With gooey, maple-sweetened apples, tender almond flour pie crust, and a hint of cinnamon, this paleo apple pie tastes like fall on a plate!
If you're looking for a cozy pie recipe for the holidays (or any day), you're going to love this paleo apple version. (And also this paleo pumpkin pie!)
The smell of this pie baking is just about as cozy snuggling under the covers on a chilly fall evening. As the buttery crust browns, juicy apples cook, and the whole kitchen smells like maple, spice, and all things nice. There's just something about the scent of apple recipes baking (like this almond flour apple crisp) that smells unbearably delicious.
Apple Pie: Gluten-Free, Grain-Free, Vegan... or not!
I'm calling this a "paleo apple pie" because I happened to use my new grain-free pie crust recipe to make it. Alternatively, tuck these apples into my favorite gluten-free pie crust if you're good with grains, or use my ultra-flaky wheat flour pie crust (or sourdough crust!) if gluten is your friend. For a gluten-free dairy-free apple pie, use a good vegan butter in any of the aforementioned crust recipes.
The tart apple filling gets sweetened with maple syrup and flavored with a dash of cinnamon, a bit of lemon, and a little salt. Top a slice with vanilla ice cream and revel in the flavors of fall.
Paleo Apple Pie Ingredients:
- A boatload of apples fill this pie. Choose large, tart baking apples such as granny smith. The tangy flavor will give the pie depth, and large apples will be easier to process. If you must use sweeter or softer apples, use less maple syrup and more starch to absorb the juices.
- Maple syrup adds sweetness and earthy flavor. I like a nice dark maple syrup here.
- Starch of some sort helps firm up the filling. I/ve tested this with tapioca starch and cornstarch (which isn't technically paleo) and both work. Arrowroot starch is similar to tapioca and would also work.
- Lemon zest and juice brighten the flavors.
- A touch of cinnamon adds that classic apple pie taste. I like my pie lightly spiced in order to really taste the apples, but feel free use more cinnamon if you prefer. You can also add other spices: ginger, cardamom, nutmeg, allspice cloves... do you!
- Salt sharpens the flavors.
- A bit of milk of some sort brushed over the top makes the crust pretty. I used canned full-fat coconut milk, but any milk or plant milk will work.
- A bit of coarse sugar gives the top crust a bit of sparkle. You can use maple sugar to make this officially paleo if you like.
Method
Step 1: Make a double batch of paleo pie crust dough. Shape half into a crust as instructed.
Step 2: Roll the other half of paleo pie crust dough to 1/4-inch thick and cut out shapes with a fluted biscuit cutter, small glass, or other cookie cutter.
Step 3: Peel and slice the apples and toss them with the other filling ingredients. Let sit 10–20 minutes. This will make the apples easier to to pack into the pie crust.
Step 4: Pour the apples and juices into the crust...
...and use your hands to pack the apples down.
Step 5: Top the pie with the dough rounds...
...brush with milk...
and sprinkle with sugar.
Step 6: Bake the pie until the crust is deep golden and the apples are bubbling vigorously. This pie likes a nice, long bake to really cook the apples. Let the pie cool for at least a couple of hours to firm up the filling. Use a sharp knife to cut the pie and serve with ice cream.
Pie for Everyone
Bite into a slice of paleo apple pie and revel in cozy baked apples kissed with maple and cinnamon, all wrapped up in a tender crust you wouldn't know was grain-free. Don't skip a scoop of vanilla ice cream, dairy-free if you like. My current favorite paleo ice cream is Vixen Kitchen which comes from Santa Cruz, California.
Bojon appétit! For more Bojon Gourmet in your life, follow along on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, or Pinterest, purchase my award-winning gluten-free baking cookbook Alternative Baker, or subscribe to receive new posts via email. And if you make this almond flour apple pie recipe, I’d love to know. Leave a comment and rating below, and tag your Instagram snaps @The_Bojon_Gourmet and #bojongourmet.
Flaky Paleo Apple Pie with Almond Flour Crust
Print Recipe Pin RecipeIngredients
- 2 recipes paleo cassava-almond pie crust (or your favorite pie crust)
- 2 ½ - 3 pounds tart, firm baking apples, such as Granny Smith (about 7-8 large apples)
- ½ cup (120 ml) maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon finely grated zest from ½ a large lemon
- 2 tablespoons (30 ml) strained lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons (14 g) tapioca or arrowroot starch (or cornstarch for not paleo)
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2 tablespoons coconut milk for brushing the dough (or other plant milk or cream)
- 1 tablespoon turbinado, demerara, or maple sugar for sprinkling, optional
- paleo vanilla ice cream (for serving)
Instructions
- For the crust, prepare the dough, shape half of it into a 9-inch (23-cm) crust as directed, and chill the unbaked crust until firm, at least 30 minutes. Patch any holes or tears with extra dough scraps.
- Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper for easy cleanup.
- For the filling, peel the apples, cut them off the core and slice them a scant ¼-inch thick. You should have 7 cups total. Place the apple slices in a large bowl and gently toss with the maple syrup, lemon zest and juice, tapioca starch, cinnamon and salt. Let sit 10–20 minutes, tossing a few times, to draw out the juices.
- On a surface dusted lightly with cassava flour, roll out the other piece of dough to about ¼ inch thick. Use a fluted biscuit cutter or small glass to cut 1 ½ and/or 2-inch rounds close together. Stack the rounds on a plate and chill until firm, 20 minutes. Optionally, press the dough scraps together, wrap and chill until firm, and repeat the rolling/cutting process once more. You can save the scraps to make a small galette or other treat!
