Healthy Apple Crisp
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Published Aug 27, 2024, Updated Nov 05, 2024
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This healthy apple crisp is naturally sweetened with maple syrup and features a crunchy oatmeal pecan topping. It’s gluten-free, vegan, easy to make and the perfect healthy fall dessert!
Riddle me this — what do you do when you have four big bags of fresh apples sitting in your kitchen after a fun day of apple picking?! You make this healthy apple crisp!
This recipe has been a go-to of mine for years! I love making it as a simple weeknight dessert during the fall months, but it’s also my favorite dessert to serve up at Thanksgiving dinner along with my delicious pecan pie.
The apples in this crisp are baked to caramel-y perfection while the oatmeal topping gives the crisp a crunchy texture. I love the apples, but the oatmeal pecan topping is totally what makes the dish, IMO!
PS: If you’re looking for more ways to use up all your fresh apples this fall, I highly recommend making these healthy apple muffins, apple nachos or apple cinnamon baked oatmeal.
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love This Apple Crisp
- Healthier – The great thing about this apple crisp is that it’s relatively healthy in comparison to traditional apple crisp recipes. We’re using maple syrup and coconut sugar instead of white sugar, coconut oil instead of butter, almond flour instead of white flour and there’s rolled oats and nuts for some extra nutrition!
- Easy to Make – This is one of those desserts that looks impressive but is actually super simple to throw together. It’s perfect for when you want something homemade without spending hours in the kitchen.
- Dietary friendly – It’s gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan and refined sugar-free making it the perfect dessert for most everyone!
- Delicious – The crunchy oat pecan topping paired with the sweet baked cinnamon apples = chef’s kiss! Serve it warm with a scoop of your favorite ice cream for the ultimate fall dessert!
Ingredients Needed
Filling
- apples – the star of the show here! I like using a combination of tart and sweet apples. My favorite varieties are Pink Lady and Honeycrisp apples!
- arrowroot powder – helps thicken the apple mixture.
- maple syrup – just a little bit of added natural sweetness for the apple mixture.
- lemon juice – helps prevent the apples from browning and brings out the flavors in the dish!
- seasonings and spices – cinnamon, nutmeg and sea salt.
Crumble Topping
- coconut sugar – I love using coconut sugar because of the unique caramel taste it has and because it’s naturally low on the glycemic index.
- old-fashioned rolled oats – oats are naturally gluten-free but are often cross-contaminated during processing, so if you need this crisp to be gluten-free, make sure you look for oats that say “gluten-free” on the package. I like using Bob’s Red Mill gluten free old fashioned rolled oats.
- almond flour – we’re using almond flour to keep this recipe gluten-free.
- chopped nuts – I prefer using pecans or walnuts, but you can definitely sub in another nut like almonds.
- coconut oil – keep the coconut oil in solid form to help make the topping more crumb-like.
Recipe Substitutions
- Almond flour: I haven’t tested this crisp with a different flour, but I have a feeling that oat flour, all-purpose flour or gluten-free all-purpose flour will work just fine for the topping. If you try it, please let me know in the comments.
- Arrowroot powder: Cornstarch will work as a substitute.
- Coconut oil: You can swap the coconut oil with vegan butter or regular butter if you don’t need this recipe to be vegan.
- Sweeteners: Swap the maple syrup for any liquid sweetener like honey or agave and you can use brown sugar instead of coconut sugar if that’s what you have on hand.
- Make it nut-free: If you need this recipe to be nut-free just swap the nuts for additional oats and the almond flour for all-purpose flour or oat flour.
- Want to make it lower in sugar? If you’d like for the crisp to be less sweet, feel free to cut the sugar in the topping back to ½ – ¾ cup instead of 1 cup!
- Other fruit: If you’d like to swap the apples with another fruit, pears would be a good substitute. You could also make this cherry crisp, peach crisp or blueberry crumble instead!
