It is so delicious especially when served with a big dollop of vegan custard or whipped cream. But my all-time favorite is a scoop of vegan vanilla ice cream, the combination of hot and cold works so well!
You only need to spend around 15 minutes of active prep time in the kitchen and it can be made ahead of time, making it the perfect crowd-pleasing dessert to bring to your next potluck or family gathering.
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Do you have lots of fruit left over from apple picking? Try my vegan recipes for apple crumble cheesecake, apple cake, apple cinnamon rolls, and apple pie next!
🧾 Ingredients Needed
This easy vegan crumble uses mostly pantry-staple ingredients. Here's everything you need:
Ingredient Notes
Find the complete list of ingredients, quantities, and instructions in the recipe card at the end of this post.
- Apples - I use a combination of red and green apples. Granny Smith apples are slightly sour and don't get too soft when baked, whereas Honeycrisp apples are sweeter and become nice and gooey. The combination of sweet and tart apples gives the filling the perfect texture, the apples keep their shape without turning mushy.
- Apple Cider Vinegar - The apples are coated with vinegar which prevents them from browning and adds a zippy flavor. You can swap this for fresh lemon juice.
- Sugar - The crunchy topping uses a combination of granulated sugar and brown sugar. The white sugar lends to the crispy consistency whereas brown sugar adds a caramelised flavor. You can stick to just one type of sugar if you like, or use coconut sugar for a less refined version. If you're based in the States, opt for organic white sugar to ensure it's vegan-friendly.
- Non-Dairy Butter - My favorite type to use is vegan butter sticks (or block butter) for the best flavor, but for this recipe, you can get away with using vegan margarine as well.
- Vanilla Pod - This takes the flavor of the apple filling to the next level. You can use a tablespoon of vanilla extract or a teaspoon of vanilla bean paste instead, just mix it in with the apples and vinegar.
🥣 How To Make Vegan Apple Crumble
Here are step-by-step images. Remember, the detailed printable recipe card is at the end of this page:
1. Add the dry ingredients for the crumble mixture to a bowl (all-purpose flour, brown and white sugar, cinnamon, and sea salt). Stir them, then add the cubed dairy-free butter.
2. Use your fingertips to rub the butter into the dry ingredients until it resembles a crumble consistency.
3. Slice the vanilla pod down the center to expose the seeds and rub them into the brown sugar.
4. Mix flour and cinnamon with the vanilla sugar (this will be used to coat the apples).
5. Peel and thinly slice the apples to around 1cm thick. You can place the apple slices in a bowl of water to prevent them from browning while you prep them.
6. Toss the apples in the sugar and flour mixture until evenly coated.
7. Pack the coated apple slices into your baking dish as evenly as possible.
8. Top the apples with an even layer of crumble and bake at fan-forced 160°C/320°F or conventional 175°C/350°F for about 1 hour until the topping is golden brown.
♻ Variations
Here are some ways you can adapt this crumble to suit your taste and dietary requirements:
- Oaty topping - The main difference between a crumble and a crisp is the presence of oats. You can easily make this an apple crisp by swapping out a quarter of the flour for oats in the topping.
- Add berries - Replace a cup of the apple slices for fresh or frozen berries such as blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, or mixed berries. Or if you want to leave out the apples, try my triple berry crisp instead.
- Gluten-free - Use an all-purpose GF blend in place of regular flour to make your apple crumble gluten-free. I do not recommend using oat flour, almond flour, or coconut flour as they behave differently from standard flour.
- Spices - Along with ground cinnamon, you can add nutmeg, allspice, and ground ginger, or opt for a readymade pumpkin spice mix instead.
💡 Recipe Tips
Save the vanilla pod. Once you've scraped out all the vanilla seeds, there will still be some flavor left in the pod itself. Add it to your next batch of homemade vanilla extract, or add flavor to sugar or salt.
Don't overcook the apples! I'm not a fan of pre-cooking apples for pies and crumbles as this risks them turning to mush. The apples are best when they're soft but still retain some shape. To check them for doneness, press a fork into the center of the crumble, it should be soft but still have a little resistance when cutting through the apple pieces.
