I’m sharing my easy recipe for Apple Fritters made without yeast! These are tender, fluffy, and sweet, and they’re coated in a simple apple cider glaze. Recipe includes a how-to video!
The Easiest Apple Fritters
Apple fritters are a fun, easy, and irresistible fall treat. Among apple desserts, they are often overshadowed by apple pie or apple crisp, while apple turnovers or apple muffins typically take the apple breakfast crown. But fritters can be either (depending on your sweet tooth!) and deserve to enjoy all of their soft, spiced apple glory.
This recipe is made yeast-free with a batter that’s essentially a thicker version of my buttermilk pancake batter. This means there is no long, impatient bouts waiting for dough to rise before you can fry them–just mix up the batter, heat up the oil, and go! Yay for yeast-free!
That being said, “go” with caution, because hot oil is no joke! I’m including some tips for those of you who are new to frying or just need a refresher. Don’t be intimidated by this though–I promise, these are easy peasy.
What You Need
You’ll notice we’re using just a few basic pantry staples in this apple fritter recipe. Here are the important ones:
- Apples. The best apples for making apple fritters are the ones you enjoy eating (so most likely not Granny Smith, save that for apple cake)! I like to use Gala, Fuji, or the ever-popular HoneyCrisp. They’re also great with Golden Delicious!
- Cinnamon. Tossing the apples with a bit of ground cinnamon before stirring them into the batter gives them a nice extra flavor!
- Eggs. Make sure you whisk your eggs really well until they’re pale and foamy.
- Melted butter. Use unsalted butter and let it cool a bit before adding it.
- Oil. I recommend using vegetable, canola, or peanut oil.
SAM’S TIP: I like to use an ice cream scoop with a lever to drop my batter into the oil; it makes the process so much easier and less messy.
Remember, this is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!
How to Make Apple Fritters
- Whisk together your sugar and dry ingredients.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs until frothy, then add milk and vanilla. Whisk the butter into this mixture.
- Carefully fold together the wet and dry ingredients, then gently fold in your apple pieces.
- Heat the oil, then fry your apple fritters in small batches.
- Coat the fritters in glaze after frying, if desired. And by “if desired” I mean this step is absolutely mandatory, you’ll love this apple cider glaze!
SAM’S TIP: If you really don’t want to make a glaze for your apple fritters, just toss them in cinnamon sugar (or use powdered sugar) shortly after frying. They can also be enjoyed plain!
Tips For Frying Apple Fritters:
The most difficult part of today’s process is the frying itself. Truthfully this process isn’t really difficult; it just requires careful monitoring (if you’ve made my fried donut holes, you’re already familiar with this).
If frying is new to you, here are a few key tips to make the process as smooth as possible (you may want to watch the video in the recipe card too!).
- Use a thermometer to make sure your oil is at the correct temperature. Make sure that the tip of the thermometer is not touching the bottom of the pan — it should be resting about mid-way through the oil.
- Fry in batches of just 2-3 fritters. Adding the batter will cause the oil temperature to drop, and adding too many fritters can make it drop so low that your fritters may be under-baked on the inside.
- Do a test batch first to get a good idea of when your apple fritters are finished frying. At the correct temperature, they will be golden brown after about 60-75 seconds on each side. However, if your oil is too hot, they will fry much faster and could be golden brown on the outside and still raw and gooey on the inside. After frying your test batch, let the fritters sit for about 2-3 minutes (to completely finish cooking) and then cut one in half and take a peek to make sure that the center is fully cooked.
- Make sure that your oil temperature comes back to the right temperature before adding your next batch!
Frequently Asked Questions
This is most likely the result of oil temperature. If your oil is too cool, your fritters will take a long time to fry and will end up greasy. Avoid oil temperature problems by using a thermometer, monitoring the temperature of your oil closely, and frying in small batches!
Unfortunately, these do not keep very well into the next day. For best taste, I recommend enjoying them shortly after making and dipping them.
I have never tried baking this recipe rather than frying, but I do not think it would turn out very well.
Looking for more donut shop favorites? I have lots of donut recipes to choose from!
Enjoy!
