I have a serious emotional connection to southern fried apples. There is just something about them that takes me back to childhood Sunday mornings. Every Sunday my grandmother would make a fully loaded breakfast that consisted of butter grits, homemade biscuits, scrambled eggs, hash browns, sausage, bacon, and yes, some good ol southern fried apples!!
That sweet, buttery cinnamon aroma drifted and lingered throughout the entire house and it was heavenly. Breakfast just wasn’t the same if fried apples didn’t make it in the line up.
Living in the south all of my life, I’ve had my share of “just ok” southern fried apples. It’s easy to get fried apples wrong. Very wrong. From using water, too much brown sugar, overcooking, over spicing and so on. This southern fried apples recipe is the BEST! And I’m not just saying that because it’s just like my grandma Barb makes hers (ok maybe that’s why a teeny tiny bit).
The key to a good pan of southern fried apples is to keep it simple. No need to get all fancy schmancy by adding in syrups, extracts, juices, cornstarch, etc. I use to get all elaborate with my fried apples until I saw how my grandmother made hers. Simple just works.
These southern fried apples are pure perfection. Tart, sweet and spiced just right and not to mention easy as pie!! Get it? Apples. Pie. Get it? Ok never mind I’ve got nothing.
Use these fried apples as a side dish for breakfast or dinner, throw them on top of biscuits, cornbread or ice cream and you’ve got something special.
They are a true southern comfort food and just thinking about them makes me smile. I hope they will make you smile too : )
QUICK TIPS TO MAKING THE BEST SOUTHERN FRIED APPLES:
- Use granny smith apples. They have that perfect firm yet tender texture when cooked and the tartness goes great with the sweetness of the syrup
- Peel the apples.
- Do not overcook. You want firm to the touch, yet tender to the bite with just a tiny bit of resistance. Mushy fried apples are gross and if you do accidentally overcook them never admit defeat! Turn them into country fried applesauce and pretend that you totally meant to do that.
- Use real, sweet cream butter. No spreads, olive oils, etc. Many folks down south swear by using lard. I prefer the taste of butter but hey, whatever floats your boat.
Watch me make these southern fried apples from start to finish!
Best Southern Fried Apples
Ingredients
- 2 large granny smith apples
- 4 tablespoons real butter chopped
- Juice of 1/2 lemon
- 2 tablespoons white sugar
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
Instructions
- Peel, core and cut apples into even slices.
- Melt butter in skillet over medium heat.
- Add apples and drizzle them with lemon juice.
- Let apples simmer until most of butter is absorbed and apples are tender. (do not overcook. Apples should be firm to the touch, yet tender with a little give to the bite.)
- Stir together sugars and sprinkle them over apples.
- Toss to combine.
- Lower heat if needed.
- Let apples cook until sugars are completely dissolved and syrupy.
- Remove from heat and sprinkle apples with cinnamon.
- Toss to distribute cinnamon.
- Plate apples and serve piping hot!
Notes
Granny smith makes the best apples for fried apples.
Every time we want to make fried apples, we look for this recipe. So we finally bookmarked it! So tasty.
Delicious recipe! Big hit with my family
I swapped Sugar in the Raw and Monk Fruit in the Raw for white and brown sugar and they were off the chain delicious!!!
Just made these amazing fried apples! So good!!! My hubby is going to LOVE them! Can’t wait until he tries them! Just like Grandma’s!
I’m happy to hear you enjoyed them!!
These are truly Devine!!!! These will definitely become a tradition in my huge household!!! Thank you so much for sharing your great recipes Monique!!!!
I rated this
My stars didn’t show up and my phone won’t Select the 5th star for a full 5 star review!
recipe sounds great can these fried apples be jarred and put thru a canning (hot water bath) process
Can these be frozen? I have apples to use!
My grandma always made fried pears. You think I could still follow this recipe, but use pears and it would turn out?
Wow. These apples are so good. Love the addition of lemon juice in here. Im putting them in a baked french toast casserole for Christmas morning. Can’t wait! Thanks for recipe.
This is a very very good recipe i added alittle honey to it delicious
Great recipe! It was easy to make and delicious. I enjoy seeing all the recipes that Diva’s Can Cook shares on the website. I started with the Red Velvet Cake recipe and have been a loyal follower ever since.
Thanks so much for sharing grandma Barbs recipe, she was putting her feet in Sunday morning breakfasts I’ll tell you that!!!! Loooove it, its simple and I followed your video as well. You were right, it’s very simple but DELICIOUS!!! Is Divas can cook your only food recipe place to go, cause id love to follow more of your recipes.
Thanking you so much,
Yolanda 🙂 🙂
I made this last night and my son-in-law would have finished them all himself! They were delicious!
Can I can these apples after frying?
You can freeze them…
Thank you!! Thank Grandma Barb!!! Watched the video. Followed directions. Had to use apples I had. And……divine!!!!!
Thank you. Thank you and thank you. I will use Granny Smith next time. ????
She will be so happy to hear your comment! Thanks Beth!
Can you make these ahead?
Thank you so much. I’m making this for Christmas Day brunch in Virginia, 2016..
