Caramel Apple Nachos

Caramel apple nachos are crisp apples loaded with salted caramel, rich white chocolate, and crunchy toppings. They’re so simple to make and perfect for parties!

Caramel apple nachos combine tart green apples and sweet red apples with luscious drizzles and crunchy toppings. It’s the perfect dessert platter for your next fall get-together!

These apple dessert nachos are great for sharing or when you’re craving caramel apples but don’t like the mess and effort of preparing and eating them. Plus, you won’t lose a tooth biting into these treats! 😂

If this all sounds like your jam, then keep on reading. 

What Caramel Apple Nachos?

Caramel apple nachos are basically deconstructed caramel apples. We won’t take whole apples and coat them in caramel, but we’re not just serving apple slices with a caramel dip either. 

Instead, we’ll slice our mix of green and red apples and top them generously with caramel, white chocolate, crushed pretzels, and pieces of snack bars. Oh, and we’ll make our caramel drizzle from scratch using condensed milk!

It’s sweet, rich, gooey, buttery, and a bit salty—way better than store-bought caramel sauces, if you ask me.

These apple dessert nachos come together so easily, and you can add as many toppings as your sweet tooth wants. 

They’re like the finger food version of full-size caramel apples, perfect for parties or even while watching TV.

This dessert platter recipe reminds me of dessert nachos (this one is for you if you love berries) and s’mores charcuterie board (you can have this by the campfire as well!)

Why You’ll Love This Apple Nachos Recipe

• Mess-Free Caramel Apples: Satisfy all your caramel apple cravings all at once with apple caramel nachos! Who knew that you could enjoy the fall favorite without the mess?
• Great Use Of Apples: Transform autumn’s harvest into a tasty dessert platter. Apple nachos can go either way: you can top them with as many things as you want or keep the platter simple. 
• Party-Friendly: Want an easy dessert for effortless entertaining? It doesn’t get any simpler than this caramel apple nachos recipe! It’s great for sharing, and you can modify the set-up with extra toppings!

What Do Apple Caramel Nachos Taste Like?

Caramel apple nachos taste like caramel apples with more complexity to them. Because they feature a mix of green and red apples, you can alternate between sweet and tart; you’re not stuck with one type of apple!

The caramel is also made with salted butter and condensed milk, so it’s not just sweet and creamy. It’s rich, salty, and absolutely worth the sticky fingers. 😋

But hold on, you won’t just get apples and caramel in these apple dessert nachos.

There is also the milky melted white chocolate, nuttiness from the chopped granola bar, and added crunch from crushed pretzels. 

Make sure to arrange your apple slices so they’re not entirely overlapping each other, and every piece can get the drizzle and toppings. You can also just serve some extra caramel, white chocolate, and toppings on the side. 

Ingredients For Deconstructed Caramel Apples

• Granny Smith apples – Feel free to use any variety of apple for these caramel apple nachos. However, I’m willing to argue that Granny Smith is the best choice because its tartness will offset the sweet, gooey toppings deliciously. 
• Honeycrisp apples – Make colors pop on your dessert nachos, and use green and red apples! The sweet and snappy Honeycrisp is perfect for these apple caramel nachos alongside the green Granny Smith.
• Salted butter – What makes a caramel sauce the best caramel sauce? A touch of salty, buttery goodness, of course! 
• Brown sugar – You can use dark or light brown sugar, depending on the flavor you want on your caramel drizzle. Dark brown sugar will give a deeper flavor because it has more molasses. 
• Sweetened condensed milk – This makes our gooey caramel taste richer, like dulce de leche!
• Corn syrup – The secret ingredient to keep our caramel smooth. It keeps the sugar from crystallizing, so if you often make caramels at home, this is a must in your kitchen cupboard.
• Vanilla extract – Any caramel sauce just tastes incomplete without vanilla.
• White chocolate chips – The milky taste of white chocolate, together with the buttery, salty caramel, is a match made in heaven. You can also opt for any chocolate you want. 
• Granola bar – To add texture to the apple nachos. 
• Pretzels – You can use salted or unsalted pretzels for these apple dessert nachos. 
• Lemon – We’ll toss the apple slices in lemon juice so they won’t brown quickly. 

Tools Needed To Prepare Apple Nachos

• Knife for cutting the apples into slices
• Bowls for the ingredients
• Saucepan for cooking the caramel sauce
• Spatula for stirring the caramel

Ingredient Additions & Substitutions For Apple Dessert Nachos

Peanut butter cups

You can serve these apple dessert nachos at your Halloween party! If you have some candies like peanut butter cups, chop them up and add them on top of the apples. 🤤

Crushed potato chips

I have always been pretty adventurous when it comes to food. And for those looking for a unique sweet and salty combo on their caramel apple nachos, I recommend trying crushed potato chip toppings!

Just trust me on this. 😉

Cinnamon

Make this apple nachos recipe more like apple pie nachos, and sprinkle them with ground cinnamon! Just a whiff of this topping will surely get you in the fall spirit. 

How to Make Caramel Apple Nachos

Ingredients:

• 2 Granny Smith apples
• 2 Honeycrisp apples
• 4 tbsp salted butter
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk
• 6 tbsp corn syrup
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 4 oz white chocolate chips
• 1 granola bar, chopped
• 1/2 cup pretzels, crushed
• 1/2 lemon to keep apples from browning

Tools you need:

• Knife
• Bowls
• Saucepan
• Spatula

Instructions:

STEP 1: Gather the ingredients for your caramel apple nachos.

