This reader-favorite paleo apple crisp (a.k.a paleo apple crumble) combines gooey baked apples with a crunchy almond flour crumble topping. The almond flour crumble topping is made with just a handful of easy ingredients. It's free of gluten, grains, eggs, refined sugar, and dairy, but still tastes like a treat.
If you're a fan of almond flour dessert recipes, like my foolproof almond flour tart crust and top-rated almond flour olive oil cake, you're going to love this almond flour apple crisp recipe.
Fruit crisps and crumbles are some of my all-time favorite desserts. They're easy to make with whatever fruit happens to be in season. I love the satisfying combination of tastes and textures: tangy stewed fruit, salty-sweet crumble, and scoops of melty ice cream. I even devoted a whole chapter of my gluten-free cookbook to crisps and other rustic fruit desserts!
And yet as simple and homey as they are, fruit crisps, especially the more allergy-friendly varieties, can be tricky. I've made versions with watery fruit, dry fruit, and gelled fruit. I've suffered pasty, bland toppings that disintegrate in the oven, and overly firm toppings that separate from the filling. Some versions had good textures, but tasted overly sweet.
After tinkering with this paleo apple crisp recipe for over a year, I'm finally 100% happy with it. I'm excited to share it with you today!
Here's what one reader had to say about it:
A couple of key ingredients and techniques make this apple crisp shine
The Apples
Baked apples can be drier than other fruits, but adding too much maple syrup made them overly sweet when eaten with the also-sweet topping. I add a pour of fresh-pressed apple juice and a touch of lemon to keep them moist and tender. This ups the fresh apple flavor, keeping the fruit vibrant-tasting and balanced.
Dotting the apples with butter adds richness, and baking the apples on their own first makes them extra tender.
The Paleo Crisp Topping
Paleo and gluten-free crisp toppings can be a tricky balance. We need enough sticky ingredients and proteins to form those much sought-after clumps and clusters. But too much starch can make the topping soft and chewy.
I tried different ratios of almond flour, cassava flour, and tapioca flour plus butter and sweetener to bind it together.
This streusel-like topping bakes up with clusters of varying sizes. It sinks into the apples a bit, but stands up to the fruit juices nicely. And it's got a lovely balance of sweet, salty, and spicy notes that play beautifully with the roasted apples.
Things I love about this apple crumble:
- tender, sweet-tart apples
- crunchy almond flour crumble topping
- warm flavors of butter, spice, and toasty nuts
- minimal sweetness so you can really taste the fruit
- allergy-friendly: no gluten, grains, refined sugar, with dairy-free and nut-free options
Ingredients and Substitution Suggestions
Baked Apples
- Apples are the star of this show. I use sweet-tart fuji apples here, which stand up well to baking. Other similar apples are honeycrisp and pink lady. If you use a more tart baking apple such as granny smith, you may want to add a couple more tablespoons of maple syrup to sweeten the apples. I don't recommend using softer apple varieties such as Gravensteins as these will break down into applesauce and be too mushy.
- Apple cider or apple juice adds moisture and big apple flavor. I prefer fresh-pressed apple cider, found with other fresh fruit and veggie juices at natural foods stores or farmers markets, but shelf-stable apple juice will work too. Or go wild and use hard apple cider, orange juice, cranberry juice, or pomegranate juice instead. See the recipe notes for boozy variations!
- Maple syrup adds a touch of sweetness. Increase the maple if your apples are very tart, or sub any other sweetener you like.
- Lemon and salt sharpen the flavors.
- Butter adds richness. Use dairy-free butter if you prefer. I haven't tested this with coconut oil, but I think it would work; you might need to add a teaspoon or two of plant milk since butter is about 85% fat and 15% milk solids and water.
Almond Flour Crumble Topping
A blend of grain-free flours gives this paleo crumble topping a dreamy texture. Nerd out on these and more in my guide to baking with gluten-free flours.
- Almond flour makes the crisp topping clumpy and crunchy. Almond meal and hazelnut meal work well too. Or you could use any nut or seed, ground to a flour. Try tiger nut flour for a nut-free option, though you may need to add more butter since it can be more absorbent than nut flour.
