Gluten Free Apple Fritters with Simple Vanilla Glaze

Gluten Free Apple Fritters

These gluten free apple fritters are the kind of weekend treat that makes the whole kitchen smell like a bakery. They start with a simple gluten free donut style batter, studded with finely diced apples, fried quickly in hot oil, and finished with a quick icing sugar glaze.

The outside turns deeply golden and crisp. The inside stays soft and tender, packed with warm spice and little pockets of apple. Cinnamon and nutmeg do the heavy lifting here, and the batter itself comes together in one bowl with a whisk.

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I made a batch of these on a rainy Sunday when a friend stopped by with a bag of apples from her tree. Between the two of us, we ate four before they ever made it to the cooling rack. Nobody guessed they were gluten free. Not one person.

The glaze is only three ingredients and takes about a minute to stir together: powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla. It goes on while the fritters are still slightly warm, so it clings in a thin, glossy layer instead of sliding off.

If you have never fried at home, this is a friendly place to start. The batter is forgiving, the batches are small, and the whole thing is finished in about half an hour.

Here is what makes this recipe worth your afternoon:

• A gluten free flour blend batter that fries up light rather than dense
• Diced apples in every single bite
• A quick icing sugar glaze that sets in minutes
• An egg free version that works just as well, using aquafaba

The recipe makes about 12 fritters, with roughly 10 minutes of prep and 20 minutes of frying. Let’s get to it.

How to Make these Gluten Free Apple Fritters

You need one large mixing bowl, a whisk, a big skillet or heavy pot, and a wire cooling rack. A thermometer helps a lot with the oil, and I will explain exactly why in a moment.

For the apple fritter batter

For the icing glaze

You will also need frying oil, enough to fill your pan about 1 1/2 to 2 inches deep.

Step by step

1. Whisk the flour, xanthan gum, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and sugar together in a large mixing bowl.
2. Stir in the milk, oil, eggs or aquafaba, and vanilla extract. Whisk until you have a thick, smooth batter with no lumps left.
3. Stir in the apples.
4. Add the frying oil to a large skillet or pot so it sits about 1 1/2 to 2 inches deep. Turn the heat to medium high and let the oil come up to about 360 to 375°F before you add any batter.
5. Scoop the batter with a big spoon, about 1 to 2 tablespoons per fritter, and carefully drop it into the hot oil so it does not splash. Leave space between fritters so they cook evenly. Depending on your pot, you can usually fit 3 to 4 at a time. Fry each one for about 3 minutes per side, then flip and fry another 2 to 3 minutes. Repeat until all the batter has been used up.
6. Remove the fritters from the oil and let them cool on a wire cooling rack.
7. For the icing, whisk the icing sugar, milk, and vanilla together in a small bowl until you get a thick glaze. For a thicker glaze, add more icing sugar. For a thinner glaze, add more milk.
8. When the fritters have cooled slightly, dip them in the glaze, then set them back on the rack so the excess glaze drips off. Coat each one and enjoy.

Apple choice matters more than you might think. Granny Smith, Honeycrisp, and Golden Delicious all hold their shape and keep a little tang after frying. Softer varieties like Red Delicious turn to mush in the hot oil, so I leave those for snacking.

For the frying oil, reach for something neutral with a high smoke point. Rapeseed, vegetable, and peanut oil all work well here. Extra virgin olive oil and coconut oil are not suitable, because their smoke points are too low for this kind of frying.

Cooling on a wire rack instead of a plate is not a small detail. The rack lets excess oil drip away and allows air to move under each fritter, which is what keeps the bottoms from turning soggy.

Eaten plain, these fritters are not very sweet at all. That is exactly why the glaze works so nicely, but it also means you can skip it entirely or dust them with powdered sugar instead.

This recipe makes about 12 fritters, so plan on frying in a few batches. A wider pot fits closer to 4 at a time, while a smaller saucepan means 2 or 3. Either way, the frying itself lands around 20 minutes once the oil is at temperature.

Drop the batter gently from a big spoon rather than flicking it in, and keep your hands back from the surface of the oil. A slow, careful drop is the easiest way to avoid a splash.

Once the last batch comes out of the oil, turn off the heat and let the oil cool completely before you deal with it. That is also a good moment to stir the glaze together, since the fritters need a few minutes to cool slightly anyway.

Tips & Variations

Hot oil is the whole game here. If the oil is not hot enough, the batter soaks up oil and the fritters turn greasy and pale. If it is too hot, the outside burns before the middle cooks.

That is why I keep a candy or meat thermometer nearby and check for 360 to 375°F before the first scoop goes in.