Let’s bake together! I’ll be walking you through all the steps in my written recipe and video below! If you try this recipe, be sure to tag me on Instagram, and you can also find me on YouTube and Facebook
Apple Fritters Recipe
Ingredients
- Avocado, vegetable or canola oil for frying
- 1 ½ cups (215 g) apples* peeled, cored, and cut into ¼" pieces
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon divided
- 2 cups (250 g) all purpose flour
- ⅓ cup (66 g) sugar
- 2 Tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 Tablespoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs room temperature preferred
- 1 cup (235 ml) milk
- 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter melted and cooled several minutes
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Glaze
- 1 ½ cups (250 g) powdered sugar
- 2 Tablespoons apple cider plus additional as needed (may substitute water or milk)
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
Recommended Equipment
Instructions
- Combine your apples and ½ teaspoon cinnamon in a bowl and toss until apples are coated with cinnamon. Set aside.1 ½ cups (215 g) apples*, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- In a separate, large bowl, combine flour, sugars, baking powder, remaining ½ teaspoon of cinnamon, and salt in a large bowl and whisk until well-combined.2 cups (250 g) all purpose flour, ⅓ cup (66 g) sugar, 2 Tablespoons brown sugar, 1 Tablespoons baking powder, 1 teaspoon salt
- Crack your eggs in a separate bowl and use a whisk to beat until pale yellow and frothy (about 15 seconds). Add milk and vanilla extract and whisk together.2 large eggs, 1 cup (235 ml) milk, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Slowly, while whisking, pour melted butter into wet ingredients and whisk until well-combined (mixture may look slightly curdled).2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
- Pour wet ingredients into dry and use a spatula to fold ingredients together until about halfway combined. Add cinnamon coated apple pieces and continue to fold into batter until all ingredients are just combined.
- Set the batter aside and fill a Dutch oven or large saucepan 2-3″ deep with oil for frying. Fix a candy thermometer to the edge (make sure it is in the oil but not touching the bottom of the pan) and set your heat to medium-low. Oil will need to reach 360-365F (175-185C) before you can continue.Avocado, vegetable or canola oil
- While oil is heating, prepare your glaze by whisking together sugar, apple cider (or substitute) and vanilla extract until smooth. Set aside.1 ½ cups (250 g) powdered sugar, 2 Tablespoons apple cider, ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
- Once oil has reached temperature, use a large spoon or an ice cream scoop (this is my preferred method) to scoop about 3 Tablespoons of batter and *carefully* drop into the oil. Repeat with 2 more scoops of batter and fry each for 60-75 seconds on each side, or until golden brown.
- Use tongs to remove apple fritters to a paper-towel lined plate and allow to cool several minutes before dipping in glaze and transferring to a cooling rack to allow glaze to set. Be sure to allow the oil to return to the correct temperature before frying more fritters.
- Apple fritters are best enjoyed warm the same day they are made for best quality.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
This recipe was originally published September 24th, 2018. Updated to include more helpful tips, recipe remains the same!
Eric
We loved the fritters, ate almost all of them. Your recipes are the best! We always enjoy them so much!
Sugar Spun Run
Thank you so much, Eric! I am so glad that you have enjoyed my recipes, I greatly appreciate you trying them. 🙂
William
Your recipe that you give has some differences to the measurements you use in your video. Please change this so that people in the future know how to better follow your instructions so that they don’t end up making a batch too large or small. The recipe states 1.5 cups of apples and 2 cups of powdered sugar yet in the video you used about 2 cups of apples and 1.5 cups of powdered sugar. Otherwise, neat recipe. Very tasty. Thank you.
Sam
Thanks for pointing that out, William! Honestly 1.5-2 cups will work just fine with either of those measurements (which is not the case with many ingredients in baking) but it’s definitely better to be consistent!
Dustin
We made these Apple Fritters in our air fryer tonight and they were amazing! I used 1/2 cup of milk and 1/2 cup of greek yogart. I was just trying to thicken them up a bit for the air fryer. Not sure if it was necessary, but they worked. I kept a real close eye on them because I wasn’t sure how long to fry them. They took about 8 minutes in my air fryer.
