This gluten free apple crisp recipe is made with simple ingredients (no oats!) and comes together in under an hour, perfect to prep ahead! Tart green apples, warm cinnamon, and punchy ginger, it’s the perfect comforting and crowd pleasing dessert! Plus, it’s vegan, gluten free, and made with natural sugar.
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Gluten Free Apple Crisp Ingredients:
How to make Gluten-Free Apple Crisp:
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees!
- Peel and dice apples (sliced apples will work too) and rough chop the pecans if needed.
- Mix filling ingredients in a large mixing bowl and set aside or in the fridge until ready to use.
- In another bowl, mix together the topping ingredients to make the streusel topping. Use a fork, pastry blender, or your hands to cut the butter and form a crumble.
- Transfer the apple mixture into a 8x8 or 9x9 prepared baking dish. Add the crumble topping to this and spread out evenly
- Bake for 25-30 minutes until golden brown and the apples are bubbling
- Let cool and enjoy with a scoop of vanilla ice cream! Letting this cool is obviously not necessary, but it helps to let the filling thicken more.
Quick Facts
How long does this keep?
1 week in the fridge, sealed in an airtight container or 2 months in the freezer, sealed.
Is it freezer friendly?
Yes, just freeze in a sealed container.
Do you cover apple crisp when baking?
It is recommended to cover the top of the apple crisp in foil for the first ⅔rds of the baking time to keep it from burning.
How do you know when apple crisp is cooked?
You can tell apple crisp is cooked when the apples are tender when poked with a fork or tooth pick and the top is golden brown, typically 30-40 minutes. Everything being used is already cooked or can be eaten raw, so it is not critical to cook completely, only critical to cook the apples to desired tenderness.
Which apples are best for apple crisp?
Granny Smith apples are the best for apple crisp because of their tart nature. Tart apples cut the sweetness of the topping. Any other tart or tangy apple can also be used.
Substitution Options
All substitution options are a 1:1 substitution unless noted otherwise.
Granny Smith Apples: Any type of apple can be used, but granny smith are tart apples, which are what we consider the best apples to use. We prefer the tart apple varieties because when apples bake, they release natural sugars and become sweeter. The dish becomes even sweeter since we are adding some sugar! So you keep some of the tart flavor but still get plenty of sweetness. If using sweet apples, like golden delicious apples or honeycrisp apples, reduce the added sugar by half. Or keep it as is if you want a really sweet crisp!
Coconut Sugar: Cane sugar, agave, brown sugar, honey, or maple syrup can be substituted.
Lemon Juice: Orange juice can be used or extra water.
Water: Sorry, no substitute for this.
Corn starch: Arrowroot powder could be used in place of cornstarch
Cinnamon and Nutmeg: Allspice, pumpkin pie spice, or apple pie spice can be used. You could also use Chai Tea powder (may not be vegan).
Ginger: Minced, fresh, or powdered ginger can be used.
Gluten-Free Flour Blend: Any of your favorite all purpose flour can be used, including regular gluten flour. Just ensure for gluten free flour that it is a 1:1 blend.
Pecans: Walnuts or almonds can be used. Ground almonds or almond meal can also be used.
Salt: Sorry, no substitute for this.
Vanilla Extract: Vanilla Paste can be used for this.
Coconut Oil: Vegan butter, ghee, or regular butter can be used. The key is the temperature of this substance. Room temperature fat or cold butter retains its structure, while melted butter does not. Keeping the fat at room temperature means the fat will stay on top of the filling mixture until heated in the oven. Once heated, this fat will bind the topping (creating that crumb topping) instead of soaking into the filling.
Fun Fact!
Granny Smith Apples are unique because of their high acid content. This high acid content makes them ideal for baked goods, but also means they do not turn brown as quickly! They will also retain their shape, even when cooked and softened. They can be kept in cold storage and will not freeze until the temperature drops below 29 degrees. If we haven’t convinced you that these apples are the easiest apples to take care of, the trees are also self pollinators! Adding a pollinator tree that blossoms at the same time will definitely help, but is not necessary. (Source)
Try these other delicious recipes!
Apricot Vanilla No-Churn Vegan Ice Cream
Protein Packed Cinnamon Toast Crunch S’mores Bars
Note: Joy to the Food gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post.
Recipe
Gluten Free Apple Crisp
Ingredients
Crisp Topping
- 1-¼ cup 1:1 gluten free flour
- ½ cup pecans chopped
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ginger
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup coconut oil
- ¼ cup coconut sugar
Apple Filling
- 5 Granny Smith Apples peeled and diced
- ½ cup coconut sugar
- ⅛ cup lemon juice
- ½ cup water
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ginger
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees
- Peel and dice apples and rough chop the pecans if needed.
- Mix apple filling ingredients in a large bowl and set aside or in the fridge until ready to use.
- In another bowl, mix together the crisp topping ingredients. Use a fork or your hands to cut the butter and form a crumble.
- Pour the apple filling into a 8x8 or 9x9 baking dish. Add the topping to this and spread out evenly
- Transfer to oven and bake for 25-30 minutes until golden brown and the apples are bubbling
- Let cool and enjoy with a scoop of vegan vanilla ice cream! Letting this cool is obviously not necessary, but it helps to let the filling thicken more.
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