If you’ve been dreaming of a dessert that’s warm, comforting, totally plant-based, and healthy, this Vegan Apple Crisp is your moment. You may also like our Apple Smoothie for more apple cinnamon vibes.
Quick Look at This Recipe
- 🕗 Prep Time: 10 minutes
- 🔥 Cook Time: 30 minutes
- ⏰ Total Time: 40 minutes
- 🍽️ Servings: 4
- ⭐ Difficulty: Moderate – chop the apples, make the slurry, prepare the oat crumble topping, assemble, and bake
- 🍎 Diet: 100% whole food, plant-based vegan, gluten-free, oil-free, soy-free
- 🙏 Daniel Fast recipe
Summarize and save this recipe with AI
Imagine tender, cinnamon-spiced apples bubbling under a golden oat-and-nut topping, with no dairy, no oil, no refined sugar, yet all the cozy autumn vibes. It’s the kind of sweet treat that doesn’t pull punches on flavor, texture, or health.
Why You'll Love This Recipe
- It checks all the boxes: it’s simple enough to whip up on a busy evening, yet elegant enough for a weekend gathering or holiday table.
- The contrast between juicy, tender apples and a crunchy, nutty oat topping gives you both comfort and crunch in one bite.
- Entirely whole-food, plant-based, it aligns with clean eating without sacrificing indulgence.
Health Benefits
- The apples deliver fiber and flavonoids (especially when their skins stay on), supporting digestion and antioxidant defense.
- Rolled oats provide whole-grain fiber goodness. Oats are rich in antioxidants and can help lower cholesterol levels.
- The walnuts provide a nice crunch and add some heart-healthy omega-3 ALAs.
- The recipe skips refined sugar and butter, replacing them with natural date syrup and apple sauce, which keeps things light but satisfying.
What's in This Healthy Vegan Apple Crisp
- Apples: The star of the show. They provide juicy body, tart-sweet contrast, and when baked, a soft texture that still holds its shape.
- Homemade Date Syrup: Acts as a sweetener and binder. In the filling, it sweetens and caramelises apples; in the topping, it helps the oat-nut mixture clump and crisp.
- Rolled oats (use gluten-free, if gluten-sensitive): The foundation of the crisp topping. The intact oats provide chew and crunch, while the ground oats help bind the topping and give a dust-like texture that softens less in baking.
- Walnuts (or pecans): Adds dimension, crunch, and nutty flavor.
A full list of ingredients with exact amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
Substitutions and Variations
- Fruit variation: Feel free to choose a mix of apple varieties, such as a slightly tart apple like Granny Smith, balanced with a sweeter apple like Fuji. Swap out apples for pears, or do a combo of apples and pears. Add in some pitted cherries, like with our cherry oat pizza.
- Spice change-up: Add a pinch of ground cardamom or cloves for extra depth, or increase the nutmeg for a bolder profile.
- Topping boost: For extra crunch, mix in 2 Tbsp of pumpkin seeds or unsweetened shredded coconut alongside the oats and nuts.
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How to Make This Vegan Apple Crisp
- Step 1: Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Chop apples into ½- to 1-inch (1.3 to 1.5 cm) chunks or slices. Place them into a 1.25-quart (or 1.1-liter) casserole dish. Set aside.
- Step 2: In a mixing bowl, combine the arrowroot powder with cold water to form a slurry. Then add ground nutmeg, ground ginger, ½ of the ground cinnamon, and ½ of the Homemade Date Syrup and give it a good stir.
- Step 3: Pour the slurry over the apples in the casserole dish. Squeeze fresh lemon juice over the apples in the casserole dish.
- Step 4: Take about ¼ of the rolled oats and grind or process them in a mini bullet blender. Add them to the same mixing bowl with the intact rolled oats. Add the chopped walnuts, unsweetened apple sauce, ½ of the cinnamon, and ½ of the Homemade Date Syrup.
- Step 5: Stir the oat crumble topping well to combine.
- Step 6: Dollop and spread the oat crumble over the apples in the casserole dish. Bake uncovered at 350°F (175°C) for 30-35 minutes.
Expert Tips
- Don’t skip the lemon juice. It brightens the apples and prevents them from oxidising (browning), preserving texture and color.
- For the best topping crunch, using half ground oats and half intact oats gives you both crisp-top durability and chewy oat texture.
