Apple Stuffed with Raisins & Nuts
A whole apple, split open and stuffed. The filling is dead simple: chopped nuts kneaded with raisins and a squeeze of lemon until the mixture holds together. Press it into the hollowed core, and the apple becomes the bowl.
Every bite lands two textures at once — cold, crisp fruit against the dense chew of a nut-raisin filling that softens as you eat. The lemon juice does double work: it binds the mixture and keeps the cut apple from browning. Four ingredients, nothing cooked, five minutes of work.
A whole apple, split open and stuffed. The filling is dead simple: chopped nuts kneaded with raisins and a squeeze of lemon until the mixture holds together. Press it into the hollowed core, and the apple becomes the bowl.
Every bite lands two textures at once — cold, crisp fruit against the dense chew of a nut-raisin filling that softens as you eat. The lemon juice does double work: it binds the mixture and keeps the cut apple from browning. Four ingredients, nothing cooked, five minutes of work.
Ingredients
- apple 1
- mixed nuts, unsalted 0.5 oz
- raisins 0.5 oz
- lemon juice 1 squeeze
Method
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Cut the apple in half and remove the cores from the halves.
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Finely chop the nuts and mix them with the raisins in a bowl. Add the lemon juice and knead into a firm mixture.
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Fill the apple cavities with the nut mixture.
Knead the nut-raisin mixture firmly enough that it holds as a single mass before pressing it into the apple. If the filling crumbles apart, add another small squeeze of lemon juice. The filling needs to grip the apple cavity — if it sits loose, the first bite sends everything across the plate.
Behind this recipe
Is 221 calories enough for a snack?
It depends on what surrounds it. 221 calories sits in the middle of the 150–300 range most nutrition guidelines use for between-meal snacks. The fiber from the apple and the fat from the nuts slow digestion more than 221 calories of crackers or pretzels would. If you need more volume, double the nut portion to a full ounce.
Can I make this ahead and bring it to work?
Yes. The lemon juice in the filling slows browning on the cut apple surface, so you can assemble this up to two hours ahead without the flesh turning grey. For longer storage, wrap each half tightly and refrigerate. It also works warm — fifteen minutes at 350°F softens the apple and toasts the nuts inside the cavity.
Are the raisins in this a good source of iron?
Less than the label suggests. Raisins contain iron, but the tannins concentrated during drying chelate most of it, reducing how much your body can absorb (Yeung et al. 2003). At half an ounce, the iron contribution here is trace. If iron intake is a priority, the raisin-iron story is more complex than most nutrition labels imply.
Read the full evidence review
