23 Sweet and Savory Apple Recipes for Fall

Smoked Duck Breasts with Apple-Brandy Caramel
Photo: William Hereford

Fall is peak apple season, and if you find yourself with a large quantity, we have plenty of ways you can use them. Try Granny Smith apples in a skillet apple-ginger crisp for dessert, whip up a baked bourbon-apple butter (using Braeburn or Fuji) to spread on biscuits or toast, and use Honeycrisp or Pink Lady apples in a simple roasted merguez sausage sheet pan dinner. Whether you're looking for something on the sweet or savory side, there's an apple recipe for you.

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Apple Pandowdy

Apple Pandowdy
© Tina Rupp

Pie for a crowd, this pandowdy uses a mix of Granny Smith, Pink Lady, and Golden Delicious apples for the perfect fall dessert. Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

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Tangy Apple Salad

Tangy Apple Salad
© Lucy Schaeffer

New Orleans chef Donald Link pairs tart Granny Smith apples with crunchy watercress and a tangy buttermilk dressing.

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Apple-Pomegranate Cobbler

Apple-Pomegranate Cobbler
David Cicconi

This bright apple cobbler is just the right amount of sweet, with an irresistibly tender and crunchy crust on top. Serve topped with fresh pomegranate seeds for a juicy burst of tangy flavor.

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Beet-and-Apple Salad

Beet-and-Apple Salad
David Malosh

For his salad, chef George Mendes uses fresh horseradish and Gegenbauer cider vinegar, a rare Austrian import. This version calls for jarred horseradish and supermarket apple cider vinegar.

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Dutch Apple Pie

Imaginative Ways to Cook with Apples
Tina Rupp

F&W's Grace Parisi uses a mix of Granny Smith, Pink Lady, and Golden Delicious apples in this classic pie. Top the apple mix with a walnut crumble for a truly iconic dessert.

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Pearled Barley Salad with Apples, Pomegranate Seeds, and Pine Nuts

Pearled Barley Salad with Apples, Pomegranate Seeds and Pine Nuts
© Tina Rupp

Chewy barley is paired with juicy apples and pomegranate seeds for this delicious fall grain salad. Enjoy in the late fall/early winter when pomegranates are in season.

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Light and Fluffy Baked Apple Pancake

baked apple pancake
© Michael Turek

Golden Delicious apples hold their shape after they are caramelized with sugar and maple syrup, making them a perfect choice for this clever, giant one-pan pancake.

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Apples On Horseback

Apples On Horseback
© Christina Holmes

These simple, delicious hors d'oeuvres are just apples with cheese and pancetta. Grill until the pancetta is crispy and Manchego is gooey. They're delicious paired with a fruit-forward sparkling wine.

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Kale & Apple Salad with Pancetta and Candied Pecans

Kale & Apple Salad with Pancetta and Candied Pecans
© Con Poulos

Kale is a marvelous green for salads because it's hearty enough to handle hefty ingredients like nuts and meat, plus it doesn't wilt as it sits on the table. When chef Ryan Hardy makes this kale salad for Thanksgiving dinner, he deep-fries the pecans, but it's quicker (and less messy) to toast them in the oven.

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Braised Chicken with Apples and Calvados

Braised Chicken with Apples and Calvados
Con Poulos

Chef Matthew Accarrino uses apples plus cider and the apple brandy Calvados to add layers of flavor to his braised chicken. Apple slices, mushrooms, and fresh herbs round everything out in a rich pan sauce.

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Pork and Apple Bedfordshire Clangers

Pork-and-Apple Bedfordshire Clangers
John Kernick

Sam Jacobson of the Stargazy bakeshop in Philadelphia delivers both sausage roll and fruit pie in these traditional spiced half-and-half pastries from eastern England.

