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Need some easy ways to preserve apples that isn’t apple butter?!  Here’s a great way to pack tons of apples you need to preserve into jars, quickly, with versatile use.  Have you ever had a some real good southern fried apples or the ones from Cracker Barrel?  They’re the best fried apples and this recipe is a kind-of dupe for those.  Use these apples not only for enjoying as “fried” cinnamon apples by straining the juice, thickening it, and then folding in the apples, but it can also be used as apple pie filling for a homemade apple pie, apple crisp or cobblers, for fruit leather, and tons more like muffins or bread.  Really anything calling for apples.  Apple cake?  YES.  

This simple canning recipe takes fresh apple slices and then raw packs them into clean jars with some lemon juice directly in the jar to prevent browning as you work.  The ingredients are per quart jar so you can work as you go!  Current recommendations for canning apples has you heating them in boiling water and hot packing as raw packing like I do here does not produce the MOST DESIRABLE canned product.  

Why?  Simply because the apples contain a lot of oxygen in the slices and shrink quite a bit.  After canning, the jars of raw packed apples are not full and beautiful… which I don’t care because I know they taste amazing, but if you want them to shrink and appear full and packed nicely, follow the directions on your canning book for blanching them and do that before filling jars.  That’s all. You’ll peel them, toss them in a large bowl with lemon juice, and then blanch them in batches before packing jars.  Use the blanching liquid for the canning liquid.  

If you follow this recipe exactly for raw pack, be sure and work one jar at a time and add an bit of lemon juice and cover with water before starting a new jar to prevent the apples from turning brown.  If they do oxidize, big whoop, but it does help them to look more appetizing.  You add the sugar and spices and then pour the hot water over the top.  The canning process heats and creates the hot syrup for us.  Lazy girl syrup method for the win!  This is a quicker method that is less messy and easier to do!

Last year when I was developing this recipe I did a few jars where I didn’t peel the apple slices, and while they were still really good, I didn’t care for the texture of the peel.  The canning “rules” normally exist not because people died not following them, but simply because they want to give you the best end result.  I mean… who wants to share a recipe that isn’t very good?  If you want to try it for yourself, try not peeling a jar or two and trying them out!  

Preparing the Fried Apples

When you are ready to prepare the apples as fried apples, simply strain the liquid from the apples from the jar into a medium sauce pan.  Add 1 tablespoon of corn starch, then place over medium-low heat, whisking constantly.  Bring the liquid to a simmer and allow to cook until it is thickened to your liking.  Remove the pan from the heat and fold in the apple slices.  Serve as a side dish with pork chops, cause pork chops and fried apples are a match made in heaven!

To use for apple pie or crisp:  drain the apple slices and toss with 1/2 tablespoon of cornstarch per quart jar.  Add to a pie crust lined pie pan and bake as normal.  For my pies, I use about 3-4 quarts of sliced apples which is why I just go ahead and can my own prepared apple pie filling.  If you’re not comfortable canning pie fillings, this is your next best bet!

What Apples Are Best for Canning?

A cheap apple is the best apple.

No, but really, free, cheap apples work great!

But.  My favorite varieties are honey crisp, fuji, evercrisp, jonathan, and one other variety that I can’t think of right now.  CORTLAND.  We also have translucents that are early apples here in Ohio that make fabulous applesauce but aren’t much good for anything else.  Stick with a crisper type of apple and you’ll be fine.  That means the delicious varieties are out.

Equipment You May Want:

• Steam canner (or water bath canning pot)
• Johnny Apple Slicer
• Quart canning jars
• Lids & bands
• Jar Funnel
• Jar Lifter

Ingredients:

• 1 pound your choice variety of apples
• 1 Tbs lemon juice
• 1-2 Tbs brown sugar
• 2 cups water
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• pinch of salt

I repeat, this recipe is PER QUART JAR and you should work ONE JAR AT A TIME if you are raw packing to prevent browning.  If you choose to blanch them, prepare 1.5-2 pounds of apples per quart jar you want to fill.

Step 1:  Prep Apples

Choose ripe apples that are free from big blemishes or cut out the blemishes.  If using an apple peeler, bruised apples don’t go through it very well and tend to just shred apart, so beware of that.

