Air Fryer Apple Chips with Cinnamon

These are exactly what they sound like: thinly sliced apples, dusted with cinnamon, and air fried until they turn into crispy chips. Two ingredients. No added sugar. About 95 calories per apple's worth. They taste like the filling of an apple pie but in chip form.

A food dehydrator takes 8-12 hours to make apple chips. An oven takes 2-3 hours at a low temperature. The air fryer does it in 15 minutes. They won't be identical to store-bought chips (those are made in industrial dehydrators), but they get satisfyingly crunchy — especially after they cool for a few minutes.

Why the Air Fryer Makes Great Apple Chips

The air fryer circulates hot air at high speed around the food. For thin slices like apple rounds, this means moisture evaporates quickly from both sides. The result is a chip that's dry and snappy at the edges with a slightly chewy center — more like a dried apple ring than a potato chip, which is honestly better.

The cinnamon helps here too. As the apple surface dries in the hot air, the cinnamon sticks to the natural sugars that concentrate on the surface. You get little spots of caramelized cinnamon-sugar that add crunch and flavor without actually adding any sugar.

If you've been using your air fryer mainly for frozen foods and reheating, this is a good way to branch out. Check our air fryer cooking guide for more ideas beyond the standard chicken and fries.

Choosing the Right Apple

The apple you pick matters more here than in most recipes, because there's nothing else to hide behind. Here's how the most common varieties perform:

Honeycrisp — the best all-around choice. Firm, sweet, crisp, and holds its shape well. The high sugar content means more caramelization.

Fuji — very sweet and dense. Makes a slightly thicker, chewier chip. Good if you prefer that style.

Granny Smith — tart and firm. These make the crispiest chips because they have less sugar and more acid. Great if you find sweet chips too much.

Gala — mild and sweet. Works fine but the slices are thinner and more fragile. Handle carefully.

Red Delicious — skip this one. Too soft, too mealy, and the flavor gets bland when dried.

Pink Lady — tart-sweet balance, firm texture. Second-best option after Honeycrisp.

Nutrition Per Serving

All sugar comes from the apples themselves — no added sugar in this recipe.

Temperature and Timing Breakdown

300°F is the sweet spot for apple chips. Here's why the temperature matters so much:

Below 275°F: Takes too long. The chips dry out but never really crisp. You'll wait 20+ minutes and end up with leathery apple rounds.

300°F (the target): Fast enough to evaporate moisture but slow enough that the edges don't burn. The natural sugars caramelize gently.

Above 350°F: The edges burn before the center dries. You get bitter, dark brown chips that taste more like burnt apple than cinnamon apple.

At 300°F, here's the timeline:

Minutes 1-5: The slices start to soften and curl slightly. Moisture is leaving the surface.

Minutes 6-7: Flip time. The bottom side should look dry and slightly golden. If it's still wet, give it another minute.

Minutes 8-12: The edges start to brown and curl upward. The cinnamon darkens slightly. The kitchen smells incredible.

Minutes 13-15: They look dry and slightly translucent in the thin spots. Pull them now — they finish crisping as they cool.

The Cooling Step Is Not Optional

This trips up a lot of people. You pull the chips out and they feel flexible, maybe even a little floppy. You think they're not done. So you put them back in for another 5 minutes and they burn.

Apple chips crisp as they cool. The residual moisture inside finishes evaporating over the next 5-10 minutes on a wire rack. A chip that feels bendy right out of the air fryer will be snappy and crunchy once it hits room temperature.

Use a wire rack, not a plate. A plate traps steam underneath and the bottom stays soft.

Flavor Variations

Plain cinnamon is classic, but once you've got the technique down, try these:

Cinnamon Sugar

Mix 1 teaspoon cinnamon with 1 tablespoon coconut sugar or regular sugar. Toss with the slices before air frying. Slightly sweeter, more dessert-like.

Chai Spice

Combine cinnamon with a pinch each of cardamom, ginger, and clove. Warm, spiced, and great with tea.

Pumpkin Spice

Cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and allspice. A fall snack that actually tastes good instead of just smelling like a candle.

Salted Caramel

Sprinkle with flaky sea salt after cooking. The contrast between the sweet apple and the salt is surprisingly addictive.

Chili Lime

Skip the cinnamon. Squeeze lime juice over the slices and sprinkle with chili powder and a pinch of salt. Sounds odd, works great — kind of like a fruit cart snack.

How to Store Apple Chips

Apple chips stay crunchy for about 5 days in an airtight container at room temperature. A paper bag inside the container absorbs any residual moisture and keeps them crispier longer.

Don't put them in the fridge. The humidity makes them go soft within hours. Same with leaving them in an open bowl — they'll absorb moisture from the air and lose their snap.

If they go soft, 2-3 minutes in the air fryer at 300°F brings the crunch back.

Serving Ideas

These are great on their own, but they also work as a component in other things:

With nut butter — spread almond butter or peanut butter on each chip. High-protein snack in seconds.

On top of oatmeal — crush a few chips over your morning bowl for crunch. They pair well with overnight oats too.

In trail mix — break them into pieces and mix with nuts, seeds, and dried cranberries.

As a topping for yogurt — better than store-bought granola if you want a lighter option.

On a cheese board — cinnamon apple chips next to sharp cheddar and walnuts. Surprisingly good combination.

Crumbled over ice cream — vanilla ice cream with crushed cinnamon apple chips is a 2-minute dessert that seems way more intentional than it is.

Common Mistakes

Slicing too thick. Anything over 1/4 inch won't get crispy — it'll stay chewy in the middle. Aim for 1/8 inch. Thinner is better.

Crowding the basket. Overlapping slices trap steam between them. Single layer only. Do multiple batches if needed.

Not drying the slices. Apples release juice as soon as you cut them. A quick pat with a towel removes that surface moisture so the hot air can do its work.

Judging doneness too early. They feel soft coming out of the fryer. Always wait for them to cool before deciding if they need more time.

Using a soft apple variety. Mealy apples like Red Delicious fall apart into sad, limp rounds. Go with firm varieties every time.

Kids Love These

If you're trying to get kids (or yourself) to snack on something other than packaged chips, these are an easy win. They look like chips, crunch like chips, and taste sweet without any added sugar. Most kids will eat them without complaint, especially if you let them help with the cinnamon dusting part.

For an after-school snack, pair them with a small cup of yogurt or a handful of cheese cubes. The whole thing takes less time to prepare than driving to a store.

If you want more healthy snack ideas that use your air fryer, our meal prep guide covers batch-cooking strategies for the whole week.