Easy Homemade Apple Fritters are warm and crisp deep-fried pastries or a delicious fall treat made with apples and drizzled with a simple sugar glaze. This apple fritter is prepared using basic ingredients, ready in less than 30 minutes, and is served for breakfast, snacks, or after-meal desserts.
Try out our famous apple cheese danish with puff pastries and peach fritters recipe.
Why you'll love this recipe?
- This traditional apple fritter recipe using simple ingredients tastes better than any bakery.
- One of the best apple desserts to try during fall when apples are in peak season.
- No preservatives or artificial colors
- This a very flexible recipe where you can fry them in a pan and in your Dutch oven or air fryer.
Ingredients
Apples: Crisp and tart apples work best while making fritters.
Butter: Adds richness.
Sugar: Perfect amount of sweetness to your fritters.
Egg: For the moisture and helps bind everything together.
Cinnamon powder, ginger powder, nutmeg: Perfect fall flavor.
Salt: Enhances overall flavor.
Baking powder: Acts as leavener.
Milk: For the moisture. You can use whole milk, 2%, or even almond milk.
Flour: Main ingredient to make the batter.
See the recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
Best apples for an apple fritter
Honeycrisp and Granny Smith apples work the best. But use any crisp and tart apples available in your local market. Some other apples that can be used are fuji, gala. You can also combine sweet and tart apples for an amazing combination of flavors.
How long do apple fritters last?
Apple fritters taste the best when fried and served warm. If there are any leftovers, you can store them in an airtight container at room temperature for two days, in the refrigerator for up to a week, and in the freezer for three months.
How to make the best apple fritters?
Precook the apples.
- Peel and chop the apples into small chunks.
- Heat butter in a non-stick pan. Add chopped apples and saute them on medium flame till it develops golden color.
- Now add sugar and continue sauteing it for another 4 to 6 minutes.
- Remove from heat and allow it to come to room temperature.
Make the apple fritter batter
- Heat oil on a medium flame in a heavy-bottomed pan for frying while preparing the batter.
- Add sugar, egg, melted butter, cinnamon powder, ground ginger powder, salt, baking powder, nutmeg, apple butter, and milk in a bowl. Beat it nicely using a whisk till everything comes together.
- To this, add the flour and mix. Finally, add the cooked apple and fold till they are evenly distributed. Do not over-mix. The consistency of the batter will be similar to any cake batter - not too dry and not too runny - but in between.
Fry the apple fritters.
- Once the oil is hot, drop 1 or 2 heaped tablespoons of batter 6 to 8 times, depending on the size of the pan.
- Fry on each side for 2 to 3 minutes or till they are cooked through and golden brown on both sides.
- Fry in smaller batches so they are not overcrowded and cooked evenly.
- Transfer it to a paper towel to absorb any excess oil. Let this cool for about 5 minutes.
Prepare the glaze
- In a bowl, add confectioner's sugar, milk, vanilla extract and whisk it so there are no lumps.
- Drizzle this glaze on each fritter. Serve warm, and enjoy.
Tips
- Apple butter gives you additional flavor. If you find it challenging to make your own apple butter, skip it in the recipe. It will still taste good!
- You can also coat fritters with cinnamon sugar or sprinkle powdered sugar instead of glaze if desired.
- Do not overcrowd the pan. Adjust the number and size of the fritters depending on the pan size.
- See that the oil is not too hot or too cold (it should be between 350 to 375 F). If it's too hot, the fritters will turn dark brown very quickly and will not be cooked inside, and if it's too cold, it will absorb excess oil.
- When you add batter to oil, the temperature will drop, so increase the flame to medium-high, switch it to medium, and continue to fry on medium flame until you remove the fritters.
To check if the oil is hot enough to fry fritters, follow any one of the two steps
- Drop a little piece of the batter mix and check if it sizzles and comes up.
- Wooden spoon test - Put the end of your wooden spoon or laddle into the oil. If the oil bubbles around it, the oil is ready for frying.
Recipe FAQS
Fritters will not be crispy if the oil temperature is low. If the oil is not hot enough, the batter will absorb too much oil and turn your fritters soggy and not crispy.
Always fry fritters on medium to medium-high flame until they turn dark golden brown. This will help in making them crispy.
Apple fritters and donuts are similar in the fact that both include frying the dough containing apples. But the fritter dough is rough, irregular in shape, and more crispy compared to donuts that are smooth and round.
Traditionally apple fritters are fried snacks or desserts. Some prefer to bake it, but you will miss that crispy exterior when baked, but it is always a healthy option.
