Easy Homemade Apple Fritters
These Easy Homemade Apple Fritters are packed full of fresh apples, easy to make with simple ingredients, and can be ready in just 30 minutes! They’re destined to be a new family favorite!
Next, be sure to try our Easy Homemade Peach Fritters!
Here’s a super quickie for you all! These Easy Homemade Apple Fritters were a spur of the “I really want some fritters,” moment kind of delicious creation and they were sooo tasty I had to share! Not only are they ready in just about 30 minutes, but they’re an apple fritter where you’re not searching for the apples and have just the right amount of complimentary spices and a sweet glaze for a delicious sweet fall breakfast treat – especially with some freshly picked apples!
Ingredients Needed
- Apples – Honeycrisp are a favorite (mainly because they are just an overall favorite apple) but Granny Smith is also great in this recipe. An apple that’s more crisp and tart will work best.
- Lemon Juice – This helps to keep the apples from browning after they’ve been diced, but also helps highlight the acidity.
- Flour, Baking Powder, and Sugar– You can use all-purpose or gluten-free flour or nut flour. We have not made these with whole wheat flour.
- Eggs, Milk, Butter – We usually use 2% milk but you can absolutely use whatever you have. Almond milk works great, too!
- Cinnamon and Nutmeg – Just a pinch of nutmeg adds a great flavor. But you could also use a touch of apple pie spice!
- Ground Ginger – Totally optional but a fun touch! I love the flavor ground ginger brings to sweet treats, I always use it in our homemade granolas.
- Vanilla Extract – Have you made your own, yet?
Then for the glaze, you’ll need some confectioner’s sugar, too!
Recipe Video
Easy to Make
- Dice apples, mix dry ingredients, and wet them in separate bowls.
- Mix into a batter.
- Fry
- Glaze.
Making your own Homemade Apple Fritters is just that easy!
Recipe Tips
Be sure to dice those apples small. Especially since we pack ’em into these fritters. These are truly apple fritters with a serious emphasis on apples, because in my opinion, there’s nothing worse than getting an apple fritter and searching for the apple.
Make sure that your oil is hot enough. If you don’t have an instant-read thermometer (although if you don’t have one, trust me you won’t regret buying one) but you can also do the wooden spoon test. See recipe notes.
You want to bring your oil up to temp, but then make sure that the temp stays there. So once your oil has reached 375 degrees, turn your burner down just a little to ensure that it doesn’t get too hot. If your oil is too hot, you’ll burn your fritters. But also, if your oil gets too cool, the inside of the fritters won’t fully cook. That’s where an instant-read thermometer comes in handy!
We love a slightly larger fritter, which is more of an overflowing 1/4 cup or small 1/3 cup of batter size. If you’re not sure if they’re done yet, use a sharp knife and insert it into the center of the fritter. If it pulls clean, you’re good. But if it doesn’t that means it’s still doughy and needs to cook longer.
One of the most fun parts! While we love this glaze, we also love a cinnamon and sugar blend, but also to add a fun maple touch, you could coat them with our Maple Sugar Glaze!
Brunch plans? Secured with these Easy Homemade Apple Fritters! Or try one of these other sweet brunch treats! You’ll love how apple-packed they are with just the right amount of complimentary spices, especially one of our favorites that you’ll find in so many of our sweet recipes!
- Strawberries and Cream Scones
- Blueberry Lemon Ricotta Pancakes
- Easy Homemade Peach Fritters
- Maple Walnut Baked Apples
- Sourdough Walnut Cinnamon Rolls
- Butterscotch Snickerdoodle Bread
- Glazed Chocolate Munchkins (Donut Holes)
- German Apple Pancake
- Banana Maple Munchkins
Enjoy! As always, if you make this recipe or any of my others, I love to hear what you think! Leave a comment below, email me, or you can find me on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest!
If you want to see more, be sure to sign up for my 5 Easy Ways to Start Cooking From Scratch!
Easy Homemade Apple Fritters
Ingredients
APPLE FRITTER
- 3-4 cups apples, diced about 2-3 apples, peeled and diced into bite-size pieces (honeycrisp or granny smith)
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice fresh
- 1 1/4 cup all purpose flour 183 g
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 2 g
- 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 g
- 2 teaspoons baking powder 10
- pinch nutmeg or apple pie spice!
