This gluten-free and Paleo Apple Crumble Pie starts with an easy grain free pie crust filling with gooey, juicy warmly spiced apples and a sweet crunchy crumble topping. It’s a showstopper for the holiday season and a fun anytime healthier dessert!
Sign me up for every single apple dessert right now. SO ready to bring on fall! Apple desserts always hold an extra special place in my heart. Yes, that sounds beyond cheesy and ridiculous but it happens to be true.
First, fall is my favorite season by far. I guess maybe I’ve never been so into the hot weather. Or, maybe it’s because I have an October birthday and learned to anticipate the fall because it meant presents. Or maybe it’s the food! I have a feeling it’s all three.
In any case, fall is just the best. I’m willing and ready to embrace it as soon as that hint of cooler air comes along, or an acorn hits me in the head, or I find a red leaf on my car. You know, the obvious signs that it’s time to party, apple and pumpkin style.
The other reason I love apple desserts is the cheesy, sentimental one. When Adam and I were first dating, we went to an apple orchard (total cheese, but hey I love apples) and I baked an apple crisp when we got home. Honestly not because I wanted to impress him, but, because I really wanted apple crisp.
Anyway, he watched me make the crumb topping and thought I was some sort of kitchen genius. The rest is history.
In hindsight I might have taken his awe at my super-basic-baking-skills as a red flag that he has limited culinary skills, but, I didn’t think that way back then. Love is not only blind but also doesn’t really consider whether one is capable of cooking dinner for a family of 5 on a semi-regular basis.
But, let’s please get back to this glorious apple crumble pie! I used my easy pie crust recipe for the bottom and a maple-sugar sweetened, warmly spiced apple filling.
How to Make Paleo Pie Crust
It’s a lot easier than you might think!
- Instead of all-purpose wheat flour, you’ll combine almond flour, coconut flour, and tapioca. Maple sugar and sea salt give the crust just enough flavor to compliment the sweet apple filling.
- Use palm oil shortening as a plant-based substitute for butter, or use grass-fed butter if you’re not dairy free. You can even use a combination of both if you like!
- To make the crust, you’ll first want to pulse or blend the dry ingredients and butter together to create a thick crumb consistency.
- Next, a large egg will act as a binder for the crust dough. Add it into your food processor or blender and pulse to form dough.
- Finally, you’ll gather the dough and form it into a ball. At this point you can separate it into two parts, then wrap them in plastic wrap, form them into discs, and refrigerate them until you’re ready to bake your pie.
Ingredients in Paleo Apple Pie Filling
- Apples (peeled, cored, and sliced)
- Salt
- Cinnamon
- Nutmeg
- Ginger
- Lemon juice
- Maple sugar
- Vanilla extract
- Tapioca flour for thickening (you can substitute arrowroot powder if needed)
You can also use coconut sugar for the filling, but I prefer the flavor of maple sugar if you can get it. I’m hooked on the A & A Maple Sugar sold on Amazon. I used a combination of Honey Crisp and Granny Smith apples and I think I’m never using any other combination again!
The Best Paleo Apple Pie Recipe
Every apple crumb pie has 3 main elements – the bottom crust, the filling, and the crumb topping.
Here’s how to make a grain free apple pie:
- Roll out your chilled pie dough first. I like to do this between two sheets of parchment paper dusted with a bit of arrowroot powder. I use a 9 inch pie dish, so I try to roll my dough out into a circle, about 12 inches in diameter. Place your pie dough in the bottom of your pie dish and trim the edges of the crust so it’s not hanging over the edge of the dish. Crimp the edges of the dough.
- Next, make the filling. Get a large bowl and add the lemon juice and apples. Toss the apples in the juice. Then, add the spices, vanilla, sugar, and tapioca powder and toss everything together, making sure that the apples are completely coated. Place the cinnamon apple filling in the pie dish. If there’s a lot of juice in the bottom of the bowl, discard it.
- Last, mix the crumb topping. You’ll combine the almond flour with butter, cinnamon, sugar, chopped pecans, and salt until well combined. Sprinkle the crumb topping over the top of the apples. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 20 minutes, then lower the heat to 375 degrees and bake for 30 more minutes.
The crumble topping is similar to the one I used for my cherry crumble pie. I usually use ghee for the fat, but you can also use grass fed butter if you prefer. If you can’t have any dairy at all, the third option is coconut oil, but this is my least favorite as it tends to melt into the filling too much.
Tips for Making Apple Pie
- It’s an incredibly simple recipe if you take it in steps. You can make the dough a couple of days ahead of time (I’d say about 3 max) which cuts way down on prep time the day of.
