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FR Healthy Fried Apple Rings (No Deep Frying)
These healthy fried apple rings are cooked in a pan, in a yogurt pancake batter. I make them for an afternoon snack, or sometimes for breakfast when I want a change from crêpes.
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I love apple desserts, so I make these healthy fried apple rings quite often. I must confess that I’m not a big fan of fried sweets. Most of the time they taste too much like oil for me.
So here is my lighter version. There is yogurt in the batter, and I cook the apple rings in a pan instead of deep-frying them. No pot of frying oil to prepare, and no frying smell all over the kitchen (I really don’t like that). I serve them as a snack, sometimes for breakfast instead of crêpes, and in France we also love them for La Chandeleur, our crêpe day in February.
It’s a really easy recipe. There are only a few little things to know so they stay super soft, and I explain everything below.
What Are Healthy Fried Apple Rings?
Apple rings are slices of apple dipped in batter and cooked until golden. Usually they are deep-fried in hot oil. I just cook mine in a pan with a little butter or oil, like pancakes.
For the batter, I use a pancake batter with yogurt. It has the perfect consistency to stick to the apple, and the yogurt makes it lighter. There is no butter in the batter, only a little bit in the pan.
Healthy Fried Apple Rings Recipe Card
Healthy Fried Apple Rings (No Deep Frying)
Kitchen equipment
- 1 peeler
- Apple corer
- Pan
Ingredients
- 3 boskoop apples
- 100 g flour
- 5 g baking powder
- 30 g sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 eggs
- 120 g yogurt
- Butter
For decoration
- 30 g sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
Instructions
- In a bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, sugar and cinnamon. Add the eggs and yogurt and whisk until smooth. Let rest 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, core the apples with an apple corer and peel them. Cut them into quite thick slices.
- Heat a little butter or oil in a pan over medium heat. Dip the apple slices in the batter and put them in the hot pan. Cook 2 to 3 minutes per side.
- Let cool 10 minutes on a plate, so the batter melts into the apple.
- Mix the sugar and cinnamon for the coating. Warm the apple rings 30 seconds in the microwave, then roll them in the cinnamon sugar. Enjoy right away.
Video
Notes
Nutrition facts
Which Apples to Choose for Fried Apple Rings?
I use Boskoop apples. The cooking time is short, so you need apples that get soft quickly. This way the batter and the apple mix perfectly, and you feel like you are biting into one soft fritter.
- Boskoop: my favorite here. It melts quickly and it’s a bit tart, which goes well with the cinnamon sugar. You find it easily in Europe, not so much in the US.
- Golden Delicious: sweeter, it also gets soft very well, and you find it everywhere.
- Granny Smith or Pink Lady: if you like to keep a little bite and acidity, they work very well too.
If you have more apples, have a look at my apple tarte tatin. It’s the French apple classic!
My Tips for Soft Fried Apple Rings
- Let the batter rest 10 minutes. During this time it gets a bit thicker, so it sticks better on the apples.
- Don’t cut the slices too thin. Thin slices cook way too fast and you lose the soft side.
- Use an apple corer. That’s how you get the hole in the middle! I take out the core first, then I peel the apples and cut them.
- Medium heat. 2 to 3 minutes on each side is usually enough for a golden batter. If your slices are thick, give them a little more time.
- Wait 10 minutes before eating. Leave them on a plate: the batter kind of melts into the apple, and this is what makes them so good.
My tip: I put the apple rings 30 seconds in the microwave before I roll them in the cinnamon sugar. The texture is just perfect.
Pan-Fried or Deep-Fried Apple Rings?
Traditionally, apple fritters are deep-fried, often in a thick batter. I don’t do it. For me they quickly taste like oil.
In the pan, they are less crispy but softer, and you really taste the apple. And no frying oil, so no smell in the kitchen.
Variations
- Pears: you can use pear slices too, but it’s harder to get the ring shape.
- Flour: replace all or part of the flour with almond flour or gluten-free flour.
- Sugar: replace it with a tablespoon of honey.
- Cinnamon: leave it out, or use a little vanilla instead.
Frequently Asked Questions
A simple pancake batter: flour, baking powder, a little sugar, two eggs and yogurt. The yogurt makes it lighter and you don’t need frying oil, a pan with a little butter is enough. Let it rest 10 minutes before dipping the apples, it will stick better.
These apple rings are best eaten right after making them, or even better after resting for 10 minutes. If you make them too early, the sugar makes them sticky and they get soft, not so nice anymore. What you can do: prepare the batter in the morning (or up to 12 hours before), keep it in the fridge, and cut the apples only at the last minute.
Yes, you can freeze them. But they taste much better fresh!
They keep three days in the fridge. But after 2 to 3 hours they don’t look as nice, so I advise you to eat them the same day.
Yes, the same batter works with pears. It’s just harder to cut regular slices with a hole, so the shape is less pretty.
More Apple Recipes
- Apple Tarte Tatin
- Rose Apple Tart
- French Apple Cake
- Apple, Hazelnut and Cinnamon Cake
- Apple, Pear and Almond Muffins
- Healthy Pancakes Without Baking Powder
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2 Comments
As I had only Greek yogurt, I had to thin my batter with half & half. I erred on the side of thicker, rather than thinner, batter, which yielded something more like an apple-filled pancake to my American eyes (and tastebuds). I enjoyed them without the cinnamon sugar finish, and my partner enjoyed them with maple syrup. Delicious! I’ll mkae them again.
Thank you 🙂
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