I like Caramel Apple Nachos 🍎🍏🍫 even more than classic caramel apples because these easy-to-eat sliced apples are generously drizzled with both caramel sauce AND melted chocolate! Optionally sprinkle with peanuts, walnuts, toffee bits, or mini marshmallow bits! No baking, no dipping, no waiting, and the perfect way to jazz up sliced apples in under 10 minutes!
Easy Caramel Apple Nachos Recipe
- Great snack or dessert that’s ready in 10 minutes. This easy apple snack or dessert is ready in 10 minutes so it’s perfect for a little pick-me-up, after school snack, pre or post workout snack, or a healthy-ish dessert since it’s fruit-based and naturally gluten-free.
- Drizzled not dipped. If you’ve ever made caramel apples it can be a pain to get the sticks in them, dip them, and then turn them upright and find a place to keep them while they set and keep the caramel from running off and going everywhere. This nachos style apple dessert is all about the drizzle, not the dip, which I love.
- Easy assembly and very flexible ‘recipe’. Impossible to mess up and a lifesaver for last-minute guests or hungry kids or grandkids that are bottomless pits! Just slice the apples, drizzle on the caramel and chocolate, or let them do it. And they can also get in on sprinkling the apples with the toppings of their choosing.
- Fun to make with helpers. If you love this fun-platter style recipe idea for using fall apples, my Caramel Apple Board is another fun one to make, especially with kids. Or have people help assemble and top if if you’re a having a Halloween party, hosting book club, mahjong, or ladies night-in. While you’re at it, make this Ladies Night Charcuterie Board, too!
Ingredients in Caramel Apple Nachos
- Chocolate: We’re going to melt chocolate and I use semi-sweet chocolate chips or you can use milk chocolate chips if you want it sweeter. Solid chocolate bars like a Trader Joe’s Pound Plus Bar also work. Hershey’s Syrup or sundae sauce would work in a pinch but melted chocolate is better.
- Fun Nut Butter Twist: Melt 1/3 cup peanut butter, almond butter, or cashew butter with 1 tsp coconut oil rather than using chocolate if that sounds good to you!
- Coconut oil: Thins the melted chocolate into a smooth, pourable drizzle although if you can carefully melt chocolate without the oil but it will just set up firmer and faster.
- Apples: I used honey crisp apples because they’re firm, sweet yet tart, and crisp. Gala, Fuji, or Pink Lady are all great swaps. If you’re a green apple of Granny Smith apple person, also fine noting they’re less sweet. Mix and match with whatever you have. Steer clear of Red Delicious or any softer or more mushy apples.
- Caramel sauce: Jarred store-bought is my go-to for ease and I like salted caramel sauce rather than regular caramel sauce but it’s personal preference. Trader Joe’s Salted Caramel Sauce is my go-to, or use your favorite brand. Homemade Salted Caramel Sauce is lovely if you have some on hand.
- Nuts, optional: If desired, minced salted peanuts or walnuts are a crunchy touch.
- Toppings, optional: Toffee bits such as Heath Bar Bits, mini marshmallow bits, mini chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, graham cracker crumbs, shredded coconut – all great.
- Whipped cream or whipped topping, optional: Break out the ReddiWhip and let the kids go crazy! Kidding because they will. Try Cool Whip, real whipped cream, or vanilla ice cream.
Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for the ingredients with amounts included and for more complete directions.
Caramel Apple Nachos Instructions
- Peel (if desired), core, and slice the apples. I generally don’t advocate for gadgets, but this is a time where if you have an apple slicer, use it!
- Slice and arrange. Keep them in a mostly single layer so every slice gets some toppings.
- Melt the chocolate. Combine the chocolate and coconut oil in a glass measuring cup or microwave-safe bowl and heat in 30-second bursts, stirring between each, until smooth. Tip – Short bursts are important because chocolate seizes and turns grainy if it overheats, so err on the side of stopping early and stirring it the rest of the way.
- Drizzle, top, and serve. Evenly drizzle the melted chocolate, caramel sauce, any other toppings, and serve!
Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for step-by-step photos and process shots of the cooking process.
Caramel Apple Nachos
🍎🍏🍫 Move over classic caramel apples because these easy-to-eat sliced apples are generously drizzled with both caramel sauce AND melted chocolate! Optionally sprinkle with peanuts, walnuts, toffee bits, or mini marshmallow bits! No baking, no dipping, no waiting, and the perfect way to jazz up sliced apples in under 10 minutes!Recipe is easy to scale up or down. I plan on about 1/2 of a large apple per person. So 3 apples = 6 servings but it's very flexible.
Equipment
- apple slicer and corer optional but makes it quicker
- 9×13-inch baking pan or similar sized platter
Ingredients
- 3 large apples, peeled if desired, cored and sliced into bite-sized pieces (Honeycrisp, Gala, Braeburn, Fuji, Granny Smith, etc. You can mix and match)
- ⅓ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, (milk chocolate chips or ~3 ounces chopped chocolate from a solid bar may be substituted; see Notes for a peanut butter twist)
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- ⅓ cup caramel sauce, (store bought, homemade, salted caramel sauce is my preference over regular caramel sauce)
- ¼ cup chopped nuts, optional (peanuts, walnuts, etc.)
- Optional toppings for sprinkling, (toffee bits, mini marshmallow bits, mini chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, etc.)
- Optional whipped topping, (such as ReddiWhip, Cool Whip, whipped cream, vanilla ice cream)
Instructions
- Peel the apples if desired and then slice them into fairly thin, bite-sized pieces. An apple slicer is very handy here and creates perfectly uniform slices.
- Arrange the sliced apples in a 9×13-inch baking pan or platter so that they're touching but not overlapping too much since you'll want most of the apples to be able to receive some of the drizzles and toppings.
- To a 2-cup glass measuring cup, or similar microwave-safe bowl, add the chocolate chips, coconut oil, and heat in two or three 30-second bursts until the chocolate has softened and can be stirred smooth.
- Chocolate Melting Tips – Take care not to overheat the chocolate because it will seize (harden) and you'll have to start over. The coconut oil reduces this risk and also helps the chocolate not set up too quickly or too firmly. You potentially could substitute it with a 1 teaspoon vegetable or canola oil but not more since they behave differently than coconut oil.
- Evenly drizzle the chocolate over the apples.
- Evenly drizzle the caramel sauce (store bought or homemade salted caramel).
- Optionally sprinkle with nuts as desired.
- Optionally sprinkle with any other toppings as desired and/or whipped topping.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
Fun Nut Butter Twist: Melt 1/3 cup peanut butter, almond butter, or cashew butter with 1 tsp coconut oil rather than using chocolate if that sounds good to you!
Storage: This doesn’t keep well so whatever you make, plan to consume it within a few hours.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving, Calories: 184cal, Carbohydrates: 26g, Protein: 2g, Fat: 9g, Saturated Fat: 4g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g, Monounsaturated Fat: 2g, Trans Fat: 0.01g, Cholesterol: 1mg, Sodium: 45mg, Potassium: 184mg, Fiber: 3g, Sugar: 20g, Vitamin A: 66IU, Vitamin C: 4mg, Calcium: 23mg, Iron: 1mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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