Austrian Apple Strudel

This recipe for apple strudel with store-bought strudel dough requires only a few ingredients and is ready in 15-20 minutes of work time. It contains little sugar and is vegan.

Apple Strudel is traditionally served on its own or sometimes with a bit of whipped cream. To serve Apple Strudel with vanilla sauce or vanilla ice cream became very popular in the last few decades, though.

If you have more time and leisure, I can also recommend this alternative apple strudel recipe with homemade strudel dough and grandma's famous apple strudel filling.

Jump to:

• Ingredients
• Optional Ingredients
• Video for Apple Strudel recipe
• Instructions
• Easy Austrian Apple Strudel Recipe

Ingredients

We need the following ingredients for this quick and easy apple strudel recipe. The exact quantities are in the printable recipe card at the very bottom of the post.

Jump to recipe card

---

• Apples, sweet and sour - for example, Boskop, Idared, Jonagold, Braeburn, Crown Prince Rudolf, Elstar.
  If you have very sweet apples without acidity (like "Gala"), you can add 1-2 tablespoons of lemon juice to the apples.
  If you want to use sour apples like Granny Smith you might have to add a few tablespoons of sugar to the strudel filling
  .
• Pre-packed strudel dough - can be found in the refrigerated section of Austrian and German supermarkets.
  
  Alternatively: use storebought phyllo (filo) dough, puff pastry dough, or make the Strudel dough from scratch.
  
• Vanilla sugar - If vanilla sugar is not available in your local grocery store, you can use ground vanilla mixed with caster sugar.
  If you like the strudel completely without sugar, replace the vanilla sugar with pure vanilla.
  
• Grated cinnamon
  
• Dark Rum - 38% VOL - optional, but makes a wonderful flavor; can be substituted with rum flavoring.
  
• Breadcrumbs, unflavoured - Homemade breadcrumbs or purchased, also possible with spelt breadcrumbs, whole spelt, etc. (but no breadcrumbs from dark bread, sourdough bread etc.).
  
  In many traditional apple strudel recipes, the breadcrumbs are additionally toasted with butter and sugar. We completely omit this step in the following recipe because it saves not only time, but also calories.
  
• neutral oil - for example, corn oil, canola oil, for brushing; traditionally, liquid butter is used. However, this has been substituted in the recipe because using oil is less work.
  
• powdered sugar for dusting - optional

Optional Ingredients

In addition, you can refine the filling with the following ingredients, depending on your mood and pantry:

• Raisins (preferably soaked in rum or water for 20 minutes beforehand)
• finely chopped walnuts or hazelnuts
• almond flakes
• grated lemon peel
• squeeze of lemon juice (also depending on how sweet the apples are)
  …

Video for Apple Strudel recipe

Instructions

Wash apples and grate or slice thinly. The fastest way to do this is with the grating attachment of a food processor.

Traditionally, the apples are peeled, but if the skin is nice, I like to leave it on. Not only does it save time and is healthier, but it tastes better to me personally. If the apple skin is already wrinkled and chipped, better to peel.

Mix apples with rum.

Preheat oven.

Prepare a baking tray with baking paper, baking mat or grease well.

Spread out a tea towel. Remove the strudel dough from the package. Unfold on the tea towel. (Two strudel sheets on top of each other.) The rest of the dough (the remaining two strudel sheets) will come later. They should still remain well wrapped or covered.

Note: Storebought Strudel Dough, in Austria and Germay, contains 2x2 sheets, which is for 2 Strudels in total. For one Strudel, you use 2 sheets on top of each other.

If you use storebought phyllo (filo) dough that contains more sheets, you can either put more sheets on top of each other, make the strudel bigger/longer, or use the other sheets for a different recipe. (use up immediately after opening the package, once unpacked, the dough dries out easily.)

If you use storebought puff pastry sheets, use one sheet of puff pastry for 1 Strudel. The recipe below is written for 2 Strudels in total.

Spread half of the breadcrumbs and half of the vanilla sugar evenly over the bottom two-thirds of the dough. Leave a few centimeters from the edge.

Spread half of the apple filling directly on the crumbs with your hands. Use as little liquid as possible. (Apples are best squeezed briefly before spreading).

Sprinkle the apples evenly with half a teaspoon of grated cinnamon.

Starting from the bottom, with the help of the tea towel, roll up the strudel.

Towards the end, fold in the sides and finish rolling up.

Roll onto the baking sheet with the help of the tea towel. (See Video above)

The "seam" of the strudel should be at the bottom so that the filling does not fall out during baking. Brush with oil (or liquid butter).

Do the same with the second strudel and bake both for 25 minutes in the preheated oven. - Enjoy!

---

Here is the link to all of my traditional Austrian recipes in English.

Maybe you are also interested in:

---

If you tried out my recipe, I would very much appreciate if you leave a review or comment below! 😉