Read it, made it, loved it….Thank you
These were very good. The lemon juice added a nice subtle flavor. ( I used a bit less than called for.) I also used 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon because i my personal preference is for a lighter cinnamon flavor. But the technique worked well, and I liked that the sugars made the sauce just barely syrupy – not the glossy stuff you get in recipes with cornstarch.
So my husband and 10 year old just made fried apples with your recipe for the first time. They tasted like my great-grandmother’s and I was very proud of them. All I did was share the recipe. They executed perfectly.
I LOVE IT!!!! Can’t stop eating! I gave my family a sample and they all want for Thanksgiving this is going to be new, but I’ll make it traditional to our family Thanksgiving, it won’t be hard to get used to.
Everyone wants me to make more and more. I’m sitting here like no if I keep making it you’ll get sick of it and no one will eat it for Thanksgiving. And they’re all like no, we love it its impossible to get tiered of.
THANKS MONIQUE!!!
I can’t boil water most of the time, but these turned out great! Thank you!!!!
Made this as a crepe filling ..delicious
You should try these with fried or grilled pork chops. Perfect side!
I prepared this fried apple recipe last night, following the ingredients list and instructions exactly as provided. I can confirm that this version of fried apples is excellent. I’ve seen the other recipes with all kinds of juices and spices…I can’t imagine why you’d want to waste your time with all that when these are perfect.
I would pair with hot buttermilk biscuits (as I did), Belgian waffles, or use as an ice cream topping. Great job, Monique!
the best way to eat apple, love love it thx
I had some really bitter Granny Smith apples so I added another tablespoon of both sugars and a half teaspoon of cinnamon. Came out great! Will eat the rest over vanilla ice cream
I had some really bitter Granny Smith apples so I added another tablespoon of both sugars and a half teaspoon of cinnamon. Came out great! Will eat the rest over vanilla ice cream.
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I just made this yesterday. I added the apples to vanilla bean ice cream. So delicious! Tastes like warm apple pie, minus the pie, and extra calories!
Born and raised in the South! That being said: Best fried apples ever! Granny Smith apples are the apples I had at the time. Made these “Best Southern Fried Apples” last week and my husband and I couldn’t get enough! I did take her suggestion in the video and added a pinch of nutmeg to these. Absolutely delicious! I wouldn’t change a thing!
p.s.
Told a friend about this recipe and she added 1/8 of teaspoon of almond flavoring to hers. Mine were perfect following the recipe.
Oh my gosh!! So easy and just delicious!!!
I just tried this recipe, and I love it! It was so easy, but incredibly delicious! It reminded me of my childhood days spent in TN. Thanks so much for sharing. 🙂
I have lived in the south my entire life and this recipe is just wrong. You do not put brown sugar in your fried apples. I tried this recipe and it was horrible.
Then why did you make it if it’s wrong?
Yes, why?
I was wondering the same thing lmbo !!! This recipe was absolutely the best my family and I love it!!!
i tried making them jn and it is the best! simple,easy and delicious! my family loves them!
I think I’m in love with this post and this recipe. I can’t wait to make this.
Thank you from this recipe ! I am from the south and was looking for my aunt’s fried apple recipe but couldn’t locate it. This comes very close to hers. We usually ate the fried apples on top of our pancakes. I didn’t have granny smith apples , so I used McIntosh apples that I had on hand. They were perfect for this recipe and very delicious on my pancakes. My daughters loved them . Many thanks!
Just like my Mother cooked them. Southern folks know how to cook!
Thanks to my father who shared with me regarding this web site, this
webpage is genuinely remarkable.
We have a bag of Honeycrisp apples that were going to go to waste and while I was thinking about what to make for breakfast, I wondered if there were any good recipes for fried apples and that’s when I found this site.
I did use lime juice in place of lemon juice. I think it makes it just a bit more tart. I also added a few chopped pecans with the sugars. This was not only extremely easy, but the taste was better than I could have imagined.
I’ll be making more for a Fall party. Thanks for sharing your recipe.
I was just mentioning to a friend the other day how I missed my dad and he was the only one who could fry apples just right, a skill I have never mastered. I was tickled to find this recipe! I was looking for one of your videos and I accidently found this!
This was awesome!! Thank you!
Omg!!! My grandmother was from Athens, Georgia and she would make fried apples with breakfast on the weekend. Instead of butter, grandmom would use bacon grease. So just fry 2-3 slices of bacon before adding the apples and follow this awesome recipe as is. The little bits of bacon mixed in there really sets it off. The sweet and salty combo is to die for!
This is the way my mom would fix them. You are right the bacon adds the right touch. Had this with hot biscuits, oh my. My mom is from Virginia
The apples were great! Thank you. And a little ice cream on top of the warm apples was a plus. I also made the cabbage last night. Another great side dish. Thanks again.
This is so yummy, give it a try.
This sounds wonderful! I just stated a new Tasty Tuesday linky party and would love it if you would share your recipe there. Here is the link:
http://www.thecomfortsofhome.blogspot.com/2014/03/tasty-tuesday-1.html