- Meanwhile, position a rack in the lower third of the oven, place a baking stone on the rack if you have one and preheat to 400ºF.
- Pour the apples and their liquid into the unbaked crust and pack the apples down snugly. Lay the chilled dough rounds over the top of the fruit, leaving lots of windows for steam to escape. To finish, brush the rounds with the milk and sprinkle with the sugar.
- Place the pie on the lined baking sheet and place in the oven on the baking stone. Bake at 400ºF for 15 minutes, then decrease the oven temperature to 350ºF and continue baking until the crust is golden and the fruit is bubbling furiously, 70-80 more minutes. These apples like a nice long bake!
- Let the pie cool completely to set the fruit, at least 2 hours, then cut into wedges and serve at room temperature. I find that a small serrated knife works best to cut the topping. The pie is best the day of baking and will keep at room temperature for up to 1 day or refrigerated for up to 3 days. You can freeze extra pie, but the crust doesn’t retain its crispness.
Zahra says
Thanks a lot for this recipe! I made it last night and it was absolutely amazing! The crust, OMG! So delicious it was out of this universe! Flaky, buttery… I took it to a Christmas gathering with family…everyone loved it.
Alanna says
I'm so glad this was a hit and that the crust turned out well! Thanks a bunch for the sweet note and rating!
Ilene says
My husband and I have been paleo/primal for 10+ years. We have struggled finding baked goods that are "company worthy". This pie is amazing!! It is good that you posted the timeline...it really does take a lot of time and care. It is well worth it!! I baked the leftover circles from the top crust and made them into little pie crust cookies. And I used a maple leaf cookie cutter (we are in Canada!). So good, I cannot wait to get your cookbook!! Thank you for sharing your talent and knowledge!!
Alanna says
I'm so glad you liked the pie! Those pie crust cookies sound AMAZING.
Just a heads up that my cookbook isn't paleo! I wrote it in 2016 before I had begun to experiment with paleo baking, so there are grains, dairy, and sugar in many of the recipes.
Michelle says
Love your recipes so far and I’m excited to try this one out. VERY new to baking :) I’m wondering why you don’t need to blind bake the crust first?
Also, I prefer my apple pies more on the tart side. How much maple syrup or equivalent sweetener would you suggest using? 2/3 cup seems like way too much for me. I was thinking dates might be less sweet.
P.S. your paleo crackers were a hit!
Alanna says
I'm so glad you're enjoying the recipes here and that the paleo crackers were a hit!
Great questions. Usually double-crusted apple pies aren't blind baked first. Apples are drier than other fruits, so usually the bottom crust can bake through without becoming soggy, especially if you follow the instructions here (baking on the lower rack, using a baking stone or pre-heated baking sheet). That said, it would be easy enough to blind bake this version because of how the top "crust" is arranged. So if you wanted to blind bake it first you certainly could!
You can absolutely take down the maple syrup in the filling and/or substitute with dates or date syrup. The filling might be drier in that case, it will depend on your apples, so you might want to add a little apple juice/cider to moisten it up. This recipe only uses 1/2 cup maple syrup, which, combined with tart Granny Smith apples, makes a sweet-tart filling. Please let me know what you try!
Sharon says
As a pastry chef myself, I applaude this recipe and am SO inspired by it. The dough is an absolute dream to work with, and the finished product is SO FLAKY OMG. Best paeleo baking recipe I've found so far, and I research the subject A LOT. Thank you for this, have already made 3 batches (a sweet one for apple pie and a two savoury for chicken pot pie and leftover crackers). YUM!
Alanna Taylor-Tobin says
I'm *so* glad you love the pie crust! Chicken pot pie + apple pie sounds like the perfect meal to me. :D Thanks a bunch for the note and rating, I really appreciate them!
Dalila Droege says
Thank you for this crust recipe! I've made it twice, and it's just as tasty as wheat pit crust if not better. I made the apple pie today and it came out pretty runny, even though I added extra tapioca starch and used granny smith apples. Does arrowroot or corn starch help this pie filling hold up better? or do you have any other suggestions? Thank you!
Alanna Taylor-Tobin says
Hi Dalila,
I'm so glad you love the paleo pie crust recipe! Though I'm sorry to hear that the apple pie turned out runny - that's no good! I'm curious whether it firmed up the next day?
Cornstarch does tend to produce a nicer-textured filling than tapioca, so you could definitely try using it instead. Another idea would be to sweeten the filling with coconut sugar or maple sugar instead of the maple syrup, or in place of half of the syrup, to cut down on the added liquid in the recipe.
Please let me know if you give it another try!
-Alanna
Marisa says
Hi hi!! I’m hoping to make this in the next week and was just given 8 red apples, would that change the recipe much compared to green? Thank you so much ❤️
Alanna Taylor-Tobin says
Aw lucky you! This is a great question. Do you know what variety of apple they are?
Marianna Kokoreva says
Alanna, I feel quite silly asking this question, but can't be helped.
I never baked pies with two layers.
How do I make 2 crusts? Just double the amount of everything (200 for 100 g, etc), make a large piece of dough and cut it in half?
Thank you so much! I love your quality and recipes, so eager to make your apple pie.
Alanna Taylor-Tobin says
Hi Marianna,
I'm so glad you asked! Yes, you have that exactly right. You can just double the crust recipe, then cut it in half and follow the instructions for shaping the lower and upper crusts. Please let me know how it goes or if you have any other questions!
xo,
A
Marianna Kokoreva says
Thank you, Alanna, I appreciate it! I'll report how it goes. It's so difficult to leave your site right away, always wanting to look - what else is there :)
Alanna Taylor-Tobin says
Aw that makes me so happy to hear! Sorry not sorry ;)