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Their mild, sweet flavor, firm texture, and ready availability make apples a strong contender for best all-’rounder: Raw, baked, or stewed, in desserts, breakfasts, salads, baking, and dressings, the apple does it all. Grab a bag of your favorite apples and sink your teeth into these scrumptious vegan apple dishes, no processed sugar or added oil required!
Nothing says sweater-time like apple pie. This vegan oil-free apple pie features a date-sweetened oat crust that you can press into the pie pan with your fingers. Filled with a just-sweet-enough apple filling and topped with almond butter oat crumble, this is one dessert you’ll make again and again.
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With a crispy outside and melt-in-your-mouth center, these apple-loaded quesadillas feature the unusual and delicious combination of creamy hummus with cinnamon-infused stewed apple. It’s like an apple pie quesadilla. If you’ve got an extra few minutes, make your own fresh corn tortillas; once you get the hang of them, they’re quick and fun to do.
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These kid-friendly salad bowls skip the leafy greens in favor of other nutrient-rich ingredients such as edamame, apple cubes, broccoli florets and strips of dried apricots. A garnish of roasted sunflower kernels adds a nutty depth to the salad while a sweet ’n’ sour apple spice–flavored dressing will have them licking their bowls.
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Nothing says autumn like the nostril-filling aroma of fall spice-flavored baked apples coming out of the oven. The tender, just-sweet-enough flesh melts in your mouth, while granola adds crunch, cranberries lend a pop tartness, and walnuts keep things earthy. Serve this fabulous fall dish with a scoop of vegan nice cream.
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Polenta, aka ground cornmeal, helps form the luscious, fluffy base for this pretty cake. A scoop of sweet-tart cherry compote is the perfect finishing touch.
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In this fall-themed twist on chips and salsa, baked tortilla chips, brushed with cinnamon and maple dressing, are the perfect dippers for a juicy all spice–seasoned salsa featuring apples, pears, pomegranate, and orange juice. If you like a little heat, add cayenne pepper to the tortilla chips. A supremely munchable appetizer or movie night snack!
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Apples, applesauce, and dried apple rings come together for a sweet, moist cake that is free of oil, flour, and added sugar.
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This recipe is like giving your average plain-Jane coleslaw (which is perfectly delicious and satisfying) a makeover. Just add generous portions of chopped apple, a creamy cashew-based dressing, juicy sweet grapes, and a sprinkle of poppy seeds. Now you’ve got fancy slaw—and you’d never guess it was vegan.
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Sliced apples are the finishing touch on this lovely fall loaf cake, which features a maple glaze.
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Apple, pumpkin seeds, and roasted butternut squash are tossed with kale and quinoa for a salad that is sweet, earthy, and chock-full of fall flavors.
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Your taste buds will flip over the heavenly textures and flavors in these earthy, sweet handheld vegan pizzas. Featuring a whole wheat crust topped with apple slices, a lemon-scented maple syrup dressing, and crunchy granola, these are so good you’ll want to share them with friends. As an added bonus, they take less than an hour to make!
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This gorgeous dessert is surprisingly easy to make and bursting with sweet fall flavors—worthy of any holiday table!
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Sick of the same old salads? Grab some fresh (or dried) morel mushrooms and add raw apple, dried apricot, walnuts, and a tangy vinaigrette for a flavor-packed salad that’s a tantalizing blend of earthy, zesty, and sweet.
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If you’re not good in the morning, or you need breakfast in a hurry, these overnight oats are ideal. Throw the ingredients into a bowl the night before and in the morning enjoy the flavors of apple, orange zest, walnuts, and dates melded together with softened oats. And a bonus: Nuts, dried fruit, and oats are easier to digest after soaking overnight.
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Get your day off to a good start with this fresh and filling apple-lemon breakfast bowl. And it’s easy too, just toss apple, dates, and walnuts into a food processor with lemon juice and cinnamon. Voila!
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Apples make a great crumble filling—they’re just sweet enough and when cooked are soft but hold their form. The addition of raspberries, which are slightly tarter, gives this dish a real lift. Top with a mixture of oats, oat flour, almond butter, and maple syrup for a rich-tasting, butter-free crumble!
