29 Fun Ideas For What To Do With Old Apples! 🍏🍎

Looking for ideas about what to do with old apples? This post is packed with ideas, so I hope you find something fun, delicious, or sweet-smelling to do with your extra apples! 

Did you know they can be baked into a dessert or dried for a tabletop potpourri—check out #29! Slow cook those wrinkly, mealy apples into applesauce or jam or jelly or cider or press them for juice! 

Apples are such amazing, versatile, long-lasting fruits. Ripe ones can be enjoyed straight off the tree or cut off the core and dipped into something creamy! 

But old apples, the kind that have been sitting in the bowl on your counter for -cough- weeks can often still be used! Make sure the skin is unbroken and that bruises haven’t gone moldy, and you might be surprised that even when a super old apple is mealy, it can cook down into something amazing.

Or add old apples to a birdfeeder or dehydrate them into chips!

Blend old apples into hummus, or slice and shred a ⅓ c of apple into a grilled cheese sandwich, or knead into some burger for meatloaf or meatballs in place of eggs (apple is versatile like zucchini). 

Old apple recipes often include finely diced apples on top of an entree like mac and cheese or folded into rigatoni with Italian sausage. Savory apple recipes are great too!

They also have so many uses outside of eating which come in handy when you need to figure out what to do with leftover apples. (Looking at you, #28….)

When considering what to make with apples, a facial mask is one interesting idea, and they can be cut in shapes and used with paint for stamping! 

Talk about using every bit: Try making apple scrap vinegar with your old apple peels! When thinking about what to do with extra apples it is good to have a handle on the various kinds, sizes, and their taste profile:

For example, Golden Delicious apples are sweet and juicy and make lovely apple desserts. Rome apples are crisp and slightly tart and hold their shape when baked. Fuji apples are crisp with a mild bite. 

Red Delicious are slightly tart and have a tough skin. Pink Lady apples are sweet-tart and bake well. Granny Smith apples are perhaps the most popular being crisp and very tart. Empire apples are also sweet-tart but they lose their texture when cooked. 

This is by no means an exhaustive list, but some of the more popular varieties include Gala, Honeycrisp, McIntosh, Jonagold, Macoun, Ambrosia, Cameo, Jazz and Braeburn. 

And if apple-picking season has come and gone, and your fruit bowl STILL overflows, it’s time to process, freeze, cook and bake your way with (practically) zero-waste options! (Here’s our favorite countertop compost bin!)

So let’s bite into 29 ideas of what to do with old apples, should you find yourself with a few too many!

1. French Apple Cake

Baking is possibly the most predictable answer to what to do with old apples. And no wonder! This French apple cake is the epitome of beauty and taste! 

Excellent pictures take you step by step through the process of combining your apples and a buttery rum cake and topping it every so lightly with confectioners sugar!

2. Apple Fritter Bread

Another delicious baking adventure for what to do with leftover apples would be to make this apple fritter bread! What I love is how it could be served for breakfast, a snack, or dessert! 

It is made with layers of batter, diced apples, and brown sugar cinnamon mixture repeated twice! The light glaze on top levels it up a lot!

3. Apple Cookies

Cookies are my all time favorite dessert, and old apple recipes for cookies do not disappoint! All the usual cookie ingredients here plus both white and brown sugar, rolled oats, finely diced apples and almonds. They come out soft and chewy.

4. Homemade Unsweetened Applesauce

Applesauce is a fantastic decision regarding what to make with apples. It is recommended that a combination of apple types, some sweet (Fuji) and some tart (Granny Smith), are used for best all around flavor! This recipe is unsweetened which allows you the option to add a sweetener of your choice or give it a bit of a spicy twist. And if you want to see our FAQ about whether applesauce goes bad, check it out here.

5. Salted Caramel Apple Pie Shake

This was certainly a brand new idea for me as to what to do with extra apples! Make a salted caramel apple pie shake! All that is required is to gather the seven ingredients, measure, blend and enjoy! 

6. How to Sauté Apples

Old apple recipes usually involve cooking or baking. This recipe is so simple, so delicious and so multi purposeful! Four simple ingredients of apples, butter, brown sugar and cinnamon cooked in a skillet, create a fantastic dessert which can stand alone or be added to the top of something else.

🍏 Here’s our recipe for whole Air Fryer Baked Apples 🍏

7. Apple Butter In The Slow Cooker

Your home smells so amazing when delicious old apples are being cooked all day long! This is really mind blowing that apple butter is made from simply cooking apples that are peeled, cored and diced into small pieces. It can be left chunky or blended for a smooth texture!

8. Apple Sour Cream Coffee Cake

So what to do with old apples is easy to answer with this apple sour cream coffee cake! This easy recipe does help use up leftover apples and it is delicious! Now I enjoy a coffee cake as much as the next person but especially when there is fresh fruit baked inside, and I really love that this one has oatmeal too! 

9. Simple Air Fryer Baked Apple Chips

Apple chips are exactly what to do with leftover apples! This recipe keeps it simple. Slice the apples. Sprinkle with cinnamon. These bake at a low temperature for a long time. 

10. Apple Cinnamon Monkey Bread

Everything about these old apple recipes is wonderful! Here apple cinnamon monkey bread steals the show with fluffy pull-apart biscuits, gooey caramel apple sauce and toasted pecans for the WIN! Granny Smith, Fuji or Honeycrisp apples are all great choices!