Wash apples well.  Using a johnny apple peeler (the easiest way) or a hand peeler, peel apples and cut into slices.  When I use my apple peeler, I cut the spiral in half and add it to the jar.  Add the slices to the jar, tapping the bottom to settle them down and press more in, keeping them below 1/2″ headspace.  Do not press down really hard with your hands as this will result in overpacking and cause siphoning, meaning your canning liquid amount will be in the canner and not in your jars once you’re done.  

Step 2:  Add Remaining Ingredients

To the filled quart jar, add sugar, if desired if using tart apples, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and lemon juice.

Fill jar to 1/2″ headspace with hot water, remove air bubbles, and add more water if needed.  You can also sub apple juice here if desired, I just prefer not to.

I keep water on my stovetop in my tea kettle hot as a work by bringing it to a boil and then just keeping it at a gentle simmer over medium heat so it’s not screaming at me while I work.  Tea kettles work great because they’re easy to pour!  Using hot water instead of room temperature water heats up the contents a bit so your canner heats up quicker and you have a lesser chance of siphoning.

Step 3:  Canning

Wipe jar rims well, add lids and secure with bands to manufacturer’s tightening specifications.

Steam can, or hot water bath at a full rolling boil, quart jars and pint jars for 20 minutes, adjust time for altitude if needed.

After canning time is complete, turn off heat and allow jars to cool forr about 10 minutes in canning pot with lid off before removing completely.  This allows for slower cooling and prevents siphoning.

Step 4:  Storage

​Remove jars from canner and set aside to cool undisturbed for 18-24 hours.

After cooling time, remove rings, test seals, wash jars, label, and store in a cool, dark place away from direct sunlight and extreme temperatures.

Any jars that did not seal can be reprocessed, but they’ll be mushy.  I would recommend consuming them right away or soon or making fruit leather out of them!

Notes:

You can use a cinnamon stick in each jar as opposed to cinnamon powder if you prefer.

You can use sugar substitutes if desired, but there is no required sugar for this recipe, only for flavor preference.  The only time sugar is required is for high sugar preserving recipes like jams and jellies where the sugar is used as a preservative. 

To prepare the apples as fried apples, simply strain the liquid from the apples from the jar into a medium sauce pan.  Add 1 tablespoon of corn starch, then place over medium-low heat, whisking constantly.  Bring the liquid to a simmer and allow to cook until it is thickened to your liking.  Remove the pan from the heat and fold in the apple slices.  

I hope you enjoy this easy fried apple recipe and have lots of lovely jars on your shelves during apple season!  

Good luck and happy canning!

Sliced and Spiced Fried Apples Canning Recipe

A quick and easy way to can versatile and delicious sliced apples. These canned "fried" apples rival the Cracker Barrel ones any day!

Print Pin Rate

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Canning Time: 20 minutes minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes minutes

Servings: 1 quart

Author: Ruby – Red Feather Farm

Equipment

• steam canner
• Johnny Apple Slicer
• Quart Canning Jars
• Lids & Bands
• jar funnel
• jar lifter

Ingredients

• 1 pound your choice variety of apples
• 1 Tbs lemon juice
• 1-2 Tbs brown sugar
• 2 cups water
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• pinch of salt

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

• Remove cores and cut apples into quarters or eighths. Peeling is not necessary. Toss in lemon juice to prevent browning.
• Pack into wide mouth quart jars, smacking bottom of jar on the heel of your hand to settle apples. Keep apples below 1″ headspace.
• Add in brown sugar if desired, adjusting for sweetness of apples you are using. Add in cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.
• Pour in 1 tablespoon of lemon juice.
• Top off to 1/2″ headspace with hot water, debubbling and adding more water to maintain 1/2″ headspace if needed.
• Wipe rims, add lids and bands, and process in a boiling waterbath for 20 minutes.

Notes

You can use a cinnamon stick in each jar as opposed to cinnamon powder if you prefer.
You can use sugar substitutes if desired, but there is no required sugar for this recipe, only for flavor preference. The only time sugar is required is for high sugar preserving recipes like jams and jellies where the sugar is used as a preservative.
When you are ready to prepare the apples as fried apples, simply strain the liquid from the apples from the jar into a medium sauce pan. Add 1 tablespoon of corn starch, then place over medium-low heat, whisking constantly. Bring the liquid to a simmer and allow to cook until it is thickened to your liking. Remove the pan from the heat and fold in the apple slices.

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