A healthy version of a classic fall dessert, this Paleo Maple Pecan Apple Crisp is the perfect warm and sweet comfort food on cozy nights. It’s grain free, gluten free, paleo, vegan, and soy free with simple whole ingredients and the fall flavors you crave.
I used to make non-paleo versions of apple crisp a few times every fall.
In fact, the first thing Adam ever witnessed me cook/bake was an apple crisp! We were dating for less than a month, and he was clearly impressed and still talks about the apple crisp day!
So, apple crisp was my original claim to fame with my husband.
I knew I had to get the paleo version of this right and luckily I came up with a crisp topping that’s SO delicious and made with good for you ingredients.
Toasty, crispy, just sweet enough. I know you’ll love it!
This recipe is such a hit with my family that whenever I make it it’s gone within a couple of hours.
The topping has a taste more along the lines of granola than anything paleo, so the seeds were definitely planted for a few of my homemade granola recipes!
I’ve said before that I used to have a major cereal habit and granola was probably my favorite of all. I LOVE my paleo versions now!
But let’s get into all the apple crisp details now 🙂
Ingredients Needed for Paleo Maple Pecan Apple Crisp
For the filling:
- Apples
- Cinnamon, nutmeg, & ginger
- Maple syrup (optional)
6 apples is the perfect amount for this Maple Pecan Apple Crisp. Make sure that you wash them well, then peel them, core them, and sliced into 1/4 inch thick pieces.
For the topping:
- Coconut oil
- Raw pecans
- Almond flour
- Maple syrup
- Coconut flakes
- Vanilla extract
- Cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, & allspice
- Sea Salt
What type of apples should I use?
There are lots of great apple varieties that are perfect for baking and since they’re in season right now, they’re even more flavorful than ever! I used Pink Lady apples but you could also use Jonagold, Honeycrisp, or Braeburn for a delicious apple crisp.
How to Make Paleo Maple Pecan Apple Crisp:
First, you’ll make the filling. Place the apple slices, spices, and maple syrup in a large bowl and toss everything together. Place everything in a baking dish, then set that aside and make the crisp topping.
The crisp topping is so easy – just place all of the ingredients in a food processor and pulse or process until a crumbly paste forms.
Crumble the topping over the apples and bake at 350 for 45 minutes or until the the topping has browned and the apple filling is bubbling.
This Paleo Maple Pecan Apple Crisp has become one of our favorite fall recipes. And that says a lot considering that it’s not even made with pumpkin!
In fact, I have a pumpkin sitting around that has my daughter questioning what I’ll make with it every day.
It’s so funny (and cool) that my kids see pumpkins and think about cooking with them.
I don’t think I knew you could cook with a pumpkin until I started eating paleo. Wild right?! But it’s time for APPLES now!
Grab your favorite baking dish and get your apples peeled because it’s time to bake – let’s go!
Paleo Maple Pecan Apple Crisp {Vegan}
Paleo Maple Pecan Apple Crisp
Ingredients
Crisp Topping:
- 1/3 cup organic coconut oil refined, solid, or vegan butter
- 1 cup pecan halves
- 3/4 cup blanched almond flour
- 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
- 2/3 cup coconut flakes unsweetened
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon *
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice or cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
Apple Filling:
- 7 medium apples peeled, and sliced to 1/4 inch thickness. (Pink lady and Honeycrisp are great!)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon *
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ginger
- 3 tablespoons maple sugar or coconut sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon tapioca flour or arrowroot
Instructions
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Preheat your oven to 350° F.
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Begin with the crisp topping. Place all the ingredients in a food processor and pulse until the nuts break down and a crumbly, pasty mixture forms. Chill in the refrigerator while you prepare the filling.
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In a large bowl, toss the sliced apples with the spices, tapioca, maple sugar and vanilla, then transfer to a 9 or 10 inch pie dish or baking dish, set aside.
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Drop/dollop the topping all over the apples to fully cover (or as fully as possible) and bake in the preheated oven for 40-45 minutes or until the apples are bubbling and the topping is brown and crisp. Check around 25-30 minutes and if the topping is browning too much, cover with aluminum foil for the last 15 minutes.
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Let sit for at least 30 minutes to cool down before serving warm. Serve with coconut vanilla ice cream if desired.
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If you're lucky enough to have leftovers, you can store leftovers in the fridge for up to 3 days (without the ice cream!) and reheat before serving. Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
*If you have apple pie spice, use 1 tablespoon of it in the topping and 2 teaspoons in the filling, instead of the individual spices.
Nutrition
Shop Products and Ingredients:
Want More Paleo Fruit Dessert Recipes? Try one of these!
Almond Butter and Jelly Cookie Bars
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SuzLyfe says
Hahahaha SO PUSHY. But I”m totally ok with it, in this case!
Michele says
Haha, I totally thought of you with that 🙂
Amanda @ Slimplify Life says
Yuuuuuum, I need this in my life. Pronto. I’m making it!!
Michele says
Hope you like it 🙂
KickAshMom says
Looks amazing! I’m all about apples in the fall. I’m not in the pumpkin band wagon.
