This healthy apple crumble tastes like a cross between apple crisp and sugar cookies, but it’s a no-bake option so no oven is required! It’s a great way to use up those apples and makes the perfect easy autumn treat that can be made in less than 30 minutes! {Vegan, paleo & gluten-free}.
Why Make this Recipe
No-Bake – The best part about this recipe is that no oven is required, so it’s perfect for those warmer temperatures as we transition from the Summer to Fall months. It’s also not your typical crisp or crumble since it’s made without oats.
Instead, it consists of layers of a delicious nutty almond and coconut flour crumb mixture. It’s basically a stove top apple crisp without oatmeal, but you don’t even miss the oats! If you’re looking for some other equally tasty no-bake apple desserts, check out these apple No-Bake Apple Pie Cups, Nut-Free Apple Oat Energy Bites, or Apple Nachos!
Nutritious – this recipe is packed full of healthy fats from the ground almonds and is also lower in carbs than your typical apple crumble. Additionally, this dessert is free of refined sugar since it’s sweetened with maple syrup and is a source of fibre and protein. It’s always a bonus when you can eat a treat and get a dose of nutrients too!
Delicious – You’ll hardly even notice that this crumble isn’t baked. It’s THAT good! The crumbly texture of the almond and coconut flour mixture on the top and bottom of the crumble resembles the flavour of sugar cookies. Paired with the warm and cozy melt-in-your mouth apple cinnamon mixture, it’s a match made in heaven.
Ingredient Notes
Apples – I recommend using a mixture of sweet and tart apples for the purpose of this recipe. See notes below for specific apple suggestions.
Almond Flour – use blanched almond flour for the crumble mixture. I used the almond flour from Bob’s Red Mill – it’s my favourite type of almond flour to use for gluten-free dessert recipes.
Maple syrup – use 100% pure maple syrup for best results. You can also sub in honey if desired.
Step by Step Instructions
Peel and thinly slice apples. Place apple slices in a pan with the rest of the filling ingredients and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally until tender, about 10-12 minutes.
While apples are cooking, prepare the no-bake crumb topping. To do so, combine almond flour, coconut flour and salt together in a small bowl and mix with a fork, breaking up any clumps. Add the coconut oil, maple syrup, and vanilla and mix until well combined.
Using a fork or spatula, press a little over half of the crumble mix into an 8-inch square pan. Evenly distribute the apples over top. Take the rest of the topping and sprinkle it evenly on top of the apple mixture.
Place in the refrigerator and chill for about 1-2 hours. Serve cold, at room temperature or warm.
Recipe Tips
- For the purpose of this recipe, I recommend slicing the apple as thinly as possible (see below for instructions). It’s also helpful to cut them into slices roughly the same size so that they cook evenly in the pan.
- When pressing the crumble mixture into the bottom of the pan, wet the back of a fork or spatula before pressing down to prevent the mixture from sticking to the fork.
- Once prepared, store the crumble in the fridge for at least an hour to allow it to firm up, making it easier to cut before serving.
Recipe FAQs
What apples are best for apple crumble?
For recipes of this nature, it generally works well if you use a combination of sweet and tart apples to diversify the flavours and textures of the dish.
Some apples that are on the sweeter side include Gala, Honeycrisp, Ambrosia and Golden Delicious, while apples that tend to be more on the tart side include Granny Smith, Cortland and MacIntosh.
I tend to use Gala quite a bit since it’s my favourite type of apple due to it’s sweet flavour and melt-in-your-mouth texture. It pairs especially well with the Granny Smith Apple.
That being said, you can use your favourite type of apple or whatever apples you have on hand. I’ve used a variety of different apples for this recipe and it turned out equally tasty each time!
How to slice apples
As noted above in the recipe tips, I recommend slicing the apples as thinly as possible for this dish.
To thinly slice an apple, remove the stem and cut in half from the stem, top to bottom. Cut each apple half in half again so that you have four sections to work with. Using a sharp knife, slice the apple as thinly as you can. For this recipe, I try to slice them about a quarter of an inch thick.
How to store
You can store this dish in the fridge in the pan tightly wrapped with saran wrap or in an airtight container for up to a week.
Can you freeze this recipe?
Yes! You can freeze this crumble in a freezer-friendly air-tight container for up to three months.
To defrost: Take the crumble out of the freezer 24 hours before serving to allow it to thaw.
Serving suggestions
This dessert is unique in the sense that you can serve it cold, at room temperature or warm. It tastes delicious as is or, of course, topped with some whipped cream, coconut whipped cream, or vanilla ice cream.
It’s also especially tasty with a warm drink like this Apple Spiced Tea, Turmeric Latte or Pumpkin Spice Latte!
More no-bake treats:
- No-Bake Apple Pie Cups
- No-Bake Carrot Cake Energy Bites
- 4-Ingredient No-Bake Peanut Butter Protein Bars
- Larabar Recipe {4-ingredients}
- No-Bake Pumpkin Pie Bites
Did you make this recipe? Scroll down to leave a rating and review!
