Easy Stewed Apples
Soft, sweet, and juicy, these stewed apples can be used in a variety of dishes. Try them with oatmeal, ice cream, cookies, and more!
Celebrating fall (aka apple season!) with all the apple goodies! Starting with these sweet, juicy stewed apples cooked in brown sugar and cinnamon. Talk about cozy! Stewed apples make the kitchen smell amazing and they’re so easy to make. They’re basically apple pie filling, and if you’re like me, you’ll agree that the filling is the best part of pie! (sorry crust lovers) But instead of waiting multiple hours for a pie to bake and cool, you can dig into these cozy, stewed apples in about 10 minutes. Quick, easy, delicious – what’s not to love?
Best Apples for Baking/Cooking
Use crisp, firm apples like Granny Smith, Honeycrisp, Pink Lady, Cortland, Fuji, Sweet Tango, McIntosh. There are so many apple varieties they’re hard to keep track of! Basically, use your favorite crisp apple and stay away from the softer/mushy varieties like Red Delicious and Gala (those are delicious eaten as is). Also be aware different apples have different levels of sweetness and tartness, so you may want to add extra sugar or lemon juice.
How to Use Stewed Apples
Stewed apples are super versatile and can be eaten by the spoonful or added to things like:
- oatmeal
- overnight oats
- baked oats
- ice cream
- pancakes
- french toast
- waffles
- yogurt
- toast with nut butter
- cinnamon rolls
- stuffed into cookies
More Apple Recipes!
- Caramel Apple Crumb Cake
- Apple Coffee Cake
- Apple Chia Pudding
- Wholesome Apple Crisp
- Apple Pie Snickerdoodles
- Cinnamon Apple Bread
If you make these stewed apples, don’t forget to leave a comment/rating down below and tag me in your photos on instagram @ellielikes.cooking. I love seeing all of your tasty recreations!
Recipe updated April 1, 2026 with new instructions for adding the starch in a slurry after the apples are soft.
Easy Stewed Apples
Ingredients
- 4 apples** diced
- 2 tbsp water
- 2-4 tbsp brown sugar**
- ½-1 tbsp lemon juice**
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- ⅛ tsp nutmeg
Slurry
- ½ tbsp cornstarch
- 2 tbsp water
Instructions
- Add apples, water, brown sugar, lemon juice, cinnamon, and nutmeg to a saucepan and heat over medium low. Cook covered, stirring occasionally, until apples are tender to your liking, about 5-15 minutes.
- The apples should release some water as they cook down, but if your apples look too dry, you can add an extra tablespoon or two of water.
- Whisk together the cornstarch and water for the slurry, then mix into the apples and stir for about 30 seconds until the liquid thickens. Turn off heat.
- Serve warm or cool to room temperature, then cover and store in the fridge.
Notes
*Disclosure: This page may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases, but the price remains the same to you. Thank you for supporting Ellie Likes Cooking!
Save for later!
Can these be stored in a freezer?
I haven’t tried freezing them, but I think you can; they’ll just be softer after thawing. Cool completely after cooking, then transfer to freezer-safe bags/containers.