- Cassava flour and tapioca flour help the crumble hold together. You can sub any paleo or gluten-free AP flour for the cassava flour. Use sweet rice flour if grains aren't an issue. Try cornstarch in place of the tapioca flour if you prefer.
- Toasted pecans or walnuts add crunch and flavor. Other nuts, such as sliced almonds or chopped hazelnuts, work too. For nut-free, omit the nuts or sub pumpkin seeds.
- Coconut sugar or maple sugar add natural sweetness. You can use brown sugar if you prefer.
- Cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt add flavor and spicy goodness. Sometimes I use my homemade pumpkin spice if I have some on hand, and it gives the topping a lovely golden hue (shown here). See the recipe notes for a masala chai apple crisp variation.
- Melted butter brings the crumble topping together, making it rich and streusel-like. This works equally well with vegan butter such as Miyoko's, and other readers have said that coconut oil works too. For extra flavor, try the browned butter variation in the notes.
How to Make Grain-Free Apple Crisp
For this recipe, I like to bake the apples first to make them super tender. Then we add an easy almond flour crumble topping that's made by simply stirring the ingredients together.
Apple Crisp for Everyone
Whip up this paleo apple dessert for a casual weeknight treat, or bake a double batch to feed a crowd. Top it with scoops of drippy vanilla ice cream or rich coconut yogurt for a cozy dessert. Leftover crisp is divine for breakfast with some plain yogurt on the side.
See the recipe notes for some flavor variations such as brown butter apple crisp, masala chai crisp, and boozy apple crisp.
However you make the recipe, I hope you love as much as we do!
All the Paleo Crisps and Crumbles
Try this almond flour crumble topping with any fruits you like! Here are a few favorite fruit dessert recipes that can be made with this almond flour topping:
- Gluten-Free Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp – crimson, springy deliciousness
- Apple Rhubarb Crisp – the fruit combo you never knew you needed
- Gluten-Free Rhubarb Crisp – for true rhubarb lovers
- Almond Flour Peach Cobbler – luscious summer peaches (or frozen peaches) would pair beautifully with almond flour streusel topping
- Gluten-Free Blueberry Crisp – turn this recipe paleo by swapping that topping for the one in this post
Bojon appétit, my sweets! If you make this, I’d love to know. Please leave a comment and rating below, and tag your Instagram snaps @The_Bojon_Gourmet and #bojongourmet.
Paleo Apple Crisp with Almond Flour Crumble
Print Recipe Pin RecipeIngredients
Apples:
- 2 pounds sweet-tart apples (such as fuji, honeycrisp, or pink lady; about 7 medium)
- ¼ cup apple cider or juice
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup (more if your apples are very tart)
- 1 ½ tablespoons lemon juice
- ⅛ teaspoon fine sea or kosher salt
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, vegan butter, or coconut oil, diced
Crumble Topping:
- ¾ cup (80 g) blanched almond flour*
- ¼ cup (35 g) cassava flour*
- 1 ½ tablespoons (11 g) tapioca flour
- ½ cup (50 g) toasted pecans or walnuts, coarsely chopped*
- ⅓ cup (45 g) coconut sugar or maple sugar
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea or kosher salt
- 5 tablespoons (70 g) unsalted butter, vegan butter, or coconut oil, melted
- Non-dairy vanilla ice cream, for serving
Instructions
Apples:
- Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat to 350ºF.
- Peel the apples using a T-shaped vegetable peeler. Cut the apple flesh off the core by standing a peeled apple upright and cutting downward next to the core to remove large chunks of apples. Place the chunks cut side-down and slice them fairly thin – about three-eighths of an inch.
- Toss the apples in a large bowl with the apple cider, maple syrup, lemon juice, and salt.
- Scrape the apples into a 9-inch round baking dish with 2-inch high sides (or an 8x8-inch square pan).
- Dot the apples with the cubed butter.
- Bake the apples at 350 until bubbling, 30-35 minutes. Stir gently.
