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Dairy Free Caramel Apple “Donuts”

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These dairy free caramel apple “donuts” are a quick and easy snack for fall, Halloween, or anytime! These green apple slices are covered in a no-cook dairy free caramel sauce that’s also peanut free and school safe.

photo collage showing easy dairy free caramel apple donuts with sprinkles.

Autumn is nearly in full swing, and I hope you are enjoying the season so far. Fall tends to be a super busy time with school events and sports, it’s always nice to have a quick and super easy snack recipe on hand, like these dairy free caramel apple “donuts”.

We don’t typically go all out for Halloween celebrations, I still enjoy creating fun and allergy friendly fall and Halloween treats that people with food allergies can still enjoy. These caramel apple slices are a fun idea for school-safe Halloween snacks if you don’t mind a little mess from the faux caramel sauce.

If you’re looking for another fun and fruit-based Halloween treat, check out our chocolate fruit “spiders”. That post is due for a revamp soon since it’s from the first years of my website, but it’s still a classic and makes a great Halloween treat.

If you have extra time and are looking for real dairy free caramel apples, don’t forget to check out our recipe for those, they are amazing!

Food allergy notes:

  • Peanut free
  • Dairy free
  • Gluten free/grain free
  • Vegan option
overhead photo of green apple slices with dairy free caramel sauce on them.

Why we love this easy snack recipe

One of my favorite parts about this recipe is that this is so easy to make and the ingredients are probably in your kitchen already, so you don’t need anything fancy to have a great snack in a pinch.

Back when I originally posted this recipe in 2015, this recipe was inspired by a “fauxnuts” apple slice donuts recipe shared on the Lorna Jane Move Nourish Believe blog a few years prior. They have since removed that recipe from their website, but I wanted to give them a nod anyway since they inspired the recipe!

The “caramel” sauce that I made for this recipe is one that I’ve been using in some shape or form for years (my first recipe with it was in 2012), before I figured out how to make real dairy free caramel sauce.

Since this is such a fun recipe that’s super easy to make, I decided to re-write this post and share it again!

dairy free caramel apple fauxnuts on a baking sheet with parchment paper.

How to make faux caramel apple “donuts”

This easy snack recipe takes just a couple of minutes to make, here’s an overview of the steps (the full recipe is at the end of the post):

  1. In a small dish, whisk or stir together the Sunbutter, honey, and vanilla extract. Set aside.
  2. Wash your large green apples, core out the middle, and cut them into 1/4 to 1/2-inch slices horizontally to make slices with a hole in the middle that resembles a donut.
  3. If you want to prevent browning, you can rub a slice of lime over the apples to keep the apples from turning brown.
  4. Dry off the tops of the apple slices by dabbing with a paper towel and spread some of the faux caramel sauce on top.
  5. Sprinkle with your favorite toppings, such as mini chocolate chips, coconut flakes, or sprinkles.
  6. Eat immediately (these won’t keep well in the fridge).
Photo collage of a person pouring honey into a dish with sunbutter.

If you want a little spice to your caramel apple donuts, you can try sprinkling a little cinnamon on your apple slices before spreading the caramel, or you can mix a dash of cinnamon into the caramel spread.

You can also adjust the thickness of your caramel spread: if you want your sauce to be a bit thinner for easier drizzling, you can add a little bit more honey.

How to cut and slice an apple for Caramel Apple Donuts.

Can I replace the honey in this recipe?

If you want to replace the honey in this recipe to make this low FODMAP or vegan, you can use maple syrup instead of the honey. It will still taste great but it won’t have the same caramel-y consistency that you get with the Sunbutter and honey combo.

You can also replace the honey with an allulose syrup to make this low sugar as well.

When replacing the honey with other liquid sweeteners, you’ll need to adjust the amount since the honey is thicker. Start with equal amounts (1:1 ratio) and add more maple syrup or allulose from there to adjust to your desired thickness.

Donuts covered in caramel and sprinkles on a baking sheet.

Caramel Apple “Donuts” (Grain Free and Dairy Free)

These dairy free caramel apple "donuts" are a quick and easy snack for fall, Halloween, or anytime! These green apple slices are covered in a no-cook dairy free caramel sauce that's also peanut free and school safe.
Dairy free, peanut free, gluten free
5 from 1 vote
Print Pin Rate
Course: Snacks
Cuisine: American
Keyword: caramel apple donuts, fruit donuts
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 10 minutes
Servings: 4 servings
Calories: 143kcal
Author: Sarah Parker, adapted from a recipe originally posted on the Lorna Jane Blog, Move Nourish Believe (the post is no longer there)

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons SunButter
  • 3-4 Tablespoons honey
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla
  • 2 Granny Smith apples or your favorite variety of apples
  • 2 Tablespoons Toppings you love! Mini chocolate chips, sprinkled, shredded coconut, etc.

Instructions

  • In a small dish, whisk or stir together the Sunbutter, honey, and vanilla extract. Set aside.
  • Wash your large green apples, leave the peel on, and core out the middle, and cut them into 1/4 to 1/2-inch slices horizontally to make slices with a hole in the middle that resembles a donut.
  • If you want to prevent browning of the apples, you can rub a slice of lime over the apples to keep the apples from turning brown.
  • Dry off the tops of the apple slices by dabbing with a paper towel and spread some of the faux caramel sauce on top.
  • Sprinkle with your favorite toppings, such as mini chocolate chips, coconut flakes, or sprinkles.
  • Eat immediately (these won't keep well in the fridge).

Video

Nutrition

Calories: 143kcal | Carbohydrates: 28g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 0.4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.05g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.01g | Sodium: 2mg | Potassium: 112mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 22g | Vitamin A: 53IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 16mg | Iron: 1mg
Did you make this recipe?Share a photo on Instagram and tag us @TheFitCookie!

I originally published this post in October 2015 and we recently re-wrote this post and took new photos. Here’s one the original photos from this post:

older photo of dairy free caramel apple slices with toppings.

4 thoughts on “Dairy Free Caramel Apple “Donuts””

  1. I was going to make and bring to a party but not sure if they will hold up as you mention to eat immediately. Can they be eaten an hour or two after making? Does the topping all fall off?

    Reply
    • I think it will be ok for a little bit after making, the topping might try to slide off after a while, but might not be too bad if you make your topping thicker and let the apple slices air dry off for 5 minutes or so before adding the topping.

      Reply
  2. Oh my goodness these look so delicious! And how creative and festive. I may have to try them this weekend. I am a sucker for caramel apples 🙂

    Reply
5 from 1 vote (1 rating without comment)

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