With a bushel full of fall flavors like apples, cinnamon, and walnuts, this gluten-free Paleo Apple Crisp is an easy and delicious autumnal dessert that everyone will love!
Table of Contents
- This recipe is…
- Why You’ll Love This Apple Crisp Recipe
- Gluten-Free Apple Crisp Recipe Ingredients
- Recipe Variations and Modifications
- How to Make Apple Crisp
- Gluten-Free Fruit Crisp Recipe Tips
- How to Serve Apple Crisp
- How to Store and Reheat
- Frequently Asked Questions
- More of Our Best Fall Baking Recipes
- Paleo Apple Crisp Recipe
This recipe is…
Apple crisp is an Americana favorite for good reason: there’s just something so warm and cozy about a homemade filling made with crisp apples, sweet and warming cinnamon, and just a bit of sweetener — topped with a crispy and buttery topping studded with crunchy walnuts. Finish it off with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and you really can’t get anything better than this classic dessert!
Our version is Paleo-friendly and grain-free thanks to paleo baking flour…but no one will be able to tell the difference. We like Granny Smith or Honeycrisp apples for this crisp, but feel free to use any tasty varieties you find at your local orchard, farmer’s market, or grocery store. (Or, you can use this flexible recipe as a template for experimenting with other kinds of fruit.)
Looking for more tasty ways to make the most of this fall’s apple harvest? Try our Apple Cinnamon Overnight Oats, Shredded Brussels Sprouts Salad with Apple Cider Vinaigrette, Hard Cider Roasted Pork Loin, Fried Apple Pies, or Apple Crumb Cake.
Why You’ll Love This Apple Crisp Recipe
- A beautiful trio of fall flavors: apples, cinnamon, and walnuts
- Just 20 minutes of prep
- Paleo-friendly and grain-free
Gluten-Free Apple Crisp Recipe Ingredients
Here’s everything you’ll need to bake up this easy and delicious fruit crisp recipe. Find ingredient notes (including substitutions and swaps) below.
For the filling:
- Apples – 3 pounds Granny Smith or Honeycrisp (about 6 total), cored and thinly sliced
- Sugar – 1/4 cup coconut sugar
- Flour – 2 tablespoons paleo baking flour, like King Arthur brand
- Lemon juice – 4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- Cinnamon – 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Salt – 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- Water – 1 tablespoon of water
For the crumble:
- Flour – 1 1/2 cups 156 g paleo baking flour, like King Arthur brand
- Walnuts – 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
- Sugar – 1/2 cup coconut sugar
- Cinnamon – 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- Butter – 8 tablespoons butter or ghee, melted
- Vanilla – 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
A full ingredient list with exact amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
Recipe Variations and Modifications
Here are a few ways to make this gluten free apple crisp recipe your own:
- Fruit – experiment with different kinds of fruit, including fresh pears, plums, or peaches.
- Spice it up – Cinnamon is a must for this recipe, but you could also add a teaspoon of ground cardamon or pumpkin pie spice.
- Nuts – no walnuts in your pantry? Try hazelnuts, pecans, or almonds instead.
How to Make Apple Crisp
One of the best things about this Paleo Apple Crisp is how easy it is to make! Just follow the steps below.
Step 1: The first thing you’ll do to make this apple crisp is core 6 apples and thinly slice them. You can leave the skins on or peel them – it’s up to you!
In a baking dish, combine the apple slices with the other filling ingredients (coconut sugar, lemon juice, cinnamon, salt, water, and Paleo baking flour). Toss to combine.
Step 2: To make the crisp topping, you’ll whisk together flour, coconut sugar, cinnamon, and walnuts. Then, stir in the butter and vanilla until the mixture is crumbly.
Step 3: Sprinkle the crumble topping over the apples, making sure it is evenly distributed.
Step 4: Bake the crisp at 350 F for 45 minutes, until the apples are cooked through, and the topping is browned and crisp. Let it cool slightly then serve warm.
Gluten-Free Fruit Crisp Recipe Tips
While this paleo apple crisp is delicious on its own, we find that a good topping really takes it to the next level. Here are our favorites:
Salted Caramel Sauce – If you really want to up the deliciousness of this dessert, try topping it with our salted caramel sauce that’s dairy and refined sugar-free!
Whipped cream or coconut cream – Whipped cream or coconut cream makes for a perfect easy topping for this crisp.
