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Classic Vegan Apple Crumble made with a flavorful fruit filling and baked with a simple crumb topping until juicy and golden brown. Gluten-Free option.
This Vegan Apple Crumble is guaranteed to impress! From the cozy filling stuffed with sweet and tart apples, to with the soft, buttery crumb topping, this crumble has it all. Especially when piled with a big ol’ scoop of vegan vanilla ice cream while it’s still warm. It’s one of my favorite apple desserts for a reason!
Table of Contents
All About this Fall Dessert
Crumbles and crisps are one of my go-to desserts because they’re (1) easy, (2) the perfect balance of sweet and tart, and (3) always a crowd-pleasing dessert. It’s essentially everything you love about a sweet, buttery Wholesome Apple Crumb Pie, but without the fuss of making a vegan pie crust.
Instead, it’s simply made in 15 minutes with a quick and easy cozy apple filling, then layered with a buttery, crumb topping. So once berry season ends and apple picking season begins, get ready to turn those beautiful, crisp, juicy apples into a dessert worthy enough for your holiday tables!
Ingredients for Vegan Apple Crumble
Despite being made 100% from scratch, this easy vegan apple crumble is made rich and flavorful with just 10 simple ingredients:
- Apples: A blend of sweet, tart, firm apple varieties is best. I also recommend peeling them – the apple skins won’t melt into the filling and will get in the way of the cozy, soft texture.
- Butter: I used salted dairy-free butter. If you are using an unsalted butter or vegan margarine, increase the amount of additional kosher salt to taste.
- Sugar: Both the filling and crumb topping are made moist and sweet with brown sugar. If you only have white sugar on hand, make your own Homemade Brown Sugar with a simple mix of sugar and molasses.
- Flour: All-purpose flour is one of the main ingredients in the crisp topping and keeps it so light and buttery it melts in your mouth. It’s also a key ingredient in the filling, helping to thicken the fruit filling and keep it from being soggy.
- Spices: A blend of cinnamon, ground ginger, nutmeg, cardamom, and vanilla extract add warmth and aromatics to the filling that takes this crumble to the next level.
How to Make Vegan Apple Crumble
- Mix the melted butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt together until the sugar has dissolved. Add the flour and mix gently to form the crumble topping.
- Combine the fruit filling ingredients together in the bottom of a prepared cast iron pan and mix until evenly coated. Spread the slices out to form an even layer across the bottom of the pan.
- Crumble the topping evenly over the fruit and bake for 45-50 minutes, or until the fruit is bubbly and the crumble has browned.
- Cool for 5 to 10 minutes, then serve warm topped with vanilla ice cream, or as desired. Enjoy!
Caitlin’s Cooking Tips
- Choose the right apples. Surprisingly, not all apples are suitable for baking. Some apples hold their shape well during baking, while others become mushy and grainy. Additionally, some apples are significantly higher in moisture content and can leave your filling runny! For the best texture and flavor combination, I recommend using a mix of granny smith apples and sweet apples like Honeycrisp. Crisp apples < soft apples!
- Use the right sized baking dish. I used a 10″ cast iron skillet to make this apple crisp. If you don’t have a 10″ skillet, opt for another baking vessel similar in size. If the baking dish used is significantly smaller, the fruit filling layer will be significantly thicker and may not bake through during the allotted bake time.
Serving Suggestions
Just like my Apple Blueberry Crisp, I can’t resist serving this Vegan Apple Crumble directly in the skillet with a few big scoops of my favorite vegan ice cream. You can even add a dollop of vegan whipped cream, your favorite drippy nut butter, or a healthy drizzle of your favorite Vegan Caramel Sauce. No matter the route you go, you’ll be delighted with a burst of buttery, fruity flavor.
If you’re looking for more great dessert recipes for fall, you’ll also love these Vegan Apple Turnovers, these Vegan Pecan Sandies, and these Wholesome & Chewy Ginger Molasses Cookies!
How to Store Vegan Apple Crumble
Leftover apple crumble will keep in the fridge for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Before covering, allow the crumble to cool completely then seal tightly, removing any excess air if possible.
When ready to eat, reheat individual servings in the microwave or oven. If frozen, thaw overnight in the refrigerator beforehand.
Substitutions and Variations
- Gluten-free option: Use a gluten-free flour blend in place of the all-purpose flour in the crumble topping. In the fruit filling, replace the all-purpose flour with cornstarch (it will thicken the fruit filling better than a gluten-free flour blend). You may also be interested in these naturally gluten-free summer desserts: Healthy Two Person Berry Crumbles, these Baked Strawberry Donuts, or these Blueberry Crumble Bars!
