Vegan Apple Crisp

This post is sponsored by Sprouts. As always, all opinions, thoughts and recipes are my own.

A vegan Apple Crisp is the perfect sweet treat for breakfast or dessert for the holidays! This festive breakfast crisp, sweetened with maple syrup, features tart apples and pomegranate arils. With a simple, gluten free crumble topping, this crisp is sure to become a favorite! Makes 8 servings.

Love a vegan baked good? Don’t miss Vegan Pumpkin Muffins, Vegan Peanut Butter Espresso Cookies and Hazelnut and Pecan Baked Oatmeal.

A few years back, I offered a Thanksgiving brunch menu, including all kinds of items like Thanksgiving Turkey Biscuits and Gravy, Thanksgiving Brunch Salad and this delightful gluten free and vegan apple crisp that was supposed to be a sweet breakfast/brunch treat. 🎉

Hi. Have we talked about how much I enjoy hosting brunch at home, especially a holiday brunch?

However, I’m really into the idea of this Vegan Apple Crisp also being a dessert for obvious reasons.

Why I love this recipe

While we aren’t vegans in our household, we have friends who are.

I always like to keep my friends and family in mind as we prepare for the holidays. Whenever I host an event—whether it’s a holiday meal, a homegate, an impromptu dinner—I want to ensure there’s something for everyone who attends, whether or not we abide by their diet.

That’s why you can find so many vegan and dairy free recipes on my site—because I want to be considerate of my guests.

This Vegan Apple Crisp recipe is simple and oh-so-delicious for everyone, whether or not they’re vegan, eating a lower sugar or gluten free diet.

The apples are crisp and tart. The pomegranate arils add pops of brightness. The lemon and orange juices add some acidic sweetness, and when paired with the maple syrup? Dreamy.

Top with a crunchy crisp topping, and this brunch or dessert centerpiece is absolutely golden.

Other desserts that are perfect for sharing in the fall and winter: Praline Pumpkin Upside Down Cake | Mini Apple Spice Rum Cakes |

What you’ll need to make a Apple Crisp

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• Glass bowls
• Apple or vegetable peeler
• Zester
• Citrus juicer
• A ceramic baking dish that’s

In addition to these products you’ll need on hand to make this dish, you will also want to have the following food items, which you may or may not have in your pantry.

• Coconut oil—this is the fat that gets our gluten free crisp to crisp up and holds it together!
• Pure maple syrup—spring for the real stuff and don’t get the “maple flavored” syrup. It’s not the same, and you want the real deal since it’s the only sweetener we’re using.
• Granny Smith apples—we want an extra tart apple for this crisp! These green apples are my favorite for baked goods.
• Pomegranate arils—these are pomegranate seeds, and you can find them

How to make a Vegan Apple Crisp

Prepare the Apple Crisp Filling

Preheat the oven, and spray a large baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.

Peel the apples, and chop them. These don’t have to be exact or perfect, but I generally try to remove the whole peel and chop them into ¼” thick slices.

Place the apple slices in a bowl. Add the pomegranate arils, too, and then toss with a rubber spatula until combined.

Pour the orange juice, maple syrup and lemon juice over the fruit. Gently toss with a rubber spatula until the fruit has been coated in the liquids.

Some of the liquid will pool at the bottom of the bowl, and that’s OK. We just want to make sure the fruit is coated so that the apples don’t begin to brown.

Pour the fruit mixture into the prepared baking dish, and set aside.

Make The Apple Crisp Topping

In another large bowl, measure out the rolled oats, chopped pecans, ground cinnamon and salt. Toss until combined with the rubber spatula.

In a smaller bowl, measure out the maple syrup and the coconut oil. (If your coconut oil is in a solid form, melt a little bit of it in a bowl in the microwave, then measure accordingly.)

Pour in the maple syrup and coconut oil on top of the crisp ingredients, and stir. This mixture will be pretty wet.

Use your fingers to pick up small pieces of the topping, and sprinkle it over the prepared apple-pomegranate mixture. Add a sprinkle of cinnamon on top when you’re done.

Bake the Apple Crisp

Transfer the baking dish to the preheated oven, and bake uncovered on the middle rack.

Raise the temperature to 375°F, and bake for an additional 15 to crisp up the topping before removing from the oven.

Let cool slightly before serving.

If serving for breakfast, serve with your favorite vegan yogurt. If serving as a dessert, give guests the option of adding their favorite vegan ice cream as a topping.

Erin’s Easy Entertaining Tips

What better way than to celebrate any fall or winter holiday than by gathering the people you love, serving them a delicious dinner and then finishing with a gorgeous Vegan Apple Crisp?

Truly, this homemade apple crisp is the perfect dessert for any kind of cooler weather gathering, and you can make it easier on yourself, too!

• Bake it in advance. While I don’t recommend letting this hang out in the fridge for days, you can easily bake it earlier in the day so you don’t have to be baking it when you’re hosting. I’d remove it after you do the bake at 350°F so that the portion at 375°F can be done when guests arrive.
• Warm it up in the oven before dessert. If you bake the crisp in advance, simply preheat the oven to 375°F 30-45 minutes before you plan to eat dessert, and place the crisp in the preheated oven. This will warm up the apples but also help the topping crisp up.
• Let guests decide their favorite topping for the Vegan Apple Crisp. You can easily have vegan yogurt, ice cream and whipped cream on hand if anyone is interested in having that added to their dessert.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why do you like shopping at Sprouts Farmers Market?

Sprouts Farmers Market and I go way back, and not only do I love their products, their prices and their locations, but I love that they want to help everyone live a healthier lifestyle for less.

For this recipe, they challenged me to make a plant-based, family-style entrée for the fall. And since they stock so many plant-based ingredients, this recipe was super easy to develop, make and photograph.

I took Sprouts’ challenge guidelines and ran with them, whipping up a naturally sweet breakfast crisp to feed to friends and family for breakfast or dessert—because this Vegan Apple Crisp truly could be a breakfast or a dessert.

What type of coconut oil should I use?

You can use refined or unrefined coconut oil.

If you don’t particularly like the taste of coconut, I suggest getting the refined coconut oil because it’s processed more and has a milder coconut flavor.

What type of maple syrup should I use?

So long as it’s pure, you can use whatever you’ve got on hand. 🙂 Just don’t use the maple-flavored stuff. It’ll shortchange this Vegan Apple Crisp recipe so much.

What can I pair with this Vegan Apple Crisp?

If you’re serving a vegan brunch, check out these following recipes:

• Pumpkin Spice Kombucha Cocktail
• Vegan Orange Cranberry Muffins
• Vegan Pumpkin Spice Latte

If you’re serving a vegan dinner and serving this Vegan Apple Crisp as dessert, check out the following dishes:

• Vegan Sweet Potato Sage Olive Oil Biscuits
• Vegan Potato Leek Soup
• Arugula Quinoa Salad

Now who’s ready for a big serving of this family-style vegan treat?

Scroll on down to learn how to make this Vegan Apple Crisp at home and wow guests with its deliciousness!

It’s so tasty that they won’t even notice there’s no added sugar or gluten!

Do you like to tinker with different kinds of recipes to fit your family and friends’ diets?

Would you like a serving of this Vegan Breakfast Apple Crisp?