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
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Prepare the apple filling by stirring together the sliced apples, pure maple syrup, and cinnamon until well mixed.
- Spread the cinnamon apples evenly over the cooled crust. Set aside.
- 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.
- Sprinkle the oatmeal topping evenly over the pie, and place the pan back in the oven.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Healthy Apple Pie Recipe
Ingredients
Healthy Crust
- 1/3 cup rolled oats (30g)
- 2/3 cup whole grain spelt flour (white flour, oat flour, or gluten free all purpose flour work as well) (80g)
- 1/4 cup unrefined sugar or sugar free substitute (50g)
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1/3 cup butter or coconut oil, or applesauce for low fat (80g)
Apple Filling
- 4 1/2 cups sliced apples (450g)
- 1 tbsp pure maple syrup or sweetener of choice (15g)
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
Oatmeal Crumble Topping
- 1/2 cup rolled oats (50g)
- 1/2 cup whole grain spelt flour (white flour, oat flour, or gluten free all purpose flour work as well) (60g)
- 1/4 cup unrefined sugar or sugar free substitute (50g)
- 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1/3 cup butter or coconut oil, or applesauce for low fat (80g)
Instructions
- 1. Stir all crust dry ingredients well in a medium bowl. Use a fork or pastry cutter to cut in the softened butter, oil, or applesauce until evenly mixed.
- 2. Preheat the oven to 350° Fahrenheit (176° Celsius). Line the bottom of an 8 inch round springform pan with parchment paper or grease well.
- 3. Press crust firmly into the bottom of the pan. Bake 12 minutes, then let cool.
- 4. Toss apple filling ingredients in a large bowl to mix well. Spread over the crust, and set aside.
- 5. Stir oat crumble dry ingredients well in the medium bowl, then cut in remaining butter, oil, or applesauce to form small crumbles.
- 6. Sprinkle oat topping evenly over the pie. Bake 50 minutes or until apples are soft and caramelized. (If the crumbles are browning too quickly, cover the pan loosely with tin foil or a baking sheet and continue to bake.)
- 7. Let the healthy apple pie cool at least 20 minutes before removing the springform. Slice and enjoy hot or cold.
Video
Notes
More Healthy Pie Recipes
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!
Can I double it for 9×13 pan?
Yeah I’ve done that twice and it works well!
This pie recipe is delicious! I will definitely be making it again!
I have made this couple of times in a larger pan with a lots of cinnamon. I have started to make it out of pears, and it seems even more delicious.
I have a 9 inch springform pan. Should I double the recipe or do you mean double for a 9 inch deep dish?
Hope someone has an answer asap as I’m due to make this tonight:)
Thanks!!
Double it 🙂
Good morning, I’m no cook but I love the idea of this recipe. I made it yesterday and it came out all wrong… the crust especially. I used EXACTLY the quantities indicated, but it was dry and never turned into any kind of dough… I used only whole wheat flour, well packed. Should I have mixed the flours/grains? Does the crust require 1 1/3 cups spelt, white, oat, or gf ap flour (ie 2 or 3 varieties, mixed)?
I would like to try it again but need to understand what went wrong the first time. The proportions as I interpreted them were all wrong, but again, i think it’s my interpretation that is off..
Thanks very much,
Iris from Italy
Whole wheat flour is not listed as an option in the recipe. That would definitely be the problem 😉
Thanks. Not sure why whole wheat would work any differently from regular flour, but I will try it again… I just read that another reader had the same result I did (don’t know what flour they used)… will try with regular flour and see. Thanks 🙂
Never pack wheat flour. It should be stirred and then scooped with a spoon, lightly into cup and then leveled with a knife. Packing will always leave you with too much flour for the recipe (unless recipe SAYS to pack it)
I made this for Thanksgiving this year and it was a big hit! The crust and crumble were absolutely perfect. The filling seemed a bit on the drier side, so I may try to add an additional Tbsp of Maple Syrup next time? But other than that, it was a great addition to our Thanksgiving and my mom has already requested that we make it next year!
total time: 1 hour
Cook time: 1 hour
took about an hour to put everything together so total time is more like 2 hours
Let me tell you this. It’s not the most appealing cake look that I’ve seen. But all my senses tell me that it’s the tastiest pie in the world, and I should head to the kitchen and prepare one right now. Thanks for sharing!