- Refined-sugar free option: Use coconut sugar instead of brown sugar.
- Butter substitutions: If you’re out of salted butter, substitute melted coconut oil or another oil of choice. If you prefer to cook without oils, check out these Oil-Free recipes!
Recipe FAQs
The secret to achieving a crunchy crumble is using the right balance of wet and dry ingredients in the topping. To create a crispy topping, it’s important to use enough fat to hydrate the flour and create a crumbly texture. Once baked, this results in a golden, crunchy topping that contrasts the soft apple filling beautifully.
Great question! A fruit crisp is traditionally topped with a crumbly topping made from simple ingredients like flour, oats, butter, nuts and sugar. A crumble on the other hand is very similar, but the topping is made with a simpler, softer streusel (no oats or nuts!).
I have not tested an oil-free version of this crumble. The butter is essential to making the topping the right consistency in this recipe and cannot be avoided. Instead, try my Healthy Berry Galette or my Healthy Orange Crumble Bars.
Enjoy! If you make this recipe and decide to share it on Facebook or Instagram, don’t forget to tag me @FromMyBowl + #FromMyBowl! I would also love it if you could leave a comment below with a recipe rating! Thank you for the support 😊
Vegan Apple Crumble
Ingredients
For the Crisp:
- 10 tablespoons salted butter melted (I used dairy-free)
- 1/2 cup brown sugar lightly packed
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- Pinch of kosher salt
- 1 1/2 cups flour
For the Fruit Filling:
- 3 cups peeled cored, & ½” sliced granny smith apples (about 2)
- 3 cups peeled cored, & ½” sliced honeycrisp apples (about 2)
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour or sub cornstarch
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon cardamom
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- Vanilla ice cream for serving (optional)
Instructions
- Prep: Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease a 10” cast iron skillet (or similar sized pan) with butter or cooking spray and set aside.
- Make the Crumble: Add the melted butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt to a small bowl. Mix well, until the brown sugar has dissolved. Add the flour to the bowl and mix gently until a thick, crumbly mixture forms. Set aside.
- Fruit Filling: Add the apples, flour, sugar, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cardamom, vanilla, lemon juice, and salt to the prepared cast iron pan. Mix well with a spatula until all of the apples are evenly coated, then spread the slices out to form an even layer across the bottom of the pan.
- Assemble: Use your hands to crumble the crumble evenly over the fruit, leaving some pieces bigger and some smaller.
- Bake: Bake in the middle rack of the oven for 45 to 50 minutes, until the fruit is bubbly and the crumble has browned. Remove from the oven and set aside for 5 to 10 minutes, to allow the filling to set.
- Serve: Serve warm topped with vanilla ice cream, or as desired. Store any leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Recipe Notes
- Gluten-Free: Use a gluten-free flour blend to make this recipe gluten-free. I recommend using cornstarch or arrowroot powder for the fruit filling instead of gf flour.
- Refined Sugar Free: Use coconut sugar instead of brown sugar
Apple crumble is the easiest dessert to make but sometimes I butcher it!!!!
This receipe is SO tasty and I don’t even know why hahaha because the ingredients are the same as any other apple crumble I’ve made…but I’ve made this specific one three times now and HEAVEN (all my guests love it!!!). I usually sub the butter for coconut oil and the sugar for coconut sugar & dammm… Best thing ever!
I am a huge fan of this page now!
Thank you so much!
Easy and delicious! I used frozen apples and it turned out fine. Used a Vegan butter from Trader Joe’s. Was worried about the consistency but one could not tell the difference. Definitely a crowd pleaser. Will make this again!
Glad to hear it works with frozen apples too!
Amazing and so delicious! Made this today and it was the perfect fall recipe for the long weekend here in Canada. For the gluten-free folks out there, I used the Bob’s Red Mill 1-1 flour in place of the wheat flour in the topping, and cornstarch in the filling as suggested. It worked perfectly.
Glad you enjoyed it, Candice!
Delicious and so flavorful!
Thank you, Jill!
Thank you so much, Jill!
This is an overall opinion of your body of work: STELLAR! I’ve tried many of your offered recipes and not one has disappointed. Easy to make and always delicious, I have come to trust your recipes without question. Thank you for your work!
That is so heart-warming. Thank you, Jocelyn! We’re so happy you enjoy the recipes! ♥