Michele says
I’m kinda on both 🙂 definitely love fall baking!
misszippy1 says
My kids would think I am the best mom ever if I made that! It sounds amazing and we DO have apple picking on our list for this weekend!
Michele says
Fun, any apple bake is always appreciated by my kids 🙂
AmandaM says
Looks yummy! I still have apples from apple picking a few weeks ago. I’m picking up my 10 year old niece from school today and we will be spending the weekend together. I have all of the ingredients except the pecans. We’ll make a stop at WF’s and then proceed to bake!
Thanks, Michele! Happy weekend.
Michele says
Thanks! Hope you guys like it and have a great weekend!
Emily says
I’m pestering my family to go to an apple orchard sometime in the near future. Apple recipes for all!
Michele says
I love baking with apples, amazing recipes and also memories 🙂
Shelly says
Anything that ends in crisp or crumble is a win in my book! Mmm, looks amazing.
Michele says
Thanks, hope you try 🙂
racheleliz says
Yay thank you!!! Quick question.. how much can you taste the coconut? My fiance is not a fan.
Michele says
I didn’t taste it really and my kids didn’t notice. I think with the food processor it all gets mixed pretty well. You can probably omit and just add more pecans for a nuttier flavor.
Lauren @ The Bikini Experiment says
This looks awesome! I did pin it, but I know it won’t happen this weekend! 🙂 Lol…I thought your note at the end of your post was cute.
Have a great Friday!
Michele says
Thanks 🙂 good one to try and thanks for pinning!
Giselle Schroer says
Love me some apple crisp! I just happened to stop at an apple orchard today and purchased a few big bags of apples 🙂
Michele says
Best season and I love the feeling of coming home with tons of apples and deciding what to make!
The Food Explorer says
Hi Michele,
Your delicious recipe has been nominated as one of the “Top 100 Best Apple Recipes of 2014 for National Apple Month”. You and your readers can vote for it here: http://thefoodexplorer.com/fruit-2/100-delicious-apple-recipes-for-national-apple-month/ (position #48 – random order).
Happy National Apple Month! 🙂
Barbara says
Two thumbs up! I made it for my church small group and they loved it!
Michele says
Awesome! So glad everyone liked it 🙂
Mickey says
Hey Lovely! This recipe is DELICIOUS! Mind if I share it with your picture and a link to your blog for a roundup of yummy paleo dessert options for thanksgiving?
Michele says
Thanks! Of course you can share 🙂
Tina says
Thanks for the Apple crisp recipe. Just made it for Thanksgiving and it was delishish. Will definitely make it again.
Michele says
Awesome! So glad you liked it 🙂
Donna says
My family of four polished this right off without any problems at all. The top started to get too dark at 43 minutes, so I draped some foil over the top. I baked mine for an hour and thought the apples were a little too done for my taste. DELISH though and next time I will bake for 45 minutes.
Michele says
Awesome, glad you guys liked it 🙂
Ashley says
I have apples and want to make this now, but I’m in the midst of a Whole30, so I want to freeze it for later. Would you freeze this before or after baking?
By the way, you are my Whole30 HERO! I don’t feel like I’m missing out on a thing because of several of your recipes. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Michele says
So glad you enjoyed the Whole30 recipes! I’m not sure about freezing, I don’t think I’ve ever frozen anything with already cooked apples so I’m not sure how they would reheat. I’m thinking raw apples wouldn’t freeze so well, so if you do try it baking first would be my guess.
Gina Benson says
Hey Ashley!
I know this is an old comment but did you ever freeze this and if you did, how did it turn out?
GG says
Easy to make, little added sugar and a big hit. This is a keeper. Thank you ?
Michele says
Awesome, glad you liked it!
Nicole says
Hi. This recipe looks awesome but I can’t do the almond flour. Do you have any substitutions that would work instead?
Michele says
Any other nut flour/meal would work, if you can’t do nuts you can try ground flaxseed.
Jennifer says
Hey there! I’m in the same boat with the almond allergy… I have some coconut flour in the pantry. Do you think that could work??
Jennifer says
Hey there! I thInk I posted this comment in the wrong place last time ? so here it is again! Lol!… I’m in the same boat with the almond allergy… I have some coconut flour in the pantry. Do you think that could work??
Michele says
Unfortunately it would be too dry and crumbly in this recipe if the same amount is used. I think cassava flour could work a bit better but I’m not sure of the amount, go a bit under in measurement if you try it!
Lisa says
Did you ever try it with the Casava flour?
I have the same nut allergy
Amelia says
Made this last night for breakfast this morning. I baked it in my countertop oven and the crisp topping started to burn after 20 minutes so I shut off the convection setting and lowered the oven temp to 350°F. I should have thought about covering it. I used Gala apples and left the peel on. It still tastes great with the burnt crisp topping!
Leslie says
This was delicious. I have a wonderful apple tree in my yard. I’ll be making several of these for freezing. The flavors are delightful. Most recipes seem to count on cinnamon and the apple for all the flavor. Not this one. The ginger and nutmeg give it another level of flavor that makes you want more. Definitely comfort food. I love that it has only 2T maple syrup. Perfect!