Topping:
- While the apples bake, prepare the topping. Place the almond, cassava, and tapioca flours in a large bowl with the nuts, coconut sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Stir to combine.
- Stir in the melted butter until combined; the mixture will resemble gravel.
- Crumble the topping over the baked apples.
- Return to the oven and bake until the topping is deep golden and the apples are bubbling. This takes 40-50 minutes in my oven, but other readers have reported that it only takes 15-30 minutes, so keep a close eye on it!
- Let cool slightly, at least 10 minutes. The topping will become more crisp as it cools and the juices will soak back into the apples.
- Serve warm or at room temperature with ice cream.
Video
Notes
- In place of almond flour, sub by weight: almond meal, hazelnut flour, or tiger nut flour (for nut-free)
- In place of cassava flour, sub by weight: more almond flour, paleo AP flour, gluten-free AP flour, sweet rice flour
- In place of tapioca flour, sub by weight: corn starch or arrowroot flour
Brown the butter (with half a vanilla bean, if you like). Stir 3 tablespoons melted browned butter into the apples and use the rest in the topping. Boozy Apple Crisp:
Use hard apple cider, GF bourbon, brandy, or Calvados instead of some or all of the apple cider. Pumpkin Spice Apple Crisp:
Use 1 teaspoon golden pumpkin spice mix in place of the cinnamon and nutmeg. Masala Chai-Spiced Apple Crisp:
Stir together ½ teaspoon each ground ginger, cinnamon, and cardamom. Use ½ teaspoon of this mixture in the apples and the rest in the topping. Paleo Peach Crisp:
Omit the apples and apple juice and make the filling with 2 pounds of unpeeled peaches, cut into wedges, plus 1 tablespoon tapioca flour to thicken the juices.
Heidi says
I was just wondering why you don’t add cinnamon or other spices directly to the apples as well, rather than just the topping? I noticed in your other crisp recipes you have that you do it that way there, as well. I have always mixed some cinnamon in with the fruit, but I am thinking you must have a reasoning for doing it this way. I look forward to trying this recipe! I love your other GF apple crisp recipe!
Alanna says
Hi Heidi! That's a great question and you can absolutely add some spices in with the apples. I kind of prefer to let the crisp, clean flavor of the apples shine in dishes like these. But by all means, spice it up! Please let me know how you like this version if you try it. :)
SHIRLEY BRANCH says
I have been cooking since I was 10 years old. I love to try different ethnic foods. I am always buying Cook Books and Recipe Magazines. Keep up the excellent work.
Marianna Kokoreva says
I would like to try this, but would rather use a different grease - can I use coconut oil instead of butter? Thank you?
Alanna says
I think that should work well enough! The streusel might be a little more delicate since there's a little water content in butter but not in coconut oil. Let me know how you like it!
bville says
I did a 1:1 replacement of butter to coconut oil, and it was amazing!
Also I’m wondering if anyone has tried to freeze this for reheating, later?
Alanna Taylor-Tobin says
That's fantastic! I'll update the recipe with that substitution. Thank you for testing it, I'm sure it will help other readers too!
I'm guessing that freezing and reheating would work well; there's a chance it might make the streusel softer. Please let me know if you try it!
Irma says
Perfect recipe, totally in love with it! I used only almond flour and it worked well.
Alanna Taylor-Tobin says
That's great to know about the almond flour, thank you! I'm so glad you love the crisp!
Abby says
This was absolutely delicious. My only regret is not doubling it so I could have some left over for tomorrow.
I subbed buckwheat flour for the cassava flour otherwise followed the recipe exactly. I had to take the final product out of the oven at 30 mins because it was already starting to show slight burns on the top. Not sure how it would take 40-50 mins without wrecking it.
Char says
I think something is wrong with the recipe times listed
“3. Crumble the topping over the baked apples.
4. Return to the oven and bake until the topping is deep golden and the apples are bubbling, 40-50 minutes.”
— Step 4 should say 10-20 minutes MAX for the second part of cooking. I cooked for 15 additional minutes (after the 30mins for the apples) and it came out perfect! Had I left this in the oven for longer, it would have burnt. :)
Delicious, though!