Sam
Thank you so much for the feedback, Dustin! I am so glad you enjoyed the apple fritters. 🙂
Sarah Snelgrove
Delicious! Husband ate almost entire batch. Thank you for providing awesome recipe!
Sugar Spun Run
Thank you so much, Sarah! I am so glad that you and your husband enjoyed the apple fritters! Thank you for commenting. 🙂
Sharon
Any luck freezing the apple fritters? I bought a bushel of apples (much cheep er than purchasing by pound) from a local orchard. Making lots of apple butter using your great recipe, but I need many more ideas I can freeze for upcoming winter treats
Cathy
You do a great job explaining in your video.
Sugar Spun Run
Thank you so much, Cathy! I appreciate the feedback, I try. 🙂
Jill
Making these today.Tryed these at a country fair and enjoyed them.So decide to make my own.First time wish me luck.
Sam
I hope you love the apple fritters, Jill! 🙂
Marie King
I have veen looking for a good apple fritter recipe and I think I found one. I will be making ttbes sometime in Sept. when our temp. cooll down. We’re in SC and temps are in the 100’s. I’ll let you know how they turn out. Thanks for your recipe. They look delicious. Can’t,wait to make them.
Sam
I hope you love them Marie! Good luck staying cool! 🙂
nettie
well, its september in SC and I’m still waiting for the temps to get out of the 90s. lol!
K. Ivie
Can this batter be made the night before?
Sam
Hmm I haven’t tried keeping the batter overnight, but it may work. 🙂
K. Ivie
Well then I’m gonna have to give it a whirl and see what happens!
Charlie
Your apple fritters are delicious. Almost as good as the ugly fritters in OBX from the Orange Blossom
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed the apple fritters, Charlie! 🙂
Mzingeli
This is beautiful and am learning a lot from you .
Sam
Thank you so much! I am glad I can help. 🙂
Melanie
I have an old family donut recipe that I usually make around the holidays, but I made these instead since I have some Honey Crisps and cider that I needed to use up. Delicious! I cooked down about half a cup of cider to concentrate the flavor. They were a huge hit. Thanks!
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed them, Melanie! Thanks for giving this recipe a try. 🙂
Holly
Can’t wait to try these! I think the prep, cook, total time is inverted.
Jeff
Just wanted to say thanks for the recipe! We were on a hunt for the best apple doughnuts, and the one we had at a farm yesterday were pretty underwhelming. I decided to make my own to make up for that, and went with this recipe – they were phenomenal!
The only changes I made to the fritters were I used half buttermilk and added a bit of freshly grated nutmeg and some allspice, but they were pretty minor changes overall – the recipe is fantastic. And I didn’t have cider but wanted to have an apple flavored glaze, but luckily I had apple butter – turned out great! Thinned it out with a bit of milk for the right consistency, and it was perfect.
Also, I have to disagree with you, think these are fantastic the next day! We actually liked them a bit more when they weren’t straight from the fryer – the crust/glaze hardens a bit, but in a good way, and I thought the texture held up really well. Plus, surprisingly, I felt the flavor of the spices came through more. I froze some unglazed fritters (individually wrapped in plastic, then all in foil in a freezer ziploc bag), so we’ll see how that goes!
Thanks again!
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed them and liked them the second day too! Thank you for taking the time to comment to let me know. ☺️
nettie
Thanks for this tidbit, I wanted them for an after dinner treat this evening but didn’t want to do all that work when I’m ready to quit for the night. I’ll make now and pull out right after dinner!
Jess
Will definitely be making these apple fritters tomorrow!
Sam
I hope you love them! ☺️
Jackie L.
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!!
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed it! ☺️
Lisa Kaste
they should be fried until golden brown and this should be about 60-75 minutes on each side.
Hi Sam – these look scrumptious and I can’t wait to make them after we go apple picking next weekend. The recipe directions are fine – but in your paragraph above you talk about frying for 60 minutes – you’ll want to change your content to “seconds”.
Thanks for another great recipe! lisa
Sam
WHOOPS that’s a big difference!! 😂
Thank you for bringing this to my attention, Lisa, fixing it ASAP!
Paulette Reeves paulat_1@
I hope you mean seconds not minutes.