Healthy Apple Crisp Recipe
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This Healthy Apple Crisp recipe is naturally refined sugar free and gluten free! Made with oats- it’s the perfect healthy fall dessert!
This post was originally shared in 2018 but has since been updated.
This Healthy Apple Crisp is hands down my favorite healthy fall dessert.
In addition to being SO delicious, this comes together with only 10 minutes of prep time and it’s naturally refined sugar free and gluten free!
Perfect for making after apple picking (and if you are looking for other ways to use up apples – check out these Healthy Apple Recipes!)
Tips for the best Healthy Apple Crisp
- Make the oat topping first so that the butter can cool and solidify – this will make it easier to crumble over the apples.
- A metal baking dish will shorten the cook time slightly. Check at 35 minutes and poke the crisp with your finger. It should feel like a cookie fresh from the oven when done.
- Apples with a higher water content will make the apple filling a little watery fresh out of the oven. A lot of the water thickens and reabsorbs into the apples once cooled.
Ingredients
Substitutions
Old Fashioned Rolled Oats – Old-fashioned rolled oats are ideal for the texture of this crisp. Steel cut and quick oats should not be used. Quick oats will make the topping a little softer and chewier – stick with old-fashioned rolled oats. Steel cut oats will not cook. I like using One Degree Sprouted Rolled Oats, but regular rolled oats also worked great.
Oat Flour – Buy this ingredient from the store or make it at home from rolled oats in just a few minutes. Read my post How to Make Your Own Oat Flour for instructions. Regular flour or gluten-free flour could be used in place of oat flour.
Butter – I love the flavor of real butter in a crisp. I used Kerrygold butter, but vegan butter or coconut oil can be used to make this recipe dairy-free.
Coconut Sugar – Coconut sugar can be replaced with brown sugar. I tested maple syrup, but I thought the texture of the crisp was best with granulated sweetener and the apples were a little less watery.
Apples – Honeycrisp apples are the perfect sweet-tart apple to use in a crisp. Other sweet tart apples like Pink Lady’s or Braeburn may be used. Apples that lack tartness like Gala, Opal, Red Delicious, or Yellow Delicious should not be used. Juicy apples will produce more liquid when cooking, which usually reabsorbs when cooled.
Gluten Free- Using certified gluten-free oats and oat flour will ensure this recipe is naturally gluten-free.
Vegan– Using a vegan butter (I like Miyoko’s brand) or coconut oil would make this recipe vegan.
How to Make Healthy Apple Crisp
- In a large mixing bowl, combine all oat topping ingredients, then set aside to cool while you prepare the apple filling.
- Peel the apples, cut into ¼-inch slices, place in an 8×8 baking dish, then toss with coconut sugar, cinnamon, and ginger until evenly coated.
- Evenly sprinkle small handfuls of the crumble over the apples, then bake at 350° for 35–45 minutes. Let cool about 15 minutes so the liquid thickens as it reabsorbs.
What are the best apples for Apple Crisp?
This post goes in-depth on the best apples for baking. I like to bake with Honey Crisp apples. They’re a little sweet and a little tart, so I find them perfect in desserts!
Braeburn or Pink Lady are also delicious and hold up well. Really – any apple will work in this recipe!
Why are my apples watery? This can happen depending on the apples you use and how much water content they have. If you let the crisp cool for about 15 minutes, the apples with reabsorb a lot of the liquid and it will thicken up.
Storage
Storing: Store this healthy apple crisp covered in the fridge for up to 5 days. Simply enjoy cold or reheat in the microwave or oven.
Freezing: We haven’t tried freezing this recipe but we don’t think it would freeze well. The topping would lose it’s crisp.
Reheating: This crisp is best eaten right out of the oven, warm! If you are going to reheat leftovers, 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!
Prepping ahead of time: You can prep this apple crisp ahead of time! Simply prepare the apple crisp as per the instructions, cover, and store in the fridge until ready to bake (up to 24 hours).
