Easy Apple Crisp (gluten-free)

This easy apple crisp recipe is a delicious fruit dessert. Quick to make, it’s the perfect fall dessert made with juicy apples, cinnamon & a gluten-free crisp topping. Best served with a scoop of ice cream!

It’s always this time of year when I end up with so many apples from the apple orchard. What do I do with them all? I love apple pie but it can be time consuming to make at home. So I started making this easy apple crisp a few years ago instead.

Healthy Apple Crisp Recipe

This recipe is very similar to a traditional apple crisp with some healthy swaps and overall super quick steps. It’s gluten-free and each serving is around 300 calories, and that’s with ice cram and caramel sauce! You’ll have a warm cinnamony apple pie-like filling with a crispy buttery oat topping. It’s all the fall feels for real! Ready to make this beauty?

How to Make Easy Apple Crisp

There are two parts to Apple Crisp – the apples and the crisp. Starting with the apples, I like to chop or slice the apples really small, and mix them with maple syrup and lemon juice.

Then in goes the cinnamon. And it’s 3 teaspoons, which looks like a lot of cinnamon, but it’s definitely needed! Most recipes also add flour or corn starch here in the filling, but I don’t think it’s necessary at all.

Now for the crisp part, I make mine gluten free, so I use gluten free rolled oats, oat flour (which I grind myself in my Vitamix), more cinnamon, either brown sugar or coconut sugar and some salt. By using oats and oat flour, it gives me an excuse to have this easy apple crisp for breakfast…haha!

Then I dice up the butter into small cubes and rub them into the oat crumble streusel mixture. To make it faster, you can also just leave the butter as is or melt the butter. But I like incorporating the butter evenly all over the mixture for better browning results of the crumble.

Then I transfer the apples to a baking dish, and top it with the crumble mixture. There’s no need to grease the dish, but you certainly can. Or you can line it with aluminum foil for easier cleaning.

When it comes out of the oven, you’ll smell a warm cinnamony sweetness that is so cozy, comforting and calling your name! Scoop out a nice big helping of the apple crisp, and serve it a la mode. I know you see that caramel sauce in the corner, and you know this easy apple crisp is about to get drizzled with all that caramel goodness!

Tips to Make Easy Apple Crisp

• Pick a Mix of Apples: For best flavor, I like combining sweet and tart apples. You can see I have a variety of colored apples that are all different kinds from the apple orchard. If they’re all sweet, the easy apple crisp will lend itself to an overly sweet apple crisp. And if you only use tart apples, you may need to add sugar to cut through the tartness (which I’m sure you don’t want to do!) The combination of different apples will give the perfect flavor balance.
• Keep Apple Pieces Small: I like chopping up the apples really small or slicing them thinly (like in the video below). This is key because it helps to cook the apples faster, and ensures that they are super soft by the time the crumble is browned.
• Allow Time to Cool: Easier said than done haha! But this is very important because it will give the sauce made from the juicy apple filling a chance to thicken, and the flavors to settle.

Frequently Asked Questions

What’s the difference between a crisp and a crumble?

Crisps and crumbles are similar – they are both baked fruit desserts with a topping. The topping of a crumble is denser and more cakey, where as a crisp is thinner and, well, crispier! The topping of a crisp also contains oats.

Can leftovers be refrigerated?

This apple crisp keeps well in the fridge for 3 to 4 days in an air tight container. It is also freezable, simply let the crisp cool and then cover it with foil and pop in the freezer where it will keep for around 3 months.

Is apple crisp gluten free?

Not all apple crisp recipes are gluten free due to the flour used in the topping. This recipe, however is gluten free! Just be sure to use gluten free certified oats and oat flour if you have an intolerance.

If you use up some apples and still have loads more, I’ve got you covered with these other amazing apple desserts!

• Rose Apple Pie – Beautiful, tasty and fabulous!
• Cinnamon Baked Apples – Need I say more?
• Cranberry Apple Mini Pies – Bite sized yumminess

This is one of my favorite fall desserts that you can easily whip up when you have extra apples on hand, people coming over and craving a cozy dessert when it’s cold and yucky outside. The great thing about it is it’s reminiscent of homemade apple pie with all the same flavors.

But it’s healthier than apple pie, easier to make and can totally be eaten for breakfast. Hey, it’s basically oats and apples (ice cream optional at breakfast haha 😉 )

I hope you love this healthy-ish feelgood Easy Apple Crisp recipe. If you make it, please leave me a comment telling me how you like it, or use hashtag #feelgoodfoodie on Instagram so I can see your recreations.

4.12 from 9 votes

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Healthy Apple Crisp

Prep Time

15 mins

Cook Time

35 mins

Total Time

50 mins

 

For a quick & healthy dessert, try my Easy Apple Crisp recipe - it's the perfect fall dessert made with juicy apples, cinnamon & a gluten-free crisp topping

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: apples, fall, fall dessert, Gluten free, healthy dessert, thanksgiving

Servings: 6 servings

Calories: 311 kcal

Ingredients

For the apple filling:

• 5-6 apples chopped or sliced
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup
• 3 tablespoon lemon juice
• 2 teaspoon cinnamon

For the crumble topping:

• 1 cup rolled oats
• 1/2 cup oat flour
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans optional
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp Salt
• 3 tablespoons butter cold, diced
• Vanilla ice cream optional
• Caramel sauce

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. 

2. For filling: In a large bowl, combine apples, maple syrup, lemon juice, and cinnamon. Transfer apple mixture to an 8x8 square baking dish.
   

3. For topping: In medium bowl, combine oats, oat flour, pecans, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt. Add diced butter to the crumble topping. Using your fingers, rub butter into the crumble mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle topping over filling.
   

4. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until apple is tender and topping is golden brown. Serve warm, with vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce, if desired. 

Recipe Notes

Storage: Store any leftovers in an airtight container. They will last about 3-4 days in the fridge.

Freezer Instructions: After baking the apple crisp, allow it to cool completely, then cover it with two layers of aluminum foil. You can freeze it for up to 3 months. When ready to bake, thaw it overnight in the fridge and warm it at 375°F oven for 15-20 minutes or until heated through.

Make Ahead: You can make the topping ahead of time but add the butter right before baking it for best results.

Substitutes: For best results, follow the recipe as is. However here are some substitutes that will work well:

• For the flour, you can use almond flour, gluten-free flour or even all purpose flour. I love using oat flour to keep it gluten-free and light. 
• For the butter, you can use a vegan butter stick or coconut oil
• For the pecans, you can leave those out completely as I've done in the images or use walnuts or almonds

Nutrition Facts

Healthy Apple Crisp

Amount Per Serving (1 bowl)

Calories 311 Calories from Fat 126

% Daily Value*

Fat 14g22%

Saturated Fat 4g25%

Cholesterol 15mg5%

Sodium 152mg7%

Potassium 300mg9%

Carbohydrates 45g15%

Fiber 7g29%

Sugar 22g24%

Protein 4g8%

Vitamin A 255IU5%

Vitamin C 9.9mg12%

Calcium 48mg5%

Iron 1.5mg8%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.