These Baked Apples with Port Wine and Cinnamon are a Portuguese-inspired fall dessert. The apples are cored and filled with brown sugar, tawny port, and a whole cinnamon stick, then baked until soft and syrupy. It's a four-ingredient dessert, and it's on the table faster than my Apple Cranberry Crisp.
Baked Apples At A Glance
- 🕐 Total Time: 40 minutes (10 min prep + 30 min bake)
- 🍽️ Servings: 4
- 🍅 Cuisine Type: Portuguese-inspired
- 🧂 Flavor Profile: Sweet and wine-forward, with caramelized brown sugar and a warm hit of whole cinnamon stick
- 🍽️ Dietary Info: Naturally gluten-free and dairy-free as written; contains alcohol from the port wine (reduces during baking but isn't fully cooked off)
- 📦 Storage Notes: Refrigerate in an airtight container up to 3-4 days; freezing isn't recommended, baked apples turn mushy once thawed
- ⭐ Why You'll Love It: Four ingredients, a real Portuguese cooking-class origin story, and a wine-soaked core that makes a simple baked apple feel like a dinner-party dessert
Save And Summarize This Recipe
When our son finished his Master's in Paris, we took him to Portugal before he started work, and we spent one afternoon in a Portuguese cooking class. This dessert was one of two recipes that stuck with me from that day, the other being my Baked Cheese With Honey. Both are simple, both lean on ingredients most people don't expect, and both became recipes I make all year.
Jump to:
Port is common in Portugal but still under the radar in the U.S., and apples are as abundant there in late summer as they are here in fall. This pairing works because the port's caramel and dried-fruit notes deepen as they bake into the apple, the same way my Caramel Apple Cake leans on brown sugar, or my Apple Cider Milkshake leans on reduced cider. If you want the same flavor in drink form, my Sparkling Apple Float uses the same fall apple base.
Key Ingredients
You will need the following ingredients to make these cinnamon baked apples:
- Apples - Use a firm variety that holds its shape under heat. Honeycrisp is my go-to since it stays intact through the full 30 minutes; Granny Smith or Fuji work too. Softer varieties like McIntosh will collapse before the port has time to reduce.
- Cinnamon sticks - Use a whole stick, not ground cinnamon. A whole stick infuses gently as the apple bakes, so the port stays the dominant flavor instead of getting muddied by cinnamon dust. It's the same reason I use a whole vanilla bean instead of extract in my Bourbon Peach Clafoutis, slow infusion over direct mixing.
- Tawny port - Look for tawny specifically, not ruby, see the "What is Tawny Port" section below for why it matters here.See the "What is Tawny Port" section below if you're buying your first bottle.
See the recipe card for quantities.
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Variations
- Apple skins - not everyone loves the skin of the apple. You can take a sharp paring knife and cut the skin off before baking.
- Fruit and Nuts - add some chopped pecans or dried cranberries at the end after you have baked the apples. While this isn't traditional, it is delicious.
- Serve - My favorite way to serve these apples is with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. You can also serve these with delicious whipped cream.
How to make Baked Apples: Step-By-Step
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Using an apple corer, core each of your fresh apples making sure to leave the bottom intact.
Step 2: Place the apples into a baking dish. Place the brown sugar into the open core of the apple.
Step 3: Pour Port wine into the center, filling the core. Add a cinnamon stick to the center.
Step 4: Bake the apples for 30 minutes.
Recipe Tips:
- An apple corer is best suited to prepare the apples.
- Check doneness with a knife, not a timer. At 30 minutes the apples should give easily when pierced but still hold their shape. Pull them a few minutes early if your apples are on the smaller side, they'll keep cooking in the residual heat of the port.
- Let them sit 5 minutes before serving. Straight out of the oven, the port is still thin. A short rest lets it thicken slightly around the base of the apple, so you get sauce instead of runoff.
Gwen's Pro Tip
This Port Baked Apple Recipe can be baked in advance but tastes better when slightly warm. You can also mix a dollop of whipped cream with a little sour cream to cut the sweetness. Leftover apples taste great diced and served with oatmeal.
What is Tawny Port?
Tawny Port is a fortified wine, a grape spirit is added during fermentation to stop it early and lock in sweetness. Aging in wood barrels afterward is what gives it that caramel, plum, and raisin flavor.
Ruby port is the bottle you'll see more often in stores, and it works in this recipe too, but it's brighter and more fruit-forward. Tawny is the better match here because its caramel notes echo the brown sugar instead of competing with it.
Skipping the alcohol entirely? A mix of apple cider with a splash of balsamic vinegar gets you close: sweet, with some depth, though you'll lose the caramel tawny brings.
For more on the different port styles, this guide from The Wine Chef is worth a read.
Baked Apples FAQ's
No. The skin holds the apple together as it bakes and keeps the port from leaking out too fast. Coring is easiest with an apple corer; however, a melon baller or sharp small paring knife works great.
Some of it, not all. Thirty minutes of baking reduces the port but doesn't fully burn off the alcohol. Keep that in mind if you're serving this to kids or anyone who avoids alcohol entirely.
You can, but stir it into the brown sugar rather than sprinkling it in loose. It'll taste more cinnamon-forward and less port-forward than the original.
More Desserts
Let me know your thoughts on these Baked Apples With Port Wine by leaving a star rating below or by sharing it on Facebook, Instagram, Flipboard, or Pinterest!
Thank you!
Gwen
Baked Apples with Port Wine and Cinnamon
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Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 apples
- 8 tablespoon brown sugar
- 4 cinnamon sticks
- 4 teaspoon tawny port or more if needed
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350℉.
- Wash and core the apples.
- Place into a baking dish.
- Add 2 tablespoon of brown sugar into the center of the apple.
- Add enough tawny port to fill the center.
- Add a cinnamon stick into the center.
- Place into the oven and bake for 30 mintues.
Anonymous says
Looks terrific!