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Pork Chops with Three-Apple Slaw

Pork Chop with Three Apple Sauce
Victor Protasio

For his zippy version of coleslaw, F&W Culinary Director at Large Justin Chapple swaps the cabbage for a mix of sweet and tart apples — Gala, Honeycrisp, and Granny Smith — and then tosses them with a creamy, Tabasco-laced dressing.

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Apple-Ham Quiche

Apple and Ham Quiche
Victor Protasio

Thin apple and ham slices are rolled together and set in a tender, herby custard sprinkled with sharp white cheddar. For a quicker weeknight dinner, use a frozen 9-inch deep-dish pie shell, blind baked according to package instructions.

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Deep-Dish All-American Cinnamon Apple Pie

Deep-Dish All-American Cinnamon Apple Pie
Greg DuPree

This pie — one of our 40 best recipes — gets its intensely apple-y flavor from macerating the apples in sugar for an hour. The liquid drained from the apples is simmered with a hit of butter until a syrup forms. That rich syrup is mixed with the apples, piled into the crust, and baked until tender and delicious. The pie is excellent the day it's made, but even better the next day.

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Miso Caramel-Apple Danish

Miso Caramel Apple Danish
Photo by Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Torie Cox / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen

Danish have legions of fans across the globe for a reason. This upgrade on the classic cream cheese filling stars a sweet and savory tango of buttery miso-enriched caramel brushed over wafer-thin slices of apple.

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Skillet Apple-Ginger Crisp

Skillet Apple Ginger Crisp Recipe
Antonis Achilleos

"There are few things better (or easier) than a fruit crisp. (In this apple crisp) candied ginger in the topping adds a satisfying chew and a zingy bright flavor that leaves you wanting one more bite," Susan Spungen writes.

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Spiced Brown-Butter Apples

Spiced Apples
Greg Dupree

These butter-roasted apples are seasoned with Chinese five-spice. The clove, cinnamon, star anise, fennel, and Szechuan pepper in the blend add warmth and complexity. You can enjoy them warm or at room temperature — have vanilla ice cream or heavy cream on hand for serving.

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Pork Loin Stuffed with Apples and Pumpkin Seeds

Pork Loin Stuffed with Apples and Pumpkin Seeds
Con Poulos

Laura Rege stuffs her pork loin with a tasty combination of toasted rye bread, apples, and pumpkin seeds. To serve this juicy roast, she drizzles it with luscious unrefined pumpkin seed oil.

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Apple-Rum Spice Cake

Joanne Chang's Apple-Rum Spice Cake
Tara Donne

A tender chiffon cake pairs well with the light and billowy frosting, seasoned with spicy-fresh ginger juice. Warm spices and a shot of rum add a kick to the apple compote that makes this a centerpiece dessert for the adult table.

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Roasted Merguez Sausage with Apples and Onions

Roasted Merguez Sausage with Apples and Onions
Victor Protasio

For this sheet pan dinner, use Honeycrisp or Pink Lady apples, which hold their shape better during roasting than other varieties. Plus, their pleasant sweetness balances the intensely spiced merguez sausage.

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Smoked Duck Breasts with Apple-Brandy Caramel

Smoked Duck Breasts with Apple-Brandy Caramel
William Hereford

The duck fat caramel will be perfectly thick and sweet by the time the apples are tender, providing a rich sauce that pairs perfectly with smoky duck breast.

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Apple Pie à la Mode Ice Cream Sandwiches

Apple Pie a la Mode Ice Cream Sandwiches
Eva Kolenko

Top Chef winner Kristen Kish designed this dessert to honor both of her grandmothers, one known for her apple pie and the other for her snickerdoodles. Kish folds spiced apple pie filling into vanilla ice cream, then sandwiches it between chewy snickerdoodle cookies.

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Baked Bourbon-Apple Butter

Baked Bourbon Apple Butter
Caitlin Bensel

There's no better way to spend a chilly fall weekend afternoon than by making this nearly effortless apple butter. A bounty of sweet apples bake down into a rich, spreadable treat that's infused with the warming notes of cinnamon, ginger, and bourbon.

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