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Simple to make and absolutely delicious, these large oatmeal cookies are the perfect snack, on-the-go or at home. Naturally sweetened with banana, grated apple, and maple syrup, and with peanut butter and raisins upping the chewy quotient, every mouthful is a treat. Note: These freeze well, so you can always have some around for snacking emergencies. Shares one commenter: “Delicious chewy cookies. They will be on my permanent rotation.”
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Turn those less-than-stellar apples in the bottom of your fridge into these mouthwatering vegan apple pie bars. With an oat crust, cinnamon-scented apple filling, and cider-caramel sauce, they’ve got all the flavor of an apple pie and the ease of a grab-and-go bar. Shares one commenter: “Loved this. It’s a great, healthy replacement for regular apple pie bars loaded with sugar and butter. I’ll definitely be making this again.”
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These hand-shaped tarts feature a golden sweet potato–infused whole wheat crust topped with date-sweetened stewed apples, walnuts, and strawberries. The crust uses baking powder as the raising agent, which means there’s no rising time. Note: If strawberries are out of season, just leave them out; the tarts are still great without them.
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Tired of the same old snacks? For a healthy, chewy anytime snack these baked fruit chips rock. The natural sweetness of apple, combined with date sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg, are sure to spice up your day.
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Make your mornings simpler and sweeter: Prepare this easy loaf for a delicious, nutritious on-the-run breakfast.
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In this almost-instant, no-cook vegan apple crumble, diced apples are coated with an easy applesauce made from cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon juice, and raisins. And the topping is just dates and walnuts!
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As every good cook knows, the secret to a good salad is in the dressing; but what most people don’t know is you don’t need oil to make a good one. This thick vinaigrette uses applesauce as its base, and with the addition of tasty ingredients like miso, cumin, maple syrup, and dijon mustard, it turns an average salad into a gourmet one.
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A 5-minute cranberry relish coats apple slices in this rustic fall dessert.
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The combination of apples and red wine gives this yummy cabbage and navy bean side dish its pleasant sweet-and-sour flavor. And it’s hard not to love the lush pink color: It looks so warm and appealing on the plate.
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The success of this green salad is in the pairing of sweet, crunchy apples, pecans, and dried cranberries with a dressing laced with orange zest. Serve as is for a light lunch or alongside just about anything: pizza, burgers, or even a stew.
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Savor the contrast of flavors and textures in this satisfying salad. Sweet apples, crunchy celery, and fat, juicy raisins pair beautifully with tender, chewy wheat berries. Now top with a cayenne- and cumin-spiked lemon dressing for a salad your family and friends won’t forget.
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For a healthy, family-friendly treat, create your own “candied” apples with peanut butter and brown rice syrup.
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A waffle maker is a great tool to have in the kitchen, and you can get that satisfying crunch without using oil. Sweet potato and oats give these waffles a lightly sweet flavor, and a simple slaw made from apples, dates, and cinnamon make a fresh, sweet-tart topping.
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These cinnamon rolls are melt-in-your-mouth gooey goodness. Apples, raisins, cider, and maple syrup are cooked down to a sweet sauce that gets slathered onto the dough before rolling.
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Aquafaba (the liquid from a can of chickpeas) and mashed banana serve as binders for these perfectly moist mini muffins, which are studded with chopped apple and raisins. Keep some in the freezer so that you always have a convenient healthy treat ready to go.
View RecipeThis article was originally published on Aug. 30, 2019, and has been updated.
Lisa Esile is an author, illustrator, blogger, vegetable gardener, and whole-food enthusiast with a special fondness for potatoes. She has a master’s degree in human nutrition and is passionate about showing people how to live happier, healthier lives. She is the author of Reach Your Big Calm and the co-author of Whose Mind Is It Anyway? Find her on Facebook.
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Comments (3)
Great to have these recipes. Thank you. Looking forward to trying them!
Soooo many yummy recipes!! THANK YOU so much!!!
(Especially for the ones with no added sugar!!)
Awesome apple recipe lineup!