Alanna Taylor-Tobin says
Hi Char,
Thanks so much for trying my recipe and for the feedback! That's so interesting that your crumble cooked so quickly. I've made this recipe many times, and it always takes 40-50 minutes for the crust to get golden and crisp and for the apples to bubble and cook through (and I do have an oven thermometer in there to make sure the temperature is accurate). But another reader reported that they needed a shorter bake time, so I've updated the recipe instructions to reflect a wider range of baking times. I'm sure it depends on a variety of factors such as pan size, which rack it's baked on, which ingredients are used since I've given other suggestions (
Thank you again for the feedback and for helping me make this recipe more solid. I'm so glad you pulled it from the oven when you did and that you loved it!
-Alanna
Zainab Derraz says
Is apple cider or juice, different to apple cider vinegar here
Alanna Taylor-Tobin says
Yes it's different! Use apple juice, not vinegar :)
Carrie says
Can you make this the day before and put it in the fridge to bake for the morning?
Alanna Taylor-Tobin says
Hi Carrie,
Hmmm that's a good question. Since the apples are baked separately first, I'm not sure how well this would work. Would you bake the apples first, then chill them, add the crumble, and chill the whole thing to bake the next day? Or would you try just baking everything together in the morning instead of prebaking the apples?
I'm not sure what would work best, so please let me know if you experiment!
-A
Maria Rosario Exclusa says
I made the apple crisp recipe today and It’s so delicious!.
Thanks for this recipe! Loved it!
Alanna Taylor-Tobin says
Yay, so glad you liked it!
GC says
I made this a few times. The only thing I would change is to bake the apples for 45minutes until soft then bake with the topping for 15 - 20 minutes.
Alanna Taylor-Tobin says
Thank you so much for the feedback on the baking time. I'm so glad you love this recipe!
Bonnie says
Can I make this in a 9x13 glass dish?
Alanna Taylor-Tobin says
Hi Bonnie,
Oh great question! Yes, I think you'll want to double the recipe so it will fill out a pan of that size. Please let me know if you try it!
-Alanna
Ale says
This was a huge hit, thank you! I made it for the first time for Thanksgiving since my partner is very health conscious and usually doesn't eat dessert. He had thirds! I would like to say that I made it once with the apple cider and then again without it for less sugar and it wasn't missed! So, if you don't have it on hand as long as your apples are sweet, you should be fine. Thank you again!
Alanna Taylor-Tobin says
I love that your health-conscious partner had thirds, LOL! That's great to know that the crisp worked well without the cider too. Thanks so much for the feedback, I really appreciate it!
dipti says
Greetings from London. This recipe is crazy delicious! My wife who is very English and grew up on classic crumble goes googly eyed with this crumble, no other will do. We have it with cream, for dinner, breakfast, lunch, tea...really. Thank you very much for this fantastic recipe, Alanna.
Alanna Taylor-Tobin says
Awwww this makes me so happy to hear. So glad this crumble is loved by you and your wife! I could also eat it for every meal of the day! :D
Shirleen says
Hi, I have made this recipe many times and it is a favorite.
I really like the baking dish-would you mind saying where it came from?
Thank you
Alanna Taylor-Tobin says
Yay, I'm so glad you like the crisp - and the baking dish! It's from RV Pottery. I just love their ceramics. Let me know if you get one!
Katrina says
I made the vegan version of this (used coconut oil instead of butter) and used brown sugar swerve for the topping. It was FANTASTIC. The addition of a bit of cider really did help create extra sweetness. Like all apple crisp, I recommend letting it fully cool or it will be liquidy coming out of the pan. We will absolutely be making this again. Thank you!
Alanna Taylor-Tobin says
Yay, I'm so happy to hear that those ingredient subs worked well! I'm sure it will help other readers to know they can sub Swerve in the topping for a lower sugar option. Brilliant. Thanks very much for the note!