- After baking, allow the dish to rest for at least 10 minutes (though 15–20 is even better) so the juices set. This prevents your crisp from becoming watery when served.
- If you see the topping browning too fast but the apples aren’t tender yet, loosely cover with foil for the last 5–10 minutes to shield the topping while the fruit cooks through.
- Enjoy this delicious, healthy apple crisp with a scoop of Banana Nice Cream.
Recipe FAQs
The ingredients in this apple crisp are made with whole plant foods. Many recipes strip the beneficial nutrients and add ingredients that are high in saturated fat, like butter. This recipe also leaves the skin of the apple on since that's where much of the nutrients are. According to the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health, removing the skin of the apple removes fiber and most of the beneficial flavonoids.
This healthy apple crisp stores well in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to four days. You can also freeze this dessert in a freezer-safe container for up to four months.
If you’re looking for a dessert that delivers warmth, texture, and flavor while staying fully plant-based and health-forward, this Vegan Apple Crisp is it. It’s simple enough for a weeknight but special enough for the holidays. With juicy, spiced apples, crisp-topped oats and nuts, and no dairy or refined sugar, you get indulgence without compromise.
More Healthy Dessert Recipes to Try
If you tried this Vegan Apple Crisp or any other recipe on our website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below! We appreciate your feedback for improvement.
Vegan Apple Crisp
Equipment
- 1 mini bullet blender (or mini food processor/chopper) to grind oats
Ingredients
- 5 cups chopped apples (3 to 4 large apples)
- 1½ Tablespoons arrowroot powder (or corn starch)
- ¼ cup cold water
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, divided in half
- ½ cup Homemade Date Syrup, divided in half
- 1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice (½ of a lemon)
- 1 cup rolled oats, divided
- ⅓ cup chopped walnuts
- ½ cup unsweetened apple sauce
- ⅛ to ¼ teaspoon salt (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
- Chop apples into ½- to 1-inch (1.3 to 1.5 cm) chunks or slices. Place them into a 1.25 quart (or 1.1 liter) casserole dish. Set aside.
- Make the sauce (slurry) by combining the arrowroot powder, ground nutmeg, ground ginger, ½ of the ground cinnamon, cold water, and ½ of the homemade date syrup.
- Pour the slurry over the apples in the casserole dish.
- Squeeze fresh lemon juice over the apples in the casserole dish.
- To make the oat crumble topping, take about ¼ cup of the rolled oats and grind them in a mini bullet blender.
- Add the ground rolled oats with the intact rolled oats to the same mixing bowl. Add the chopped walnuts, unsweetened apple sauce, ½ of the cinnamon, and ½ of the Homemade Date Syrup, and salt (optional). Stir well to combine.
- Dollup and spread the oat crumble over the apples in the casserole dish.
- Bake uncovered at 350°F (175°C) for 30-35 minutes. Remove from oven and let it set for 10 minutes before serving.
Notes
- Apples: Choose a sweeter apple, like Fuji or Gala, for a sweeter dessert.
- Serving: Enjoy this delicious, healthy apple crisp with a scoop of Banana Nice Cream.
- Leftovers: This healthy apple crisp stores well in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to four days. You can also freeze this dessert in a freezer-safe container for up to four months.
Christine t VICENTE says
i thought i left a rating for this. anyway, it was good. i subbed pumpkin seeds for the walnuts. i had to cook it longer to get the apples to cook fully so not sure if i was doing something wrong, or if they maybe were supposed to be lightly cooked.
Gigi & Sersie says
Thank you, Christine! 🙂
Christine t VICENTE says
i made this with pumpkin seeds not walnuts. it is pretty tasty. i had to cook it longer to get the apples cooked. maybe they were supposed to only be lightly cooked, but i wanted them cooked more.
Gigi & Sersie says
Thank you for your feedback, Christine. They do come out a little firm, so yes, cooking them longer or dicing them smaller can help with that too. I appreciate you taking the time to leave a review.
Jenna says
This dish wasn't bad by any means! The only thing I didn't care for was the ground ginger, so I'll just omit it next time I try this. The walnuts were an awesome touch, and I would argue adding a little more in next time.
Gigi & Sersie says
Thank you for taking the time to leave a review. We appreciate your feedback.
Gigi & Sersie says
This is one of my favorite desserts. It's so yummy. I love it with the banana nice cream.