Dessert couldn’t be easier or tastier than this super easy, no-hassle Healthy Apple Crisp! So crisp, sweet, and delicious you would never know that it’s gluten, dairy, vegan, and refined-sugar free.

So a few weeks ago, Caleb and I went to spend the week in New Mexico with my parents and sister and it was absolutely the best week! After being in quarantine for approx 5 million years, a (still quarantined) change of scenery was just what we were needing. The added bonus? All the more people to test recipes on! As I’ve said in the past, Caleb isn’t exactly the biggest sweet tooth which means I’m out here eating all the sweet goods that I test All. By. Myself. Yikes.

Luckily my mom and sister love a crisp as much as I do so the crisp testing went down all week long! Apparently my dad has recently decided he doesn’t like oatmeal because he’s my dad and he’s super weird so he didn’t partake. Like, I know everyone thinks that their dad is weird to a degree but my dad is the dad that all of my friends are like yep he’s a weird one. Don’t worry, I think he secretly takes pride in that fact so I’m not out here blasting him on the internet. Plus I don’t think he even knows my blog url so….. I digress, back to that crisp!

After multiple crisp testings throughout the week, I think we landed on perfection. Juicy apples with a bit of crunch topped with a hearty portion of crisp topping. Gluten free, dairy free, vegan, and refined sugar free yet trust me no one would even know it! My sister and mom would both attest to that. Add a large scoop of vanilla bean ice cream on top and you’ve got yourself the perfect dreamy summer-time dessert!

Let’s Take a Look at Some of the Ingredients:

Apples – I personally love to use Granny Smith apples because I love using a tart apple but you can use any variety that you want. Additionally, I have also made this recipe using frozen peaches (it turned out amazing), so any fresh or frozen fruit will work in this recipe.

Corn Starch – you can also use arrowroot powder. Corn starch helps to thicken the juices in the oven.

Coconut Sugar – Personally, I love the lighter taste of coconut sugar plus I’m a fan of it being a little on the “healthier” side as far as granulated sugars go. However, this could easily be swapped for white sugar or a lighter brown sugar.

Old Fashion Rolled Oatmeal – I don’t recommend using steel cut oatmeal, I haven’t tried using instant but that should also work.

Almond Flour – Almond flour is one of my favorite flours to bake with because it contains more nutrients than all purpose flour. However, luckily a crisp topping is super forgiving so if you don’t have almond flour you can also use oat flour, gluten free flour, or all purpose flour. Mainly I would stay away from coconut flour in this recipe.

Maple Syrup – has a lower glycemic level than other sugars and adds the perfect touch of sweet to the crisp. Feel free to switch it out for honey or agave.

Coconut Oil – Really helps the topping to crisp up in the oven. Melted butter would work as well.

Tips for Making the Healthy Apple Crisp:

Don’t skip the cornstarch or arrowroot powder! Cornstarch is important to help the fruit juices thicken.
Use fresh or frozen fruit but DO NOT use canned fruit. Does anyone actually buy frozen apples? I know they exist but I’ve never purchased them. However just about any fruit will work with this recipe other than canned fruit (I’ve used frozen peaches and it turned out super delicious). Canned fruit typically has a lot of added sugar and quite a bit of liquid which will lead to a soupy crisp. No thanks.
Let it cool! The crisp sets up and the juices thicken as it cools. In order to avoid a runny crisp, you really need to let it cool.
Ice Cream. Obviously this is not mandatory but also isn’t ice cream always kind of mandatory? Or whipped cream would make a great backup!

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If you make this recipe I would love it if you comment below and let me know how it was! Also tag @servingupsimplicity on Instagram and use the hashtag #servingupsimplicity. XOXO