More simple apple desserts
Did you like this recipe? Please leave a star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating below and/or a review in the comments section. You can also stay in touch with us through social media by following us on Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
Recipe card
Homemade Apple Fritters Recipe (Old Fashioned)
Equipment
Ingredients
Precook the apples
- 3 large Apples
- 1 tablespoon Butter
- 1 tablespoon Sugar
For fritter batter
- ¼ cup Sugar
- 1 large Egg
- 1 tablespoon Butter , melted
- ½ to 1 teaspoon Cinnamon powder
- ¼ teaspoon Ginger powder (optional)
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- 2 teaspoon Baking powder
- ⅛ teaspoon Nutmeg a pinch, optional
- 2 tablespoon Apple butter (optional)
- ⅔ cup Milk
- 1 ⅓ cups All purpose flour
- Oil for frying
For Glaze
- 1 cup Confectioners sugar
- 2 tablespoon Milk
- ½ teaspoon Vanilla extract optional
Instructions
Cook the apples
- Peel and chop the apples into small chunks.3 large Apples
- Heat butter in a non-stick pan. Add chopped apples and saute them on medium flame till it develops golden color.1 tablespoon Butter
- Now add sugar and continue sauteing it for another 4 to 6 minutes.1 tablespoon Sugar
- Remove from heat and allow it to come to room temperature.
Prepare apple fritter batter
- Heat oil on a medium flame in a heavy-bottomed pan for frying while preparing the batter.Oil
- Add sugar, egg, melted butter, cinnamon powder, ground ginger powder, salt, baking powder, nutmeg, apple butter, and milk in a bowl. Beat it nicely using a whisk till everything comes together.¼ cup Sugar, 1 large Egg, 1 tablespoon Butter, ½ to 1 teaspoon Cinnamon powder, ¼ teaspoon Ginger powder, ½ teaspoon Salt, 2 teaspoon Baking powder, ⅛ teaspoon Nutmeg, 2 tablespoon Apple butter, ⅔ cup Milk
- To this, add the flour and mix. Finally, add the cooked apple and fold till they are evenly distributed. Do not over-mix. The consistency of the batter will be similar to any cake batter - not too dry and not too runny - but in between.1 ⅓ cups All purpose flour
Fry the apple fritters
- Once the oil is hot, drop 1 or 2 heaped tablespoons of batter 6 to 8 times, depending on the size of the pan.
- Fry on each side for 2 to 3 minutes or till they are cooked through and golden brown on both sides. Fry in smaller batches so they are not overcrowded and cooked evenly.
- Transfer it to a paper towel to absorb any excess oil. Let this cool for about 5 minutes.
Prepare the glaze
- In a bowl, add confectioner's sugar, milk, vanilla extract and whisk it so there are no lumps.1 cup Confectioners sugar, 2 tablespoon Milk, ½ teaspoon Vanilla extract
- Drizzle this glaze on each fritter. Serve warm, and enjoy.
Notes
- Apple butter gives you additional flavor. If you find it challenging to make your own apple butter, skip it in the recipe. It will still taste good!
- You can also coat fritters with cinnamon sugar or sprinkle powdered sugar instead of glaze if desired.
- Do not overcrowd the pan. Adjust the number and size of the fritters depending on the pan size.
- See that the oil is not too hot or too cold (it should be between 350 to 375 F). If it's too hot, the fritters will turn dark brown very quickly and will not be cooked inside, and if it's too cold, it will absorb excess oil.
- When you add batter to oil, the temperature will drop, so increase the flame to medium-high, switch it to medium, and continue to fry on medium flame until you remove the fritters.
To check if the oil is hot enough to fry fritters, follow any one of the two steps
- Drop a little piece of the batter mix and check if it sizzles and comes up.
- Wooden spoon test - Put the end of your wooden spoon or laddle into the oil. If the oil bubbles around it, the oil is ready for frying.
Nutrition
Note: We originally posted this recipe in Oct 2016. It has now been modified in Aug 2023 with Expert Chef Tips, FAQs, Storage Instructions, etc.
Sapana
Apple fritters looks so delicious 😋 I remember making them once and totally loved it. They look so tempting to make again.
Alexis
We recently studied apples so this recipe was a fun treat to celebrate Fall and the end of our apple unit. Thank you for sharing.
Jamie
This is such a great-looking Apple Fritters plus it totally looks amazingly delicious! An awesome and perfect treat that everyone will surely love and enjoy!
Amy Liu Dong
Such an easy and delicious Apple Fritters. I can't wait to make this recipe again for my kids. Yum!