Gluten-Free Apple Fritters
These gluten-free apple fritters are everything you love in a classic apple fritter—crispy, fluffy, and full of cinnamon-spiced apple flavor! Each fritter is fried to golden perfection and topped with a sweet apple cider glaze. With simple ingredients and foolproof tips, this is the only apple fritter recipe you’ll need for a homemade treat that tastes like it’s straight from the bakery.
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Ingredients
For the Apple Fritters:
- 2 cups diced granny smith apples - from 1-2 peeled and cored large apples (3/4lb total before cored and peeled)
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 1/4 cup gluten-free flour - 175g
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch - 16g
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs - 100g
- 3/4 cup whole milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 6 cups vegetable oil - for frying (or other neutral oil)
For the Glaze:
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons apple cider or water
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Instructions
- Prep the Apples: In a medium bowl, combine the diced apples with the lemon juice, tossing to coat. Set aside.
- Mix the Dry Ingredients: In another medium bowl, whisk together the gluten-free flour, granulated sugar, cornstarch, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt until well combined. Set aside.
- Prepare the Wet Ingredients: In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, and vanilla extract until smooth.
- Combine the Batter: Gradually add the dry ingredient mixture to the wet ingredients, stirring until a thick, smooth batter forms. Fold in the prepared apples, mixing until evenly distributed.
- Heat the Oil: In a deep, heavy-bottomed pan or Dutch oven, add the vegetable oil. It should be about 3-4 inches in depth. Heat the vegetable oil to 370-375°F (190°C). It should take about 10 minutes to heat up the oil. Use a candy thermometer to keep an eye on the oil temperature as you’ll want it to stay constant throughout deep frying the fritters.
- Fry the Fritters: Working in batches, carefully drop large spoonfuls (I use a large cookie scoop/portion scoop) of the batter into the hot oil, forming misshapen circles. After dropping into the oil, I like to use the spoon to lightly punch down the dough to flatten it. This helps prevent the fritter from being a round circle which tends to be harder to cook through. Fry each fritter for about 2-3 minutes on each side, or until golden brown and cooked through. Flip halfway through to ensure even frying. I usually can deep fry 3-4 fritters at a time. You don’t want to do too many at a time, otherwise the oil temperature can easily drop too much and if the fritters are too crowded they don’t brown as easily.
- Drain and Cool: Use a slotted spoon or spider spatula to transfer the fritters to a wire rack to cool slightly and keep them crisp. I usually line a baking sheet with paper towels and then place the wire rack on top to help with easy cleanup. Repeat the frying and draining process with the remaining fritter batter until its all used up.
- Make the Glaze: In a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and apple cider (or water) until smooth.
- Glaze the Fritters: Drizzle the glaze over the warm fritters or dip each fritter in the glaze, allowing any excess to drip off. Serve warm.
Notes
- Keep it gluten-free: If you have celiac disease, like me, or are on a gluten-free diet for any reason, be sure to double check that all of your ingredients are gluten-free. I used King Arthur Gluten-Free Measure for Measure Flour and Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 Gluten-Free Baking Flour. I cannot verify that other gluten-free flour blends will work in this recipe, as I have not tested them.
- Oil temperature is key: Maintain the oil temperature at 375°F (190°C) throughout frying. Use a thermometer to prevent the fritters from becoming greasy or undercooked inside.
- Use a scoop to drop batter: Use a cookie scoop/ice cream scoop/portion scoop to easily drop the batter into the hot oil. This keeps the fritter size consistent so they all cook in the same amount of time as well as protects your hands from the hot oil.
- Flatten the fritters: After dropping the batter into the oil, quickly use a spoon or the portion scoop to lightly flatten each fritter. Just kind of punch it down lightly without splattering the oil to flatten it. This helps them cook through evenly and gives them that classic fritter shape.
Nutrition
Calories: 453kcal | Carbohydrates: 35g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 35g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 19g | Monounsaturated Fat: 8g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 35mg | Sodium: 137mg | Potassium: 154mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 21g | Vitamin A: 91IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 76mg | Iron: 1mg