A pair of metal tongs is my other favorite tool. I use them to lift fritters out of the oil, and also to check whether the batter inside is cooked. Gently squeeze a fritter open and look at the center. If it is still wet, give it another minute.

Do not worry about cracking a fritter open to check it. These are not meant to be perfectly uniform, and every crack gives you more crisp surface area.

For an egg free version, swap the 2 chicken eggs for 6 tablespoons of aquafaba, which is the liquid from a can of chickpeas. I tested this swap myself and it worked perfectly. The batter behaves the same way and fries up just as light.

If you want a shortcut finish, skip the glaze and sprinkle powdered sugar over the warm fritters instead. The sugar melts slightly into the crust and gives you something that tastes a lot like a funnel cake.

One more note on the flour blend. Check the label before you start. If your gluten free all purpose blend already lists xanthan gum or another binder, skip the extra xanthan gum. If it does not, the 3/4 teaspoon in the ingredient list is what keeps the batter from falling apart in the oil.

Whisk the batter until it is thick and smooth with no lumps, then fold in the apples last so they stay in pieces instead of breaking down into the batter.

If you are new to frying, start with one test fritter. It tells you everything: whether your oil is at the right temperature, whether your batter is thick enough, and how long a full batch will need. Adjust from there and the rest will be easy.

A few more small things that make a difference:

• Dice the apples small and evenly so every fritter gets apple in each bite
• Let the oil come fully up to temperature before the first scoop goes in
• Fry 3 to 4 at a time and leave space so they do not crowd the pan
• Cool on a wire rack so excess oil drips off instead of pooling underneath
• Glaze while the fritters are still slightly warm so the icing sets with a soft sheen

Enjoy

I would love to hear how these turned out in your kitchen. Tell me which apples you used, whether you went with the vanilla glaze or the powdered sugar finish, and how your oil temperature treated you.

If you enjoy this style of frying, there are related recipes for gluten free banana fritters and pumpkin fritters that use the same easy approach. So glad you enjoyed these, and happy frying.

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Gluten Free Apple Fritters

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Gluten Free Apple Fritters These gluten free apple fritters are the kind of weekend treat that makes the whole kitchen smell like a bakery. They start with a simple gluten free donut style batter, studded with finely diced apples, fried quickly in hot oil, and finished with a quick icing sugar glaze.

• Total Time: 30 min
• Yield: 12 1x

Ingredients

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Main Batter
1 1/2 cup gluten free flour blend
3/4 teaspoon xanthan gum
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
2/3 cup milk, dairy or non dairy
1 tablespoon oil
2 eggs or 6 tablespoons aquafaba
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 apples, peeled and finely diced

Icing Glaze
3 cups powdered/icing sugar
3 tablespoons milk, dairy or non dairy
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

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Instructions

1-Whisk together the flour, xanthan gum, baking: Whisk together the flour, xanthan gum, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and sugar together in a large mixing bowl.
2-Stir in the milk, oil, eggs (or: Stir in the milk, oil, eggs (or aquafaba) and vanilla extract. Whisk thick, smooth batter until no lumps remain.
3-Stir in the apples: Stir in the apples.
4-In a large skillet or pot add: In a large skillet or pot add the frying oil so that it’s about 1 1/2 – 2 inches deep. Turn the heat to medium-high and let the oil get hot. You want to oil to be about 360-375°F/80-90°C before adding the batter.
5-When the oil is hot, begin adding: When the oil is hot, begin adding the batter. Using a big spoon, scoop out some batter (about 1-2 tablespoons worth) and drop into the hot oil. Make sure to carefully drop the batter into the oil so that it doesn’t splash. Leave some space between each fritter so they cook evenly – how many you can fry at a time will depend on the size of your pot. You will likely be able to fit 3-4 at time. Let each fritter cook about 3 minutes on each side before flipping over and frying another 2-3 minutes. Repeat until all the batter has been used up.
6-When you’re done, carefully remove the fritters: When you’re done, carefully remove the fritters from the oil and let cool on a wire cooling rack.
7-To make the icing: To make the icing: whisk the icing sugar, milk and vanilla together in a small bowl until a thick glaze forms. For a thicker glaze add more icing sugar and for a thinner glaze add more milk.
8-When the fritters have cooled slightly, dip: When the fritters have cooled slightly, dip in the glaze and then set back on the cool rack to let the excess glaze drip off. Coat each fritter in glaze and enjoy!

Last Step:

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• Prep Time: 10 min
• Cook Time: 20 min
• Method: stovetop