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
This is my go to Apple pie recipe and my kids love it. Thank you!
I made it today and we love it! So so good! I used coconut palm sugar and some pecans since i dont have walnuts. Im planning to bake more and bring it to the office on Monday!
Hi Katie ,
In your topping it asks for oat , is it rolled oat or oat flour ? Would coconut sugar change the taste of the topping and the pie if I add 1 table spoon with maple syrup ? Thanks
Rolled oats. Coconut sugar works!
Just made this for dessert tonight and it was so good! Crumbly, crunchy and sooo Moorish!
I used oil instead of applesauce and added the walnuts with the apples.
I baked the pie at 165C for 55min, it came out perfectly.
Will definitely make it again. My 7yr son requested for apple pie and he absolutely loved it and wanted seconds
Ooh I love the picture!
This was my first time trying the recipe and my first apple pie. It came out perfectly!! I loved it thank you!!
Wow! I can’t wait to try this too. This seem like the most delicious food. And it looks healthy too.
i made this pie and OMG it is amazing i only cooked for about 40 minutes and let it sit for quite awhile and served it with yogurt but i also put some cinnamon and nutmeg with the apple just to see what would happen and it was great i am so going to make this again it was delicious and so easy
This is really good and very easy. I didnt have raisins but i put in (rehydrated) blueberries. I did over knead the crust but i think this is the 3rd crust ive ever made so not a big deal. I’m definitely making this again. For the record I’m not vegan but i sure as heck like vegan food like this! My mom enjoyed it too!
I’m wondering: had anyone tried freezing this recipe? How did it turn out? Would love to make a ton in advance if holidays
Do I need to make this I’m a springform pan or can I use a regular pie pan?
Regarding which oil to use…do you recommend Canola or Vegetable oil?
Thanks!
Canola, vegetable, melted coconut, or sunflower are all fine to use here 🙂
None of these oils are healthy. Actually, this pie is not all that healthy, maybe just a little healthier than traditional apple pies, depending on the options you choose.
Hi, Sandy. I used the Seville extra virgin olive oil from Whole Foods for all the oil in the recipe. It is meant for baking, etc. Works out great! I also used the brown sugar from Lekanto, which is a monkfruit/erythritol mixture. Just go easy with it in the topping part, since you don’t want that too sweet. I put a little extra in there, and wish I hadn’t, but it was still good. I used Granny Smith’s for the pie itself, and used a little extra of the brown sugar, since Granny Smith’s aren’t that sweet.
I used ghee. The results was delicious!
Hi!! Could I use quick oats for the crumble? Thanks a lot! Looking forward to making this gorgeous pie!
Sure!
This recipe is soooooooo goooood! I used oat flour, oat fiber in the crust, half stevia for all the sweeteners, and applesauce instead of oil-it tastes so amazing even with being low calories (184 per slice)! I always have the problem of ruining classic desserts by ommiting sugar or trying to find ways to cut calories but this recipe is so on point! I will definitely be making this again and shock my family with healthy indulgence for Thanksgiving this fall (covd-permitting). Thank you so much for this recipe Katie, I always see your chocolatecoveredkatie link on many recipes I look at and will definitely be checking more of them out !
what is the calories for this pie???????
Full nutrition facts for Katie’s recipes are always linked in the posts, right under the recipe ingredients/instructions 🙂
A hit! I used soft dates for the crust (mixed with ghee and water in mixer). Added the remnants of the mixture in the filling along with nutmeg and cinnamon. I used brown sugar and ghee for crumble. It was amazing! Thankyou katie!
No cinnamon listed in ingredients. What amount do you put into apples?
Any other spices added?