Healthy Apple Crumble {No-Bake}
Ingredients
Apple Filling
- 5 apples peeled and sliced
- 2 Tbsp maple syrup
- 2 Tbsp water add more if you like it more gooey
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- dash of nutmeg
No Bake Crumb Topping
- 2 cups almond flour
- 1/2 cup coconut flour
- 6 Tbsp pure maple syrup
- 4 Tbsp coconut oil melted
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp salt
Instructions
- Peel and thinly slice apples. Place slices in a pan with the rest of the filling ingredients and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally until tender, about 10-12 minutes.
- While apples are cooking, combine almond flour, coconut flour and salt together in a small bowl and mix with a fork, breaking up any clumps. Add the coconut oil, maple syrup, and vanilla and mix until well combined.
- Using a fork or spatula, press a little over half of the crumble mix into an 8-inch square pan. Evenly distribute the apples over top. Take the rest of the topping and sprinkle it evenly on top of the apple mixture.
- Place in the refrigerator and chill for about 1-2 hours. Serve cold, at room temperature or warm.
Notes
- For the purpose of this recipe, I recommend slicing the apple as thinly as possible (see post above for specific instructions). It's also helpful to cut them into slices roughly the same size so that they cook evenly in the pan.
- When pressing crumble mixture into the bottom of the pan, wet the back of a fork or spatula before pressing down to prevent mixture from sticking to the fork.
- Store crumble in fridge for at least an hour to allow it to firm up, making it easier to cut before serving.
- Serve as is or top with whipped cream, coconut whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.
- Can be stored in the refrigerator in the pan tightly wrapped in saran wrap or in an air-tight container for up to one week.
Nutrition
This recipe was originally posted in September 2015 but was updated in September 2020 with better photos and recipe tips.
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Can I substitute coconut oils with butter?
I haven’t personally tried it myself, but other readers have had success using butter. If you decide to try it, please let me know how it turns out!
Delish. I didn’t have almond flour so I made the base and topping with tennis biscuits and meted butter with cinnamon. It was really tasty. Not as healthy as original but tasty !!!!!
Those sound like great substitutions Geeta — thanks for sharing! So happy that you loved the recipe!
Hello. I did this but with parkwheat flour. So its okay to consume the flour in the raw state?
Hi Cianna! I wouldn’t recommending consuming your average flour raw as it could be contaminated with bacteria. Flour often does not go through a stringent process to kill off pathogens.
In my recipe, however, I used almond flour, which is basically just almonds ground up into a fine meal. The other type of flour that I used is coconut flour, which is the meat of the coconut defatted and ground into a fine flour. Both of these are safe to consume raw. These flours also contribute to the overall taste and texture of the recipe. Hope this helps!
I’m making this today! Any thoughts on the best type of apple to use? Macintosh? Braeburn? Does it matter? Thanks again for this!
That’s awesome Kate! Personally, when I make it, I use Gala apples because they’re nice and sweet (and they’re my favourite). It turned out really good with the Galas, but you can definitely incorporate your favourite type of apple! Keep me posted on how it turns out!
love the no bake aspect of the crust and topping! looks so yummy!
Thanks so much Megan! You don’t even miss the baked version with all of that yumminess in the crust!
WOW! No Bake and made with almond and coconut flour? No wonder it disappeared so fast!
That’s right Kristen! I guess I can’t really blame the family for eating it all…it was pretty tasty ;)
Wow, I’m loving this recipe. I’m making this asap.
Thanks so much Cristie!
This looks great and I love the fact that it’s no bake! Easy to veganize too by subbing the honey for maple syrup. Great recipe!
Thanks Mel! You can definitely veganize it :)
You have to guard your food here too. I can’t tell you how many times my husband or I has made dinner ahead to find it gone before dinner time. I hide everything I don’t want them to eat right away now. It’s crazy. And it’s even worse with desserts. I can see why this yummy treat would disappear quickly. I’d be tempted to steal it too! I’m looking forward to trying it!
I’m glad I’m not the only one who has to guard my food! We’ll have to come up with a special system to prevent our families from hoarding all the food ;) Hope you enjoy the recipe Michelle!
I don’t stand a chance with food when my brother is around! He’d eat ALL the food if I didn’t safeguard it! This apple crisp sounds wonderful! And looks pretty to boot :)
My brother is similar Amanda…boys…. haha. Thanks for stopping by~!
What a beautiful photos! So delicate:) And the crumble looks so yummy!
Thanks so much Ilona! If it’s pretty and delicate, I’m in! :)
It’s the same story in my house too, food had to be guarded or it’s gone. Love the recipe!
Guard that food Ramya! Thanks for stopping by :)
Oh this will be trouble for me! I’ll find a way to eat it for breakfast, snack, dessert an oh, maybe another snack! So delicious sounding!
Haha Kathryn, I’ll admit I had trouble resisting it when it was staring at me from the fridge ;)
Yum!
Her Heartland Soul
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Thanks Erin!
…you had me at “no bake” :) Looks wonderful!
No bake is always so enticing, isn’t it? :) Thanks Sarah!
sugar cookie? apple? NO BAKE? I’m in! this looks fantastic!
Thanks so much Kristina!
No bake? Sold! It’s so hot in LA that working the stove or oven is a no no.
I hear ya Ai! This recipe will be your new best friend!