Simple Gluten-Free Apple Crisp
This wholesome, honey-sweetened apple crisp is covered in an irresistible oat, almond meal and pecan topping. Everyone will love this dessert!
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on August 29, 2024
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What’s better than apple pie and a whole lot easier to make? Apple crisp! This apple crisp recipe is gooey on the inside, and tender but crisp on top. It’s made with wholesome ingredients, like old-fashioned oats, almond meal, pecans, honey, and of course, lots of fresh apples.
On a cool fall day, there’s nothing better the smell of this apple crisp baking in the oven. This homemade dessert would also be the perfect ending to your Thanksgiving supper.
This is my favorite apple crisp recipe, and it just happens to be gluten free and healthier than the rest. This recipe is made with significantly less sugar than most apple crisps, but tastes just as good. In fact, I’d say it’s even better!
This crisp turned out great for me when I made it a few years ago, but I heard that it didn’t turn out as well for some of you. This stuff keeps me up at night.
I’ve retested and tweaked this recipe, and it’s now better than ever. I’m so pleased to hear that with these updates, this crisp has been turning out perfectly in your kitchens.
How to Make the Best Apple Crisp
Apples take a long time to release their moisture, so my original crisp recipe was a little dry. To remedy this, I switched from using 1-inch chunks of apple to thinly sliced, which take less time to get juicy and cook through. I also added some liquid to the filling to the get the ball rolling, and reduced the amount of starch.
To ensure that the topping doesn’t get too crisp, you’re going to bake the apples for 20 minutes and then add the topping. This is actually pretty convenient, because it means that your crisp can start baking while you are still mixing together the topping.
That’s it! You’ve just made an apple dessert that rivals apple pie in flavor and comfort-food factor, but it’s so much easier.
Watch How to Make Apple Crisp
Healthy Apple Crisp Ingredients
The recipe is flexible. You can easily make it dairy free, vegan or nut free. See the recipe notes for details.
- Granny Smith Apples: Fresh and thinly sliced. No need to peel your apples—the skin softens up so much in the oven, you’ll hardly notice it’s there. You could also use Honeycrisp apples, or a combination of Granny Smith and Honeycrisp.
- Old-Fashioned Oats: Oats form the base of the topping. Once baked, they are perfectly crisp-tender. Be sure to use certified gluten-free oats for gluten-free apple crisp.
- Almond Meal or Almond Flour: Almond meal (or flour) lends some irresistible richness and flavor. You can use regular flour in place of the almond meal, if you prefer (see nut-free recipe note).
- Pecans or Walnuts: Chopped pecans or walnuts are technically optional in the filling, but I never leave them out. I love those little bites of nutty goodness.
- Honey or Maple Syrup: We’ll use one of these natural sweeteners in the filling instead of plain sugar. As a bonus, they impart some additional flavor that tastes so nice.
- Coconut Sugar or Brown Sugar: We’ll use some sugar in the topping, since liquid sweeteners would interfere with the texture. I like to use coconut sugar since it’s less refined, but brown sugar works just as well.
- Butter: This topping calls for a reasonable amount of melted butter, and I promise, you won’t regret it.
- Greek Yogurt: We’ll use some Greek yogurt in place of some additional butter (though you can totally go all in on the butter if you’d like). I love that the yogurt imparts a subtle tang.
- Liquid (Water, Bourbon, Apple Cider, Etc.): A little bit of liquid helps the apples break down. Additional options include brandy or apple juice. I love to use equal parts water and bourbon so the bourbon flavor is subtle. I think it’s just right!
- Lemon Juice: A squeeze of lemon juice brightens up the flavor of the filling.
- Starch: You can use arrowroot starch or cornstarch. The starch helps the filling come together so it’s not watery.
- Cinnamon and Allspice: No apple crisp recipe would be complete without some warming spices.
The Best Apples for Apple Crisp
Granny Smith apples are the perfect apple for crisps. They retain their shape but become wonderfully tender in the oven, whereas other apple varieties turn to mush. Their tart flavor mellows and sweetens in the oven, but doesn’t turn overtly sweet. Some contrast is key!
Another great option, albeit more expensive, would be Honeycrisp apples. They possess similar qualities and have become widely available in recent years. You could even use a combination of the two!
