Get that apple pie flavor without the crust! This is a great baked apple recipe if you’re trying to cut out sugar and/or white carbs. I created this recipe while doing a sugar free challenge and these sweet and cinnamon spiced apples are just what I needed to stop my sugar cravings.
If you’re new to cutting out sugar from your diet, you may be feeling desperate.
Orrrrr you’re doing great, don’t crave sugar at all, and we all hate you.
Either way, you deserve a treat. These baked apple slices are here to rescue you. Reward you. They’re not an eat-every-single-night type of thing. Hence the word: treat.
I was inspired by Carla Hall’s Spiced Baked Apples on The Chew. But she uses brown sugar, honey, brandy, and apple cider and those are totally illegal if you’re working off a sugar free diet shopping list. So, I played around with my own version and think it turned out pretty good.
Butter Disclaimer:
Yes, this recipe is not shy with the butter. I created this recipe because my number one goal was to cut out sugar and I knew I wouldn’t be making this dessert a regular habit. It’s just something nice and comforting to eat when you feel like you’re depraving yourself and you want to indulge without breaking the sugar-free rules that this cruel world has put in front of you.
The jerks!
Well, slice up some Braeburns, baby. Infuse your butter with spices.
Am I sure butter is sugar free? It is sugar free, not calorie free. Who cares? Not me.
This is after a few layers to show you how I smush (← very technical baking term) the butter on top of the apple slices.
Keep adding layers until you’ve filled your dish to the top or you’re so sick of cutting thin slices of apples that you’re about to go rogue and make this no bake Oreo dessert instead.
Stack and spread, stack and spread.
No, it’s not grandma’s apple pie. There are no crunchy crumbles. But hey, if you want a truly sugar-free sweet treat after depriving yourself of your favorite desserts, this will be welcomed by your faces. We devoured ours in 30 seconds.
There is a teeny tiny, eeny weeny cheat here, other than butter but shsshsshsh. I won’t tell if you won’t tell. Lean in, and I’ll whisper it to you. I’m hoping to feel your breath on the monitor.
There’s a few tablespoons of freshly squeezed orange juice in the recipe…sshhhh! I said shush!
Do you hear sirens? I’m paranoid the Fed Up Challenge police will arrest us. They say that fruit juice isn’t allowed but whole fruit is allowed.
Look, if you eat the rest of the orange and get the fiber from it, we’ll just pretend this didn’t happen. It’ll be our little secret.
And we’re not going to be eating this every doggone day. No, we are not. We. Are. Not.
Seriously, did you just see flashing red and blue lights?
Print
Sugar-Free Baked Apple Slices
Ingredients
- 3–4 Braeburn apples*
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon, plus more for sprinkling
- 1/2 teaspoon of apple pie spice (I used Penzeys. If you don’t have this, use approximately 1/8 teaspoon of both nutmeg and cloves, and add an extra 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon.)
- 1/2 teaspoon table salt
- 1/4 cup “no sugar added” apple sauce
- 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice (bottled orange juice will be too sour)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°.
- In a small bowl, combine softened butter, cinnamon, apple pie spice, salt, and applesauce. Mash together with a soft silicone spatula until mixed thoroughly. Set aside.
- Core the apples and slice them into very thin slices.
- Line the bottom of a small, shallow baking dish with a single layer of apples. Spread a small amount of the butter mixture over each slice. Add another layer of apples to cover up any open spots. Spread a small amount of butter over those newer slices. Drizzle 1 tablespoon orange juice over the apples and lightly sprinkle with cinnamon.
- Repeat layers until you’ve used up all your apples or filled your dish to the top. (You’ll be using the orange juice and extra cinnamon on every other layer of apple slices.)
- Bake for 30-35 minutes or until apples are fork tender. Take out of oven and let cool for 10 minutes before serving.
Notes
*Braeburn apples are used because they are sweet and tart and have a lot of flavor, which is very important since we’re not adding sugar to this recipe. If you can’t find Braeburn, try Fuji or Jazz apples.
More great recipes at www.thekitchensnob.com
Fed Up Challenge Diary – Days 2-5
I put sugar free syrup on my apples and the sweetness is amazing when cooked in microwave for 4 minutes ! just another idea 🙂
What is the Fed Up plan?
Hi Reatta. Here is the link to the original page. You can also do a search on my site for “sugar free” and find lots of recipes and other posts about it.
Do you think I could put a topping on this to make it more of an apple crisp?
Thanks!
I think you could. If you use white flour then it won’t be considered the strict “sugar free” diet laid out in the Fed Up plan. But you’re welcome to try whatever you like. Let me know how it turns out and how you change it!
I’d love to make this for diabetics as a Thanksgiving side dish – do you know if making ahead will work, and how to reheat (microwave / oven?
Hi Chris, sorry for the late reply. I believe you can make this ahead (although I haven’t tried it) but I would worry reheating this in the microwave would alter the texture of the apples a little.
I had go find out what Braeburn apples were. Apparently they originated in New Zealand. Learnt something new. Guess it is OK to use regular apples in this recipe. Butter is good for weight loss and Cinnamon is great for cutting down the blood sugar levels. So all in all this is a fantastic recipe. Now if you had used Ceylon Cinnamon it would have been even better. Bravo for not using sugar. I have cut out sugar completely, with a resulting decrease in blood pressure to perfectly normal. But still crave something sweet from time to time. This is like the perfect guilt free way to enjoy that. And if you want a free bag of Ceylon Cinnamon to try with your recipes we would be more than happy to send it wherever in the World you are. Cinnamon after all is the scent of Christmas.
I love Ceylon Cinnamon. Great idea!
What is the carbs for this recipe. I’m looking for Keto desserts.
Hi Kaitlyn, I’m sorry I don’t know the nutritional values and I’m not familiar with Keto. I’ve been looking into getting a nutritional chart done for my recipes.
I’m on Weight Watchers. I used you recipe for baking my apples except I cut down on the butter. It smells delicious. The apples are baking now. Thank you for sharing your recipe.
Thanks for your comment, Susan. I bet they turned out delicious!
many of us need this help as we arr diabetic 2 or borderline.Thanks for the help
I love a good healthy dessert to break up the usual sugar/butter/carb loaded desserts! Baked apples are an awesome dessert to remind you of apple pie without all of the apple pie guilt. Love this idea!
Hi Jessica, thanks for your comment. You might want to use a little less butter because this one is kind of heavy on the butter. For the Fed Up Challenge, I wasn’t being concerned with calories and more just concerned with keeping it sugar free. If I was eating this for the purposes of just being healthy, I might decrease the sugar and add a little honey.
That sounds delicious for any one on a sugar free diet. I am having my quilt group over in February and one of our members NEVER eats any sugar. Can you imagine? So, I am going to make this for her (the rest of us will be having some sugary dessert!) Thanks for another great post! By the way, I really like that little vintage casserole dish you put the apples in!
Thanks! Sounds like a good plan 🙂 Let me know how it turns out.