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 Greek yogurt for extra protein.
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. Perfect for Thanksgiving!
Variations:
- Add chopped pecans, walnuts, or slivered almonds for some healthy fats and crunchy texture
- You can add ¼ teaspoon of nutmeg, or substitute all the spices in this recipe for apple pie spice
- Replace one cup of apples with a rounded cup of raspberries, blueberries, or cherries.
Other healthy apple recipes:
Here are some of our favorite healthy apple recipes! If you want more fall flavors, get our free fall recipes ebook.
Healthy Apple Crisp Recipe
Ingredients
Oat Topping
- ½ cup old fashioned rolled oats
- ½ cup oat flour
- ¼ cup coconut sugar
- ¼ cup melted butter or vegan butter/ coconut oil
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
Apples
- 5 small Honeycrisp apples peeled and sliced (about 2 lbs or 5 rounded cups)
- 2 tablespoons coconut sugar
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a large mixing bowl or stand mixer combine all ingredients for the oat topping. Mix together until there are no pockets of dry ingredients, then set aside and allow to cool while preparing the apple filling.
- Prepare the apples by first peeling them, then slice the flesh away from the core in 4 large chunks. Place the apples flat side down and slice into ¼ -inch slices. Place the cut apples in an 8×8 baking dish.
- Add coconut sugar, ground cinnamon, and ground ginger to the apples. Stir to evenly coat in the sugar and spices.
- Once the butter in the oat topping has solidified enough to crumble, grab small handfuls of the topping and crumble evenly over the apples in the baking dish.
- Place in the oven and bake for 35-45 minutes at 350 degrees F (40 was perfect for my oven), or until the crumble becomes slightly crispy, and the apples have cooked down.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool for about 15 minutes, or until the liquid reabsorbs into the apple mixture and becomes thicker.
Oh my goodness yummy healthy and cozy
I made it to have with plain Greek yogurt & chia for breakfast. Delicious!
It’s healthy, easy to make and delicious. My husband and I both loved it and I’m looking forward to making it again for us and for company.
I use this recipe often, its great. I like more topping so I do added more syrup, coconut oil,(and some cold butter) and oatmeal together than the recipe till I feel I have enough and the consistency is right. I thought topping was a bit too dry, and just needed more of it since its so good. I make this a couple times a month. Its only my husband and myself. I need to make a copy of the recipe for my neighbor, she loves it.
I made this for my husband, followed recipe. He said top/crisp was dry. Any suggestions? THANK YOU!
I’m sorry you felt that way! You could try baking it covered, but I’m not sure how this would help it!
Too dry. The flavors were nice but there was nothing in the recipe to bring out the juices of the apples. I ended up adding some vegan butter to the topping in the middle of baking and drizzled a bit of maple syrup to give it more liquid and to cook the apples.
Sorry you felt that way!
I 💜 your website and thank you for adding that recipe adjuster bar!!
This is now a STAPLE in my home. It is delicious and I feel great eating it knowing that it has health benefits while being decadent. I make a double bath for the week and I eat a serving for breakfast with Greek yogurt and collagen most days. I’ll add a bit of tahini and honey on top as well. It is amazing. Thank you so much!!!
So glad you like it, Stephanie! The tahini honey combo sounds so good!!
*double batch
Can you use another oil instead of coconut oil?
All of our blog posts have a green substitutions box where we list out subs for every ingredient 🙂 pasting this from there:
You can sub coconut oil with olive oil or avocado oil. Vegetable oil will also work.
Way too dry even, after I doubled up the dosage for the topping thinking it was going to be dry. Flavour profile is good but needs more liquids.
Sorry you felt that way 🙁
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.
I’m sorry you felt that way, Elyssa!
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.
So glad you liked it, Tammy, that is a great idea to substitute!
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.
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 🙂
For people with severe GERD this is a super healthy recipe.