Name: Apple Compote
Prep time: 5 min
Total time: 20 min
Ingredients: 3 cups apples; 1 tablespoon brown sugar (Light or dark.); 1 tablespoon lemon juice (Fresh squeezed.); ¼ teaspoon sea salt (Or ⅛ teaspoon of table salt.)

This quick, simple, easy and delicious homemade apple compote comes together in 20 minutes or less. It's super versatile too! You can use it as a pancake, waffle, French toast or crepe topping. It also makes a great dessert, yogurt or ice cream topping or cake filling. We love it on peanut butter toast too! It's a one pan wonder!

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Small open mason jar filled with apple compote. A spoon is sitting inside the jar.

This simple and easy apple compote has so many uses in both sweet and savory dishes. For breakfast, it makes an excellent pancake or waffle topping. It would be perfect on these cinnamon oatmeal pancakes or these cinnamon sugar waffles. It tastes fabulous on peanut butter toast or stirred into oatmeal. You can use it as a yogurt topping or use it as a base for a yogurt parfait or add it as a topping to a smoothie bowl. For dinner, it works well with pork chops or pork roast.

This recipe is featured in our lineup of easy sweet breakfast recipes. Check them out!

What You’ll Love About This Recipe

Quick. It takes 20 minutes or less to make from start to finish. You can’t go wrong with a quick recipe!
One pan. Chocolate bar marzipan jujubes jelly-o carrot cake caramels. Tootsie roll cookie jujubes powder icing lemon drops. Pastry brownie topping oat cake chocolate cake jelly candy gingerbread tart.
Simple. It doesn’t have a long list of ingredients. Four simple ingredients are all you need to make it.
Sugar-Free Option. You can make it without sugar. I have used Swerve brown sugar replacement to make this recipe, and it turned out great! Swerve has no calories, is all natural, and bakes and measures just like regular brown sugar.
Versatile. We love it on peanut butter toast. It’s also great as a yogurt or oatmeal topping. You can use it in a smoothie bowl or yogurt parfait. It also makes a tasty topping for pancakes, waffles, French toast and crepes. It’s also delicious with pork chops or roast pork.

Ingredients

3 cups apples Peeled and chopped. The best apples to use for this recipe are Gala, Fuji or Honey Crisp.
1 tablespoon brown sugar. Light or dark. For a sugar-free version, substitute Swerve brown sugar replacement. We have used it for this recipe, and it turned out great!
1 tablespoon lemon juice. Fresh squeezed.
¼ teaspoon sea salt. Or ⅛ teaspoon of table salt.

How to Make it

Overhead view of raw compote ingredients in a small saucepan — **Step 1.** In a medium non-reactive pan saucepan (stainless steel, glass, or ceramic), combine the apples, brown sugar and lemon juice over medium heat.

Overhead view of cooked apple compote ingredients in a small saucepan — **Step 2.** Bring to a simmer and cook for 10-15 minutes until the apples are tender.

Step 3. Remove from heat and stir in salt. Set aside and allow to cool.

Equipment

You will need a medium non-reactive saucepan to make this recipe. A non-reactive pan is one made of stainless steel, glass, or ceramic. Because apples and lemon juice are acidic, it’s best to use a non-reactive pan. What do we mean by non-reactive? A non-reactive pan is one that will not react with acidic ingredients and give the food a metallic flavor. Pans made of aluminum, cast iron, or copper can react with acidic ingredients and give the food a metallic flavor. We definitely don’t want that in our compote!

Overhead view of apple compote in a white bowl with a spoon. Apples and peanut butter toast — This compote tastes great on peanut butter toast! We added a few fresh pomegranate seeds for color and a burst of sweetness.

Storage

Any leftovers will keep in an airtight container in your fridge for up to 2 weeks. Because we are not taking it through the canning process, it is not pantry stable. It will have to be stored in the refrigerator. If you do want to can it, please follow this helpful tutorial for water bath canning from A Modern Homestead. The beauty of water bath canning is that it does not require any special equipment. Once it is taken through the canning process, you can store it in your pantry.

You can also freeze it. Allow it to cool completely. Place it in a mason jar with a lid and allow a 1 inch gap at the top for expansion. Tightly seal the lid and place it in your freezer. It will keep in your freezer for up to 3 months. When you’re ready to use it, thaw it in your refrigerator.

Variations

Cranberry Apple Compote. Add 1/2 cup washed whole cranberries to the saucepan along with the other ingredients and cook as instructed.
Pear Apple Compote. Peel and chop 1-2 of your favorite pears and add them to the saucepan along with the rest of the ingredients. Cook as instructed. We like Bartlett. Bartlett pears are ripe when they turn yellow at room temperature. We highly recommend that you wait until they are fully yellow for this recipe. That is when they are sweetest!
Blackberry Apple Compote. About five minutes before the end of the cooking process, carefully stir in 1/2 to 3/4 cup of fresh blackberries. We don’t want these to get too soft and give off too much of their juice, so it’s best to wait until near the end of the cooking process.
Cinnamon Apple Compote. Stir 1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon in with other ingredients and cook as instructed.

Related Recipes

More compote, syrup and apple recipes to make!

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Prep Time:5

Total Time:20

Equipment

Medium saucepan

Ingredients

3 cups apples Peeled and chopped. The best apples to use for this recipe are Gala, Fuji or Honey Crisp. Three medium size apples will yield about 3 cups of chopped apples.
1 tablespoon brown sugar Light or dark.
1 tablespoon lemon juice Fresh squeezed.
¼ teaspoon sea salt Or ⅛ teaspoon of table salt.

US Customary – Metric

Instructions

In a medium non-reactive pan saucepan (stainless steel, glass, or ceramic), combine the apples, brown sugar and lemon juice over medium heat.
Bring to a simmer and cook for 10-15 minutes until the apples are tender.
Remove from heat and stir in salt. Set aside and allow to cool.

Notes

One serving = 3 tablespoons of compote. This recipe makes 3 cups total.

Storage

It will keep in an airtight container in your fridge for up to 2 weeks. Because we are not taking it through the canning process, it is not pantry stable. It will have to be stored in the refrigerator.