Our Best Apple Recipes to Go Beyond Pie

Keep the doctor away with our best apple recipes both sweet and savory

By SAVEUR Editors
Updated: September 8, 2017

While apples are great year-round, the sweet fruit takes center stage in the lineup of fall produce. Ranging in flavor from tooth-achingly sweet to bright and acidic, apples are an extraordinarily versatile ingredient to use in apple recipes both sweet and savory.

On the savory side, slice them up and use them to add crunch to salads, or use their acidity to offset fattier cuts of meat like pork belly in casseroles and braises. We especially love apples in our fall take on macaroni and cheese and in our honey-glazed pork dish.

Meanwhile, for a sweeter take on the fruit, enjoy our favorite takes on apple pie (including an apple pie ice cream pie that is as amazing as it sounds) or an apple crumble with hot custard. From sweet to savory, here are our best apple recipes to try this fall.

Cinnamon Apple Bostock

Cinnamon Apple Bostock
Bostock is a sweet and crunchy breakfast pastry with roots in Normandy. Our version honors Calvados country with a schmear of apple butter and a splash of apple brandy added to the traditional frangipane cream. A generous layer of toasty almonds balances the soft and squishy filling below. Get the recipe for Cinnamon Apple Bostock »Matt Taylor-Gross

Apple Pie Ice Cream Pie

Apple Pie Ice Cream Pie
A crust of finely ground gingersnap cookie crumbs adds delicious crunch to vanilla ice cream, softened apples, and a caramel drizzle. Get the recipe for Apple Pie Ice Cream Pie »Maxime Iattoni

Apple and Kale Salad

Kale and Apple Salad
Crunchy cashews coated with maple syrup and sesame seeds, and a boldly piquant dressing of Shanxi vinegar, add texture and verve to the classic kale salad. Get the recipe for Apple and Kale Salad »Matt Taylor-Gross

Giant Apple Pancake With Dulce de Leche

Panqueque of granny smith apples with dulce de leche
Soft apples with a hint of tartness balance a bittersweet caramelized crust, spurred on by rich dulce de leche. Get the recipe for Giant Apple Pancake With Dulce de Leche »Matt Taylor-Gross

Crab Apple Liqueur with Cinnamon

crab apple liqueur with cinnamon
Goldschläger's far subtler (but still gold-flecked) relative, this after-dinner sipper has sweetness, a cinnamon aroma, and an apple finish. Crab apples, which can be dropped in whole to steep, are ideal due to their low water content. "If you're from somewhere warmer and your crab apples are not as tart," says Joe Beef's Red Morin, "add a splash of good cider vinegar at the end." Get the recipe for Crab Apple Liqueur with Cinnamon »Christina Holmes

Baked Apple Terrine with Calvados

Baked Apple Terrine with Calvados
Calvados, an apple brandy made from double-distilled apple cider aged in oak barrels, is generally made from highly tannic apples. Guillouet-Huard likes to use it to underscore the flavor of sweet cooking apples. Get the recipe for Baked Apple Terrine with Calvados »Matt Taylor-Gross

Honey-Glazed Roast Pork With Apples

Honey Glazed Roast Pork with Apples
Normans use apples and cider in many savory preparations, such as this classic roast pork disk. Get the recipe for Honey-Glazed Roast Pork With Apples »Matt Taylor-Gross

Caramelized Apple Omelet (Omelette Sucrée à la Normande)

Caramelized Apple Omelet
This classic Norman dessert showcases some of the best products of the region: apples, calvados, and milk. Top with a dollop of crème fraîche, if you like. Get the recipe for Caramelized Apple Omelet (Omelette Sucrée à la Normande) »Matt Taylor-Gross

Apple, Celery, and Carrot Salad

Apple, Celeriac, and Carrot Salad
This simple salad is lighter and more modern compared to traditionally heavy Norman dishes. It pairs crisp celery root—a vegetable grown in abundance in the region—with raw apples. Get the recipe for Apple, Celery, and Carrot Salad »Matt Taylor-Gross

