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September marks the start of fall, with families heading back to work and school. Come the weekend, a most memorable September outing is apple picking! Enjoy fresh country air, fun family time, and bags of bright, crunchy apples!
Most people return from apple picking loaded with apples, yet empty on ideas about what to do with them. Apples are versatile as you can bake, stew, and preserve them, as well as eat them raw. A great food choice, apples are rich in fiber, vitamin C, potassium, and antioxidants, according to Healthline.
Here are seven recipe ideas for your farm-fresh apple harvest. Including starters, side dishes, condiments, and desserts, this selection of apple recipes is vegan, sugar-free, and oil-free, and will ensure you use every picked apple down to the core!
Vegan apple butter
Apple butter is a more concentrated form of applesauce. This recipe from Dairy Free For Baby is made in a slow cooker and does not even require you to peel the apples! Dairy-free and egg-free, it will fill your house with that spicy fall aroma.
Apple butter is a healthy food swap for butter and oil. It can be spread on bread, used in baked goods, oatmeal, barbecue sauce, and served as a condiment. Add chopped apples, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, vanilla, lemon juice, salt, and maple syrup to your crock pot. Cook for ten hours, then mash with an immersion blender. Apple butter freezes well.
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Kale, apple, and quinoa salad
This healthy, crispy salad from Forks Over Knives is colorful and zesty, and a great dish for fall. Combine roasted squash and pumpkin seeds with cooked quinoa, chopped kale, and diced apple. Drizzle with the recipe’s oil-free Dijon lemon vinaigrette.
Butternut squash apple soup
This thick, creamy, sweet soup from Jessica in the Kitchen is filled with fall flavors. Simmer cubed butternut squash, apples, onion, and thyme. Then add coconut milk and puree until smooth. Serve this fall soup with coconut cream.
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Magical applesauce vinaigrette
This thick vinaigrette from Forks Over Knives is oil-free, fat-free, and goes well with many salads. Blend together applesauce, miso, cumin, apple cider and balsamic vinegars, Dijon mustard, and maple syrup. You can use a homemade applesauce like this three-ingredient, sugar-free recipe from Minimalist Baker.
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Apple vegan slaw
This crunchy and nutritious vegan salad from Forks Over Knives is made from shredded red and green cabbage, sliced celery, plus spiralized carrots and apples. Braeburn or Honeycrisp apples are great choices. Serve with the magical applesauce vinaigrette dressing above.
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Pumpkin spiced apple pie
Like motherhood and apple pie, an apple picking outing is incomplete without this classic American dessert! This fall recipe from Minimalist Baker is vegan and has only eight ingredients!
Mix together tart and sweet apples with cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, and pumpkin butter. You can make a perfect vegan crust with vegan butter and even lattice the top. Serve with coconut whipped cream or your favorite vegan “nice” cream.
Apple pie crumble bars
This recipe from Minimalist Baker is gluten-free and vegan, and tastes like apple pie, apple strudel, and apple crisp combined! The healthy crust has pulsed oats, almonds, coconut sugar, and coconut oil. Bake the crust, then add a filling of cubed apples, coconut sugar, cinnamon, and lemon. Top with a crumble made from gluten-free flour, rolled oats, and coconut oil. Slice into squares and enjoy!