- Since there’s no gluten in the pie dough, it will tear easily. Be sure to handle with care!
- I like to make the crumble before the filling too, and just keep it in the refrigerator while I roll out the crust and make the filling.
- Make sure you wait at least 2-3 hours before serving the pie so the filling can thicken up nicely. You won’t be sorry you waited – the result is sweet gooey apple-y perfection!
- You can keep this gluten free Paleo Apple Crumble Pie in the fridge for 4-5 days.
I hope you’re ready for this gloriously delicious, healthier paleo apple crumble pie! Grab your ingredients and get excited, because fall is here and you are going to LOVE this pie – let’s go!
Apple Crumble Pie {Paleo, Gluten-Free}
Apple Crumble Pie {Paleo, Gluten-Free}
Ingredients
Crust:
- 1 cup blanched almond flour
- 2 Tbsp coconut flour
- 2/3 cup tapioca flour
- 1/2 cup palm oil shortening or grass-fed butter, or a combination of both
- 1 Tbsp maple sugar or coconut sugar
- 1/2 tsp fine grain sea salt
- 1 large egg
Filling:
- 5-6 large apples (a little over 2 lb - I used honey crisp and Granny Smith) peeled, cored, and sliced into 1/4” slices.
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 tsp cinnamon
-
1/4
tsp
nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp ginger
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp maple sugar or coconut sugar
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 Tbsp tapioca flour or arrowroot
Crumble:
- 6 Tbsp pure maple sugar or coconut sugar
- 1/2 cup blanched almond flour
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/3 cup ghee or grassfed butter, or coconut oil, solid
- 3/4 cup pecans or walnuts chopped
- 1/8 tsp fine grain sea salt
Instructions
For the Crust:
-
In the bowl of a food processor, pulse all ingredients except the egg to create thick crumbs, then pulse/process in the egg until a dough forms. Gather the dough into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap and flatten into a disc, then chill while you prepare the apple filling (see below)
-
You can also chill the dough this way until ready to use - simply remove from the fridge to soften it up prior to using.
-
Preheat your oven to 400° F and have a 9” glass pie dish ready before rolling out dough. Roll out into a 12” (approximate circle between two sheets of parchment paper, dusting with tapioca or arrowroot to prevent sticking.
-
Remove the top piece of parchment paper, then
-
place your pie dish upside-down over the dough. Using the bottom parchment paper, flip the dough into the dish, carefully removing the parchment once flipped. Finish by pressing it into the bottom and sides of the pie dish to fit - this dough will break easily since it lacks gluten, however it also repairs incredibly easily and can withstand a lot of manipulation without affecting the final product!
-
Refrigerate the prepared pie crust while you make the crumb topping and filling.
For the apple filling:
-
In a large bowl, toss the sliced apples with the lemon juice to coat, then with remaining ingredients to evenly combine. Place in the refrigerator while making the crumb topping.
For the topping:
-
You can use a pastry blender, fork, or food processor to make the topping. Place all ingredients except for the chopped nuts in a large bowl or food processor. Blend by hand or pulse until you get a crumbly mixture, then stir in the chopped nuts. Chill in the freezer for 5 minutes.
-
Meanwhile, remove the crust and filling from the refrigerator. Flute/crimp the edges of the pie crust, then add the apple filling to the crust, leaving excess juice in the bowl. Remove the topping from the freezer and crumble all over the filling.
-
Place the pie dish on a baking sheet and loosely cover the top of the pie with foil. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes, then lower the oven temperature to 375° Continue to bake 30 minutes. Once it has about 10-15 minutes left, you can remove the foil so the topping browns.
-
Allow the pie to cool at room temperature for at least 2-3 hours before serving. Leftovers can be stored covered in the refrigerator for 4-5 days. Enjoy!
Recipe Video
Nutrition
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Want More Paleo Pie and Tart Recipes? Try One of These!
Double Crust Classic Apple Pie
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I love a good apple pie! Looks so delicious and fragrant ♥
Do you think I can use arrowroot instead of the tapioca in the pie crust?
YES!
My husband was just asking me yesterday to make him a gluten free apple pie. This looks fantastic!
Hope you try it out and enjoy!
Made this last night and it was delicious!!! The glass dish is important, I used my stoneware pie plate and had some sticking, but it was still delicious. Friends didn’t realize it was grain and dairy free
Could this be made ahead then frozen? And thawed and baked the day before an event?
Didn’t realize that the ghee had to be solid when mixing it to make the crust 🙁 Can’t get the right consistency by putting it in the fridge. Any suggestions on what to make with this batch of crust or how to correct it?