- pinch ground ginger (optional)
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar 12 g
- 2 large eggs at room temperature
- 1/3 cup milk
- 1 tablespoon melted butter cooled
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Vegetable oil for frying
GLAZE
- 1 cup confectioner's sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2-5 teaspoons milk or water
Instructions
- Dice your apples, place in a bowl and add lemon juice. This will prevent the apples from browning.
- In a large bowl, whisk eggs. Add milk, vanilla, and cooled melted butter (don't add it hot, you'll cook your eggs!) Whisk together with a fork until it is all combined.
- In another medium sized bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg, and ground ginger.
- Add dry ingredients to wet and mix well until a loose dough is formed. Fold in the apples.
- Fill a frying pan or sauce pan with about 3-4 cups of oil or so that you have about 3-4 inches of oil in your pan. Heat oil over medium heat until the oil reaches 375°F with a candy thermometer or an instant read thermometer. If you don't have a thermometer, use the wooden spoon test (see notes).
- Use a measuring cup to drop batter into oil, 1/4 cup or 1/3 cup. Fry until the outside is golden brown. Flip and fry other side until golden brown, for a total of about 4-5 minutes. You'll know they're done if you insert a small knife into the center and it comes clean. If not, fry a little longer so that the center is fully cooked. This time will depend on the size of your fritter.
- Use a slotted spoon to transfer to a paper towel-lined cooling rack and let cool. Repeat with all the batter.
GLAZE
- In a small bowl, combine the sugar, vanilla, and 2 teaspoons of milk (or water). Add more milk, 1 teaspoon at a time, until you have the consistency you want. Think thick but drizzly.
- Drizzle the glaze over the cooled fritters and let dry.
Going to make these right now! I’d like to ask that you please include Pasture produced Lard as a far healthier/better althernative to “vegetable” oil. Thanks!
Instead of fresh apples could i use canned pie filling apples ??? I have a can left over that i was gonna make a pie with.
Hmm, I haven’t tried it with that so I can’t answer for sure, but I think it may work if you just use the apples and not the rest of the mixture.
Hey Tracy,
Thank you very much for this wonderful fritters recipe. Turned out great, little one loved it a lot. definitely going to make it again. 🙂
Delicious I made them last week and making them again
So glad you enjoyed them, Angella!
Family loved these. Fluffy and delicious. Made a triple batch and had friends and family come pick some up for breakfast to go.
Love this recipe. Quick, easy, fluffy
Just made these. So easy. Scrumptious. Family loved them. Only additional comment is don’t glaze if ur not going to eat them right away! Family looooved them!
Great point! Thanks so much for sharing and glad you enjoyed it!
I was just about to make these but I am gluten free… so I was wondering if i5 would still work if I used gluten free flour?
Absolutely!!
Big disappointment! Others had issues with batter being too runny, but mine turned out so thick I had to had milk…twice….still doughy…we won’t be making this again…
Bev,
It is a shame that you had issues with this recipe. I almost did not give it a try because of what you wrote. BUT, I did and they turned out delicious! I did use a 1/4 cup of batter to add to my oil and they turned out fluffy and crisp. I hope you will give this another try!
Jennifer, you’re so sweet!! Thank you so much for sharing!
Just made these delicious Fritters…First time so so so GOOD. THANK YOU!!
Yay!! So glad you enjoyed them!
My hubby has celiac so we are gluten free. I used 1 cup all purpose gluten free flour and 1/4 teaspoon zantham gum in stead of regular flour. All other ingredients and instructions the same and they came out AMAZING!!!
Hi there this recipe is so good. Do you know any ways to get the batter less runny. Maybe to hold form a little better?? I know it would change the recipe but wasn’t sure if you’ve ever tried anything. I’m trying to do them in an actual deep fryer and they’re falling apart on the screens.
Hi! Hmmm I haven’t tried it with an air fryer yet but the ways to get a thicker batter would be to add more flour. Try maybe a 1/2 cup more, that should thicken it up! Let me know how that works!
Hi Tracy
Can I use 1% or 2% milk Instead of whole milk
Vita
Hi Vita! 2% for sure. I haven’t tested this with 1% yet but I think it would affect the richness of the fritter.
I used apple juice so I’ma quite sure another milk will not change it. Apple juice is great for our non-dairy family.
Great to know, Kelli! Thanks for sharing!
You can’t do these in a deep fryer they need to be able to sit on the bottom of a pan so that they don’t fall apart
I would try to add more flour! 😊