More Apple Recipes to Enjoy
Craving more apple deliciousness? Check out these recipes:
- Applesauce
- Apple Steel-Cut Oatmeal
- Favorite Green Salad with Apples, Cranberries and Pepitas
- Gluten-Free Apple Tart
- Healthy Apple Muffins
- Homemade Bircher Muesli
Please let me know how this crisp turns out for you in the comments! I hope it’s your new favorite fall dessert.
Gluten-Free Apple Crisp
This wholesome, honey-sweetened apple crisp is covered in an irresistible oat, almond meal and pecan topping. This dessert is perfect for the holidays! This recipe yields about 8 modest servings.
Ingredients
Apple filling
- 2 ¼ pounds Granny Smith apples (about 5 large or 7 small), cored and sliced into ¼” thick wedges
- ⅓ cup honey or maple syrup
- ¼ cup water, or bourbon or brandy, or apple cider or apple juice (I like 2 tablespoons bourbon and 2 tablespoons water)
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons arrowroot starch or 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground allspice or nutmeg
Oat, almond meal and pecan topping
- 1 cup old-fashioned oats (use certified gluten-free oats for a gluten-free crisp)
- ½ cup firmly packed almond meal or almond flour
- ½ cup chopped pecans or walnuts (optional but recommended)
- ⅓ cup lightly packed coconut sugar or brown sugar
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- ¼ cup plain yogurt (Greek or regular)
Don’t forget vanilla ice cream, for serving!
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Place the sliced apples in a 9” square baking dish. In a liquid measuring cup, whisk together the honey and water until combined. Add the lemon juice, starch, cinnamon and allspice, and whisk to combine. Pour the mixture over the apples and toss to combine. Bake for 20 minutes.
- Meanwhile, in a medium mixing bowl, stir together the oats, almond meal, pecans, coconut sugar and salt. Mix in the melted butter and the yogurt. Stir until all of the flour is incorporated and the mixture is moistened throughout.
- Once the apples have baked for 20 minutes, give them a stir and redistribute them evenly in the baker. Dollop small spoonfuls of the oat mixture evenly over the filling (see photos, no need to pack it down). Return the baker to the oven and bake for 25 to 30 more minutes, until the filling is bubbling around the edges and the top is nice and golden.
- Let the crisp rest for 5 to 10 minutes before serving. Serve with vanilla ice cream, I insist. Leftovers keep well in the refrigerator, covered, for about 5 days.
Notes
Recipe adapted from my pear cranberry crisp.
Why buy organic? Apples are #4 on the Dirty Dozen list, meaning that conventionally grown apples are generally high in pesticide residues.
Make it nut free: To make this recipe nut free, omit the walnuts and use ¾ cup whole wheat flour and ¾ cup oats instead of the almond meal and oats specified above. It will no longer be gluten free. If you want to keep it gluten free, I suspect that you could replace the almond meal with certified gluten-free oat flour or gluten-free all-purpose flour.
Make it vegan: In the topping, use non-dairy yogurt and coconut oil in place of the butter. In the filling, use maple syrup instead of honey.
Make it dairy free: Use non-dairy yogurt and coconut oil in place of the butter.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
I have made this recipe several times, and it is always delicious! I’ve used a variety of apples, and I have added other fruit I wanted to use up- pears and blueberries. I made it last weekend and served it at my birthday party, a long with a bakery cake. The entire crisp was eaten and enjoyed. I still have half of the cake left!!
This is the first year I am gluten free during apple season! Thank you for making the transition so easy with this DELICIOUS recipe. I’ve made it 5 times this season already! Thank you!
Great to hear, Elizabeth!
Dear Cookies and Kate,
This recipe is a WINNER! I’ve made is several times as written. This morning I started to make it and realized I had NO GF flour of any kind. Also NO yogurt. Instead of running to the store, I used oat flour which I made from oatmeal in my food processor and almond milk. It turn out amazing.
Thanks for this and many other recipes
Carol
Great to hear! Thank you for sharing, Carol.
We have just started our spring in OZ. I made this with berries strawbs blueberries and blackberries instead of apples. Same topping tho. Delicious and smells divine..
If you need to make it dairy free, what are the proportions of the non-dairy yogurt and coconut oil?
You can try to replace it as a 1:1. Let me know what you think!