Submerge apples in water while you work. Whether you're using a mandolin or slicing by hand, apples can brown very quickly. So to keep the apple nice and bright, I like to submerge the slices in a bowl of cold water. Then carefully pat them dry with a clean tea towel when you're ready to mix in the vinegar.
Bake on an aluminum baking sheet. The sheet will conduct heat from the oven, helping to bake the filling quicker and more evenly.
💬 FAQs
It will keep in the fridge for up to 5 days. Cover it completely with plastic wrap or foil, or place it in an airtight container before refrigerating.
Absolutely! You can heat it in the microwave for around 2 minutes to get it nice and piping hot before serving.
To reheat in the oven, cover the dish with tinfoil to prevent the crumble from drying out, and bake for 15 minutes in a preheated oven at 160°C/320°F (fan-forced) or 175°C/350°F (conventional).
Absolutely, you can divide the ingredients by 6 or 8 depending on the size portion you'd like.
Simply bake it in a small heat-resistant ramekin. I would check on it after the first 30 minutes of baking, seeing as it will need a little less time to cook this way.
While this recipe is made for a 10.5"x7.5" dish you can easily adapt the amounts to suit your baking pan with a little math.
For an 8-inch square pan, ¾ the recipe. For an 8-inch loaf pan, ½ the recipe.
🍎 More Vegan Apple Recipes
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📖 Recipe
Description
Ingredients
Crumble Topping
- 200 g (1 ⅔ cups) all-purpose flour
- 60 g (⅓ cup) granulated sugar, *see note 1
- 60 g (¼ cup) light brown sugar, *see note 1
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 120 g (4.23 oz) vegan butter, room temperature, cut into cubes *see note 2
Apple Filling
- 100 g (¼ cup + 3 tablespoons) light brown sugar
- 1 vanilla pod, *see note 2
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 kg (2.2 lb) apples, I use Granny Smith and Honeycrisp *see note 3
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar, *see note 4
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
Instructions
- Prepare: Preheat your oven to fan-forced 160°C/320°F or conventional 175°C/350°F.
Crumble Topping
- Crumble: Add the flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt to a medium bowl and stir.
- Add the cubed butter and use your fingertips to rub the butter into the dry ingredients until it resembles a crumble consistency. Set aside in the fridge while you make the filling.
Apple Filling
- Flavor the sugar: Scrape the seeds out of the vanilla pod and add them to a bowl along with the brown sugar and the leftover vanilla pod. Use your fingertips to rub the vanilla into the sugar, then remove the pod and any stringy residue from it (if there is any).
- Add dry ingredients: To the bowl with the vanilla sugar, mix flour and cinnamon (this will be used to coat the apples). Set aside.
- Prep the apples: Peel the apples and cut them into thin 1cm slices. To prevent them from browning you can submerge them into a large bowl of cold water once sliced. Drain the water from the apples and gently pat them dry with a clean kitchen towel.
- Coat the apples: Add the apple slices back to a large mixing bowl and toss them in the vinegar. Then add the vanilla sugar-flour mixture and toss the apples until coated evenly.
- Assemble: Pack the coated apple slices into a 10.5"x7.5" baking dish as evenly as possible. Then top with the crumble mixture in an even layer.
- Bake: Place the dish on an aluminum baking sheet or regular baking sheet (this will help it bake evenly and catch any overspill). Bake for 50-60 minutes until golden brown.
- Serving and storage: Once baked, you can let the crumble cool slightly for 10 minutes and serve hot. Once cooled, cover leftovers with plastic wrap or foil, or place in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 5 days.
Notes
- Sugar: You can use all brown or white sugar, or coconut sugar which will give a darker result. If based in the States, use organic white sugar to ensure it is vegan.
- Vanilla Pod: Swap this for 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract or 1 tablespoon of vanilla bean paste, adding them with the vinegar.
- Apples: I use a combination of 6x Granny Smiths and 2x Honeycrisp. You can also use Braeburn or Pink Lady apples.
- Apple Cider Vinegar: Swap for fresh lemon juice.
Nutrition
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*This recipe was originally published in September 2022. The recipe has since been improved with simplified and updated.
