With homemade pie crust, classic spiced apples, and crispy oatmeal crumble, this three layer healthy apple pie recipe is good beyond words!

What makes this the best healthy apple pie?

• Without all the extra butter and refined sugar to weigh it down, the naturally sweet apple flavor in this simple dessert really shines.
• Under 250 calories per slice, including the crust and streusel topping!
• The homestyle healthy apple pie recipe can also be gluten free, egg free, dairy free, added sugar free, soy free, nut free, and vegan.
• This makes a perfect addition to any holiday dessert table. Serve it for Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, or the Fourth of July, and wait for all the compliments from guests.
• Bonus, it only calls for a few basic ingredients you may already have in your kitchen.

Readers also love this Healthy Pumpkin Pie

Step by step recipe video

Last week, I took the train from DC to visit 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.

Even in her tiny NYC apartment where you can barely turn around, this healthy apple pie was super easy to make.

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.

It always shocks me to see how much butter and sugar are called for in traditional apple pie recipes.

The 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 Apple Bread or Applesauce Cake

Key ingredients

Apples – I love baking with Fuji or Pink Lady apples. Honeycrisp, Gala, and green Granny Smith all work as well. To avoid a mushy texture, stay away from Red Delicious.

Cinnamon – Ground cinnamon enhances the sweetness of the apples without additional sugar.

Rolled oats – Whole grain oatmeal adds delicious texture to the crumbly streusel topping. You can buy certified gluten free oats or substitute rolled quinoa flakes if preferred.

Applesauce – The pie calls for a modest amount of butter or coconut oil, especially compared to similar recipes. If you want to make it even healthier, you can swap out some or all of the butter for fat free unsweetened applesauce. To get the best of both worlds (buttery richness and health), I like a combination of applesauce and plant based butter.

Flour – Use spelt flour, white all purpose flour, oat flour, or cup for cup gluten free flour. Almond flour is fine for the topping, but I have not yet tried it in the crust.

Sweetener – I almost always go with unrefined cane sugar or turbinado sugar in this recipe, because I love its course texture and slight caramel taste. You can use any granulated sugar or no sugar substitute (like xylitol or granulated erythritol) in the crust and topping. Pure maple syrup or honey work well in the filling but will yield a gummy crust or streusel.

Salt – Just a fourth teaspoon of salt for the entire pie will increase the flavor profile while keeping the recipe low sodium.

Want a crustless option? Try this Healthy Apple Crisp

How to make healthy apple pie

1. Start by preparing the whole grain healthy pie crust. Combine rolled oats, flour, sweetener, and salt in a medium bowl. Stir well, then cut in softened butter, oil, or applesauce with a fork or pastry cutter.
2. Preheat the oven to 350° Fahrenheit or 176° Celsius, and line the bottom of an eight inch round springform pan with parchment paper or grease the pan well.
3. Using clean hands or a large spoon, press the crust firmly into the bottom of the pan. Bake twelve minutes on the center rack of the preheated oven, then remove and let cool.
4. Prepare the apple filling by stirring together the sliced apples, pure maple syrup, and cinnamon until well mixed.
5. Spread the cinnamon apples evenly over the cooled crust. Set aside.
6. Finally, make the oat crumble by adding the remaining oats, flour, sweetener, cinnamon, and salt to the mixing bowl. Stir, then cut in the remaining butter or applesauce to form small crumbles.
7. Sprinkle the oatmeal topping evenly over the pie, and place the pan back in the oven.
8. Bake fifty minutes, or until apples are soft, bubbly, and caramelized. If you find that the crumbles are browning too fast, cover the top loosely with tin foil or a baking sheet and continue to cook.
9. Carefully remove the baked pie from the oven, and let cool at least twenty minutes before removing the springform top. Slice and enjoy, either hot or cold.
10. Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to five days. Or freeze sliced apple pie in an airtight covered container for up to two months, and thaw before serving.

Apple pie health benefits

This recipe is high in manganese, selenium, vitamin B6, and vitamin C. Each slice is low in saturated fat and cholesterol free, with an added sugar free option as well.

Thanks to whole grain oats, superfood cinnamon, and apples, the pie is very high fiber. One small slice provides 20% of the RDA for fiber.

In addition, apples are packed with quercetin and other antioxidants. The hydrating fruit may aid in digestion and lower one’s risk of diabetes by helping to stabilize blood sugar.

The healthy apple pie relies on naturally sweet apples and cinnamon for sweetness. Even if you opt to use real sugar here, the amount will still only be around half the total sugars called for in traditional Dutch apple pie recipes.

More Healthy Pie Recipes

Crustless Pumpkin Pie

Chocolate Avocado Pie

Vegan Cheesecake

Deep Dish Cookie Pie

Strawberry Pie

Pineapple Pie

Vegetarian Tamale Pie

Vegan Pecan Pie

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