors mingle, and get to know each other while they fry.
Yet another way to serve fried apples is to skip the salt and use cinnamon sugar and a dash of nutmeg instead. You end up with a kind of crustless apple pie that's great with cream or over ice cream! Yum!
Sweet, buttery, and slightly salty fried apples are made in a skillet for a wonderful, versatile side dish
Have you ever made fried apples? What do you serve with them? Who showed you how to make them? Here are a couple more of my favorite apple recipes: Oatmeal, Apple Crisp, and the most wonderful Danish Apple Cake.
If you liked this recipe, you are my people! If you enjoyed this recipe today, please share this post on your social media accounts like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest. It would sure tickle me, and I'd be ever so grateful; thank you!
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Love, GB (Betty Streff)
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Yummy
very!
My grandma was born in OK, then spent the better part of 70 years woth the Germans and Swedes in IA. She made fried apples, and I do, too, occasionally. I use butter, sugar, and cinnamon. Then sometimes I serve them with bratwurst, boiled potatoes, and sauerkraut and tomatoes. Sometimes we have hot potato salad, instead of boiled potatoes.
Fried apples are also good with biscuits and a good, thick sausage gravy. Mmm...now I'm hungry.
Oh, Debra, hearing from someone like you is pure oxygen to me!! I take so much joy in feeding my people and I just love hearing about your grandma! My grandmas both lived in the old country, I am a first-generation American so I wasn't able to get to know them! We have six grandkids who all grew up in the same town where we live and being a grandma is the best gig ever! I did love being a mom very, very much! I think we could be quite the friends!
Hi GB, I found your recipe on Pinterest. Every week we have family dinner with my son’s family and his in-laws. This week we had German food. I was asked to bring cooked apples. I found your recipe and it looked intriguing. My co-mother-in-law assured me the apples would take longer than 20 minutes. I let her take charge (her kitchen) and when I returned to check on the apples the skillet contained applesauce with peels! LOL! Oh well. I added cinnamon and nutmeg but forgot the salt. It was still very tasty. Perhaps you can update the recipe with appropriate times for the covered and uncovered stages. Thanks.
First of all, I apologize for the delayed response (I was in the hospital briefly, but I'm all better!), and I am so sorry the apples didn't turn out the way you hoped!
If the apples are sliced thin and put in a non-stick pan with a tight-fitting lid with butter, they do get tender very quickly. I used 15 minutes as an approximate time because it can vary because of apple variety, moisture content, sugar content, age, and the thickness of the slices.
"Cover and cook on medium heat until liquid is released and apples are tender. Cook time will depend on the variety of apples but somewhere around 15 minutes.
Now, remove the lid and sprinkle on about a teaspoon of sugar per apple and cook until the apples begin to brown along the edges. Stir occasionally.
Don’t worry if they get a bit too brown, that crispy edge is delicious!"
I know the rules change in someone else's kitchen, and the ranges all vary, and so do the pans. I am usually bustling around the kitchen at mealtime with one eye on the stove, monitoring the progress of each dish. When I suggest occasionally stirring after removing the lid, I assume someone will be watching.
I think the total time for making these fried apples is listed at about 25 minutes, so that's about 10 minutes after removing the lid from the tender apples, adding sugar, and getting to a golden brown.
I sincerely hope you'll try them again, especially in this season of apple abundance because they pair so beautifully with so many yummy fall dishes like ham, pork, and sausage. Please let me know if that helps. I never want someone to go away disappointed!
I have made fried apples like this for years. They are absolutely the best fall treat. I always fry apples when I make krautburgers. It has become part of my fall traditions. Fried apples and krautburgers for supper bring smiles to your face and happiness to your stomach.
I can't have butter. Would coconut oil be a good substitute? Any changes for temp or braise time?
Forgive my tardy reply, please! Is your issue with butter the fact that it has dairy, or are you a vegan? If it's a dairy thing, ghee would be great. Butter without the milk solids! I'm sure that coconut oil would work fine, but I can't say for sure without trying it. I would miss the butter flavor, but I see many brands of vegan butter flavorings available for you to try! I sure hope you'll let me know.
I grew up with fried apple. My grandmother used s little bacon grease. Still make them today.
Oh yes, I have done that too and it's absolutely delicious!! I think you and I could be friends and cooking buddies, Dianne!! Thanks so much for taking the time to comment!! Happy Thanksgiving!!
I make fried apples with coconut oil all the time due to my husband's dairy allergy. As someone who's eaten them with both coconut oil and butter, I can say that there's really not much of a difference.
Sorry for the delay in answering! That sounds like a great idea, thank you!
Can you make these ahead and reheat them?
I reached out to your email since I was away from my computer. I hope they turned out well!
love to cook with apples both of my parents are German my mother came to this country when she was a young girl my dad was born here i am a twin one of 13 children we were taught there is no such thing as a free lunch if you want something get out there and work for it we all wound doing well now a widow `doing love to bake share it with the neighbors and family my daughter just made a German apple pie
What an inspiring comment!! Thank you for taking time to say hello! You are so right, my parnets came her from Denmark and Iceland and my husband's granparents came from Luxembourg- and all them them really knw how to work!! Tell me about German apple pie, please!
GB
I had said my daughter had baked a German apple pie you asked me about it if you go to the site BAREFOOT IN THE KITCHEN the recipe is on her site it is yummy let me know if you found the recipe
Lil
I did!! And several others that look amazing! thank you Lil!! 😘