4 wholesome ingredients make up these deliciously simple , no-bake apple pie bites that adults and children will both love. Enjoy them for breakfast, dessert, or as quick and light snack to power you and your little ones through the day.
Click here to skip to recipeFun fact: I come from a family of dentists. They care a little more about the sugar-content of foods than I do. Which means that every now and then I’ll decide to make something healthier and more wholesome, like this sugar-free crepe cake
My sister (a pediatric dentist) challenged me to make something delicious and toddler-friendly using only 4 ingredients: apple sauce, oats, peanut butter, and carrot.
While I love making buttery and rich cookies and breads, I also love recipes that can be inclusive to all diets and lifestyles. I think this recipe hits that as it is:
- vegetarian / vegan
- refined sugar-free
- gluten-free
- dairy-free
- egg-free
AND the ingredients are commonly found in your house and there is no baking required. Plus it is super easy to pull together and is packed full of nutrients.
Because I was making these with my little niece in mind, I have shaped them into baby sharks, a la the Baby Shark song that has taken the world by storm. If you don’t know what the Baby Shark song is, then you clearly do not have a < 5 year old child in your life. I include the instructions in the recipe, but if baby sharks do not inspire joy for you, then simply skip those steps.
Delicious ingredient substitutions
- You can sub peanut butter for any nut butter of your choice. Try and use an all-natural variety to really up the nutrition of these bites
- I include a sugar-free from scratch apple sauce recipe, but you can use 1/2 cup of store-bought apple sauce instead. You may need to cook for a little longer to boil away the liquid, and add a little more of the oats.
- You can sub zucchini or finely crushed nuts for carrot if you prefer
Healthy 4-ingredient apple pie bites (toddler-friendly)
Equipment
- 1 small pot
- 1 small skillet
- 1 medium mixing bowl
- Rubber spatula or wooden spoon
Ingredients
- 1 medium apple, peeled and chopped
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon (optional)
- 1/4 cup water
- 3 tbsp peanut butter
- 1/3 cup shredded carrot
- 1/2 cup rolled oats
Baby shark decoration (optional)
- Apple slices
- Carrot slices
- 1 square melted chocolate
Instructions
- In a small pot, mix peeled and chopped apple, cinnamon and water. Cover and cook over medium heat for 15-20 minutes until soft. Mash up with a fork. If using store-bought applesauce, heat applesauce over medium heat until gently simmering
- Mix in shredded carrots. Cover and cook for another 5 minutes. The carrots should still be a little crunchy.
- While the carrots and apple are cooking, gently toast oats in a small skillet over low heat until lightly browned. Remove from heat and set aside.
- Add peanut butter to the carrots and apple mixture and stir to combine well. The mixture should be thick and starting to clump.
- Remove the peanut butter, carrots, and apple mixture from heat. Add in toasted oats and stir to combine well. Transfer to a heat-proof bowl and let cool in the fridge for 15-30 minutes.
- Line a baking tray with parchment paper or aluminum foil. Scoop up one tbsp-sized spoonfulls and roll into a ball with clean hands. Place the ball on the baking tray. Repeat until all of the mixture is gone.
Baby shark decoration
- Slice small triangular pieces of apple to use as the head-fin and tail of the shark, and gently press into the ball.
- Slice narrow triangles of carrot to use as the side-fins, and gently press into the ball
- Melt chocolate and dab on with a toothpick for the eyes
- Thinly slice a carrot into narrow rectangles. Using kitchen scissors, cut jagged triangles along one end of the rectangle to form teeth. Dab a little chocolate on the back and attach to the ball.
I was skeptical that “healthy” and “apple pie” could honestly work together, but these apple pie bites look both healthy and delicious! I want to try one, and I’m not even a toddler ;).
Once you add peanut butter to something… it’s automatically becomes delicious!!
These look so good! I’m going to make this for my son!
Hi,
I don’t like eating oats without either soaking or cooking them in advance. Do you think this will work if doing so?
Hi! You can try soaking or cooking them, just make sure to drain well. I’d also skip toasting the oats since they’re already cooked.
Thanks! Also, what’s the best way to store them? For how long they will hold flavor and texture?
they might soften a little more quickly if the oats are pre-cooked / soaked. I’d store them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a few days.
Hi there! I just made this for my 15 month old daughter as a healthy dessert for Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow. I was wondering if I could freeze them to save some for later? Thank you!
Hi Bianca! I’ve personally never tried freezing these, but I think it’d be okay based off the ingredient list.