Leslie says
I’m sure that it will freeze well. I frequently freeze all kinds of fruit crisps. They thaw nicely. Also, I didn’t peel the apples, I rarely do for most any recipe. I baked it at 350* in my toaster oven and I agree, 45 min. Would be the longest for my taste.
Vickie says
Big hit for our dessert after dinner out party. Everyone loved it and we used apples from our tree. Plan to make it a few more times this fall.
Sue says
I made this and the topping was delicious. I didn’t add the optional maple syrup to the Gala and Honeycrisp apples. The Galas needed some zing and the Honeycrisps were better. My husband thought the optional maple syrup would have helped. I was wondering if 2 tbsp of lemon juice would have given it more zing. I would love your thoughts.
Michele says
I like a little lemon along with the maple when trying to make the apple flavor more pronounced. I’m glad you enjoyed it!
Sue says
Could these be made in individual ramekins? Do you know how that would effect the cooking time?
Elida says
So glad you posted this as I have a bunch of apples from apple picking and no idea what to do with them! Perfect solution. 😀 Keep doing delicious!
Rachel says
Holy cow! Delicious. I made it tonight. I should definitely have company when I make this so I don’t eat it all!
ShelFish says
Great recipe! Loved it! (I doubled the amount of crisp and that was even better).
Lucinda Johnson says
Just made this. Wonderful! Love all the spices, the pecans. Yum. I did not have pure maple syrup so used a sugar free version that I had on hand.. Next time I will invest in the good stuff to see if it makes a difference. Love it. Definitely going in my favotites.
Louise says
This recipe is awesome. It’s a great and healthy version of an old favorite.
Diana says
Really good !!!
Chloe Durant says
Surprisingly tasty with good texture. Mine came out a bit dry so next time I will add 1/4 cup of water over the apple mix before you put the crumble on then the apples will be more moist and/or covered it with foil.
Suzie says
Absolutely delicious. Followed it to the letter. Used Macintosh apples and they’re my faves.
Rebekah H says
This is an absolute go-to for me. Thank you!
Lisa Hill says
Great reviews from the family! I made it with the following substitutions: coconut sugar instead of maple, oat flour instead of almond, 2 Tablespoons of ghee and 4 Tablespoons of coconut oil for the crumble. I also added a Tablespoon of ghee to the apples. Delish! I have requests to make it again.
Lila Holistic says
Hi Michele, this looks amazing and healthy. I love your recipes and been following you since like 5 years or so. I’m doing this apple crisp, just have a question, can I use muffin tray? To make them by piece and if so is the same time on the oven? Thanks a lot!
Chris says
This was delicious!
Sara Elizabeth Feavearyear says
Very easy to make and excellent flavor My 7 year old niece and I made it together she said Delicious
Thank you
stacie says
Sooo goood. I added a bit of coconut sugar to the crumble. Will definitely make again.
Linda says
I love to cook but not bake as I don’t like following a recipe. I liked the sound of this one and I had all ingredients so out came my measuring cups and spoons . I could have eaten the hole thing myself!! So tasty and texture was perfection!! I didn’t have pecans but had walnuts and it added a lovely taste. I will make this again and again and again.,
Sarah says
Can this be assembled a day earlier before baking? Just wondering if the apples would be OK. Thanks!
Debbie says
Hi Sarah! Did you try it? I’m hoping to assemble this Wednesday and leave in the fridge to bake until Thursday 😀
Steph says
Thank you for this recipe. It looks delicious! I’m however trying to eliminate all oils from my diet. Do you think this would still work well without the coconut oil or if I substituted apple sauce instead?
Lisa says
I made this yesterday and it was so delicious! Thank you so much – crisps were always a favourite dessert of mine and I have missed oats so much.. this really gives the feeling you are eating oats. Can’t wait for dessert again tonight.. Will be trying your granola next!
Note: I did use a little less nutmeg as I am not a huge fan of it and omitted ginger and allspice because I did not have any. Flavour was great regardless!
Maggie m Williams says
What can you use to replace the coconut oil…I don’t like it.
Ang says
Absolutely loved this recipe. One of the best Paleo desert recipes I have made. I used yellow delicious apples and they were delicious. Will definitely make again.
Peggy says
probably the tastiest apple crisp I have made since going Paleo!
Karen K says
What can I use in place of the coconut? We have a coconut allergy here so we are trying to learning all the replacements because there is so much coconut used in paleo cooking.
Amanda says
Hi! I didn’t have refined coconut oil, so I used vegan butter. It was amazing!!
Vampire Survivors says
Thank you so much for this great recipe!
Breida says
It looks totally delicious, but, could I use coconut flour instead tapioca flour for the filing?
Margaret Casner says
One of the worst apple crisps I’ve ever made or had. I had to take it apart and add Stevia and Monkfruit. The pecans added a good crunch to the topping, but also a kind-of bitterness. And there was not even close to having enough cinnamon, which you need sweetener with. I’m sorry, I will make using my sweeteners, just wasn’t good!🤷🏼♀️
Ivy says
Hi! I don’t do well with coconut. Any substitutes you’d recommend for the coconut flakes? Or could I just skip it altogether? Thanks!