Apple strudel made in puff pastry is one of the easiest pastries you can put together. It’s perfect for dessert, breakfast, or coffee breaks. Crispy, puff pastry stuffed with cinnamon and nutmeg flavored apples.

Why You’ll Love This

Store-bought frozen puff pastry is one of those ingredients we always keep on hand. No need to try and make your own. Puff pastry makes an easy apple strudel in no time.

Traditional apple strudel is made with a strudel dough that’s soft and elastic. It’s rolled and stretched into a very thin sheet. I don’t have the patience or work surface for this method.

It’s also traditional to use apples and raisins, but we prefer it with apples only.

Ingredients Needed for Apple Strudel

Granny Smith apples
Dark brown sugar (most recipes use granulated sugar but we love the depth of flavor from dark brown)
Fresh lemon juice
Ground cinnamon
Ground nutmeg
Salt
All-purpose flour
Puff Pastry
Egg
Water

How to Make Apple Strudel in Puff Pastry

Thaw the puff pastry according to the package instructions. Make sure it’s still cold when you are ready to roll it out.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a small bowl whisk the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt together.

In a medium bowl combine the apples and lemon juice. Add the flour and sugar mixture and toss to coat evenly.

After sitting for a few minutes while rolling out the dough, if the apple mixture looks really syrupy, toss with 1 more tablespoon of flour. This will help with not having too much of it running out of the pastry. You will have some leakage no matter what.

On the parchment paper, you prepared for the baking pan. Roll out the dough slightly to about 12×12 using a rolling pin.

Using a sharp knife, cut horizontal strips about 3/4 inch wide along the pastry’s left and right sides (outer thirds) of the pastry. Cut the top two and bottom two strips off and discard. Fold the top and bottom strip over the apple filling.

Spread the apple mixture down the middle one-third of the pastry lengthwise, leaving a one-inch space from the top and bottom. (This is usually marked by the folds in the pastry.)

Braid the pastry by folding over a strip from the left, then a strip from the right crossing them over each other. Continue all the way down the pastry until all the strips are over the apple mixture.

Beat the egg with 1 tablespoon of water, set aside.

Transfer the parchment back to the baking sheet and refrigerate for 20 minutes. I find this helps keep the filling from seeping out so much.

Remove from the refrigerator and lightly brush the top and sides of the pastry with the egg wash.

Bake for 35 minutes, until golden brown.

slice of apple strudel on a silver plate

Let cool at least 10 minutes or more before slicing. Serve and enjoy this puff pastry apple strudel warm.

If you desire, sprinkle the top with confectioners’ sugar.

More Apple Recipes

Easy Apple Strudel Recipe