These vegan apple fritters are light and fluffy, bursting with juicy apple chunks, and covered in a sweet vanilla glaze. You’ll be amazed at how easy they are to make, with just handful of simple ingredients!
Apple fritters are the ultimate fall treat. They’re crispy on the outside, lightly spiced, filled with gooey apple chunks, and absolutely perfect with a cup of coffee.
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Maybe you’ve never thought of making your own vegan apple fritters? They do, after all require deep frying. Don’t be scared though! Deep frying is easier than you think, and I’ll lead you through the process below. All things considered, these treats are actually pretty easy to make. Unlike with my classic vegan doughnuts, there’s no yeast in this recipe, so it comes together quickly, with no kneading and no proofing required.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Oil. Yes, we’re deep frying these fritters! So you’ll need a neutral oil with a high smoke point. Plain old vegetable oil is fine, as is canola oil, peanut oil, or corn oil.
- Flour. We’re using all purpose wheat flour, also known as white flour. I don’t recommend using any other variety for this recipe.
- Sugar. Use organic sugar. Conventional sugar is often bleached using animal bone char, to it’s not considered vegan.
- Cornstarch.
- Baking powder.
- Cinnamon.
- Salt.
- Non-dairy milk. You can use soy milk, almond milk, cashew milk, oat milk, or pretty much any type of non-dairy milk that’s suitable for drinking. Just make sure you choose one that’s unflavored and unsweetened. Need help choosing? Read my guide to dairy-free milks. I used almond milk.
- Vanilla extract.
- Apples. Most varieties of apples will do! I used a mix of Granny Smith and Honeycrisp apples.
- Powdered sugar. You’ll be using this for the icing. Just like with the regular sugar, this one needs to be oraganic.
How They’re Made
The following is a detailed photo tutorial on how to make this dish. Scroll all the way down if you’d like to skip right to the recipe!
Start heating your oil up first. The batter comes together quick, but the oil takes a while to come up to temperature. Place it in a large pot over medium heat, and use a thermometer to keep an eye on the temperature.
To make the batter, first whisk your dry ingredients together in a large bowl: flour, sugar, cornstarch, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.
Now combine the wet ingredients in a small container: non-dairy milk, a bit of oil, and vanilla extract.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry, and stir everything together just until the ingredients are combined.
Now fold your diced apples into the batter. Be careful not to overmix it.
Once your oil reaches 350° to 375°F, you’re ready to fry. Drop the batter by quarter cups into the hot oil. Work in batches, making sure the fritters don’t touch each other as they fry.
Fry the fritters in for a few minutes on each side, until they’re golden brown and crispy. Use a slotted spoon to transfer them to a wire rack to drain when they’re done.
Tip: When your fritters are done, don’t pour your hot oil down the drain. It will cause a clog! Wait for it to cool, transfer it to a coffee can or similar sealable disposable container, then throw it in the trash. Or, if you’re planning on doing more frying in the near future, you can save it and reuse it.
Once your fritters are cool (which won’t take long) you can make the icing by combining powdered sugar, non-dairy milk, and vanilla extract. Drizzle it all over the fritters, or, if you really love icing, dip them in it!
Tip: If you’d rather have some apple flavored fall doughnuts that are baked (instead of fried), try my vegan apple cider doughnuts or vegan apple crumble doughnuts.
Shelf-Life & Storage
Homemade vegan apple fritters will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for two to three days, in the refrigerator for about five days, or in the freezer for about three months.
If the fritters have been frozen or refrigerated, let them come to room temperature on their own before enjoying them. While you could get away with warming them up in the oven or microwave, this would cause the icing to melt and run.
Frequently Asked Questions
This recipe isn’t too fussy! Just about any type of apple can be used for making fritters. Use whatever type you enjoy eating. I used Granny Smith and Honeycrisp when developing the recipe, for a nice mix of sweet and tart flavors.
Possibly! An all-purpose gluten-free flour blend would be your best bet if you’d like to give it a try. I haven’t tested this though, so I can’t promise it will work! Please let me know how it goes if you give it a try.
Using a thermometer is the most reliable way to gauge temperature, but if if you don’t have one, try placing a wooden spoon in the oil. If you see lots of bubbles forming around it, the oil has reached about 350°F.
More Vegan Apple Desserts
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Vegan Apple Fritters
These vegan apple fritters are light and fluffy, bursting with juicy apple chunks, and covered in a sweet vanilla glaze. You’ll be amazed at how easy they are to make, with just handful of simple ingredients!
Ingredients
For Frying
- 1 quart vegetable oil, divided
For the Fritters
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons organic granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup unflavored and unsweetened non-dairy milk
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 cups peeled and diced apples (about 2 to 3 apples)
For the Icing
- 1 ½ cups organic powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons unflavored and unsweetened non-dairy milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
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Add the quart of oil to a large Dutch oven, reserving one tablespoon for the batter. Place the pot over medium-high heat. Monitor the temperature of the oil using a thermometer as it heats up. You’ll be heating it to 350° to 375°F.
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While the oil heats up, whisk the flour, sugar, cornstarch, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt together in a large mixing bowl.
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Stir the milk, one tablespoon of oil, and vanilla extract together in a small container, then add the wet ingredient mixture to the bowl with the flour mixture. Stir just until the batter is combined.
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Fold the apples into the batter.
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Once the oil reaches 350°F to 375°F you can begin frying the fritters. Drop the batter in quarter cups into the hot oil, frying about three or four fritters at a time and ensuring that there’s adequate space so that they aren’t touching.
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Fry the fritters for about three minutes on each side, or until they’re golden brown. Transfer the fritters to a wire rack with a layer of paper towels underneath it when done, in order to allow the excess oil to drain.
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Repeat the frying process until all of the batter is used.
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Stir all ingredients for the icing together in a small bowl, adding extra powdered sugar if it seems too thin, or more milk if it seems too thick.
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Drizzle the glaze over the fritters, or gently dip the tops in the glaze (if you like a lot of it).
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Serve.
Nutrition
Serving: 1fritter | Calories: 342kcal | Carbohydrates: 30g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 24g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 14g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Sodium: 216mg | Potassium: 19mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 17g | Vitamin A: 0.2IU | Vitamin C: 0.003mg | Calcium: 80mg | Iron: 1mg
