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Easy Skillet Apples

March 10, 2025 by Julie - The Recipe Life Leave a Comment

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This amazing Skillet Apples Recipe makes a skillet full of tender apples in buttery cinnamon sugar sauce. This homemade apple side dish is a great warm snack, delicious over ice cream or yogurt, and is an amazing homemade apple pie filling for desserts and dump cakes!

Tender apple slices coated in cinnamon sugar glaze in a large skillet.

My mother-in-law handed down this skillet apples recipe to me. She graciously made it for my kids as a quick side dish for lunches and dinners. They LOVED it. Skillet apples are soft, sweet, and very easy for kids to eat! My kids would rate this a 10/10 kid-friendly side dish! Then we discovered it also made the best homemade apple pie filling when we used it for our famous Apple Dump Cake. Goodbye to extra preservatives and dyes! There’s freedom in making food from scratch. The kids couldn’t taste the difference, and we haven’t looked back!

We love this easy skillet apple recipe for making every apple taste amazing! We have made it many times and have yet to be disappointed. This is a great recipe when you have too many apples or need to clean up apples that are going bad, saving food from going to waste. We have even made skillet apples out of apples that are a bit too tart for everyday eating.

Tender apple slices coated in cinnamon sugar glaze in a large skillet.

Skillet Apples is an old-fashioned recipe that works! The beauty of it is that you can use 4 apples or 8 apples, and the sauce stays the same! Simply add a bit of water if you feel the sauce cooked down before your apples become fork-tender. This skillet apple recipe is very forgiving.

How to Make Easy Skillet Apples

Skillet Apples are an easy beginner recipe. The only tricky part is peeling and cutting apples, so we love to use this tomato slicer knife by Rada Cutlery to make it as smooth as possible. It can wiggle around the core and any bad spots, leaving you with as much good apple as possible to savor later. Then cook, occasionally stir, and enjoy!

Ingredients for Skillet Apples

  • 4-8 medium apples, peeled and sliced about 1/8-1/4 inch thick
    • Think about an apple per serving for a side. Then, five medium to large apples will equal about 21 ounces of pie filling when substituted for store-bought apple pie filling.
    • Apples can be any variety. We often use gala apples. Softer varieties require less time to cook, while crisp varieties require longer time.
  • 1/3 cup butter
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 2 T cornstarch
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Ingredients for skillet apples recipe. 4-8 medium apples, sugar, cornstarch, butter, cinnamon, and water.
Peeled, cored, and sliced apples in a large measuring cup!

Instructions for Skillet Apples

First, melt the butter in a 10-inch skillet or larger over medium heat. Then, stir in the sugar and cornstarch. Mix well!

Melted butter in a large skillet.
Sugar and cornstarch on top of melted butter.
Melted butter, sugar, and cornstarch mixed together.

Next, stir in the prepared apple slices, water, and cinnamon. Cover the skillet with a lid, letting the apples and water come to a slow boil.

Apples slices mixed into the butter and sugar mixture.
Water and cinnamon on top of our sugar and cornstarch coated apples.

Cook the apples for about 5-7 minutes, then uncover the skillet, allowing the water to evaporate and the sauce to thicken. Stir occasionally, spooning the cinnamon-sugar sauce over the apples. Then, cook the apples for an additional 5-7 minutes until they are fork-tender. Serve warm and enjoy!

Zoomed in picture of tender apple slices coated in cinnamon sugar glaze in a large skillet.

Note: If using this recipe for pie filling, the cooking time will be longer because you need a thicker sauce.

Storing Cooked Apples

Skillet Apples will keep well in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week.

Great Sides and Salads for Families

Berry and Spinach Salad with Raspberry Vinaigrette: Nothing screams summer is on the way quite like strawberries coming back in season. This berry and spinach salad recipe is a winning combination of fresh red berries and crunchy walnuts top with tart onions. Add the sweet raspberry vinaigrette and it’s the best summer salad out there- a perfect blend of flavors in every bite!

Easy Raspberry Fluff: Raspberry Fluff is a four-ingredient side dish perfect for Easter! With vanilla pudding, Cool Whip, yogurt, and yummy frozen raspberries, it is a sweet but light side dish that your guests will savor!

BBQ Green Beans: This BBQ Green Bean recipe transforms ordinary green beans into extraordinary green beans coated with a sweet and savory BBQ sauce and topped with coveted, crunchy bacon bits. It’s a slow cooker recipe for potlucks, BBQs, family parties, and holidays!

Red, White, and Blue Fruit Salad: This fruit salad is a colorful mix of red, white, and blue, perfect for Memorial Day, the Fourth of July, and Labor Day potlucks and BBQs. It combines raspberries, bananas, and strawberries in a tangy homemade dressing. This easy fruit salad recipe is refreshing and enjoyable at any time!

Tender apple slices coated in cinnamon sugar glaze in a large skillet.
Tender apple slices coated in cinnamon sugar glaze in a large skillet.

Skillet Apples

Skillet apples are tender apples in a buttery cinnamon sugar sauce. They are great warm side dish, perfect over ice cream, or easily used as a homemade pie filling. This skillet apples recipe is quick, and delicious!
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 5 minutes mins
Cook Time 10 minutes mins
Course Breakfast, Dessert, Side Dish
Cuisine American
Servings 4

Ingredients
  

  • 4-8 medium apples peeled, cored, and sliced
  • ⅓ cup butter
  • ½ cup butter
  • 2 Tablespoons cornstrach
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Instructions
 

  • Melt the butter in a 10-inch skillet or larger over medium heat. Then, stir in the sugar and cornstarch. Mix well!
  • Stir in the prepared apple slices, water, and cinnamon. Cover the skillet with a lid, letting the apples and water come to a slow boil.
  • Cook the apples for about 5-7 minutes, then uncover the skillet, allowing the water to evaporate and the sauce to thicken. Stir occasionally, spooning the cinnamon-sugar sauce over the apples. Then, cook the apples for an additional 5-7 minutes until they are fork-tender. Serve warm and enjoy!
    Note: If using this recipe for pie filling, the cooking time will be longer because you need a thicker sauce.
Keyword Homemade Apple Pie Filling, Skillet Apples

Filed Under: Desserts, Food & Recipes, Side Dish, Snack Tagged With: delicious dessert, kid-friendly, side dishes, snack

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