This Healthy Apple Crisp recipe is gluten/dairy free, and sweetened with just maple syrup. Naturally sweet & delicious it’s the perfect healthy dessert!
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This Healthy Apple Crisp is hands down my favorite healthy fall dessert. In addition to being SO delicious, this comes together in under 30 minutes, is naturally gluten and dairy free, has only eight ingredients and is sweetened with just a touch of maple syrup.
It’s seriously the best way to use up any apples you have lying around.
(P.S. If you’re looking for other ways to use up apples – check out these Healthy Apple Recipes!)
I’ve always been a fan of ‘crisps’ when it comes to dessert. They’re much lighter than pie (which is also super delicious!) and crumble (which typically has more butter, sugar and flour in it).
This Healthy Blueberry Crisp is one of my favorite desserts!
I’ve gotten this question before, so you might be wondering..
What makes this Homemade Apple Crisp healthy?
Traditional apple crisp is made with lots of butter and sugar. This recipe is much better for you! Here’s why:
- Whole Grains – We use old fashioned oats instead of refined flour for the crisp topping
- Low sugar – Rather than using regular sugar, we use just a little bit of maple syrup and allow the sweetness of the apples to come through
- No butter – Instead of using butter, we’re using coconut oil which is more nutritious!
Homemade Apple Crisp Ingredients
To make this recipe you’ll need:
- apples
- old fashioned oats
- pecans
- cinnamon, ground ginger, nutmeg
- coconut oil
- maple syrup
You can find substitutions for all of these ingredients below in the green shaded substitutions box.
What are the best apples for Apple Crisp?
This post goes in depth on the best apples for baking. I like to bake with Pink Lady apples. They’re a little sweet and a little tart so I find them perfect in desserts!
Braeburn or Honeycrisp are also delicious and hold up well. Really – any apple will work in this recipe!
We don’t recommend using Granny Smith or other tart apples in this recipe.
Gluten Free Apple Crisp substitutions and additions
This is a pretty versatile recipe. Here are some substitutions you can make!
Nut Free – To make this nut free you can omit pecans. If you’d like to add in some crunch you could sub in sunflower seeds.
Oil – You can sub coconut oil with olive oil or avocado oil. Vegetable oil will also work.
Other fruit – This recipe will work great by adding other berries like blueberries, raspberries and strawberries! (We also have a healthy blueberry crisp and Healthy Peach Crisp recipe!) Dried raisins or craisins would also be a yummy add in!
Apples: We recommend using honeycrisp apples in this recipe. We don’t recommend using Granny Smith or other tart apples in this recipe.
Maple Syrup – You can sub maple syrup with honey
To make lower calorie- Omitting pecans
Oats – You can not substitute steel cut oats for old fashioned oats. It will now work. Quick cook oats will work.
How to make apple crisp:
Making apple crisp literally couldn’t be easier. Here’s what to do:
- Peel + slice your apples (You can also leave the skin on if you like!
- Once peeled, toss your apples with coconut oil/spices.
- Set aside. In a small bowl – mix together your crisp topping.
- Lay your apples in a baking dish, top with crisp.. and bake!
- 30 minutes in the oven and you’ve got warm, delicious healthy apple crisp ready to enjoy!
Topping it with vanilla ice cream pretty much is a must. It’s SO good.
How to cut apples for Apple Crisp
The best way to cut apples for this recipe is:
- Peel the apples.
- Slice the flesh of the apple away from the core in 4 large chunks.
- Place the apple slices flat slide down and slice the apples into 1/8-1/4 inch thick slices
How long to bake Apple Crisp
Every oven is a little bit different but this crisp is best baked for about 30 minutes at 350.
What is the difference between Apple Crisp and Apple Crumble?
Crisps are typically made with oats as the base, while crumbles typically have a flour/butter based topping. I added some chopped pecans for crunch, healthy fats, and flavor!
How to store Apple Crisp
Storing: This apple crisp will stay in the fridge for 3-4 days
Freezing: We haven’t tried freezing this recipe but we don’t think it would freeze well. The topping would lose it’s crisp.
How to reheat Apple Crisp
This crisp is best eaten right out of the oven, warm! If you are going to reheat, we recommend putting it in the toaster oven or oven. The microwave will work, but it will make the oats/topping soggy and not as crispy!
Serving Apple Crisp
Serving: We recommend serving this crisp with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream. It’s also great with a scoop of vanilla yogurt.
Preparing in advance: You can prepare this recipe 3-4 hours in advance of baking it. Keep it in your refrigerator until you are ready to bake.
Healthy Apple Crisp FAQs
Apple crisp shouldn’t be watery. Different apples do have more liquid than others so it could be the apples you chose. It could also be that the apple crisp was covered too long.
If your apple crisp isn’t crispy, it could be because it isn’t finished cooking. You can broil the crisp for 1-2 minutes (be sure to watch carefully!) to help the top get crispier.
Other healthy apple recipes:
We LOVE apples, and making all the things with them. Here are some of our favorite healthy apple recipes! If you want more fall recipes get our free fall recipes ebook!
Healthy Apple Crisp Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 cups apples peeled + sliced in 1/4 inch thick pieces – about 1 lb – honeycrisp work best
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil melted
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
Crisp Topping
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 cup old fashioned oats
- 1/3 cup pecans chopped
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 and prepare a greased 8×8 baking dish
- Peel + cut apple slices into ¼ inch thick slices.
- Melt coconut oil. Toss apples with coconut oil, cinnamon + ginger. Set aside.
- Mix together crisp topping.
- Pour apples into bottom of the baking dish. Layer crisp topping evenly on top of apples.
- Cover apple crisp with aluminum foil and bake at 350 for 20 mins. After 20 minutes, remove cover and bake for another 10-20 minutes until apples are fork tender and crisp topping is golden brown.
Elyssa says
I wanted to like this recipe so bad to the point I have actually made it twice now! BUT I just can’t it’s dry, the oats come out raw and the apples are dried out of you cook it past the time suggested to get the oats on top toasted. Such a bummer.
Liz Marino says
I’m sorry you felt that way, Elyssa!
Tammy says
This was a great recipe! I substituted apple sauce for the coconut oil as I didnt have any and it came out great. The topping was looser than the usual crisp but thats due to not using the regular butter. It tasted fantastic! I loved the pecans in it. I will definitely make it again.
Liz Marino says
So glad you liked it, Tammy, that is a great idea to substitute!
Shirley says
Your recipe looks delicious but I disagree withhold the “healthy” aspect. Coconut oil is loaded with saturated fat and according to the heart association it’s not healthy for you. One serving with 7 grams of sat Fat is crazy high. Especially when you shouldn’t consume more than 15 grams if you’re seriously trying to eat a heart healthy diet. I did see where you said that you can use other oils but you’re saying that your recipes are healthy and I disagree but it’s my opinion.
Liz Marino says
My website is not heart healthy specific and no where on this recipe does it say that this is a ‘heart healthy’ recipe. Healthy is a completely relative term. If someone is allergic to apples, it wouldn’t be healthy for them. If someone needs to eat low carb, this wouldn’t be healthy for them. Just because the heart association says something, doesn’t mean it’s the right thing for everyone! If you don’t like this recipe feel free to find another healthy apple crisp but most have butter and more nuts, which are even higher in fat so I don’t think those would be up to your standards either 🙂