Everything I Made with Our Apple Picking Haul

Hey friends! As I sat down to write this week’s Things I’m Loving Friday blog post, I realized most what I planned to share were apple-based recipes since we’ve made so many good ones after our apple picking adventure. Rather than share a single book recommendation among a bunch of apple recipes we’ve loved, I’m pivoting today’s post in favor of sharing all of the apple recipes we made and loved with our apple picking haul in one place to make them easier to find should you find yourself looking for some apple recipes to try this autumn. Hopefully one or two will pop out at you and fill you with spirit of fall!

Everything I Made with Our Apple Picking Haul

• Whole Wheat Apple Muffins

I’ve praised the Sally’s Baking Addiction food blog for years as a go-to for me whenever I want to bake something I know will turn out well. Sally’s recipes never fail me so I went right to her site when I was looking for an apple muffin recipe to make the day after our apple picking adventure. I followed her recipe for the muffins but swapped Greek yogurt for the apple sauce and omitted the nuts, as I knew our boys wouldn’t like them in the muffins. They turned out so well and were all gone within 48 hours.

• Oatmeal Apple Crisp

I’ll avoid being redundant by listing this apple crisp recipe multiple times on the blog but this is the recipe we made a few times with our apple haul because it’s our very, very favorite. Desserts that involve something hot and sweet paired with ice cream have my heart forever and this apple crisp is the perfect complement to cold, creamy vanilla ice cream. LOVE LOVE LOVE.

• Carrot Apple Slaw

I didn’t follow an exact recipe for this one but to make this slaw, I shredded apples, carrots, cilantro, parsley and green onions and tossed everything in a light dressing made with red wine vinegar, lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper. It was slightly sweet, light and crunchy and the perfect side dish with various lunches I had throughout the week. For the above meal, I topped it with leftover corn sliced off the cob and marinated chicken.

• Arugula and Beet Salad with Apples

The day we got back from the apple orchard, we had friends over for a cookout and made this arugula and beet salad that incorporates apples into the recipe for a sweet crunch! I cannot count the number of times we’ve made that salad over the summer but it’s also a perfectly autumn salad, thanks to fall produce — the beets and apples — in the recipe!

• French Pork Chops with Apple Cream Sauce

You better believe I felt like one heck of a fancy chef the night I made this recipe on Wednesday night since the word “French” was in the recipe title. I haven’t made too many recipes that incorporate heavy cream into a savory dinner meal and clearly that must change because this recipe blew us away. It was rich and comforting and also felt a little special even though it was still an easy one to make on a busy weeknight!

• Chicken Sausage Sweet Potato Bake with Apples and Onions

This chicken sausage sweet potato bake has been a favorite in our house for years. It’s warm and satisfying, sweet and savory and makes the whole house smell amazing as it bakes in the oven. I knew we had to make it with our haul of apples!

• Cinnamon Sugar Apple Cake

You can never, ever go wrong with a Pinch of Yum recipe and Rhett and I ended up whipping this one up together on a rainy afternoon when he said he wanted to make apple cake! Truth be told, he had been asking to make apple cake with our haul of apples since the day we picked them so we were overdue to honor his request. I found this POY recipe and the reviews had me convinced we were in for a treat! This apple cake was the perfect buttery-cinnamony-appley treat and something about it felt gift-worthy… like the kind of cake you’d bring to a neighbor or a new mom who had a baby or a teacher who deserves a little extra appreciation or encouragement. We loved it!

• Turkey Apple Sausage

I stumbled upon this recipe when I was looking for ways to incorporate apples into a weekend breakfast. Truth be told this one wasn’t “sausage-y” enough for me. (The only change I made was to swap ground turkey for the ground chicken.) It was still good enough to eat but lacked the traditional spice of breakfast sausage. I topped mine with a fried egg and loved the way the drippy yolk added a little flavor to this recipe so I highly recommend going that route if you give this one a try.

• Instant Pot Applesauce

We were 0 for 3 for babies/toddlers who liked applesauce in our house which kind of blew my mind. I thought all kids like applesauce!? I can still vividly remember the homemade applesauce my mom would make in our house every fall and nothing store-bought came close so I thought perhaps making our own applesauce might sway our kids and make them actually like applesauce for the first time. I opted for this recipe because it only called for three ingredients — apples, cinnamon sticks and water — and two of the three boys gave it a thumbs up. I’ll take it!

Question of the Day

Do you have any go-to recipes that incorporate apples that you absolutely love? Please share! 

Do you like to go apple picking in the fall?