How to Make Healthy Apple Crisp
Step 1: In a medium bowl combine the sugar, rolled oats, almond flour and nuts. Add butter or coconut oil and combine until topping is crumb-like. Set aside.
Step 2: Add apple slices to a large bowl with maple syrup, lemon juice, arrowroot powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Gently toss until all apple slices are coated.
Step 3: Transfer apple mixture to greased 8×8 square baking pan or a 9-inch round pie pan. Sprinkle crisp topping over apple mixture.
Step 4: Place baking dish in preheated oven and bake for 45-50 minutes or until the apple filling is bubbly and the top is golden brown.
Brittany’s Tips!
- Use softened coconut oil: To get that perfect apple crisp topping, make sure your coconut oil is solid but not rock hard. If your kitchen is warm and the coconut oil is too soft, just pop it in the fridge for a few minutes before mixing!
- Use your hands: I like to use my hands to work the coconut oil into the dry ingredients until it forms pea-sized clumps. This gives you a deliciously crumbly topping that turns golden and crispy in the oven.
- Cover with foil: If you notice that your topping is browning too quickly in the oven, you can cover it with tin foil to prevent it from burning!
How to Serve Apple Crisp
Served warm, this apple crisp is absolutely delicious on its own, but if you really want the full experience I recommend serving it with some toppings. Here are some ideas:
- Ice cream – I love eating it with Halo Top Creamery vanilla ice cream, which is a low cal/low sugar ice cream that actually tastes pretty darn good! Or try topping this crisp with my banana ice cream for a tasty vegan option.
- Yogurt – Add creaminess and protein by adding yogurt as a topping! Pro tip: whip the yogurt in a food processor for a light and airy texture.
- Whipped cream – Can’t go wrong with classic whipped cream!
- Coconut whip – Looking for a dairy-free option? I love topping this apple crisp with coconut whipped cream!
- Caramel sauce – Want more caramel-y flavor? Drizzle my date caramel sauce over top!
How to Store Leftovers
At room temperature: Leftovers will store well at room temperature for about 2 days.
In the fridge: For longer storage, store this apple crisp in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
In the freezer: I don’t recommend freezing leftovers because I don’t think the crisp topping will hold up.
Reheating: This crisp is delicious warm, at room temperature or cold straight from the fridge, but if you want to reheat leftovers I recommend reheating it in the oven or a toaster oven for the best results. The microwave will work for reheating, but it will, but it will make the crumble topping soggy and not as crisp!
Frequently Asked Questions
Depending on where you live, apple crisp and apple crumble may mean the same thing! In the United States, they are slightly different dishes. Apple crisp is baked apples topped with a mixture of oats, nuts, sugar and spices. Apple crumble is also baked apples but is topped with more of a streusel mixture of flour, sugar and butter. No matter what you call it, they’re both delicious!
No! This is totally a personal preference. I’ve made these muffins with both peeled and unpeeled apples and both are delicious! If the skin doesn’t bother you then you can totally skip peeling the apples, which will save time! Once the apples are cooked the skin will soften so it’s hardly noticeable.
I haven’t tried it, but it should work just fine to double the recipe and make it in a 9×13 pan. When it comes to the bake time the crisp might need a few more minutes, so I’d just keep an eye on it.
Not all apples are great for baking. When choosing apples for baking you want apples that are firm and keep their structure under heat and don’t turn into mush after baking. The crisp and firm Granny Smith and Honeycrisp varieties are the most popular when it comes to baking. Pink Lady, Golden Delicious, Braeburn, Fuji, Cortland and Jonagold are also great options. Feel free to use just one variety or use an assortment of varieties. I like to use both sweet and tart apples in this crisp!
Avoid softer apples like Red Delicious or McIntosh; they’re more likely to break down and turn mushy in the oven.
Yes, you can absolutely make this apple crisp ahead of time, which is ideal for a busy Thanksgiving prep. You have two options: bake the crisp fully, let it cool, cover, and refrigerate for up to 2 days, then reheat at 350°F for about 20 minutes before serving. Or, prepare the crisp without baking, cover and refrigerate, then bake fresh when you’re ready to serve.