11. Apple Cranberry Turkey Salad

This lovely apple cranberry turkey salad usually makes an appearance when turkey needs to be used up, but today it fits in perfectly with what to make with apples! This savory and sweet salad is fantastic as a sandwich served on croissants or even on a bed of lettuce! 

12. Apple Crisp

Let’s say you have six apples and are debating what to do with extra apples, this apple crisp is coming to your rescue! Fabulous step by step pictures show each step clearly! These apples should be peeled and my vote is for serving this crisp warm with ice cream on top! 

13. Apple Cheesecake Breakfast Quesadillas

Quesadillas are so delicious and believe it or not, old apple recipes can include quesadillas too! These add a little magic to the morning! Flour tortillas spread with well mixed cream cheese with vanilla, cinnamon, and sugar on one side and sliced apples on the other then folded together. 

14. Apple Cheesecake Bars

Old apples are wonderful for these apple cheesecake bars. They are made with a shortbread crust, a cheesecake layer, baked apples with cinnamon and caramel, with the top being a buttery oatmeal crumble. They do need four hours to chill before cutting and serving. 

15. Air Fryer Baked Apples with Cinnamon Oats

When someone asks what to do with old apples, a delicious answer would be to bake them! And the air fryer makes quick work of this. Cut out the core leaving the bottom intact and spooning out a bit more. Then fill them with a stuffing mix of brown sugar, butter, cinnamon, pecans. 

16. Homemade Mulled Apple Cider

Nothing says ‘Welcome Fall’ like a mug full of slow cooker apple cider. You can start with a gallon of store-bought or make your own. Then add whole cloves, whole allspice, whole cinnamon sticks and brown sugar! 

17. 3 Ways To Dehydrate Apples

If you have old apples and need old apple recipes to help you use them up, dehydrating them is a great way to hang onto them for future enjoyment. Three different ways are explained in this post: air-drying, oven drying and using a food dehydrator. Your choice to peel or not to peel!

18. Kids’ Favorite Broccoli Apple Salad

A veggie and fruit loaded salad: Broccoli slaw, diced apples, dried cranberries, sliced almond and topped off with a poppyseed dressing. And if you want it to be a meal, simply add chicken or turkey!

19. Upside Down Apple Cinnamon Roll Cake

An upside down apple cinnamon roll cake is a dream come true for what to do with extra apples! A cream cheese filling, a gooey homemade caramel sauce, fresh apples, and refrigerated crescent dinner rolls bring this recipe to life! 

20. Baked Brie Cheese Appetizer With Apples & Bacon

For fantastic savory old apple recipes, look no further than this recipe for baked brie cheese appetizer with apples and bacon. That’s a mouthful for an appetizer, full of butter, brown sugar, salt and cinnamon! 

🍏 Get another list of Apple Appetizers here! 🍏

21. Apple Butternut Squash Soup

A couple old apples on hand and a butternut squash and you are in business to make apple butternut squash soup! It’s a home run with cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and just a bit of half and half to give it that amazing creaminess!

22. Keto Apple Fritter Cookies

If you are craving apples and you are following a Keto eating plan, this cookie recipe might be just a perfect decision for what to do with old apples! These apple fritter cookies are soft with lovely cinnamon taste and vanilla glaze on top. 

23. Easy Apple Pie Bites

Grab a can of crescent rolls and now you have a recipe for what to do with leftover apples! All the best flavors of cinnamon sugar, butter, nuts, and apple slices are beautifully wrapped up inside a mouthwatering crescent roll! 

24. Apple Crisp Shortbread Bar

If you love apple crisp but want it in a finger friendly form, some old apple recipes can help out like this one! It is everything you love from the shortbread crust to the apple filling to the buttery crumb topping! After baking, cool and then chill completely before cutting into bars. 

25. Apple Pie Cupcakes

Here is something new for what to make with apples! Apple pie cupcakes! These are fabulous for a grownup birthday or simply an after dinner dessert anytime! Whipped cream frosting is just perfect for a little fancy flair!

26. Apple Spinach Smoothie

On a smoothie kick? I got you covered with several old apple recipes to choose from, but this one is delish! Five ingredients blend into this creamy smoothie, namely spinach, banana, red or green apple, non-dairy milk and hemp hearts!

27. No-Bake Mini Apple Cheesecakes

Lastly, old apples can be used up in this no-bake mini apple cheesecake recipe.  Different layers of a walnut mixture, cream cheese mixture and cooked apples combine for a slightly savory but mostly sweet flavor profile. Three delicious layers are spooned into clear glasses for a stunning presentation!

28. Stovetop Apple Potpourri With Fresh Apples

You can practically smell the fragrance of apple, orange, cinnamon, cloves (and pine!) wafting up from the image here for stovetop apple potpourri! As Cranberry’s Biggest Fan, I can tell you that this one will be as pretty to look at as it is to smell. 

CookingChew tip: Cut your old apples width-wise (across the fat part) to get the star-shape of the core to show. Not necessary, but a simple extra-pretty step.

29. Homemade Dry Potpourri For Your Home & Gifting

I do love the holidays, so I’m a sucker for homemade gifts that time of year. But I also love pretty things year-round, especially the ones that smell good! This dried apple potpourri recipe creates lovely jars of stacked dried apples, dried oranges and more. Kept tightly covered when not in use, these may last for months. 

(You can also replenish these dry potpourris with drops of your favorite essential oils too, when the original scent has run out.

The bottom line

My hope in writing this post is to give lots of ideas for what to do with old apples in an effort to help keep them from being discarded. Old apples still have life left in them!

We love using the air fryer for snacks and treats. Use up apples with these air fryer apple recipes, too!