This vegan apple crisp is totally divine served warm with vegan cream or vegan vanilla ice cream. It’s deliciously flavorful and perfect for the holidays.
So first I made vegan apple cake and then I made vegan apple crisp. All in a bid to avoid making vegan apple pie!
Hahaha, no I joke, I will get to making a vegan apple pie one day (update: vegan apple pie is here!) and this vegan apple crisp is absolutely no slouch and isn’t second to anything.
In fact Jaye is already saying this is going on the Christmas menu.
For everyone celebrating Thanksgiving on the other side of the world, this is another perfect dessert idea. Along with our vegan pumpkin pie and vegan apple cake of course. Or why not all three?
Some vegan pineapple upside down cake wouldn’t go amiss either!
How To Make Vegan Apple Crisp
You will find full instructions and measurements in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. This is a summary of the process to go along with the process photos.
Peel and chop up a bunch of apples so that you end up with 8 cups of peeled, cubed apple (about 2.2lb/1kg). My apples were really small so I had to use a lot of apples (like 13 of them!).
This is really the most time consuming part of the whole dessert making process. And I think you know that peeling and chopping apples is really easy, so I hope you’re getting the idea that this is a super easy dessert, because it is.
Add the chopped apples to a mixing bowl with brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, lemon juice and vanilla and toss until well coated.
Then smooth down into a 9×13 baking dish (spray it with non-stick spray first).
Then you mix up your topping. You can use the same bowl as you used for your apples. See? Easy one-bowl recipe.
Add flour, rolled oats, brown sugar and cinnamon and mix together and then pour in some melted vegan butter and mix in.
Crumble The Topping
Then all you have to do is spread the topping over the apples. Use your fingers for this, crumbling the topping between your fingers so that it lands in little clumps and crumbles of topping and spreads over the whole top of the dish.
This will be totally divine once baked.
And then you bake it for 50 minutes. The topping will be golden and crispy and the apples will be baked to perfection!
When you take it out of the oven it will be bubbling up the sides, this is perfect.
The Best Apples For Vegan Apple Crisp
Granny Smith apples work great in this recipe. They have a lovely tart/sweet taste and are really firm so they hold up very well when baked and don’t just turn into total mush.
I like to cut the apples into cubes for this dessert because I find that also holds up best with baking.
I tried a version where I cut the apples into slices instead of cubes and they didn’t hold up as well, it was still totally delicious, but it was a little more mushy. I like being able to see some intact cubes of apple even once this apple crisp is baked and you get that with cubes.
Serving Suggestions
You definitely want to serve this hot with a scoop of vegan ice cream! The ice cream you see here is our vegan vanilla ice cream recipe. The only change I made to that recipe was to omit the vanilla powder because I didn’t have any on hand, so I used vanilla extract only.
It is the perfect pairing for this apple crisp. If you don’t want the hassle of making ice cream from scratch then use any store-bought variety, but I think vanilla is going to be the best flavor pairing for this.
The apple crisp is served hot, the ice cream is cold, it gets all melty and it’s pretty much heaven in your mouth.
Alternatively you can serve it with vegan whipped cream or vegan custard. Also completely divine with this.
What About Gluten-Free?
Yes my friends if you want to make this gluten-free you definitely can. A simple switch for a gluten-free all purpose flour blend works great.
Also make sure you use gluten-free rolled oats.
Storing and Freezing
Keep leftovers covered in the fridge for up to 5 days. You can reheat a slice at a time in the microwave, top it with vegan whipped cream or vegan ice cream and you’re good to go. Alternatively you can reheat the whole dessert in the oven at 350°F for 15-20 minutes until heated through.
It is also freezer friendly for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge and then reheat in the oven at 350°F for 15-20 minutes until warmed through.
More Delicious Vegan Desserts
- Vegan Cinnamon Rolls
- Vegan Bread Pudding
- Vegan Cheesecake
- Vegan Apple Cake
- Vegan Apple Pie
- Vegan Pecan Pie
Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!
Vegan Apple Crisp
Ingredients
For the Apple Filling:
- 8 cups Granny Smith Apples (2.2lb/1kg) Peeled and Cubed
- ½ cup Light Brown Sugar (100g)
- ¼ cup All Purpose Flour (31g)
- 1 tsp Ground Cinnamon
- ½ tsp Ground Nutmeg
- ¼ tsp Salt
- 1 Tbsp Lemon Juice
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
For the Topping:
- 1 cup All Purpose Flour (125g)
- 1 ½ cups Rolled Oats (150g)
- 1 cup Light Brown Sugar (200g)
- 1 tsp Ground Cinnamon
- ¾ cup Vegan Butter (170g) measured then melted
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
Instructions
- Peel and cube the apple and add to a mixing bowl with the brown sugar, all purpose flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, lemon juice and vanilla extract and toss together so that all the apple pieces are coated.