Ice Cream – You can either make your own or go for store-bought. A few of our favorite Paleo-friendly ice cream brands are NadaMoo and Coconut Bliss.
How to Serve Apple Crisp
Serve warm straight from the oven, or at room temperature, with one of the above toppings!
How to Store and Reheat
Refrigerate and store leftover apple crisp in a covered container for up to 4 days.
To reheat, place in an oven-safe dish and bake at 350 F until heated through and re-crisped.
Frequently Asked Questions
King Arthur’s new Paleo Baking Flour is a blend of almond, coconut, and cassava flours that can be used 1:1 to replace regular flour in your favorite recipes. We’ve used King Arthur’s gluten-free measure for measure flour for years, so we were very excited to test out this new grain-free blend. So far, we’ve made apple muffins, brownies, and now this apple crisp with this flour and are loving this easy-button option for Paleo baked goods.
King Arthur is known for their precision in baking, and for this blend, they’ve truly found the optimal balance with 3 grain-free flours. The healthy fats in the almond flour keep baked goods moist, tender, and fresh for longer, while cassava flour helps lighten up the baked goods and coconut flour helps thicken the batter.
You can find Paleo Baking Flour on the King Arthur’s website, Amazon, or at your local Publix, Walmart, Harris Teeter, Meijer, and more.
Good question! There are a lot of names for similar dessert bakes made with fresh fruit and some type of topping, baked to golden brown and bubbly perfection. The differences just come down to the topping of choice. Cobblers are topped with dollops of biscuit-like dough. Crumbles are topped with a streusel made with butter, flour, sugar, and sometimes other ingredients. And the top layer of crisps is the same as a crumble — but usually with a “crispy” addition like oats or nuts (we use walnuts here).
More of Our Best Fall Baking Recipes
If you tried this recipe for Paleo Apple Crisp, or any other recipe on the Fed & Fit website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let us know how it went in the 📝 comments below!
Paleo Apple Crisp
Ingredients
Filling
- 3 pounds apples, granny smith or honeycrisp, about 6 total, cored and thinly sliced (skin on or off)
- 1/4 cup coconut sugar
- 2 tablespoons King Arthur Paleo Baking flour
- 4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 tablespoon of water
For the Crumble
- 1 1/2 cups 156 g King Arthur Paleo Baking flour
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
- 1/2 cup coconut sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 8 tablespoons butter or ghee, melted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 F.
- Place all of the ingredients for the filling in the bottom of a 1.75 quart casserole dish and toss to combine,
- Whisk together the flour, walnuts, coconut sugar, and cinnamon until fully combined. Then, stir in the butter and vanilla.
- Sprinkle the crumble topping over the apples, making sure it is evenly distributed.
- Bake at for 45-55 minutes, until the apples are cooked through and the topping is browned and crisp. Let cool slightly then serve warm, with Paleo ice cream or whipped cream, if desired.
Nutrition
I made this with one sub- Truvia for the sweetener. It ended up tasting awful. I don’t know why.
Oh no! I’m so sorry, Becky. We haven’t ever tried it with Truvia, but thank you for the heads up!
So excited to see a paleo recipe for a long time family favorite. My mom has always made this and taught me that most people don’t bake it long enough for the apples to get nice and done and the crisp on top to actually be crispy. I haven’t made anything like this is years so I’m excited to try! Do you think that monk fruit (granulated) could be substituted for the coconut sugar to reduce the sugar/carb content? Or, any suggestions to otherwise reduce what sugar content you can, aside from the apples of course. ;0) Thank you!
So glad you’re excited about this one, Kerry! We haven’t tried monk fruit, but I think it’ll work. Let us know if you try it!
I am so excited to try this recipe! I have a question- can I use the King Arthur Measure for Measure flour for this recipe?
If you’d rather use the Measure for Measure, I’d recommend using the crumble from this recipe instead.
I’d love to make this vs apple pie for Thanksgiving … make ahead and then just warm in the oven when ready to eat? Anyone had success with that? I don’t want it to get mushy.
My suggestion would be to keep the apples and crumble separate, then sprinkle the crumble over top before you bake!
Our family’s first favorite apple crisp recipe.
We’ve tried many recipes for this, and eaten many other people’s versions of apple crisp, but this is the first time we’ve decided that apple crisp is a worthwhile dessert. It is excellent!
So glad you enjoyed it Becky!