Apple dip is a rich, sweet and creamy fruit dip made with just 4 ingredients. This cream cheese fruit dip with brown sugar and vanilla is made in under 5 minutes. With hints of caramel flavor, it makes the best dip to pair with your favorite fall fruit.
Jump to:
Why Should You Make This Recipe
I’ve recently become a huge fan of simple and delicious sweet dessert dip recipes. My Cool Whip Fruit Dip, S’mores Dip and Oreo Dip are of my favorites on the blog. This apple cream cheese dip is another fun and easy fruit dip I know you’ll love!
- It’s quick, easy and fun to make. This homemade apple fruit dip takes about 5 minutes to make. Just mix together 3 simple ingredients and serve with your favorite fall fruit or sweet dipping crackers like graham crackers.
- Perfect for entertaining: What I love most about this brown sugar and cream cheese dip is how easy it is to throw together at the last minute. Not only is this sweet and creamy dip easy to make, it is such a crowd pleaser and easy to customize.
Ingredients
This apple fruit dip with cream cheese is made from 4 simple basic pantry ingredients. Here’s what you need.
Gather cream cheese, light brown sugar, sugar and vanilla extract.
Substitutions
This simple brown sugar cream cheese dip is meant to be quick and easy, but sometimes you may not have everything on hand. If you need them, here are my recommended substitutions for this recipe:
- Cream Cheese: Mascarpone cheese would be the easiest substitute for cream cheese.
- Light Brown Sugar and Sugar: Maple sugar would be good refined sugar free substitute.
- Vanilla Extract: This provides a nice background flavor to the fruit dip. Feel free to omit if you don’t have any on hand.
Variations
- Toppings: Feel free to add a layer (about ¼ cup) of salted caramel, toffee bits, mini chocolate chips or chopped nuts such as peanuts.
- Cinnamon Apple Dip: Add 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon or apple pie spice at the same time as the brown sugar and vanilla extract. Follow the rest of the recipe as written.
- Caramel Apple Dip: Follow the recipe as written. Transfer the dip to chill for 2 hours. Top with about ¼ cup of caramel sauce and serve.
- Peanut Butter Apple Dip: Mix in cup creamy peanut butter with the cream cheese until smooth. Mix in the brown sugar and vanilla according to the recipe directions. Taste and add more sugar if needed. Mix until incorporated.
How To Make
Learn how to make apple dip in a few easy steps.
- Select 4 - 6 apples for dippers. Clean, core and slice the apples into wedges. Fill a large bowl with 4 cups water. Mix in 1 teaspoon of salt until well combined. Submerge the apple wedges in the water for about 5 minutes. Drain the water, rinse the apples and dry the apple slices on a paper towel. This prevents the apples from browning. If serving the dip right away, leave the apples out. If serving at a later time, place the apples in an air tight container in the fridge.
- Grab a large mixing bowl and an electric hand mixer or just use your stand mixer with paddle attachment. On low mix the cream cheese until it is smooth across the bottom of the bowl. This typically takes about 1 minute on low. On low mix in the light brown sugar and vanilla extract until smooth and well combined.
- Transfer the apple dip into a serving bowl. If the dip is your desired consistency, serve right away. For a thicker dip, transfer the dip to the fridge to chill for 3 - 4 hours. Serve with fresh apple slices, graham crackers, pretzels or cookies.
How To Serve and Store
- Serve: This creamy apple dip is best served with fresh fruit such as apples or with sweet dippers such as graham crackers or cookies. For a caramel apple dip, drizzle a thin layer on top of the cream cheese dip. For an extra crunch and a salty sweet flavor, add chopped nuts such as peanuts or even toffy candy.
- Store: This apple dip recipe stores well in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 - 4 days. If not serving this creamy dip right away, transfer it to the fridge until it’s time to serve.
M’s Expert Tips
- Soak the apples. Soak sliced apples in a salt water mixture for a few minutes to prevent the apples from browning for up to 5 days.
- Bring the cream cheese to room temperature. This allows the ingredients to mix together more evenly and lessens the chance of the cream cheese splitting.
- Chill the dip. For a thicker dip, transfer the dip to the fridge for 2 - 4 hours. For a thinner dip, enjoy right after mixing the ingredients together.
- Have fun with the toppings. Add anything you like to the top of the dip once it has been made. I love adding caramel sauce and toffee for a salty sweet dip that has all my favorite fall flavors.
FAQs
Lemon juice works ok if the apples are going to be enjoyed soon after cutting. For a better solution, mix about 4 cups of water with 1 teaspoon salt. Submerge the sliced apples in the water for 5 minutes. Then drain rinse and pat dry the apples. Transfer the apples to an airtight container in the fridge until it’s time to serve.
A mix of tart and sweet apples are the perfect apples for baking and for dipping in everything from caramel sauce to this creamy brown sugar cream cheese dip. These apples include Granny Smith, Honeycrisp, Cosmic, Pink Lady or Fuji.
The main ingredient in this fruit dip for apples is cream cheese. Keep the dip in the fridge until it’s time to serve. Once the dip is taken out of the fridge, it must be transferred back to the fridge no more than two hours later in order to be considered safe to eat again.
More Sweet Spreads to Try
If you try this Apple Dip recipe please rate the recipe and leave a comment below. Doing so helps other readers decide if this is a great recipe to bake. Don’t forget to tag me on Instagram using @olivesnthyme so I can see what you’re baking!
Apple Dip Recipe
Equipment
- 1 stand mixer with paddle attachment or electric hand mixer with beaters
- 1 knife
Ingredients
- 4 - 6 apples
- 8 oz. (226 g) cream cheese, room temperature
- ¾ cup (150 g) light brown sugar
- ¼ cup (50 g) granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons (10 ml) vanilla extract
Instructions
- Select 4 - 6 apples for dipping. Clean, core and slice the apples into wedges.Fill a large bowl with 4 cups water. Mix in 1 teaspoon of salt until well combined. Submerge the apple wedges in the water for about 5 minutes. Drain the water, rinse the apples and dry the apple slices on a paper towel. This prevents the apples from browning. If serving the dip right away, leave the apples out. If serving at a later time, place the apples in an air tight container in the fridge.4 - 6 apples
- Grab a large mixing bowl and an electric hand mixer or just use your stand mixer with paddle attachment. On low mix the cream cheese until it is smooth across the bottom of the bowl. This typically takes about 1 minute on low. On low mix in the light brown sugar, sugar and vanilla extract until smooth and well combined.8 oz. (226 g) cream cheese, room temperature, ¾ cup (150 g) light brown sugar, ¼ cup (50 g) granulated sugar, 2 teaspoons (10 ml) vanilla extract
- Transfer the apple dip into a serving bowl. If the dip is your desired consistency, serve right away. For a thicker dip, transfer the dip to the fridge to chill for 3 - 4 hours. Serve with fresh apple slices, graham crackers, pretzels or cookies.
Leave a Reply