Naked Baked Apple Slices

Have your Pie and Eat it Too… For Breakfast

Literally there was frost on the ground this morning when I woke up, and I don’t think yesterday was any warmer. In the cold weather, my breakfast smoothies aren’t quite as appealing. I crave warm food, which is pretty much why naked baked apple slices were born.

In yesterday’s post where I shared my vegan paleo sugar-free pumpkin pie dip, I mentioned that I made naked baked apple slices so I could have my ‘pie’ and eat it too – for breakfast. Warm apple pie meets warm pumpkin pie. Done and done.

Slicing Things Up

Really, naked baked apple slices happened for three reasons: I wanted something warm for breakfast, I really wanted to eat the pumpkin pie dip and was in need of a healthy vehicle, and I was too impatient to wait for a whole baked apple.

Since I already used apple slices with the pumpkin pie dip, apples of course jumped to mind first, but I didn’t want to eat cold, raw apple slices. Stewed apples wouldn’t serve as an appropriate dip vehicle, nor would a whole baked apple, which I’d have to slice anyway and would take far too long to bake for my impatient stomach. So, the obvious solution was to pre-slice the apple and bake those babies up.

An Apple A Day: The Health Benefits of Apples

And as the doctors say…. eat up! Apples are rich in antioxidants, phytonutrients, and fiber, making them a powerful prebiotic. The phytonutrients and antioxidants are linked to a reduced risk of cancer, hypertension, diabetes, and heart disease. They also contain vitamin C, B-complex, and minerals such as calcium, potassium, and phosphorous.

Apples also improve neurological health. They are particularly rich in the antioxidant quercetin, a substance found to help reduce cellular death caused by oxidation and inflammation of neurons. They also help prevent dementia and reduce the risk of stroke. Pass the apples, please.

Go Naked

Baked apples usually come loaded with all sorts of fixins like dried fruit, sugar, and oats or granola. Totally delicious, but full of unnecessary added sugars and fussiness for my purposes. So I made em naked.

I plopped the slices on the baking pan, drizzled some water and vanilla extract over them, and put them in for just 10 minutes. Result? Perfection. (Well for my simple purposes anyway!)

I sprinkled some cinnamon on top of the slices before dipping them in, and bam it was like apple pie meets pumpkin pie in the easiest, healthiest way possible.

These naked baked apple slices can be served as a quick healthy snack or dessert in their own right, and with under 5 minutes of prep time and just 10 minutes in the oven, there’s pretty much no excuse to not make them!

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Naked Baked Sliced Apples

A quick, easy and healthy version of the classic baked apple. 

Course Appetizer, Dessert, Snack

Prep Time 2 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 12 minutes

Servings 1

Ingredients

• 1 apple
• 1-2 tsp vanilla
• 2 tbsp warm water really you don't need to be precise here. just need to add some water to the pan so the apples don't dry out.

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Slice your apple. Place the slices on a pan. 

2. Drizzle the apples with the water and vanilla. You can combine the vanilla with the water in a small cup before drizzling. 

3. Place them in the oven for 10 minutes. Sprinkle with cinnamon and serve naked, or with my pumpkin pie dip.