This healthy no bake apple crumble tastes like a cross between apple crisp and shortbread cookies, but no oven is required! Made without oats or butter, this almond flour apple crumble is a great way to use up those apples and makes the perfect easy summer or autumn treat that can be made in less than 30 minutes! {Vegan, dairy-free, paleo & gluten-free}.
Healthy Apple Crumble – No Oven Required!
If you’re an apple lover looking for healthy apple dessert recipes, then you’ll love this No Bake Apple Crumble!
It’s not your typical crisp or crumble since the topping is made with no oats or butter. It’s basically a stovetop apple crisp without oatmeal, but you don’t even miss the oats!
Instead, the simple no bake crumb topping consists of layers of a delicious nutty almond flour and coconut flour mixture. The crumbly texture on the top and bottom of the crumble resembles the flavour of shortbread cookies.
Paired with the warm and cozy melt-in-your mouth apple cinnamon mixture, it’s a match made in heaven.
In fact, you’ll hardly even notice that this crumble isn’t baked. It’s THAT good!
If you’re looking for some other equally tasty no-bake apple desserts, check out these Caramel Apple Skewers, No-Bake Apple Pie Cups, and Nut-Free Apple Oat Energy Bites!
Why We Love This Apple Crumble Without Oats
- No-Bake: The best part about this healthy apple crumble recipe is that no oven is required, so it’s perfect for those warmer temperatures as we transition from the summer to fall months.
- 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, while also being a source of fibre and protein. It’s always a bonus when you can eat a treat and get a dose of nutrients too!
- Easy: Because no baking is required, all that you have to do is cook up the apples on the stove and assemble the ingredients. Altogether, it’s super quick and can be made in less than 20 minutes!
Required Ingredients
For the Apple Filling
- Apples: I recommend using a mixture of sweet and tart apples for the purpose of this recipe. See notes below in the FAQs for specific apple suggestions.
- Maple syrup: Use 100% pure maple syrup for best results. You can also sub in honey if desired.
- Spices: Cinnamon and a dash of nutmeg are used for perfectly spiced apple crumble. You can increase the spices or try apple pie spice instead.
For the No Bake Crumble Topping
- 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.
- Coconut flour: When combined with the almond flour, forms a crumbly consistency.
- Coconut oil: Replaces the butter that you typically find in apple crumble. Use unrefined coconut oil, or for a less prominent coconut taste, you can sub in refined coconut oil.
- Flavour enhancers: Salt and vanilla extract are used to enhance the flavour of the crumble mixture.
Step by Step Instructions
How to Slice Apples
As noted above in the recipe notes below, 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 Make Apple Crumble Without Oven
- 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.
Keep scrolling to the recipe card below for the full printable recipe!
Recipe Tips for the Best Apple Crumble
- Thinly slice apples: For the purpose of this recipe, I recommend slicing the apple as thinly as possible (see above for instructions). It’s also helpful to cut them into slices roughly the same size so that they cook evenly in the pan.
- Wet the fork: 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.
- Let crumble sit in fridge: 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.
Storage Guidelines
Refrigerator: You can store the no bake apple crumble in the fridge in the pan tightly wrapped with saran wrap or in an airtight container for up to a week.
Freezer: 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.
Recipe FAQs
An apple crisp is typically a baked fruit dessert topped with a crunchy layer of ingredients. The topping generally includes a mixture of oats, butter, sugar, nuts, flour and spices such as cinnamon. It’s baked until the topping is crisp and golden.
Similar to an apple crisp, an apple crumble is a baked fruit dessert with a layer of topping. However, unlike an apple crisp, the topping generally does not include oats or nuts.
This apple dessert is unique in the sense that it doesn’t require baking and the crumble topping doesn’t consist of oats. It’s basically a cross between a crisp and a crumble except no oven is required!
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!
For this particular crumble, it helps to store it in the fridge since it allows the crumble and apple filling to solidify slightly, thus preventing it from getting soggy.
This apple crisp is a no-bake version that uses almond and coconut flour instead of oats so it has a softer texture than your typical apple crisp that uses oats and is baked. If you prefer a crisp that has a more crispy texture made with oats and nuts, try out my Healthy Peach Crumble Recipe!
Serving Suggestions
This no bake apple crumble is unique in the sense that you can serve it cold, at room temperature or warm.
It tastes delicious as is or served with any of the following:
- Whipped cream
- Coconut whipped cream
- Vanilla ice cream
- Yogurt
- A drizzle of caramel sauce
- A sprinkle of crunchy nuts (like pecans, walnuts or sliced almonds)
It’s also especially tasty with a warm drink like this Turmeric Latte, Apple Spiced Tea, or Pumpkin Spice Latte!
Recipe Variations
- Switch out the fruit: Instead of apples, try using peaches, pear or blueberry, raspberries, strawberries or rhubarb!
- Add additional spices: Experiment with ginger, cloves or apple pie spice.
- For low carb/keto option: Use sugar free maple syrup instead of regular maple syrup.
More Healthy Apple Recipes
- Healthy Apple Pie Recipe
- Apple Nachos
- Baked Apple Oatmeal
- Gluten-Free Apple Muffins
- Bran Muffins with Applesauce
Did you make this recipe? Scroll down to leave a star rating and review!
Healthy No-Bake Apple Crumble {Without Oats}
Ingredients
Apple Filling
- 5 apples peeled and sliced
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons water add more if you like it more gooey
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- Dash of nutmeg
No Bake Crumb Topping
- 2 cups almond flour
- 1/2 cup coconut flour
- 6 tablespoons pure maple syrup
- 4 tablespoons coconut oil melted
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon 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
- 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 August 2022 with better photos and recipe tips.
My partner is allergic to nuts, can you substitute the almond flour with something like oat flour?
Hmm I haven’t actually tried experimenting with oat flour for this recipe, so I’m not entirely sure how it would turn out. Since it’s no bake, it might have a bit of a chalky taste and texture, whereas the almond flour provides more of a nutty flavour. Unfortunately in this case, I don’t know if there’s a good substitute for the almond flour. Sorry about that!
I went wow when I saw the topping of almond and coconut flour!! And No bake. I was jazzed. I just made this and it’s staring back at me from the fridge. Waiting for it to set. Sure I’m gonna love it! Have a medical challenge but this I can eat. Yum yum
I’m so happy that this apple crumble works for your medical needs! Keep me posted on the final outcome! Hope you’ve been enjoying the recipe! :)
This is unbelievably great, I really like this. This is the first I ever tried one of your recipes but you will be on my go to list from now on. I will definitely be trying more of your recipes. Thank You
I’m so happy you enjoyed it John! I appreciate you adding me to your list. Hope you enjoy the other recipes you try out as well :)
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!