As a busy mom of three, snack time is all the time in our house. And since snacks are a major part of life, this no-bake donut apple recipe is a real win. It's an apple, that's a donut, decorated by your kids. Grab some apples and fun toppings and in less than 10-minutes your kids can be snacking!
Along with vanilla mousse, red velvet cake mix cookies and a my 2 ingredient pumpkin bread, this is great recipe your kids can make on their own. Sliced apple rings become the base of the "donut" and then you add fun and delicious toppings.
Apple slice donuts are super simple to prep and makes a great afternoon activity and snack in one. As I was testing these, all three of my kiddos got in on the fun as did my seventy-something year old parents. Apples and peanut butter and chocolate are always a win in our house.
Key Ingredients
- Peanut butter: You can use peanut butter or any nut butter of your choosing. If you need to make these completely nut free, you could use SunButter or even whipped cream cheese instead.
- Apples: Bigger is better for this recipe. You want to have a lot of surface area for decorating. Honeycrisp is our favorite apple variety, but use what you have on hand.
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TL;DR - No-Bake Apple Donuts
- 🍎 Why you'll love it: These no-bake apple donuts are fun, fast, and fruit-forward, perfect for kids' snacks or lunchboxes.
- 🥄 Ingredients: Apples, peanut butter (or yogurt), and toppings like granola, sprinkles, coconut, or chocolate chips.
- ✨ How to make: Core apples → slice into rings → spread with topping → decorate and serve!
- ⏲️ Time: 5 minutes, no baking required.
- 🧒 Kid Tip: Let kids pick their own toppings for a hands-on snack they'll actually eat.
- 🥜 Allergy swap: Use sunflower seed butter or yogurt instead of nut butter.
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How to Make No Bake Apple Donuts
It's really more about the preparation in this recipe then the recipe.
Step 1: Gather all the items you are willing to let your kiddos decorate the apple donuts with. I like to portion those out into a muffin tin or silicone muffin holders so that they know what they have to work with.
Step 2: Then slice the apple into round slices and cut out the core out of each one.
Step 3: Schmear the peanut butter on each apple slice.
Step 4: add the toppings. For a real treat, let them drizzle melted chocolate over the top. Then enjoy!
Topping Suggestions
- Pretzels: Pretzel flats and mini pretzels sticks are the right size to top your donut apples.
- Nuts of all sorts: Chop and enjoy. I like peanuts, sliced almonds and chopped walnuts, even my easy vanilla granola is great!
- Shredded Coconut: Toast the coconut for a crunchy texture.
- Mini chocolate chips: Peanut butter and chocolate are the perfect combination. Like a better for you version of a Reese's Peanut Butter cup.
- Crushed potato chips: The sweet and salty balance of the chips is awesome. I would use regular chips, not wavy.
- Breakfast Cereal: Rice Krispies, Corn Flakes, and Froot Loops are all fun options
How to melt chocolate for decorating the apples
To melt chocolate (or frosting if you want to use that instead) for drizzling over the top of your donut apples, simply put a bunch of chocolate chips into a zip top bag. Then put that bag in a cup of hot water until they are melted. Snip off the corner of the bag and drizzle away. No double boiler or microwave needed here.
Recipe FAQs
You'll want to choose a topping that works with the allergy you need to substitute for. If you are accommodating a nut allergy, you can use SunButter, vanilla whipped pudding or whipped cream cheese. If you are accommodating a dairy allergy, then stick with nut butters for the topping. If you have to adapt for both, try a parve chocolate spread that isn't nut based or even chocolate hummus!
Choose crisp apples. Honeycrisp, Gala, or Fuji hold their shape best. Look for larger apples. Small lunchbox sized apples won't work as well as a bigger apple.
Granola, mini chocolate chips, coconut, raisins, or even crushed cereal, keep it fun and mix it up!
More kid friendly snacks
Did you try this recipe and and love it? 😍 Let me know by leaving a comment below or 5 ⭐ rating!
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📖 Recipe
No-Bake Apple Donuts
Equipment
- Silicone Cups (to put the toppings in)
Ingredients
- 1 large apple sliced into even rounds
- ½ cup peanut butter more or less depending on your taste
- Toppings of all sorts we like to use nuts, pretzels, crushed cereal and of course, sprinkles
- ½ cup chocolate chips optional, for drizzling over the top
Instructions
- Slice the apple horizontally to get ½" slices. Then use a small pairing knife to cut out the core of each one leaving the hole of the donut in the middle.
- Lay the slices out on a work surface. I like to use a baking sheet covered in parchment paper for easy cleanup.
- Put out the toppings and get to work decorating. It's easier to start with the peanut butter or other spread, but there are no real rules here 😊.
Notes
- rice krispies
- pretzels
- nuts of all sorts
- coconut
- mini chips
- crushed potato chips
Marni Katz says
My kids loved this snack! I let them pick the toppings and they begged to make them all week long.