More Apple Recipes
- Apple Oatmeal Bars
- Healthy Apple Pancakes
- Apple Cake
- Healthy Dutch Apple Pie
- Vegan Apple Bread
- Apple Dutch Baby
- Applesauce Cake
- Healthy Apple Samoas
Be sure to check out all of my apple recipes as well as the full collection of dessert recipes here on EBF!
If you enjoyed this recipe, please consider leaving a ⭐ star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below.
Healthy Apple Crisp
Ingredients
- 6 cups apples, about 6 medium apples, peeled (or unpeeled) and thinly sliced
- ¼ cup pure maple syrup
- 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 Tablespoon arrowroot powder, or cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ⅛ teaspoon sea salt
Topping
- 1 cup coconut sugar
- 1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats, gluten-free, if needed
- ½ cup almond flour
- ½ cup chopped pecans or walnuts
- ½ cup coconut oil, not melted
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Make the topping by mixing together sugar, rolled oats, almond flour and nuts. Add butter or coconut oil and combine until topping is crumb-like. Set aside.
- Add apple slices to a large bowl with maple syrup, lemon juice, arrowroot powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Gently toss until all apple slices are coated.
- Transfer apple mixture to greased 8×8 square baking dish or a 9-inch round pie pan.
- Sprinkle crisp topping over apple mixture.
- Bake for 45-50 minutes or until the apple filling is bubbly and the top is golden. Check the crisp around 30 minutes in. If the crisp seems to be browning too quickly, cover with foil for the remaining 15-20 minutes.
- Cool on a wire rack for 5-10 minutes.
- Serve warm with ice cream or whipped topping.
- Store in an airtight container. Leftovers will store well at room temperature for 2-3 days or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Video
Notes
- Storage: Store leftover apple crisp at room temperature for up to 2 days or in the fridge for up to 5 days. Freezing isn’t recommended, as the topping may lose its texture. For reheating, use the oven or toaster oven to keep the topping crisp, as the microwave can make it soggy.
- Make it nut-free: If you need this recipe to be nut-free just swap the nuts for additional oats and the almond flour for all-purpose flour or oat flour.
- Want to make it lower in sugar? If you’d like for the crisp to be less sweet, feel free to cut the sugar in the topping back to 1/2 -3/4 cup instead of 1 cup.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Delicious! Made as written (half the brown sugar) and served with whipped cream. I prepped it the day before Thanksgiving and baked it while we did dishes – it was perfect and a very pretty dessert too.
Yay! So glad you loved this recipe, Dee. Thanks so much for making it and for coming back to leave a review. I really appreciate it.
do you think I can assemble this, refrigerate and then bake at a later date?
Hi Lisa. Yes, you can make this apple crisp ahead of time! Just assemble it without baking, cover it, and refrigerate. When you’re ready to serve, bake it fresh at 350°F until the filling is bubbly and the topping is golden, which may take a few extra minutes if it’s going in straight from the fridge. Hope this helps!
This was EXCELLENT!
I reduced the coconut sugar to about a third of a cup and replaced half the coconut oil with butter…it was such a hit at Thanksgiving that I am currently making 2 more for upcoming holiday parties. Thanks for another great recipe!
Yay! So glad this recipe was a hit! Thanks for making it and for coming back to leave a review. I really appreciate it, Lisa.
Absolutely delicious! My husband gave it a 10/10. I used half a cup of brown sugar instead of 1 cup and butter instead of coconut oil. It turned out soooo good. And to make it a little bit healthier, we used a dollop of frozen yogurt on top instead of ice cream. The tartness really balances out the sweetness. Great recipe!!
YUM! This is one of our favorites, I am so glad you are loving this apple crisp, Franneh. Thank you for giving it a try and for sharing your review + star rating, it means so much to me!