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 apple pie (one day) 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
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 whole crapload 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.
Toss up the chopped apples with some 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 all bubbling up the sides, this is perfect.
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.
How to serve vegan apple crisp
You definitely want to serve this hot with a scoop of vegan vanilla 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 I definitely think you can. I haven’t had a chance to test it like this yet, but a simple switch for a gluten-free all purpose flour blend will be the way forward.
Also make sure you use gluten-free rolled oats.
I don’t foresee any more changes to this recipe other than those simple switches to make this vegan apple crisp gluten-free friendly.
You will love this vegan apple crisp! It is:
- Perfect for the holidays
- Warm and comforting
- Divine with vegan vanilla ice cream or vegan whipped cream
- Deliciously flavorful
- Sugar and spice and all things nice…
Keep leftovers covered in the fridge and reheat a slice as required.
More delicious vegan desserts
- Vegan Cinnamon Rolls
- Vegan Bread Pudding
- Vegan Cheesecake
- Vegan Chocolate Cake
- Vegan Tiramisu
- Vegan Banana Cream Pie
Let us know what you think of this vegan apple crisp in the comments and please rate the recipe too! Thanks so much.
And before you go, sign up to our email list, you’ll be the first to know when new recipes are posted to the blog and you’ll get an awesome free recipe ebook as well (with 10 delicious vegan dinner recipes).
Vegan Apple Crisp
Ingredients
For the Apple Filling:
- 8 cups Granny Smith Apples (2.2lb/1kg) Peeled and Cubed
- 1/2 cup Light Brown Sugar (100g)
- 1/4 cup All Purpose Flour (31g)
- 1 tsp Ground Cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp Ground Nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp Salt
- 1 Tbsp Lemon Juice
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
For the Topping:
- 1 cup All Purpose Flour (125g)
- 1 and 1/2 cups Rolled Oats (150g)
- 1 cup Light Brown Sugar (200g)
- 1 tsp Ground Cinnamon
- 3/4 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 9x13 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
- The weight for the apples (2.2lb/1kg) is after peeling and coring and chopping into cubes.
- Nutritional information does not include ice cream.
Alison, this recipe looks amazing, but … can I use steel cut oats in place of the rolled oats? I have a container of organic steel cut oats that I’ve not yet opened, and was wondering if I could substitute?
Thank you,
Linda
Hi Linda, I think they would be too gritty in texture, so I don’t think they would work well. 🙂
This was AMAZING! I hardly ever bake anything, but this was so simple yet so good I can’t recommend it enough! We didn’t serve it with any ice cream or anything, but it was just as good on it’s own! Thanks for the recipe!
Wonderful! Thanks so much Samantha!
Guys this is seriously amazing. Try it! Make sure you use the right oats! I didn’t even have ice cream, but it is still phenomenal by itself. Thank you so much Alison.
Thanks so much Cheyenne!
Wow. This apple crisp was a 10/10. The perfect ratio of crunchy topping to tender apple filling and the flavor throughout was fantastic. This will definitely be a go-to holiday dessert from now on 🙂
Thanks so much Erika!
Made it last night for my family and guests and let’s just say that they were scraping the bottom of the bowl to get every last bite! Our guests even asked for some to go! I’d go with more apples next time as there seemed to be more topping…which no one complained about! LOL! Everyone asked for a copy of the recipe so will definitely be making again! Super simple and Super tasty!
I love it when that happens! Thanks so much for sharing and the great review!
Great recipe! My family loves this! I did add a bit more butter in the crumble bit because I like that buttery taste but it was great! Thanks for this!
Thanks for sharing Genie!
Omg this turned out amazing!!
Thanks so much Melanie!
Perfect and delicious.
Thanks so much Amanda!
Hi. Can this go in the freezer, before baking. Or. Is it better to refrigerate after baking? To many things going on for thanksgiving and only one oven.
Thanks
Hi Mary, it’s better to bake it first. You could bake it as usual the day before and then let it cool, cover it and store in the fridge. Then reheat at 350°F for 15-20 minutes until heated through when you’re ready to serve.
Great recipe, loved it and so did my family! I’ve had it with some custard. I had to add more sugar to my apples as I used cooking apples and I am glad I did cause they have come out a bit tart but nonetheless, it’s great! Thanks for this awesome recipe
So glad you enjoyed it Genie! Thanks for sharing.
Hi Alison I just came across your recipe and my son has multiple allergies I was making another apple crisp and this one had such great reviews I’d like to try it .My only thing is I will need to make it gluten-free and I found in the past using vegan butter such as Earth balance whether it’s chocolate chip cookies or something like that, there’s almost like an off aftertaste I’m not sure why. What would you suggest to use as an alternative to try or do you think that with your recipe there there is no off taste? If swapping what would use coconut oil, shortening or something else?
Hi Paula, I have never noticed any odd taste with Earth Balance but you could definitely try a different brand, maybe Miyokos? Otherwise you could make up your own homemade vegan butter, we have a great recipe that works wonderfully in baking. For gluten-free just use a gluten-free all purpose flour blend instead of the regular flour and make sure your rolled oats are gluten-free and you’re good to go. 🙂
Would it make a difference if I used quick oats instead of rolled oats?
Hi Chris, I think you can, but it’s not quite as good in terms of texture as rolled oats, but you can use them in a pinch!
This recipe was a perfect combination of spice, apple and yummy topping!
Fantastic! Thanks Angela!
This is an awesome dessert. I halved the recipe and it turned out perfectly. I don’t typically like apple desserts, but this was exceptional. Thanks for the recipe!
Awesome! Thanks so much for sharing!