Sourdough Fried Apple Rings

Apples dipped in a sourdough batter, fried and sprinkled (err, rolled) in cinnamon and sugar. They are quick and easy to make and oh my, oh my, are they delicious! Like an apple donut, you won’t be able to stop eating these!

Other fun sourdough discard recipes:

• Sourdough Pound Cake
• Sourdough Donuts
• Sourdough Beignets
• Sourdough Cinnamon Sugar Pretzel Bites

How to make sourdough fried apples

These apple rings are easy to make! For the full recipe and directions, make sure you scroll down to the recipe card below. Here is a brief overview:

1. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the starter, salt, sugar, and cinnamon.
2. Heat a large skillet with oil over medium-high heat until hot. 
3. Slice the apples and toss them into the batter.
4. Carefully place a few apple slices below into the oil and allow to cook for 30 seconds on each side. When it’s golden, flip and cook on the other side.
5. Place cooked slices on a wire baking rack to cool slightly.
6. While still warm, toss the cooked apple slices in the cinnamon sugar.
7. Enjoy!

These apple rings are best when served right after cooking.

Frying Tips

What kind of pan should you use to fry in?

You want a cooking vessel that is heavy, and stable and both wide and deep. A wok or deep cast iron skillet are great options. 

What kind of oil should you use for frying?

The oil you use for frying should be clear, relatively flavorless, and should be able to be heated to high temperatures without smoking. When a hot oil starts smoking, it starts breaking down, and you don’t want that while you are cooking with it. Good choices are peanut oil, safflower oil, sunflower oil, and canola oil. Olive oil is not a good choice for frying as it starts smoking at lower temperatures. 

How much oil do I need to fry apple rings?

The amount of oil you use for frying depends on what kind of frying you want to do. For this recipe, we need about 1″ of oil in the bottom of your pan.

How hot do I need to heat the oil to?

Place the oil in the cold pan and turn it on to medium-high heat. Getting the oil hot and keeping it at that temperature is important for correctly fried foods that are moist and tender inside and golden and crispy outside. Oil that is too hot will burn the outside while not cooking the inside. 

Oil that is not hot enough will cause the apple rings to cook too slowly, and it will absorb too much oil, which makes it taste not as good and also have a greasy mouth feel. 

You want to heat the oil to 365°–375°F. Use a deep fat frying thermometer to monitor the temperature while you cook. 

What kind of sourdough do I need for this recipe?

This recipe uses a sourdough starter that is at a 100% hydration. You can either use fed and active starter, or you can discard. For reference on how to properly feed your sourdough starter and how to know when it is active, read the article Feeding Your Sourdough Starter.

The starter should be at room temperature when you use it for this recipe, as that helps it to mix into the cake batter better.

New to sourdough? Read my Ultimate Guide to Sourdough for Beginners to answer all the questions you have!