This post is sponsored by my friends at Minerva Dairy, but all opinions expressed are my own – just as always. Thanks for supporting the brands that support me and my family.
You might remember these from your last trip to Cracker Barrel or your other favorite local diner or breakfast spot.
Tart and tangy apples are skillet cooked in a mixture of real butter and brown sugar that is flavored with warm spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger. The result is tender, luscious apples and a sweet and sticky caramel sauce that’s perfect when poured over nearly anything or eaten all by itself.
What kind of apples should I use?
What kind of apples should I use?I highly recommend using Granny Smith apples in this recipe. They are tart and firm and stand up well to the heat. That said, I do love Honeycrisp apples and have used them in fried apples as well. Regardless, you should pick an apple that is firm, tart, and holds its shape when cooked. You could try Braeburn, Pink Lady, or Evercrisp as well.
It’s been my experience that everyone’s idea of how soft the apples should be varies pretty wildly. Some folks want the apples to maintain their shape and just soften a bit. Other’s want them right near mushy. Regardless, you can achieve either texture based solely on the cook time. Cook them less for firmer apples or longer for softer apples. Cooking them even further down makes them the perfect filling for fried apple pies. I’m just saying. 🙂
For this recipe, I opted to use Minerva Dairy unsalted butter. I love the fact that Minerva Dairy is a family-owned company and that all their products are made in the U.S. from pasture-raised cow milk. With 6 generations of butter makers, Minerva is America’s oldest family-owned creamery. The quality is top-notch and it’s one of my favorite butters to use.
Regardless of how you serve them, these Southern Fried Apples are sure to be a hit with the family! Y’all enjoy!
Recipe Card
Southern Fried Apples
Ingredients
- 4 Granny Smith Apples
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Peel, core, and thinly slice the apples - about 1/4-inch slices.
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the butter and melt. Add the apples and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Add the brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and salt. Stir to coat. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook the apples until tender to your liking- stirring frequently.
* If nutritional values are provided, they are an estimate and will vary depending on the brands used. The values do not include optional ingredients or when ingredients are added to taste. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, I recommend grabbing your favorite brands and plugging those ingredients into an online nutritional calculator.
Hattie Jeffreys
I made this recipe for our Christmas breakfast and it was a hit. My daughter asked for the recipe. People was putting it on their pancakes and calling it footie fruity.
Ha! Love that, Hattie! So glad y’all enjoyed it!
Deb
I used a little less brown sugar with honey crisp apples. This recipe has the perfect blend of spices! Great recipe Stacey – thank you 🙂
Thanks, Deb! So glad you enjoyed it!
jane holden
Would this work with sweet potatoes? I am having a hard time getting my sweet potatoes to caramelize like I want them too.
I would think so, though the cook time might be a longer. I’ve not tested it though, so I can’t say for sure.
Barbara
can Gala apples be used?
I don’t see why not. 🙂
Lisa Wallace
Can these be based?
I’m thinking that autocorrect got you and that you might have meant baked. I’m honestly not 1005 sure as I’ve only ever made them on the stovetop. With that being said, I can’t see why they wouldn’t work in the oven.
John Craig
Wow this is a really good recipe. I’m eating a bowl full now, the rest are going into tomorrow morning’s oatmeal, if they last that long. Quite familiar with Minerva Dairy as my wife grew up there. Nice to see a hometown business featured on your site and thank you for all the great recipes.
Oh wow! Did she grow up in the same town of the dairy?
John Craig
Yes she did.
Ree Quebedeaux
I really love getting recipes from you. I am a southern girl, and you cook and bake
like I like. Some of your recipes I can remember from when I was growing up. Thank you so much for them. I also enjoying some of the stories you have talked about your family.
Re
Thanks so much, Ree! I sure appreciate those kind words!
Linda Wyman
Yummy, used fresh whipped cream on warm apples. Family loved it❤️
Awesome!
Judy Puryear
Love your recipes . All so easy to follow directions.
I’m so glad you enjoy them!
Ann
These are the BEST fried apples ever! We love these and will be making them this way from now on. Thanks for sharing your wonderful home cooked recipes that so simple and very good!
You bet! So glad to hear you enjoyed them!
Ammie L Joseph
i love your recipe,i am a cook for a day program and i use this recipe quit often.
So glad to hear you’ve been able to put it to good use!
Vickie
Fried apples and pork chops are one of my grandson’s favorite meals. He frequently asks me to cook them for him. I have to confess to frying fatback for the grease in which to cook the apples and I use a sweeter apple so I don’t have to add as much/any sugar. I don’t use cinnamon because I’m allergic to it, so fall is a difficult time of the year for me because of vast amounts of cinnamon being used in everything from food to air fresheners.
Oh, wow! I bet a cinnamon allergy does make the fall season tough!
Claudine
Stacey,
These were so very good and easy to fix. I loved them and was very reluctant to share them with my husband and I hated to put some in the refrigerator to keep for tomorrow’s supper That’s what a pig I made of myself over these apples. They were that good. LOL!
Thank you for sharing this recipe.
Claudine in Fort Worth, TX
Ha! I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed them so much, Claudine!