Healthy Apple Crumble Pie/Tart (Gluten Free Vegan)

This is a healthy easy vegan gluten free apple pie recipe that features an eggless gluten free pie crust, layers of juicy baked apples, and a sweet crunchy crumble (streusel like) topping with oats. It’s basically Dutch apple pie but without dairy, gluten, eggs and processed ingredients.

This gluten free apple crumble pie tart can be made in advance and is great served for any holiday table, especially during Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Vegan Gluten Free Apple Pie Recipe

A Dutch Apple Pie, an apple crumb pie, or streusel pie, they are all the same recipe. I tested this vegan gluten free apple pie with oatmeal crumb topping as an experiment. I was surprised how good a gluten free vegan apple pie can actually look and taste. I could technically call it an apple crumble tart as well.

Even though it’s not the type of pie I was used to when I was a child, now this easy gluten free apple crumble pie is one of my favorite pies.

What Makes This Vegan Gluten Free Apple Crumble Pie Special

• Wholesome clean ingredients, vegan, gluten free and dairy free and it tastes just as delicious as your classic apple crumb pie;
• The filling is perfectly sweet without processed sugar, not too juicy or dry and no soggy bottom.
• The streusel topping adds the prefect crunchiness and sweetness to this apple pie;
• It can be made ahead and frozen;
• This gluten free vegan apple pie is pretty enough to be served as dessert to your holiday / Thanksgiving table.
• You can make the pie crust and oat crumble in advance, freeze it and make the filling the day you decide to bake it.
• The oat crumble topping also works well on other recipes like this Apple And Blueberry Crumble, this Blackberry And Apple Crumble, or this Apple And Plum Crumble, so feel free to make extra.

How To Make This Gluten Free Vegan Apple Pie/Tart

This gluten free apple pie recipe aims 3 parts: the pie crust (the bottom) + filled with sweet cinnamon scented apples (the middle) + the crumbly topping, which all give the pie layers of flavor and texture.

See This.

Vegan Gluten Free Pie Crust Ingredients

• Homemade gluten free flour blend (or use this gluten free pastry flour mix):
  • oat flour – gluten free certified;
  • cassava flour (or tapioca)
  • sorghum flour (or rice flour)
• Flax seeds (ground)+ warm water to form a vegan “egg”.
• Vegan butter (I used miyoko’s butter) plant based butter (alternatively use coconut oil);
• Maple sugar – skip if you want a savory pie crust, or use your favorite granulated sugar;
• Apple cider vinegar – or lemon juice.
• Baking soda.

I didn’t want a gluten free apple pie made with store-bought gluten free flour blends because they are all filled with nutrition-less starches and gums. So once more I had to come up with my own blend.

I was tempted to use an egg because the crust being gluten free and vegan, the risk of getting a crumbly mess was high. But I decided to use the traditional vegan egg made from ground flax seeds and water.

And I have to say that the look and the flavor of this gluten free pie crust was almost exactly the same as the traditional one, except it’s healthier.

Instructions

• When you have all the ingredients, you’ll easily make the dough in the food processor.
• First you make the flax “egg” and set aside, then combine all dry ingredients with butter until homogenized.
• Add the wet ingredients (apple cider vinegar, flax “egg”, water) and pulse until you get a dough like mass.

• Then you’ll roll the dough on a piece of parchment paper, by using a rolling pin, until you get a thin pie crust.
• Then carefully transfer it to the prepared baking dish and prick the bottom of the crust all over with a fork, it will help release the underneath steam while baking.

• Bake the gluten free crust at 390F for 13-15 minutes. Meanwhile make the crumble topping and apple filling.

Crumble Topping

Start working on your crumble topping after you placed your crust in the oven. In the same food processor you used for the pie crust combine all topping ingredients and pulse a few times until the mixture is well combined and looks crumbly. 

And you’re done! Place the container in the freezer until you’re ready to assemble the entire gluten free vegan apple pie.

Apple Filling

For making this gluten free dairy free apple pie filling I used Fuji apples, and some lemon juice to give them a nice sourness and preserve their light color.

To keep this apple pie filling gluten free, I used a little bit of cassava flour which helped to thicken the juices.

I also used some maple sugar (is it the same maple syrup, evaporated into a beautiful sugar form and all of the nutritious qualities are preserved) some cinnamon and nutmeg.

Instructions

• Add all ingredients into a bowl, mix to coat everything.

• Then transfer the content in a pan and cook for 5 minutes with a splash of water until the juice is gelatinized.
• Set aside to cool until you make the crumble topping.

How To Assemble The Apple Crumble Pie And Bake

• Retrieve the pie crust from the oven. Pour the baked apple filling on top, arrange them a bit so they fit,
• Then sprinkle with the vegan gluten free crumble topping.
• Place in the oven to bake at 375°F for 35 min.

Tips For This Gluten Free Dairy Free Apple Pie Recipe

1. The pie crust and the crumble topping calls for cold butter. Make sure your butter is very cold and firm right out of the fridge when you are ready to use it.  
2. Make the apple filling before you start with everything else. They will release some juice. To prevent a soggy bottom I like to cook the apple filling for 5 minutes and let it cool down until I make the rest. The cooking will gelatinize the juices.  
3. Pre-baking the vegan gluten free pie crust provides a shield against the moisture of the filling. If you use raw filling and don’t pre-bake the crust then it may absorb too much moisture from the filling while it is baking and end up a mushy mess. 
4. To prevent the streusel from burning you can cover the apple pie with aluminum foil or use a deeper baking dish. But usually this is not necessary.

How To Store The Apple Crumble Pie

I usually store it covered on the counter for about 2 days. If I think it might take a week, I’ll keep it covered in the fridge (this never happens). While a fully baked apple pie is freezer friendly, it’s best to freeze an unbaked pie. First freeze the pie crust then you can pour the apple filling and the crumble topping, wrap it well and freeze it up to 3 months.

When you’re ready to bake the vegan gluten free apple pie, preheat the oven at 425 degrees F, then reduce 375°F and bake for about an hour.

How To Enjoy This Gluten Free Vegan Apple Pie 

It can be eaten warm or cold, sometimes with a dash of whipped cream or vanilla ice cream (dairy free of course). Drizzle some dairy free caramel sauce over if you like.

If that’s too rich and too sweet for your blood, I get it. Serve it as it is with a cup of warm herbal tea!

Suggestions for Ingredient Substitutions

• Alternatively to vegan butter you can use coconut oil, but I find its flavor too strong to my liking;
• If you can have eggs you can replace the flax–egg with a real egg;
• Other apples you can use: Honeycrisp, Empire, McIntosh, Cortland or Granny Smith (or a combination of 2);
• To make this Dutch apple pie Paleo: replace the oat flour and the sorghum flour with almond flour. For the crumble replace rolled oats with almond flour as well.

More Vegan Gluten Free Dessert Recipes:

Enjoy this vegan gluten free apple pie recipe with crumb topping and leave me a comment if you make it, I would love to hear your thoughts! Your feedback is super helpful for me and readers. Thank you!