STEP 2: Wash, core, and slice the apples. Add them to a bowl and squeeze the lemon on top. Toss the apples in lemon juice to keep them from browning.

STEP 3: Melt salted butter in a saucepan. Add the brown sugar, sweetened condensed milk, and corn syrup.

STEP 4: Mix and cook the caramel sauce until it lightly bubbles. Then, remove the caramel from the heat.

STEP 5: Stir in the vanilla extract and allow the caramel sauce to cool.

STEP 6: Melt the white chocolate chips in the microwave at 30-second intervals, stirring in between each interval until the chocolate chips are completely melted.

STEP 7: Pat the apple slices dry and arrange them on your serving platter. You can also alternate their colors!

STEP 8: Drizzle the apples with caramel sauce and melted white chocolate.

STEP 9: Top with chopped granola bar and crushed pretzels. Serve and enjoy!

What To Serve With Caramel Apple Nachos

Serve your caramel apple nachos with fun toppings! 

Try them with walnuts, sunflower seeds, crushed graham crackers, shredded coconut, butterscotch chips, toffee bits, mini marshmallows, crushed candy bars, peanut butter, dark chocolate sauce, maple syrup, honey, marshmallow fluff, or whipped cream cheese.

You can literally use any choice of toppings for these caramel apple nachos!

And if you have extra apples left from making these dessert nachos, transform them into caramel apple bites and apple pear slaw. Apple caramel nachos, caramel apple bites, and apple pear slaw with caramel cider vinaigrette: this trio is definitely worth the orchard trip this fall. 🍎

Tips About Making Apple Caramel Nachos

• If you’re in a rush and don’t want to make the caramel drizzle over the stove, just get some caramel bits, add a few drops of water, and melt them in the microwave. 
• Instead of just serving a platter of apple caramel nachos, why not have an apple nacho bar? You can have guests make their own caramel apples! Check our tips below on how to clean apples before dipping in caramel to guarantee a good time in your get-together.
• Want to prepare the apple slices for your caramel apple nachos in advance? Dissolve a teaspoon of salt in 2 quarts of water, soak the sliced apples in it for 5 minutes, then drain completely. Now, you can keep the apple slices in an airtight bag in the fridge for up to 3 days without worrying about them turning brown!

How To Store Apple Nachos

These crisp, juicy, and gooey reconstructed caramel apples are best eaten the same day you made them. But if you have leftovers, here’s how to enjoy them later:

• Fridge: Transfer your apple nachos to an airtight container and refrigerate them for up to one day. For the caramel sauce, you can keep it in an airtight container in the fridge for a few weeks.
• Reheating: To revive your refrigerated caramel sauce so it’s in the perfect drizzling consistency, place it in a saucepan and reheat it on the stove over low heat, stirring frequently.

What Is the Difference Between a Candied Apple and a Caramel Apple?

While the two might seem identical, caramel apples and candied apples are actually different from each other.

Caramel apples are usually tart apples like the Granny Smith variety covered in creamy caramel.

On the other hand, candied apples are, well, covered in candy. Their coating is more of a hard shell compared to the gooey coating of caramel apples.

To be honest, eating a candied apple just feels like a chipped tooth incident waiting to happen. 😅

So, if you can relate to my “fear” but want something full of apples and luscious caramel, sip into our apple pie milkshake instead!

Do You Put Caramel Apples in the Fridge After Making Them?

If you don’t plan on eating the caramel apples immediately after making them, put them in the fridge to avoid the risk of contamination. 

Alternatively, you can always cook apples and enjoy them in a caramel-filled treat.

Check out our caramel apple pancakes that are like a breakfast and dessert in one. 

How Do You Clean Apples Before Dipping in Caramel? 

Because of their wax covering, you need to clean your apples before dipping them in caramel, or the coating won’t stick. Just scrub the apples under warm water, rinse them well, and pat them dry. 

And if you want a caramel recipe that you can easily adjust the consistency for drizzling, dipping, and topping, you’ll love our caramel dip for apples!

How Do You Keep Caramel Apples from Browning?

When making all things apple, I’m sure the first thing you want to know is how you can keep them from browning. 

For these deconstructed caramel apples, you have two options. Either soak them in lemon juice or salt water. 

You can also try recipes where it won’t matter if your apples have turned brown. For example, our apple sugar cookies use grated apples!

FAQ About Caramel Apples

Conclusion

If you’re looking for the perfect fall treat that’s also great for sharing, look no further than these caramel apple nachos!

This delicious fall dessert idea features crisp apple slices with homemade caramel, white chocolate, pretzels, and pieces of snack bars. However, you have lots of fun toppings to choose from, whether you like nuts, syrups, and candies. 

This platter is truly a fun dish to make and eat. You can satisfy your caramel apple cravings minus the prep work and mess

So, what are your favorite toppings for these dessert nachos? Let me know in the comments below! And for more apple recipes for your orchard haul, you’ll want to make these ASAP:

• Caramel Apple Tart
• Apple Mug Cake
• Apple Cider Muffins
• Apple Crumble Cheesecake
• Apple Butter Cookies