Nanny's Rosh Hashanah Apple Cake

Rosh Hashanah Apple Cake
With a streusel topping and pie-like dough, this Rosh Hashanah apple dessert is half cake, half pie. Get the recipe for Nanny's Rosh Hashanah Apple Cake »Matt Taylor-Gross

Avocado and Apple "Tartare" with Fried Walnut Dumplings and Chive Cream

Avocado and Apple "Tartare" with Fried Walnut Dumplings and Chive Cream
Tart apple and cold avocado balance hot, crisp walnut dumplings and creamy chive sauce in this refreshing vegan dish from chef Josita Hartanto of Berlin's Lucky Leek. You can make the walnut dumplings a day ahead, but make sure to prepare the tartare within two hours of serving, so the apples and avocados don't brown. Get the recipe for Avocado and Apple "Tartare" with Fried Walnut Dumplings and Chive Cream »Matt Taylor-Gross

Adobo Chicken Wings

Tito's Filipino-Style Chicken Wings
These are chicken wings, Filipino-style, marinated in rice vinegar, soy sauce, bay leaves, and garlic. Serve them with a creamy ginger-enriched dipping sauce and chile-dusted apple slices for a full bar snack. Get the recipe for Adobo Chicken Wings »Matt Taylor-Gross
Apple, Sage, and Sausage Stuffing

Apple, Sage, and Sausage Stuffing

A combination of apples and sausage lends a nice sweet-savory balance to a simple stuffing enhanced with sage. Get the recipe for Apple, Sage, and Sausage Stuffing »Vanessa Rees

Apple & Sausage Macaroni and Cheese

Mac and Cheese with Sausage and Apple Casserole
Fresh apples plus hard cider give this easy mac and cheese a double dose of fall flavor. Get the recipe for Apple & Sausage Macaroni and Cheese »Farideh Sadeghin

Apple Crumble with Hot Custard

Apple Crumble with Hot Custard
We enjoyed this warm and comforting dessert while visiting a sheep farm in new Zealand. Get the recipe for Apple Crumble with Hot Custard »Matt Taylor-Gross

Honey-Roasted Apples with Sesame and Calvados

Sesame Honey Roasted Apples
Sweet apples are roasted until caramelized in honey and butter, then marinated in their cooking juices along with Calvados and sesame for a simple but surprisingly complex quick weeknight dessert. Get the recipe for Honey-Roasted Apples with Sesame and Calvados »Farideh Sadeghin

Crisp Pork Belly with Roasted Vegetables and Applesauce

Crisp Pork Belly with Roasted Vegetables and Applesauce
The skin on this slow-roasted pork belly gets peeled off and fried into cracklings, allowing the fat underneath to render and caramelize. Whatever vegetables are in season—this time of year, it's carrots, turnips, and leeks—pair well with the meat, which is served with a cider-spiked applesauce and best enjoyed with a bitter ale. Get the recipe for Crisp Pork Belly with Roasted Vegetables and Applesauce »Food Styling by Maggie Ruggiero

Roasted Apples and Bacon with Onions and Thyme (Æbleflæsk)

Roasted Apples and Bacon with Onions and Thyme
In a classic Danish treatment, sweet red apples are roasted with onions, caramelized in bacon fat, and served under thick steaks of smoked belly bacon. Get the recipe for Roasted Apples and Bacon with Onions and Thyme (Æbleflæsk) »Anders Schonnemann

Latest

Kivevé (Paraguayan Squash Purée)
Caldo Verde: A Soup Full of Life
Menestra de Verduras
Lunch with a Paraguayan National Treasure
Caldo Verde (Portuguese Potato and Collard Green Soup With Chouriço)
How One Peruvian Chef Is Preserving Amazonian Food Traditions
Pie Amidst the Pomp: The Dessert That Could’ve, Should’ve Been at Biden’s Inaugural Luncheon
How to Make Menestra, Spain’s Most Unsung Comfort Food
15 Excellent Asian Dishes for a Lunar New Year Celebration
ADVERTISEMENT