I made with half Granny Smith, half evercrisp apples, pecans, maple syrup, and half brandy, half water. It had the most tasty cider flavor to it. My apples still had a bite (I cut them wrong) but I like them with a little texture! I just love your recipes. So good!
Love this recipe! I have tons of persimmons on my tree this year, so instead of making the recipe fully apple, I did half persimmon and half apple. It turned out absolutely delicious, definitely a crowd pleaser :)
That’s great to hear, Sarah!
I am making this recipe for the 2nd time using fresh mostly Gala apples from our daughter’s trees, but this time I added a couple Granny Smiths from a friend’s tree. I improvised by adding a teaspoon of vanilla extract to the liquid mixture. Delicious! Wonderful recipe! Thank you, C and K!
You’re welcome, Maryann!
Why do you label it GF when you include Bourbon? Bourbon is Whiskey which is made from Wheat. I realize you say Bourbon on Brandy, but someone not familiar with Bourbon may not realize that it is Not GF
Margaret
Hi Margaret, you don’t have to use the Bourbon. Bourbon is gluten-free because the process of distillation removes gluten proteins. I hope this helps!
Love this recipe! It is our go-to over apple pie. I have typically doubled the topping since we prefer a thicker crumble layer.
Great to hear!
Have you ever frozen the apple crisped uncooked for a later date. I love your apple crisp recipe, and would love to use are perfectly ripe apples from are orchard to prepare crisps for the holidays and as gifts. Would you have any insight on how to bake your recipe from frozen? I did read that if freezing the apple crisp, it’s best to freeze it before cooking.
Thank you!
I haven’t, sorry!
I love, love, love this recipe! To accommodate my son, who is allergic to wheat and dairy, I swap out the butter and yogurt for vegan versions. I do not change anything else in this recipe as I find it perfect as is, as does my son and husband. This dessert rarely lasts more than two days in our house, it’s that good.
Wonderful recipe. I have made it several times, vegan and non-vegan version. Always a favourite.
I love that! Thank you for your review, Carole.
Hi Kate,
This is by far my absolutely favorite apple crisp!! I’ve made it twice and loved it each time. Delicious, not overly sweet, all the right textures. I could eat the whole thing in one sitting!
Thank you!
Stacy
You’re welcome, Stacy!
The recipe was fine but the instructions were not. My standard Pyrex baking dishes are 2 inches deep, so there’s no way all these apples fit in 9×9, I had to use 9×13. And it’s way more than 8 ‘modest’ servings, maybe more than 12 servings.
Baking the apples 20 minutes did not soften them enough for my taste, and baking the topping too long leads to excessive browning. If I made it again, I’d bake the apples longer before adding the topping. I used brandy and water, which was tasty. I like the combination of butter and Greek yogurt. I wish you could provide nutrition facts for this dish.
Hi Kathryne, I’m sorry to hear that. I appreciate your feedback. The nutritional information is below the notes section of the recipe.
We have made this apple crisp several times now, and it always turns out beautifully. We’ve made it using different varieties of apples including Granny Smith, honey crisp, Rome beauties, and all were very good.
We made it originally because my granddaughter is gluten free. Though I am not, I’ll never go back to another crisp topping.
Instead of brandy in the filling I used grandmarnier because that’s what I had. I’ll continue using that as well.
Im Aussies and was on the hunt for something delicious to use up apples during our autumn/fall. Perfect recipe! Made some adjustments because I didn’t have any dairy free yoghurt- so used soy milk and also no walnuts but plenty of almonds in my pantry…absolutely delicious.
Hi Marisa, can you share how much soy milk you used for the recipe. Unfortunately, I can’t eat any kind of yogurt here in the states, because there’s something in the ingredients that causes problems for me.
I’ve done it two ways and the results were both delicious. I have eyeballed it and also tried just 1/4 cup of soy milk or 3 Tablespoons :)
Delicious! Met my GF needs and everyone else loved it as well. Thank you, Kate! Now that it is summer I plan to try your peach crisp version.
This looks really good.Can I omit the yogurt? Someone commented that they replaced it with soy milk. Just wondering how much.
This is best as written. Use non-dairy yogurt and coconut oil in place of the butter.
Hi, do you peel the apples? I love your recipes! Thank you.
Jenny
No need to peel the apples.