Pleasantly sweet, with warm apple slices, golden brown oats and plenty of cinnamon and spices, this homemade sugar free apple crisp recipe is a healthy, delicious dessert. Bake up a dish tonight!
When people think of sugar free desserts, they often imagine someone who is health conscious. Perhaps a person who wants to trim their waistline. Or who has decided to opt for some type of sugar substitute because they heard sugar wasn’t healthy for them.
But for us, baking sugar-free desserts is a lifestyle. It has been since I was little. Sugar bothers many of my family member’s bodies in ways that most people don’t understand. Many of the desserts we make are sweetened with fruit, fruit juice or agave. We typically select sweeteners that have a low glycemic index or are natural.
How to Make Apple Crisp Without Sugar
This homemade sugar free apple crisp recipe is just that — sweetened with only apples and 100% apple juice concentrate. It is the perfect dessert to serve year around, on weekdays or weekends, to guests or just because you have a craving for something sweet and satisfying.
My favorite part of this easy sugar free dessert recipe is the topping. Loaded with two kinds of flours, crisp, golden oats and plenty of warm spices, it’s sweet, buttery crunch is worth the 30 minute wait in the oven. If I could, I’d serve a little bit of apple with my generous portion of crisp topping. Or a smidge of apple pie filling with my large piece of pie crust. I’m just that kind of gal.
May you enjoy this sugar apple crisp with oats as much as my family and I do!
Watch Video Tutorial
What is a Good Sugar Substitute for Apple Crisp?
For this sugar free dessert we find that using real fruit and apple juice concentrate make a terrific substitute for granulated sugar. The flavor is delicious and much more healthy that a traditional apple crisp with sugar.
What is a Low Glycemic Index?
A glycemic index is a system of assigning numbers to foods based on how the food affects your blood sugar level. Consuming low glycemic foods mean they won’t cause wild swings in your blood sugar. This is great for many people but especially those with blood sugar issues like hypoglycemics and diabetics. Some examples of low glycemic foods are beans, lentils, most fruits and pumpkin seeds.
What Apples are Best to Use for Apple Crisp?
While most old fashioned apple crisp recipes call for firm, tart apples such as a granny smith or honey crisp, we prefer to use sweeter apples such as fuji, gala or even golden delicious. These types of apples create a more unique flavor while lending their sweet, tender profile to the crisp so that you don’t have to add enormous amounts of white or brown sugar.
Tools You May Need
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8 inch baking pan
Sharp knife
Mixing bowl
Stock pot
Tips
- To speed up the apple peeling process, I love using my apple peeler tool. It peels and cores your apples without you having to do it by hand.
- If one 8” x 8” baking dish isn’t enough to fill your family’s bellies, simply double the recipe and place it in a 9” x 13” glass baking dish.
- Rather than using a tart apple like a granny smith and then adding additional sugar to sweeten the fruit crisp, we like to use a sweeter apple like a gala or fuji. Then we add 100% apple juice concentrate to increase the natural sweetness of the apple crisp recipe.
- While the recipe calls for a combination of wheat and all purpose flour, if you have a grain mill, you can swap both flours out for freshly milled flour. I find hard white wheat, hard red wheat, spelt and soft white wheat all work very well in this sugar free apple recipe.
- The apple crisp recipe is absolutely delectable when served warm from the oven. But it’s also tasty at room temperature. Serve the apple crisp as is or pair is with a drizzle of raw cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Yum!
Easy Apple Crisp Recipe
Most people think of apples being a fall dessert. But this sugar free apple crisp recipe is perfect any time of the year! Simply toss together the ingredients, place in the oven and let the aroma of warm apples and spice fill your home.
Makes: 6 servings
Ingredients
Filling
5-6 apples, peeled and sliced thinly (we prefer to use Gala or Fuji apples)
8 ounces apple juice concentrate
1 1/2 tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Topping
1/2 cup wheat flour
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup quick oats
4 tablespoons butter, melted
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
Pinch of clove
Pinch of salt
Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
To make the filling for the apple crisp, start by peeling, coring and slicing the apples into thin slices. (I find using an apple peeler tool speeds up the process greatly!) Place the apples in a large bowl and set aside.
Next, pour the cold apple juice concentrate into a small saucepan. Whisk in cornstarch and cinnamon. Turn heat to medium high and bring to a boil. Cook until thickened. Pour mixture over apples and stir to coat apples completely. Spoon filling into an even layer in an 8” x 8” baking dish.
In a medium size bowl, combine both flours, quick oats, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and salt. Drizzle melted butter over mixture and stir until some small clumps appear. Sprinkle topping over the apples.
Bake the apple crisp for 30 minutes or until golden brown and the filling begins to bubble. Serve warm or at room temperature.
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Sugar Free Apple Crisp Recipe
Pleasantly sweet, with warm apple slices, golden brown oats and plenty of cinnamon and spices, this homemade sugar free apple crisp recipe is a healthy, delicious dessert. Bake up a dish tonight!
Ingredients
- Filling
- 5-6 apples, peeled and sliced thinly (we prefer to use Gala or Fuji apples)
- 8 ounces apple juice concentrate
- 1 1/2 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- Topping
- 1/2 cup wheat flour
- 1/2 cup all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup quick oats
- 4 tablespoons butter, melted
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- Pinch of clove
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
- To make the filling for the apple crisp, start by peeling, coring and slicing the apples into thin slices. (I find using an apple peeler tool speeds up the process greatly!) Place the apples in a large bowl and set aside.
- Next, pour the cold apple juice concentrate into a small saucepan. Whisk in cornstarch and cinnamon. Turn heat to medium high and bring to a boil. Cook until thickened. Pour mixture over apples and stir to coat apples completely. Spoon filling into an even layer in an 8” x 8” baking dish.
- In a medium size bowl, combine both flours, quick oats, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and salt. Drizzle melted butter over mixture and stir until some small clumps appear. Sprinkle topping over the apples.
- Bake the apple crisp for 30 minutes or until golden brown and the filling begins to bubble. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Our family enjoys a low sugar diet, what a perfect recipe for our family!
Those pictures make me want to whip up a batch right now!