This is the best vegan apple crisp you will ever eat! Perfectly cooked apples and cinnamon with a crispy crunch topping made of brown sugar and oats! Whether or not you like yours topped with ice cream or just served plain, this apple crumble has all the yummy goodness of apple pie, with a lot less work!
If you're like me and love the crispy coating on apple crisp, then this is the recipe for you! I've spent years perfecting this crumple topping and I don't skimp on this layer!
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❤️ Why you'll love this recipe
- You can make it with simple ingredients that are easy to find.
- It's easily made gluten-free without compromising taste or texture.
- This apple crisp is just as delicious as apple pie with a lot less work.
- It's the perfect dessert for Thanksgiving, holidays, or just any old day.
🧾 Ingredients and substitutions
- Apples - you will need about 8 apples. You can also swap out the apples for berries and make berry crisp instead.
- Sugar - to sweeten the apple filling a little. You can leave this out or use maple syrup instead.
- Cinnamon - for flavor.
- Nutmeg - for flavor.
- Flour - a little mixed with the apples and a little more in the crumble topping. To make it gluten-free, you can use cornstarch mixed with the apples instead of flour and any gluten-free flour that you like in the crumble topping.
- Oats - I like to use whole oats for the nice texture that they bring to the dish, however, you can use quick oats too.
- Brown Sugar - to give the coating a rich flavor. You can also use coconut sugar.
- Vegan Butter - or refined coconut oil for the crispy topping. This is a key ingredient to make the coating crispy, so I don't recommend making this recipe oil-free.
- Baking Soda - the secret ingredient for a little rise in the crumble topping and that helps to make it crispier.
🥄 Instructions
Make the apple layer:
- Preheat the oven to 375° F.
- Peel, cut, and slice 8 cups of apples and place them in a medium-sized mixing bowl.
- Sprinkle the sliced apples with 4 tbsp of sugar, 2 tbsp of flour or corn starch, 1 tsp of cinnamon, and 1/4 tsp nutmeg.
- Stir the apples until they are evenly coated in the sugar mixture.
- Spray an 8 x 8-inch baking dish with a little oil to prevent sticking, then pour the apples into the bottom of the dish and spread evenly.
Make the crumble topping:
- Place 2/3 cup vegan butter, 1 1/2 cup flour, 1 1/2 cup oats, 1/2 cup of brown sugar, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp nutmeg, 1/4 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp baking soda in a mixing bowl.
- Mix well until the butter is incorporated and you have a uniform crumbly mixture. (I find it easiest to use my hands for this step, but you can use the back of a fork or a pastry cutter.
- Sprinkle the crumble mixture evenly on top of the apples.
- Bake at 375° F for 35 minutes or until the top is crispy and slightly darker.
- Let it cool for about 15 minutes before serving to let it firm up a little.
👩🏻🍳 Pro tips
Top your vegan apple crisp with some homemade aquafaba ice cream, aquafaba whipped cream, or vegan whipped cream frosting! You can even give it a drizzle of vegan salted caramel, easy peanut butter caramel, or homemade vegan butterscotch to make it fancy.
- If you want to save on calories, you can cut the amount of crumble topping in half and still have a nice layer on top of the apples.
- Be sure to use crisp, firm apples for apple slices that will keep their structure.
- Bake in an 8 x 8-inch pan for thick apple crisp or in a 9 x 13 lasagna pan for a thinner crisp.
🍞 Gluten-free instructions
To make your apple crisp gluten-free, simply swap out the 2 tablespoons of flour that you mix with the apple for 1 tablespoon corn starch (You can also use potato starch or arrowroot too.) Swap out the flour in the crumb topping in equal amounts with any gluten-free flour mix that you like.
🍎 Choosing your apples
Choose a type of apple that is crisp and firm so it will hold its shape when baked. There are many varieties that will work well for an apple crisp.
Here are some great choices
- Honey Crips
- Jonagold
- Granny Smith
- Gala
- Pink Lady
- Empire
- Mutsu
Note: Make any type of fruit crumble using my vegan crumble topping layered on top of 4 cups of fruit or berries and baked at 375°F for 30-35 minutes.
You can read more about varieties of apples that are good for baking here.
🍂 More fall recipes
- Vegan Apple Cake
- Vegan Pumpkin Muffins
- The Best Vegan Pumpkin Pie
- Vegan Caramel Apples
- Vegan Pumpkin Bread
- Creamy Pumpkin Bean Soup
- Vegan Pumpkin Pasta
📌 Be sure to follow me on Pinterest for new vegan recipes!
Vegan Apple Crisp
Ingredients
For the apple layer:
- 8 cups sliced apples
- 2 tablespoons flour (or 1 tbsp corn starch)
- 3 tablespoons sugar or maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
For the crumble topping:
- 1 1/2 cup flour
- 1 1/2 cup oats
- 2/3 cup vegan butter
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
Instructions
Make the apple layer:
- Preheat the oven to 375° F.
- Peel, cut, and slice 8 cups of apples and place them in a medium-sized mixing bowl.
- Sprinkle the sliced apples with 4 tbsp of sugar, 2 tbsp of flour or corn starch, 1 tsp of cinnamon, and 1/4 tsp nutmeg.
- Stir the apples until they are evenly coated in the sugar mixture.
- Spray an 8 x 8-inch baking dish with a little oil to prevent sticking, then pour the apples into the bottom of the dish and spread evenly.
Make the crumble topping:
- Place 2/3 cup vegan butter, 1 1/2 cup flour, 1 1/2 cup oats, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp nutmeg, 1/4 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp baking soda in a mixing bowl.
- Mix well until the butter is incorporated and you have a uniform crumbly mixture. (I find it easiest to use my hands for this step, but you can use the back of a fork or a pastry cutter.
- Sprinkle the crumble mixture evenly on top of the apples.
- Bake at 375° F for 35 minutes or until the top is crispy and slightly darker.
- Let it cool for about 15 minutes before serving to let it firm up a little.
Notes
- Top your vegan apple crisp with some homemade aquafaba ice cream or aquafaba whipped cream! You can even give it a drizzle of vegan salted caramel or homemade vegan butterscotch to make it fancy.
- If you want to save on calories, you can cut the amount of crumble topping in half and still have a nice layer on top of the apples.
- Be sure to use crisp, firm apples for apple slices that will keep their structure.
- Bake in an 8 x 8-inch pan for thick apple crisp or in a 9 x 13 lasagna pan for a thinner crisp.
Nutrition
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Click the stars above or leave a comment! I'd love to hear from you!
Hi,
What are your recommendations on storage? And how long before u should throw out leftovers?
It will keep in a sealed container in the fridge for about 5 days. You can rebake for about 10 minutes if you want it warm. Enjoy!
Hi, do you think this would store well if i were to make it a day before serving and keep it in the fridge until then
The topping wouldn't be as crispy if it sat in the fridge over night, but it will still taste good. You could pop it back in the oven for about 10 minutes to crisp it up again before serving.
Your recipe doesn't mention adding the brown sugar to the crust mixture. Luckily I caught it right before pouring it into my pan, because that might've been the last straw for me in my miserable life.
Thank you for the brown sugar mention and I love your sense of humor 😂
Oh goodness, somehow I missed Jordan's comment before. The recipe is now updated to make sure no one misses the brown sugar. 🙂
hey man, I saw this comment as meme on Instagram: you're famous!
anyway, hang in there, I know everything sucks right now. people care about you. everything is temporary. ❤
I just made this for dessert tonight. It was perfect. Thanks so much for the recipe!
You're welcome, Mandy. I'm so happy that you liked it!