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.
I made this today using vegan butter instead of oil. I just melted the butter and it worked great. I mixed pears, apples and blueberries together just for fun because we had all three. I added Quaker Oatmeal Simply Granola cereal to the oats mixture along with 1/2 walnuts on one side mixed in and pecans on the other side. I couldn’t decide which nut to use so I thought half each would be fun. My husband and I are going to have it for breakfast all week and pour keifer over it. What a yummy recipe. Thank you for sharing!!!!
So happy you liked it, Lydia! Enjoy!
Notes:
1. The apples were really sweet on their own. This was the most minimal amount of sugar (in this case maple syrup) I have ever use and it wasn’t missed!
2. I’m used to crisps being kind of time consuming, with the boatloads of butter and the food processor sitch. This was a hand mixed topic that was a pro.
3. Without the traditional flour based topping and the copious amounts of butter I wouldn’t describe it as the crisp you remember (con).
4. However, of you think of it as baked apples with a crisp topping paired with a bit of ice cream it was absolutely delish!
5. I shall double the nuts in the topping next time as I LOVE pecans!
Hi Stefanie – what you’re describing (flour, butter, food processor) is a crumble, not a crisp. A crumble is flour/sugar/butter based and leaves you with a crumbly topping, while a crisp is oat/nut based and leaves you with a drier crispy texture. Either way I’m so glad you liked it
Just made it…it’s awesome…love it!
Thanks, Debbi! So glad you like it!
I made this tonight because, well… I’m already ready for Fall!! 🍁🍁 It was super delicious and I made it exactly as your recipe stated. However, like someone previously commented, my apples seemed to still be quite a bit firm and not soft and juicy as expected. I allowed the crisp to cook for the entire 40 minutes (20 covered and 20 uncovered) as well as I used Honeycrisp. Not sure if I should’ve allowed it to cook even longer (I was fearful of drying it out more or burning the topping) or if I should’ve added a little water or something to the apple mixture before topping it with the crisp? Any advice would be greatly appreciated because I feel if I can perfect this recipe it’ll become a staple in our house!! 😊
Thanks Again!
Hi! Did you cut your apples to 1/4 inch thick slices? the apples might have been too thick. Hope this helps!
I made this AS WRITTEN except used butter instead of coconut oil.
It was not sweet at all…. could have been my granny smiths? Not sure. I bake A LOT…. had to add more sugar after.
Hi Abby – As noted in the recipe and the blog post: We don’t recommend using Granny Smith or other tart apples in this recipe. I’m sure that was the reason why it wasn’t sweet enough.
Loved this!
I used two packs of low sugar dry oatmeal & 1/2 cup oats instead of the 1 cup. Great flavor and perfect with ice cream
So glad you liked it, Sam!
Mouth-watering! I think I’m craving Apple Crisps already! I also checked Paleo Apple Cinnamon Ice Cream… I think I’m in love with apples now.
So glad you like it, Jade! Thanks!
I made this recipe
https://thecleaneatingcouple.com/healthy-apple-crisp/
https://www.ambitiouskitchen.com/healthy-apple-crisp/
and added powdered stevia to both the filling and the crisp parts…I suspected the recipe of lacking sweetness. P.S. I was right! I also used pepitas instead of pecans, because I didn’t have pecans….also it took like and extra 15 minutes to bake of course🙄, but final verdict….DELICIOUS and healthy! Will definitely make again.
Glad you liked it, Angie! Everyone’s tastes are different but no one has said this recipe is lacking sweetness. It gets the sweetness from the fruit and maple syrup! Glad you were able to customize it to your liking
Mine turned out very dry…that is the apple part is not juicy at all. How do I fix that?
Hi Deborah – What kind of apples did you use? Were they old? I haven’t had anyone say this happened to them!
So this one is such a great healthy alternative to the traditional apple crisp. It absolutely doesn’t feel like you are missing anything. Now I don’t feel bad having it with some vanilla ice cream 🤣🤣.
PS both kids devoured it!!
So happy you like it!
Just discovered your wonderful site after searching for a healthy low sugar version. Made yours last night and it came out delish. Topped it w/ vanilla ice cream, dollop of tart Greek yogurt and a bit of whipped cream. Heated a bowl up for breakfast this morning then added almond milk- so good and versatile. Thank you!
Thank you so much, Cindy! I really appreciate it! I love the addition of greek yogurt – sounds delicious!
Made this using Granny Smith and honey crisp apples. It was delish and I felt good about it being a lightened version of a family favorite .
Thanks, Sam! So glad you and your family enjoyed this!
Made this tonight and it was fantastic! I added a tiny bit more maple syrup but other than that followed it exactly. Thanks for sharing! Tastes even better than the one I used to make that was loaded with sugar. 😁
So glad you enjoyed it, Meghan! Thank you!!
I’ve eaten this for breakfast the last 2 mornings. My 3yo loved it too. I added honey yogurt to it. I will make it again!
So glad you liked it, Rachel! Thank you!
Exactly what I was craving from an apple crisp! I was looking for the healthiest version and this one did not disappoint. Even hubs loved it!
So glad you liked it, Sara!
The flavor was good but I’m wondering if I don’t understand how a crisp is supposed to turn out. The oats were very very dry. I followed the recipe. I’m looking for healthy desserts because I do have a sweet tooth so I would love to make sure I’m preparing this correctly. Thank you!
Hi Denise – I’m sorry that your crisp came out dry.. there should be juices in the bottom from the apples cooking! Did you overcook it? A crisp is typically less dense and has oats vs a crumble which is a combo of butter, flour and sugar. Typically crumbles are more moist than crisp.
I had a similar problem. I increased my oven temp to 425 and it came out perfect
I had the same issue with it being dry. Also my apples weren’t soft enough for us. Any suggestions. Like that isa a healthy version,.
This was delicious!!! I used honeycrisp apples and topped it with dairy free coconut whipped cream. It’s the perfect light but satisfying fall dessert 🙂 and even better than it’s WW friendly!!
Thanks, Sam! Glad you liked it!
The ginger is that fresh ginger. I see it say ground and also ginger.
Hi Susan – ground ginger is dried ginger. I would not recommend using fresh ginger in this recipe.
This turned out perfect! I used a little extra maple syrup and coconut oil for moisture and flavor.
Thank you so much for sharing your recipe!
So so good, and made with ingredients I always have!
So glad you liked it, Haley!
I have always been a sucker for apply crisp, but I haven’t had it in a few years because i’ve been watching what I eat.. But this is a great healthy option! Love the recipe!
Thank you!! It’s one of our favorite fall recipes!
Had extra apples lying around and made this – it was so yummy!
Glad you enjoyed it, Erica!
Mine too!! 🙂
It looks really tasty, and healthier than a more traditional apple crumble dessert. Yum!
Thank you, Elissa! It was delicious!! 🙂
Apple crisp is my absolute favorite! YUM!
It’s mine too – SO yummy!
This look sooo yummy and simple to make!! I am excited for fall too! However, not so excited for the daylight savings that comes with it 🙁
Thanks, Emily!! Definitely not excited for that either :/
My husband loved it with the pecans