These apple nachos are a fun and healthy snack that’s easy to make. Sliced apples are piled high and topped with date caramel sauce, nut butter, chocolate chips and chopped nuts.
Let’s get right into these apple nachos! They pair together the crisp, tart taste of a fresh apple with my sweet and creamy date caramel sauce to make a healthy snack that is reminiscent of a caramel apple, yet somehow even better!
I’ve been making these apple nachos for years, but it’s been so fun to make them with my kids! They love helping me assemble the apple slices, drizzle the date caramel sauce and add their favorite toppings. With our abundance of apples this time of year, we’ve also been making my healthy apple muffins and apple samoas a lot, which are both great kid-friendly fall treats!
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Quick and Easy – All you need is just a few minutes of your time and boom! You have the perfect snack or dessert when you want something sweet and nutritious.
- Healthier Treat – Made with fresh apples, date caramel sauce and drippy almond butter, this recipe is a healthier alternative to traditional caramel apples. It’s a great snack that satisfies your sweet tooth without refined sugars.
- Kid Friendly – This is a fun recipe for the kids. Everyone can customize their own plate with their favorite toppings, making it a great activity for family time.
- Customizable – Feel free to make this recipe your own! Use your favorite variety of apples and your favorite toppings.
Ingredients Needed
- date caramel sauce – we’re using my 4-ingredient date caramel sauce, which is made with real food ingredients. Plus, there’s no heavy cream or butter involved unlike traditional caramel sauces. Use the leftover date caramel sauce as a dip for apples or as a topping for salted caramel oatmeal or in my samoa baked oatmeal!
- apple – you’ll need two apples for this recipe, sliced and arranged on your plate so that every piece gets some drizzle! I like using one red and one green apple for some variety, but feel free to use the same variety of apples. My go-to apples are Honeycrisp or Pink Lady and Granny Smith.
- nut butter – I love adding a drizzle of nut butter along with the date caramel sauce for an extra boost of protein. My motto = when in doubt… add nut butter. Almond butter, peanut butter or cashew butter would be delish.
- chocolate chips – I prefer to use Lily’s dark chocolate chips because they’re sugar-free, but feel free to use your favorite brand of chocolate chips.
- chopped pecans – we’re toasting the pecans for more flavor. For toasting, turn oven to 350°F and spread the nuts out evenly on a baking sheet. Bake until golden for 5-10 minutes or until fragrant and toasty.
Substitutions & Variations
One of the best things about these caramel apple nachos is how versatile they are. You can easily swap out ingredients or add new ones to suit your taste or dietary needs.
- Date caramel sauce: If you don’t have dates or just don’t want to make the date caramel sauce, don’t worry! Regular caramel sauce can totally be used.
- Swap the pecans: Feel free to use a different nut like walnuts, almonds or cashews instead of pecans. You can toast the nuts the same way you would the pecans.
- Make them nut-free: Skip the chopped nuts and use hemp seeds, sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds instead. And swap the nut butter with sunflower seed butter, tahini or even coconut butter.
- Use different toppings: The sky’s the limit when it comes to toppings! Swap out the mini chocolate chips for cacao nibs, or use melted chocolate for a drizzle. Shredded coconut (or toasted coconut) dried fruit (like raisins or dried cranberries), crushed pretzels, marshmallows or different candies (like mini m&m’s) are all excellent options as well depending on what you’re going for. For some extra flavor, sprinkle your apple nachos with cinnamon, pumpkin spice, or even a pinch of cayenne for a little heat.
How to Make Apple Nachos
Step 1: If you haven’t already, make your date caramel sauce. Set aside.
Step 2: Slice your apples and arrange them on a plate.
Step 3: Use a small spoon to drizzle the date caramel over the apple slices. Then add a drizzle of nut butter.
Step 4: Top the apples with chocolate chips, chopped nuts, and anything else you desire!
Brittany’s Quick Tip!
To make assembly quick and easy, have all your toppings ready in separate bowls before you start slicing the apples.
How to Store
If you have leftovers, place the nachos in an airtight sealed container and store them in the refrigerator. They’re best eaten within a day or two as the apples can start to brown and toppings may soften.
Frequently Asked Questions
Absolutely! If you’re short on time or just prefer the convenience, store-bought caramel sauce works perfectly fine. While I love the natural sweetness of date caramel, a good-quality store-bought caramel will still make these nachos delicious. You can also experiment with honey or maple syrup if you want to switch things up.
For this recipe, I recommend slicing the apples thinly and evenly so that they can be layered nicely on the plate and hold all those yummy toppings. Leaving the skin on adds extra fiber and a bit of texture, but you can peel them if you prefer a softer bite. Just be sure to core the apples first so that your slices are free of seeds.
When it comes to choosing apples for this recipe, I love using a mix of sweet and tart varieties. My go-to combo is usually Honeycrisp and Granny Smith apples. Honeycrisp apples are super crisp and sweet, which balances nicely with the tartness of Granny Smiths. But honestly, you can use whatever apples you have on hand — Gala, Pink Lady or Fuji apples are all great options!
Usually the apple slices will start to brown after about an hour, so if you want you can toss the apple slices in lemon juice or lime juice before arranging them on the plate to prevent them from browning. Just a note, that this will change the overall flavor of the nachos, which is why I don’t usually do this.
More Apple Recipes to Try
Be sure to check out all of my apple recipes as well as the full collection of snack recipes here on EBF!
