Delicious Healthy Apple Crisp Recipe without Oats

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This homemade apple crisp recipe without oats is not only healthy, but it’s a play-off of the timeless old-fashioned apple dessert Grandma made.

Are you looking for an easy, grain-free apple crisp recipe? You’ve just found it! This delectable dessert recipe has all the goodness of a classic apple crisp, but it’s grain-free, gluten-free, and free of refined sugars—everything you need to satisfy your sweet tooth but in a healthier way.

You’ll enjoy the incredible flavor combination of apples, spices, pecans, and sweet maple syrup.

Fall has arrived, which means it’s officially apple season! It’s a time for warm spices, and lots of tasty apple treats like apple butter and an old-fashioned apple pie filling.

Crisp vs. Crumble vs. Cobbler

When I started making this delicious fall dessert, my neighbor was the first to ask me how it was different from her apple cobbler. And I had to think about that question.

Technically, in the American language, crisp and crumble are used interchangeably. Therefore, it’s a little more difficult to differentiate an apple crisp from an apple crumble.

But a crumble’s topping is often clumpy and is made with flour, butter, cinnamon, and oats.

And then a cobbler’s topping is more of a biscuit-type texture. Often thicker and covering the fruit, much like a homemade peach cobbler recipe.

But since my family eats a keto, grain-free diet, I’ve had to adapt many recipes to find healthier alternatives, which is how this healthy apple crisp recipe came about.

What makes this Apple Crisp Healthy?

As mentioned, we enjoy recipes with no grains. So this recipe for apple crisp is a healthier alternative to traditional recipes:

• It uses gluten-free almond flour instead of all-purpose flour
• It’s made with coconut oil instead of margarine
• It’s sweetened with maple syrup and Stevia instead of processed white sugar
• It uses almonds and pecans instead of oats. So not only is it gluten-free, it’s grain-free

All these changes make it keto and vegan-friendly.

Best Apples for Making Desserts

Almost any variety of apples will work for making this crisp apple dessert, but I prefer varieties that are firm in texture. The firmness helps the apple to keep its shape when it’s baking.

My favorite apple is the Mutsu apple. It’s often called a Crispin Apple. The flesh of this apple variety is a great all-around texture.

This apple is perfect for eating fresh as well as baking, canning, and dehydrating. So I use a lot of them every fall.

Other sweet apple varieties that bake well are:

• Fuji
• Golden Delicious
• Honey Gold
• Braeburn
• Gala

If you prefer a tart apple variety, I suggest:

• Pink Lady
• Empire
• Cortland
• Jonathan Gold

Short on Time? – Make It Ahead

This is much the reason why I love this dessert! Of course, Thanksgiving and the holidays are busy for everyone, but drum roll, “this recipe can be added to your make-ahead recipe list!”

It’s simple and easy to prepare beforehand, and then toss it in the oven to serve hot when you are ready. Here’s how:

1. You can cut apples ahead of time. First, wash and peel if you like. I don’t peel– we prefer it left on the apple. Then, add two tablespoons of lemon juice to 2 cups of water in a mixing bowl. Toss in apple slices and swish around, covering them well with the lemon-water mix.
2. Next, follow the recipe, and instead of putting it immediately into the oven, place the apple crisp, covered, in the refrigerator. Then, when you are ready to bake, take it out of the fridge and bake it in the oven at 350° until the apples are soft and warmed. It should be baked by the next day.

Best Way to Store Apple Desserts

This hearty dessert will last for several days if stored properly if it lasts this long. We often finish it at our house the very day I bake it.

Once you have finished eating, the leftover should be covered with a tight-fitting lid or plastic wrap.

To Store in the Refrigerator:

1. Place the covered dessert in the refrigerator. It will save for up to three days once cooked.
2. When you are ready to eat more of it, take it out, unwrap it, and put it inside a preheated oven until it is warm. The oven will help to keep it crispy and crunchy.
3. A microwave will work, but the nuts will turn soft.
4. Serve hot.

To Store in the Freezer:

When making apple crisps, I often make two or three simultaneously. The first one will go straight into the oven to enjoy, but the others I freeze to eat later. Here’s how:

Frozen apple crisp will last in the freezer for up to 4 months.

It can be baked before going into the freezer or mixed and frozen without baking.

Mix them in oven-safe pans; I like these 8×8 aluminum baking pans for two reasons: 1) My baking dishes are not tied up in the freezer for months, and 2) The pans can be recycled when I’m done with them.

• Baked: It will need to be allowed to cool to room temperature before it’s wrapped.
• Unbaked: Mix the ingredients according to the recipe and put them into an oven-safe baking dish.

Before putting either into the freezer, wrap it twice with plastic wrap and then a layer of aluminum foil over the plastic wrap.

• Thawing: Thaw both – baked or unbaked desserts overnight in the refrigerator. Next day, remove the foil and plastic wrap and bake in the oven until the apples are soft and hot.

Tips for the Baking a Perfect Crisp

• As I mentioned already, peeling is not a requirement. So unless you prefer not to have peels in your dessert, they will bake up soft and tender. You’ll not notice them, not to mention the extra fiber & nutrition in an apple peel.
• Cut apple chunks into similar sizes. This will ensure they all cook at the same rate.
• Use ripe fruit. If the apples are not mature, they can have a tart flavor instead of a rich sweet taste. Unripe apples are also harder to bake to tender and soft.

How to Make – Healthy Apple Crisp Recipe without Oats

(Please be sure to see the full recipe card below for complete instructions)

1 Wash and chunk apples into 1-inch pieces or, if you prefer, slice them thin but not too thin. They will bake up soft, and you don’t want them to become mush.

2 Combine filling ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Pour over the apples and blend until the apples are well covered. In a separate bowl, mix the topping ingredients and mix well.

3 Pour apple mixture into a greased baking dish. Spread topping mix over the apples and bake.

So tell me, what are you waiting for? Grab your keys and run out to pick up some delicious fresh organic apples from the orchard or your neighbor and get baking!

More Recipes Made with Apples

• Apple Butter Recipe for Canning
• Homemade Apple Cider Vinegar from Scraps Recipe
• Easy Apple Cider Recipe
• Apple Muffins Recipe
• How to Make Apple Pie Filling for Canning
• How to Dehydrate Apples
• Dehydrated Cinnamon Apple Chips Recipe
• Easy Applesauce Recipe for Canning or Eating Fresh

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