Could you use palm oil shortening instead of ghee or butter in the crumble? Or would it melt away too much like the coconut oil? I need to make it dairy free. thanks!
Looks fantastic! Could this recipe be made without the crust as an apple crumble?
Would it be ok to make this Tuesday before Thanksgiving? If so would I go ahead and bake it or mostly bake it and then refrigerate and reheat on turkey day? Too much to do Wednesday and Thursday but this sounds great!
This apple pie is excellent!!!! Made it for Christmas Eve and everyone said it was the best apple pie they’d ever had!!!!
This was delicious! I skipped the bottom crust and made an apple crumble instead of a pie. The mixture of Granny Smith and Honey crisp apples is key. The topping was a great consistency, wonderful flavor and browned very nicely in the oven. Approved by non paleo dinner guests too!
I have the pie in the oven, smells delicous! My crust was super thin, because I only rolled one of the discs. I couldn’t find clarification on after chilling he dough, was I suppose to combine the 2 discs into 1 dough again? In the meantime, I figure less carbs in my skinny crust. Please clarify, thank you for the recipe!
Sorry about that it was just supposed to read “disc” not discs! But I’m impressed you were able to work with just one – bravo!
Two years later, the narrative STILL says “Finally, you’ll gather the dough and form it into a ball. At this point you can separate it into two parts, then wrap them in plastic wrap, form them into discs, and refrigerate them until you’re ready to bake your pie.” I’m just glad I read the comments.
This pie is amazing! LOVE it! I uploaded a photo of it to Pinterest. I used a purchased crust and used hazelnut meal instead of almond flour in the topping as I’m allergic to almonds. That worked well! Will definitely make this again! Thank you for sharing the recipe!
Everything about this was fantastic. I cut up too many apples so I had to bake it longer before taking off the foil. The crust does take some extra care getting into the pie plate but it is forgiving enough to patch and crimp until it fits the pan properly. It was just sweet enough. We ate it both with and without ice cream. It’s a keeper!
To die for, the absolute best apple pie crumble I have ever tasted. This won’t last 10 minutes at the 4th of July BQ I am going to.
So delicious!! I wanted to make an apple dessert for a family dinner and was happy to find this recipe. My daughter and I made this together and it was pretty simple to make it all at once. It was delicious. Even my husband, who doesn’t like fruit desserts or cinnamon, had 2 servings!
Went apple picking yesterday then made this pie, absolutely delicious! Even my husband, who loves all things gluten, agreed. Saving this recipe for the holidays!
This was the best apple pie I’ve ever had!! My family loved it. Thank you for the recipe.
Great pie. My crust was difficult and wasn’t coming off the parchment after rolling it out. So I greased the dish and literally spooned it into the pie plate. It work! When serving, it sliced very nicely.
I just made this and it’s great! Can I freeze prior to baking to have extras?
Don’t have tapioca only arrowroot flours 🙁 Can one substitute? Thank you
Can we make the dough with a vita mix or by hand with a fork? I don’t have a fork
Can I make this a day ahead for thanks giving and them it reheats well??!! Please let me know 😊
As the only one in the house that eats gluten-free, my family is often skeptical of my gluten-free baked goods (due to a fair number of fails). I made this for Christmas and my family RAVED about it. It was absolutely delicious! I am so grateful for your amazing paleo treats that my family and I can both enjoy.
Hi! I only have almond flour 🙁 can I skip coconut and tapioca? Thanks!!
Thanks for the recipe!
Just stumbled across your blog and you are adorable and creative!
Hiya- Do you think frozen apple slices would work with this? I freeze the apples myself if I get too many and Ive been debating trying it in this pie! Im worried that it may come out too soggy and mushy though.
Did you try with frozen apples? How was it?
Does this freeze well?
I made this pie for my husbands birthday and WE ALL LOVED IT! The crust held together perfectly. No soggy bottom. Perfect flavour. It was amazing! Thanks for doing what you do!
Delicious! I’ve made this twice now. The only thing I changed the second time was adding 1/4 tsp salt and more pecans to the topping part. I think the salt adds the saltiness that butter adds to a crumble. My husband and I agreed that you can never have enough of that pecan crunch. The first time I missed the tinfoil instruction. It burnt but still tasted good. Second time with the foil it turned out perfect! Thanks Michelle xo
This recipe was easy to follow and wow what a result. My post lockdown dinner guests were very impressed and substituting the sugar with monkfruit made it even more enjoyable. Thank you so much for sharing your amazing family recipe 🥰
Delicious!
This pie turned out amazing. My favourite GF one I’ve made!