My grandma's recipe for the perfect apple strudel! It's a delicious, tart pastry that makes a stellar dessert along with a dollop of ice cream. And it's super easy to make!
What is in a Strudel?
A strudel is a traditional pastry of Viennese origin, often served for dessert. It features thin pastry sheets wrapped around a fruit filling like apple, cherry, apricot and many more.
What is the Difference Between Apple Strudel and Apple Streusel?
Easy to confuse due to the similar names, strudel and streusel are actually different types of dessert. An apple strudel has thin sheets of pastry wrapped around the filling, while streusel is a crumbly sweet topping of sugar, flour, and butter that is often layered over pies and cakes.
What are the Best Apples for Strudel?
The flavor of the apple really is the hero of this dessert. For the best tart taste, I like to use Granny Smith apples or Braeburns. Their flavor marries really well with the sweet, flaky pastry and the cinnamon. It's what my grandma uses, and this is her recipe.
How Long Can You Keep Apple Strudel in the Fridge?
You can keep apple strudel in the fridge, but it doesn't last that long or stay as tasty as when it's freshly made. I prefer to keep apple strudel covered on the counter overnight if you are eating it the next day. If you plan to keep it longer than that, then do refrigerate or freeze.
Can You Freeze an Apple Strudel?
If you're making it in advance or in bulk, apple strudel can absolutely be frozen. It is best, however, to freeze the strudel pre-baking. Assemble as you would normally, then cover and freeze the strudel before the final baking step. Wrap it in parchment paper and freeze it in an airtight container or bag.
You can then bake when ready by defrosting overnight in the refrigerator or 45 minutes at room temperature and it'll taste as if it's been freshly made.
Can You Reheat Apple Strudel?
To reheat already baked strudel, place it on a baking sheet and pop it in the oven on a low heat for around ten minutes. You'll get a much better result than microwaving it. A toaster oven works great, too.
How to Make Easy Apple Strudel
You will need to gather these ingredients:
The first step is to prepare your apples. Peel, core, and slice the apples into similar sized slices (photo 1). Toss the apple slices in a bowl with the juice of half a lemon until all the slices are lightly coated (photo 2).
Next, melt the stick of butter, and set the oven to 350F.
Note: Prepare your working surface by laying a clean towel over it. Cover your unused phyllo dough with a damp towel between uses so it doesn't dry out.
Take one sheet of your phyllo dough, lay it out on the towel, and brush it evenly all over with the melted butter. Place another sheet of phyllo dough over your buttered first sheet, and likewise brush melted butter over that sheet. Repeat this process six times so that you have a stack of six phyllo dough sheets.
Along the bottom four inches of your phyllo dough, brush a quarter cup of apricot jam across (photo 3). Then stack your apple slices neatly in rows across the bottom of the phyllo dough, on top of the jam layer (photo 4). Top the apple filling layer with three tablespoons of brown sugar and one teaspoon of cinnamon (photo 5).
Using the towel underneath the pastry, carefully roll from left to right to envelop the apple filling, and keep rolling until you have a closed parcel. Transfer the apple strudel parcel to your baking tray, seam side down.
With a sharp knife, cut slits across the top of the parcel about one inch apart. Brush the pastry with melted butter or an egg wash, whichever you prefer, to help brown in the oven. It browns better with egg wash, but butter is a great egg-free option. Mix one tablespoon of sugar with a quarter teaspoon of cinnamon and sprinkle the mixture on top.
Place the strudel in the oven and bake for thirty to thirty-five minutes until the apple strudel is golden brown and flakey in texture.
Cut as desired and serve with some vanilla date ice cream or whipped cream.
If you love this recipe...
Then you will love these other pastries and apple treats and sweets:
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Easy Apple Strudel
Equipment
- Pastry Brush
- Baking sheet
Ingredients
- 2 apples tart apples like Braeburns or Granny Smith
- 1/2 lemon juiced
- 1 stick butter
- 6 sheets phyllo dough
- 1/4 cup apricot jam
- 3 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 1/4 tsp cinnamon separated into 1 tsp & 1/4 tsp
- 1 egg optional
Instructions
- Peel, core, and slice the apples. Toss in a bowl with the juice of half a lemon.
- Melt the stick of butter.
- Preheat to 350F.
- Prepare your surface with a clean towel. Take one sheet of phyllo dough, place it on the towel, and brush with melted butter. Cover the unused phyllo with a damp towel between use.
- Top with another sheet of phyllo dough, and brush with melted butter. Repeat until you have 6 sheets stacked.
- Add 1/4 cup of apricot jam to the bottom 4-inches of the phyllo dough. Stack the apple slices across the bottom of the phyllo dough on top of the jam.
- Top with 3 tbsp brown sugar and 1 tsp of cinnamon.
- Using the towel, roll the phyllo until you have a closed parcel. Transfer to your baking tray seam side down.
- Cut slits across the top ~1 inch apart. Brush with melted butter or egg wash. Mix 1 tbsp sugar with 1/4 tsp cinnamon and sprinkle on top.
- Bake 30-35 minutes until golden brown and flakey.
This strudel made my entire house smell like heaven! A must have recipe.
That makes me so happy, Salima... thanks for sharing!
GET IN MY BELLY! This recipe is so good, and I love that it's not a huge commitment in the kitchen to make. Winner.
Awesome! Thanks for sharing, Ben.
I love that you use phyllo sheets and that it's your grandmother's recipe! I once made apple strudel dough, and boy, so laborious to get right. Love this idea of using phyllo. It is so easy, so inviting and perfect for an afternoon cup of coffee. Thanks for sharing! Will be making it again.
I'm am so happy to hear it, Paula... thanks for sharing!
There is nothing I would have liked more than to reach through this screen and steal your apple strudel! Luckily for me, your how-to photos were super easy to follow along with - thanks for sharing! It came out great!
You are too kind, Aleta! Glad it was easy to follow and you enjoyed the deliciousness!
I havent had a bite of strudel in too long before this! This recipe is perfect, flakey and delicious.
I'm so happy to hear you enjoyed it, Kita!
I can't wait to make this Apple strudel recipe again with my wife. She is absolutely in love with Apple strudels and cinnamon an d these are really nice and easy to make!
I'm so happy to hear it, Femi.. Thank you for sharing!
I had some granny smith apples that needed to be used and I am so glad I found your Easy Apple Strudel . It was so easy and delicious! We served our tonight with some homemade whipped cream but I am sure it is equally as good with ice cream . Thanks for a yummy recipe!!
I am so happy to hear it, Debbie. Glad it was easy for you and sounds delicious with some whipped cream!
This apple strudel is out of this world delicious, Candice! I adore that this is your grandmother's recipe and I totally agree that Granny Smith apples make the best choice for a sweet bake like this. I love this recipe because it works perfectly for dessert or a sweet and fancy brunch dish!
That makes me so happy to hear, Jenni!! Thank you!
I have only ever bought apple strudels, I have never even thought of making these. Just made it and was much easier than I thought! Thanks for the recipe 🙂
I am so happy to hear it, Cathleen...Thanks for sharing!