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.
Kenzie says
This recipe is DANGEROUSLY GOOD! I live alone and had to divide it and give some to friends so I wouldn’t eat it all myself! Went apple picking recently but pickings were slim – do not really sure what type of apples I made this with, but definitely a wide assortment! Turned out lovely with some gooier ones (More akin to apple sauce which I actually loved) and some with some crunch still. Can’t wait to make this again!
Alison Andrews says
So happy to hear it was good! Thanks so much for the awesome review!
Brieanne says
Made this for Thanksgiving dinner, it was really good!! Love this recipe, thanks for sharing.
Alison Andrews says
Awesome! Thanks for the wonderful review Brieanne!
Yvonne says
This is such a great fall dessert recipe. I used Enterprise apples, which we’d picked at an orchard last week. They did come out a bit on the softer side, but flavor-wise were lovely (a good mix of tart and sweet). I also used melted coconut oil in place of butter for the topping, and added about 1/4 tsp salt to make up for the salt the butter would have contributed. It came out beautifully.
Alison Andrews says
Wonderful! Thanks so much for sharing Yvonne!
Regina says
Hi! I was wondering if I could make this with other types of apples other than granny smiths. I have oldish Gala apples that I want to use up, would they work for this recipe?
Thanks!
Alison Andrews says
Hi Regina, you can, but the issue is that some varieties of apple won’t hold their shape well when baked and will become super mushy. I haven’t tried this with Gala apples but from what I can find out they are not ideally suited to baking. You could still use them, but just know that the texture may be quite mushy after baking.
Jocelyn says
I am new to vegan baking. What is the best brand of vegan butter to use? I love a good Apple crisp… just not sure about the kind of butter.
Thanks.
Alison Andrews says
Hi Jocelyn, it really depends where you are. If you’re in the USA then Earth Balance is a good brand to use.
Terri says
Sorry! I forgot to rate it! Def a 5 plus!
Alison Andrews says
Thanks so much Terri!
Terri says
Just made this and it was sooooo delicious! Thank you for a wonderful recipe!
Joanne says
Oh em gee, this recipe is amazing. I’ll admit, I kind of didn’t really measure out the ingredients properly, so it is definitely a forgiving recipe, like another comment says 🙂
And it is beautiful with some vegan custard. *drools*
Thanks so much!
Alison Andrews says
Awesome Joanne! So happy you enjoyed it! 🙂
Bonnie says
This is not your grandma’s apple crisp! Gooey, rich, crunchy! Perfect! Well worth all the ingredients!
Alison Andrews says
Wonderful! Thanks for sharing Bonnie!
Elizandra de Paula says
I absolutely love this recipe! I tried on the weekend and everyone loves it
Jazmine C. says
So good! I halved the recipe because I only had four apples. I followed the directions to a T otherwise. So good! Thank you!
Alison Andrews says
Awesome! Thanks Jazmine!
Clare says
I have made this twice now, I love it, cannot fault it! The topping is spot on! It’s a great winter warmer. Thanks for this recipe.
Alison Andrews says
So glad you enjoyed it Clare, thanks for sharing! 🙂
Michael Mroz says
Perfect comfort food during this time….wow this turned out well. The vanilla adds this amazing richness and the abundant crumble topping with the perfect chewy crunch on top of the cinnamon spice caramel-like Apple mixture is divine. My new favourite apple crisp recipe. Well done!
Alison Andrews says
So happy to hear Michael! Thanks a million! 🙂
Andrea says
Just made this today, it is absolutely delicious! Doing small chunks with the Apple worked really well, I think it is much better than when I have done thin slices in the past.
The recipe does have a lot of sugar, but I can’t argue about how tasty it is. I think it would probably be possible to reduce the sugar in the apples a little bit, and still have it turn out very nice.
Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe! I will definitely be making it again
Alison Andrews says
So glad you enjoyed it! Thanks so much for the great review Andrea!
Ursula says
Made your Apple crumble yesterday and was a hit and loved very much ! Will definitely make again ! And served with elmlea vegan double cream !
Alison Andrews says
Awesome! Thanks so much Ursula! 🙂