Apple Crisp Stuffed Baked Apples

This Apple Crisp Stuffed Baked Apples recipe is the perfect comforting dessert. Warming, tender baked apples loaded with a maple tahini crumble and apple pie spice. This recipe uses whole ingredients to make it more nourishing and is completely vegan and gluten-free.

This post is sponsored by One Degree Organics, but all opinions are my own.

Apples right now are sweet and have the perfect bite to them. It is now time to enjoy them. And honestly, there is no better way to enjoy them than with a little crumble on top and baked in the oven. And while I love to make a good apple crisp, I feel this method for these stuffed baked apples is a little less tedious and still results in the most comforting dessert that’s also still nourishing at the same time. So yes, enjoy your dessert for breakfast in this case.

Maximizing Nutrition with the Right Ingredients

If you are new to my recipes, you might get a sense that I am pretty obsessed with oats. I use them in so many different ways from standard bowls of oats to using them in delicious baked goods. Since I use them so often, I make it a point to opt for oats that I feel good about.

Things I look for when choosing my ingredients: quality, taste and how it’s grown. I’ve gotten into this habit especially after seeing how food is grown and how that process can affect our overall health. It really makes me appreciate One Degree Organics Sprouted Rolled Oats because they use sustainable and plant-based farming methods. You can also get to know the farmer that grew your oats by scanning the QR code on their packages. And of course, from a nutrition perspective, I also appreciate that these oats are sprouted, gluten-free and glyphosate.

Sprouted Grains

And just in case you aren’t familiar with sprouted grains, we’re just referring to how the grain was activated. Sprouted grains are whole grain seeds that have begun to sprout to life after being soaked and nurtured in the perfect environment of heat and moisture for growth. This process helps to reduce nutrient inhibitors, which makes things like soluble fiber, protein, antioxidants, and folate easier to access, digest and absorb. [1]

Key Ingredients

• Apples: I used pink lady apples because they are my favorite, but use your favorite apples too.
• Rolled Oats: Not just any oats. We’re using some sprouted oats to help make this recipe even more nourishing.
• Tahini: I love opting for tahini in place of butter in this recipe because it gives us a few more nutrients like fiber, protein and calcium.
• Maple Syrup: Our sweetness and it also helps to bind along with the tahini for the perfect crumble.
• Apple Pie Spice: This is a little short cut in place of using a bunch of different spices.

How to Make this Stuffed Baked Apples Recipe

Start by coring your apples and then cutting them in half. Squeeze some lemon juice over the inside of the apple to help them avoid browning while you prepare to top them.

In a small bowl, combining your oat crumble ingredients and mix them until well combined. Then dice one of your apples and place in another bowl with some cornstarch, lemon juice and apple pie spice.

To assemble, place your apple halves in a baking dish lined with parchment paper. Scoop a little bit of the diced apples on top and then top over that your apple crumble.

Cover your baking dish with some foil and then place in the oven for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and continue baking for another 20-30 minutes or until the apples are tender. Then serve it up however you like.

Tips for the Perfect Tender Apples

• Cover your apples with foil before placing in the oven. You just want to cook them covered for about 20 minutes to help cook the middle of the apple a little easier. After that cooking time, you can remove the cover and allow them to bake like normal to crisp up.
• Sweet and tart apples work really well for this recipe. Since we are just prepping the apples with a little lemon juice, having a nice sweet apple works really well for getting the most flavor out of this simple recipe. These types of apples also tend to be less mealy.
• Cooking time will vary. You want to make sure your apples are tender after baking, so they still hold their shape. You can reduce the cooking time by spooning out more of the apple centers to make a small little bowl for your apples and crumble. If you remove enough of the filling, you can likely bake these in a shorter amount of time (about 20 minutes).

Storing Your Baked Apples

These apples are best served the day they are made. However, you can store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3-4 days. You can place back in the oven for a few minutes to warm through and crisp up the topping. I would also recommend against freezing them as they likely will give the apples a weird texture when thawed or reheated.

Enjoying Your Apples

While these are meant as a fun dessert, there isn’t anything wrong with enjoying them for breakfast either. Between the wholesome ingredients like the oats, tahini, and apples, you can enjoy these little apple slices with some protein rich vegan yogurts for a complete meal.

More Fruit Filled Desserts to Try

• Easy Peach Crisp
• Strawberry Crumble Bars
• Vegan Lemon Blueberry Muffins
• Double Chocolate Banana Bread

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If you tried this recipe or any other recipe on the blog, then let me know what you thought in the comments below! And if you loved it, don’t forget to rate it too. Feel free to follow on Instagram, Pinterest, and TikTok for the latest nutrition tips and recipe videos.

★ Catherine

References

1. Benincasa P, Falcinelli B, Lutts S, Stagnari F, Galieni A. Sprouted Grains: A Comprehensive Review. Nutrients. 2019 Feb 17;11(2):421. doi: 10.3390/nu11020421. PMID: 30781547; PMCID: PMC6413227.