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.
This was so simple to make and tasted so good! I swapped the coconut oil for apple sauce and it was perfect.
Love the taste and simplicity. Eating clean is fun!
Have made this several times. Easy to make, and tastes so good. Much healthier than the usual recipes.
I just tried and its so good and easy to make! thank you!!!
I’d like to make this a single serve in a ramekin. Would you mind sending me a recipe for that?
Sorry but we don’t have the measurements – feel free to do the math on your own or use the slider under the servings to adjust the recipe accordingly! Not sure how it will come out 🙂
Is there a reason why Granny Smith apples wouldn’t work? Thank you in advance❤️
they would work but we just don’t recommend them because they’re not the best apple for baking like this!
I made this exactly as written. We did not care for it. Very dry. Apple filling was O.K. But topping is just oatmeal baked with no liquid .
Would not recommend this recipe. We did eat for breakfast and I added milk and my husband also added yogurt. Will not make this again unless I can figure our a liquid for the oatmeal topping. All I can think of is butter but then would eliminate the healthy aspect if this dish. Coconut oil maybe increase amount and melt then add to topping.
Why would it be 17 grams of sugar?
because apples naturally have sugar in them.
Absolutely loved this! Disappeared in two days. I was rushed so used an apple corer that makes 8 slices and then just cubed those, and added 2 cups of frozen cranberries. It did need to bake longer but well worth the wait!
This was such a an exciting recipe to try because I felt comfortable giving to my toddler too. It’s not easy to find apple crips recipes without flour and sugar. This was super easy to make and tastes delicious . It was nice to have all that natural apple flavor .
This was so good! It had the perfect amount of sweetness, and the apples 🍎 were cooked perfectly, i love making healthy desserts, so this will be on repeat for me! ☺️
This was so good! It had just the right amount of sweetness, and the apples 🍎 were perfectly cooked! I love making healthy desserts, and this is gonna be on repeat for me! ☺️
This was super easy to make and tasted great. I was craving dessert yesterday but I didn’t want anything to heavy so I tried this and loved it. Healthier version of apple crisp, I’m all for it!
Absolutely delicious! Love the clean ingredients
This is the best recipe for apple based desserts that I have used in a while. I made it for a party and my entire family loved it
I substituted coconut oil with olive oil. It’s perfect for my mom who has liver problems.
This was AMAZING!!
This was amazing and felt guilt free! Clean, real ingredients and easy to make! Perfect after dinner treat!
Great apple crisp alternative!
This was awesome and so easy and quick to make! I used honey crisp apples as suggested, and the flavor was perfect. The small amount of maple syrup was perfect – not too sweet like so many apple crisps. It smelled too nutmeggy, but really wasn’t after it baked. I was also afraid of the coconut oil coming through in the apples, because I hate coconut, but I couldn’t taste it (😁).
The only thing I didn’t like was the topping. It was too much like granola on top of apples, and distracted from the wonderful apples. I will definitely play around with this next time.
Excellent recipe.. thank you!!!
This apple crisp recipe is awesome and so adaptable! I think my husband and I have made this recipe about 30 times by now. We usually add in a variety of fruits including pears, plums, and frozen berries. I am so happy I found this recipe!
I make this like every week and eat on it for desert all week. I add peanut butter to the top and heat it and it’s amazing.
I added chia seeds to the topping for an extra benefit! Thank you so much for the recipe!
Made this last night – two thumbs up!
We made without nuts.
So hard to find low sugar recipes/foods – thank you!
So happy you liked it, Kristin!
This was okay, but I included 1/2 cup Almond flour, 1/3 cup of maple syrup, and 1/4 cup of coconut oil for the crisp topping so it sticks together instead of falling apart. Crisp is supposed to be combined, and I also used 6 apples instead of 4 being that we’re using an 8x’8 dish. And yes Almond flour is gluten-free..
Trust this was much better.. it’s not crisp if you can’t enjoy it as a crumble.
Sounds like you’re looking for an apple crumble recipe, which it isn’t. Crisps are typically made with oats as the base, while crumbles typically have a flour/butter based topping. It’s supposed to fall apart and get crispy, not crumble.. two different desserts 🙂