Flaky homemade pie crust, sweet cinnamon apples, and buttery oatmeal crumble. This homestyle healthy apple pie is good beyond words!
Not weighed down by butter and sugar, the apples in this pie really shine.
Last week, I took the train from DC to spend Thanksgiving with my sister in New York City.
Holed up in her cozy Manhattan apartment, we watched old movies in our pajamas while eating apple pie topped with Coconut Ice Cream.
Surprised at how delicate and buttery the pie turned out, my sister (who is as far away from being vegan as one could possibly get) had to ask me three separate times:
Are you SURE there’s no butter in this?!
NO butter, no lard or shortening.
The healthy apple pie recipe can also be sugar free, gluten free, dairy free, and vegan.
It always shocks me to see how much butter and sugar are called for in traditional apple pie recipes.
The sweet apple flavor should take center stage in an apple pie; yet these recipes add so much unnecessary fat and sugar that they completely mask the apple, and fat and sugar end up being all you can taste.
There’s really no need for all those empty calories.
Leftover apples? Make this Apple Crisp Recipe
The following healthy apple pie recipe relies on naturally sweet apples and cinnamon for sweetness, and you have the option of using stevia if you want to cut back on the sugar even further.
Even if you opt to use real sugar here, the sugar will still only be around half the amount called for in traditional Dutch apple pie recipes.
What better way to celebrate Thanksgiving in the Big Apple than with homemade apple pie?
(And by staying far away from Macy’s Herald Square on Thanksgiving night…)
P.S. My sister wasn’t the only reason I was in NYC last week…
I’ll give more details as soon as I’m able, but for now I can leave you with a hint:
Chocolate Covered Katie On The Dr. Oz Show
Even in my sister’s tiny NYC apartment where you can barely turn around, this healthy apple pie was super easy to make.
Bonus points that it only calls for a few basic ingredients. Food in New York is expensive!
Healthy Apple Pie Recipe
Ingredients
Crust
- 1 1/3 cups spelt, white, oat, or gf ap flour
- 1/4 cup sugar of choice (or erythritol for sugar free)
- 1/4 tsp each: cinnamon and salt
- 1/4 cup oil or butter spread
- 2 tbsp water
Filling
- 4 cups peeled apple, sliced thin (400g)
- pinch stevia OR 1 tbsp pure maple syrup, honey, or agave
- optional 1/2 cup raw walnuts, diced small
- optional 1/2 cup raisins
Crumble Topping
- 1/2 cup rolled oats
- 1/2 cup spelt, white, oat, or gf ap flour
- 1/2 cup sugar (or erythritol for sugar free)
- 1/4 cup oil, OR 1/4 applesauce for fat-free
- 1/8 tsp salt
Instructions
- This recipe calls for an 8-inch springform, but it also works in a 9-inch if you double the entire recipe.Preheat oven to 350F, line the bottom of an 8-inch springform or removable-bottom tart pan with parchment, and set aside. In a large mixing bowl, combine all dry crust ingredients, then stir in the oil and water to make a dough. Transfer to the prepared pan, press down hard, and bake 12 minutes on the center rack. Toss the apple and sweetener in a medium bowl, then spread evenly over the baked crust. In a third bowl, combine all crumble ingredients. Sprinkle the crumble evenly over the apples. Bake 50-60 minutes or until apples are soft and tender. Allow to cool 20 minutes before removing the springform.View Nutrition Facts
Notes
More Healthy Pie Recipes
I love this idea! I’m not a baker, its too precise, and the thought of traditional pies, with a pie crust terrifies me. This recipe is more my speed. Bonus that has the strudel topping, my husband and his family’s signature dish is apple crisp. This will be a nice alternative to the traditional cobbler approach!
Katie, I love your blog, and I send alot of people to it (I’m a Vitamix demonstrator in NYC, and people are always asking me where to get healthy recipes…I always send them to you! ) :). I want to make this as a sugar-free pie for a diabetic friend whose home we are going to for Thanksgiving. However, couple of challenges.1) I do not have a springform pan…not sure if I have a pie dish. I know I have a tart dish…would it work in there? 2) I do not have stevia. Can I use a little extra xylitol where you have the stevia (since I don’t want to use another sweetener)? I also have lucuma, but would that work in this? Thank you for all you do!! Have a very Happy Thanksgiving! I am grateful I have found you and your blog and grateful for all that you do to get us all healthier…making healthier options that are delicious! (I use your banana oatmeal muffins/cupcakes as my on-the-go breakfast all the time for work!!)
Yes you can use extra sugar/xylitol for the stevia. It will work in a regular pan and just might crumble a bit coming out.
Looks delicious. Saw it on pinterest. Your desserts on this site look amazing. (Its giving me cravings for sweets so I better come back later) 🙂
The crust didn’t seem to turn out like dough. Is it supposed to be a little dry? The first time I made the crust I kept adding a tablespoon of water at a time and it finallly turned into a dough however after the 12 minutes it didn’t look right. It looked as if it was still wet. I remade the crust without adding any extra tablespoons of water and it was kind of dough like but still a little dry. Thanks for your help. I’m waiting to see how this turns out.
Hope it turned out okay! I didn’t have that problem with the crust when I made this, but it might be a climate thing on your end. Sometimes the climate can mess with baked goods and how much moisture is in the air can affect how much moisture is absorbed by the flour.
I was so excited to try this apple pie until I saw that the crumb topping requires oats. Since my daughter and I cannot digest oats, I wanted to ask if you know how the topping would turn out without them, or if you can suggest a possible substitution. Thanks!
What about quinoa flakes?
Apple pie is favorite food for many. Thanks for writing such informative article . I appreciate it…
Could apple sauce be used for oil in the crust too? 1/4 cup is a lot!!
It’s not a lot for a whole pie, less than half a tbsp per serving. But you can always experiment of course, as long as you are okay with results that might not turn out well.
This pie is so simple and so yummy! Love Love Love!
Do you have a suggestion on making this without the sugar and possibly with Agave or just honey instead?
I meant honey or agave for the crust as the filling does give the option for Agave,
Can I use whole wheat flour?
It is a much denser flour, but you can always experiment!