- Transfer the apple mix to a 9×13 dish sprayed with non-stick spray and smooth down.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).
- Prepare the topping. Add the all purpose flour, rolled oats, brown sugar and cinnamon to the mixing bowl and mix together. Then add in the melted vegan butter and vanilla and stir in.
- Use your fingers to spread the topping over the apple layer, crumbling it with your fingers until it is evenly spread across the top.
- Place into the oven and bake for 50 minutes until the top is nicely golden brown and the apple mix is bubbling up the sides.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes before serving.
- Serve with vegan ice cream or vegan whipped cream.
Video
Notes
- Apples: The weight for the apples (2.2lb/1kg) is after peeling and coring and chopping into cubes.
- Gluten-free: Simply switch the all purpose flour for a gluten-free all purpose flour blend and make sure your rolled oats are gluten-free.
- Storing: Keep leftovers covered in the fridge for up to 5 days. You can reheat a slice at a time in the microwave, top it with vegan whipped cream or vegan ice cream and you’re good to go. Alternatively you can reheat the whole dessert in the oven at 350°F for 15-20 minutes until heated through.
- Freezing: It is also freezer friendly for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge and then reheat in the oven at 350°F for 15-20 minutes until warmed through.
- Nutritional information does not include ice cream.
This was delicious! I added two cups of fresh raspberries to the mix because we had just picked a ton of them. Topped it off with oat milk vanilla frozen yogourt and more raspberries. Awesome!
That sounds delicious! Thanks so much for sharing and the awesome review!
I made this today. I used 4 pretty good size Granny Smith Apples. I hate wasting anything so I left the skin on. I had a little over 9 cups of Granny Smith apples cut up.. I only had dark brown sugar so that is what I used. This was very delicious.
So happy it worked out well! Thanks for sharing Beverly!
I made this yesterday. It is amazing! One of the easiest and most delicious recipes I have tried. It is very hard NOT to eat the entire thing at once!
That’s fantastic Linda! Thank you so much for the amazing review!
We are a gluten free family, so I subbed out the all purpose flour in the apple mixture with 31g of tapioca starch/flour, and in the topping mixture I used 94g of almond flour plus 31g of tapioca starch.flour. I also used coconut sugar in place of the light brown sugar (in equal amounts) and 170g refined coconut oil, melted, plus a pinch of salt, in place of the Earth Balance….All else was as written, and the result was a perfect apple crisp! So, so, so yummy! Thank you!
Thanks for sharing Amanda, so glad it worked out well!
Oh, I suppose I should share that using 31g (just shy of 3 tablespoons) of tapioca starch/flour in the apple mixture does make it quite gooey, which I really like, but if there are others reading this for the gluten free substitutions and they might prefer a saucier, less gooey consistency, then using only 1 tablespoon of tapioca/starch flour in the apple mixture works well. : )
This was so easy to make and soooo delicious! I finished it all by myself in two days lol but that’s how good it is! I made some last weekend and I’m getting ready to make another batch this evening. Perfect recipe, 10/10. Thank you for sharing! 😊
That’s wonderful news Yanique! Thanks so much for sharing and such a great review!
Delicious, perfect recipe. My new go-to vegan apple crisp!
Yay! Thanks for the great review Shel!
My girls have waited by the kitchen in order to cut a slice of this recipe. It is comfort dessert and it makes us smile!
That’s wonderful to hear Cecilia! Thanks for posting!
I made this tonight using Earth Butter… the family loved it and my husband, who is a butter-holic did not notice! He said several times ‘this is delicious’ 😋 I served it with a choice of ice cream (for the non vegans) or vegan ice cream. Next time if I’m serving ice cream I may reduce the sugar. Totally scrumptious and really easy.
Thank you Alison.
That’s awesome news! Thanks so much for sharing Beth!
This is a great recipe…especially because its vegan. I added a cup of cane sugar to the topping to sweeten it up. (For those who like a sweeter taste!) Thank you Allison!
Just made this tonight and it was delicious! Loved how crunchy the topping got — want to make it again soon!
So glad you enjoyed it Liz!
This was a holiday hit!! I especially loved the crumble! Thank so much!
Awesome! Thanks Beth!
Can you precook the apple crisp and just put it in the oven before serving to crisp it up?
Yes you can definitely do that! Reheat in the oven at 350°F for 15-20 minutes until heated through.
This is my ‘go-to’ dessert! It’s so easy to make, requires really simple ingredients and is always a crowd pleaser! It’s perfect for thanksgiving, Christmas, birthdays and works really well with vanilla ice cream or vegan custard! I love it! <3
Awesome! Thanks so much Melanie!