Your hunt for the perfect apple pie bars is officially over. This is the perfect Fall recipe for Thanksgiving or just for a treat! They’re gluten free, refined sugar free, and accidentally vegan. Made with an almond and oat flour crust, a delicious apple pie filling, and an easy oat crumble topping.
Nothing screams Fall more than apple pie. I’ve been eating my apple pie chia pudding non stop, but I thought it was time to move on to something desserty! I’ve been alternating between my pumpkin cookies and these bars and safe to say my taste buds are very happy.
These apple pie bars are incredibly easy to make, but they do require a few different steps. I’ll walk you through the whole process so you make them perfectly from the get go!
Crust
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. In a large bowl, mix together the oat flour, almond flour, arrowroot powder, salt and apple pie spice.
Add in all remaining ingredients. I suggest using your hands to kind of knead all the ingredients together. You want to make sure everything is well incorporated and no chunks of flour remain.
Add to an 8×8 greased pan and press down with your fingers to spread it evenly into the pan. It may seem like there isn’t enough dough at first, but keep pressing it and there will be plenty. Try to make it as even as possible. Use a spatula to press down and remove any fingerprints on the top.
Bake for 15 minutes and prep the rest of the bars while you wait.
Filling
The filling is also super easy to make, and there are a few options for prepping the apples. You can chop them into small cubes, slice them with a knife, or do what I did and very thinly slice them with a mandoline. After slicing them with the mandoline, I like to cut them in half which makes them a bit easier to work with.
First things first, combine the apple sauce, arrowroot powder, coconut sugar, apple pie spice and salt.
Very thinly slice the apples or use a mandoline to get thin strips. Add the apples to the bowl with the rest of the ingredients. If using the mandoline, gently fold the apples into the rest of the filling so they don’t completely break apart.
When the crust is done baking, let it cool for 5-10 minutes and then add in the filling, spreading evenly.
Instead of using more crust for the topping, we’re going to make a simple crumble, which is why these are apple pie crumble bars. They taste just like apple pie but have a crumble for the crust.
To make the topping, simply combine the quick oats, coconut sugar, melted oil and flour in a bowl. Mix well and then use your fingers to sprinkles on top of the bars, ensuring it is evenly spread.
Recipe tips & tricks!
- The arrowroot powder in the crust and filling can be subbed for tapioca or cornstarch. I don’t recommend subbing for more oat or almond flour because the arrowroot is necessary to bind everything together.
- Be sure to let the bars cool completely for slicing. They need to set as they cool or else they will fall apart. Ideally let them cool for at least 1 hour, but 30 minutes does the trick.
- I recommend an 8×8 pan for this recipe. A 9×9 will be slightly too big and the crust will be spread too thin. If a 9×9 is all you have you can still make these bar, but note that they will be slightly thinner than pictured.
- The crust might puff up in the center slightly as it bakes, this is totally normal and will go down within a few minutes of removing it from the oven.
- Be sure to use quick oats for the crumble topping, not rolled oats since they have a much grittier texture and will make the topping a bit too dry.
Try these dessert recipes next!
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Easy Vegan Apple Pie Bars
Ingredients
Crust:
- 1 1/4 cup oat flour
- ½ cup almond flour (not meal)
- 3 tbsp arrowroot powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ tsp apple pie spice
- 3 tbsp melted coconut oil or avocado oil*
- 3 tbsp coconut sugar
- 3 tbsp water
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
Filling:
- 1 cup apple sauce
- 2 cups thinly sliced apples (about 1 large or 2 small apples)
- ¼ cup arrowroot powder*
- 1 tsp apple pie spice
- ¼ cup coconut sugar
- ¼ tsp salt
Crumble Topping:
- 2/3 cup quick oats
- 1/2 cup coconut sugar
- 4-5 tbsp melted coconut oil
- 1/4 cup gluten free flour*
Instructions
- Crust:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- In a large bowl, mix together the oat flour, almond flour, arrowroot powder, salt and apple pie spice.
- Mix in all remaining ingredients. I suggest using your hands to make sure everything is well incorporated.
- Add to an 8×8 pan, greased, and press down with your fingers to spread it evenly into the pan. It may seem like there isn’t enough dough at first, but keep pressing it will be plenty. Use a spatula to press down and remove any fingerprints.
- Bake for 15 minutes.
- Filling:
- While the crust is baking, prep the filling.
- Combine the apple sauce, arrowroot powder, coconut sugar, apple pie spice and salt.
- Very thinly slice the apples or use a mandoline to get thin strips.
- Add to the bowl with the rest of the ingredients.
- When the crust is done baking, let it cool for 5-10 minutes and then add in the filling, spreading evenly.
- Crumble:
- Combine all ingredients for the crumble in a bowl.
- Sprinkle on top of the filling after you add it to the crust.
- Bake for 45 minutes.
- Let cool completely before slicing (ideally at least 1 hour to let it set).
Olivia and Lindsay
We made this today for guests. They could not stop eating them. This has great directions and this is an easy recipe to follow. We love it.
Claire Cary
They’re addicting in the best way possible! So glad you liked them 🙂