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A wonderful cookie-like crust and a warm spiced, caramel-like apple filling makes this pie an absolute must-try.
Topped with some Coconut Whipped Cream, this simple and clean eating this recipe is a take on the traditional American apple pie that is made by combining my Almond Flour Pie Crust and my Southern Fried Apples for the filling.
💕 Here’s why you’re going to love this recipe:
- It is clean eating and simple to make
- It’s a great gluten free dessert option
- It can easily be adjusted to be paleo or dairy-free friendly
- It contains both almond and coconut flour which adds both texture, flavor, healthy fats and fiber to your diet
- It uses coconut sugar which is a great natural and low-glycemic sweetener
- The amount of flavorings and spices can be adjusted to suit your own personal preference and taste
- The filling is made using wholesome ingredients and fresh fruit
Without further ado, let’s get into making our version of this classic American desert.
The ingredients needed for this pie crust include:
- Blanched Almond Flour: I highly recommend using a super fine blanched almond flour though you can also use unblanched (also known as almond meal) though the texture will be a bit more coarse since almond meal is made from whole, unskinned almonds.
- Coconut Flour: This flour is a low carb, and gluten free option that helps our crust to have a great texture, flavor, as well as adds fiber to our dish.
- Butter: You can use salted or unsalted butter, or for a great Paleo or Dairy-Free option, you can use clarified butter (also known as ghee – which is butter with the milk solids removed). You can also use coconut oil in place of the butter for a wholly dairy free option, but note that doing so will change the flavor profile of the crust.
- Egg: A whole egg acts as a binder for our crust.
- Coconut Sugar: This low-glycemic sugar adds a great caramel-like sweetness to our crust.
- Cinnamon Powder: Pairing well with our coconut sugar and apple filling, cinnamon is a great spice option but you can use or add others spices to suit your taste.
- Vanilla Extract: Vanilla enhances and complements all other flavors in our crust.
Make and Pre-bake the Pie Crust:
To make the crust we’ll combine all our dry ingredients in one bowl, and in another we’ll mix our wet ingredients together until fully blended. Be sure that the melted butter is cool to the touch before adding in the egg so that it doesn’t cook the egg.
Add your mixed wet ingredients into the dry ingredients all at once and stir it together until the mixture goes from being crumbly to fully mixed together and a soft dough is formed.
Reserve ¼-⅓ cup of the dough and set it aside to make our crumble topping. We’ll get to that in a moment.
With the reserved dough set aside, we’ll press the remaining dough into a lightly greased pie tin and dock it with a fork to create air vents that will prevent it from puffing up and making uneven bubbles. Then we’ll pre-bake it in the oven for 12-15 minutes. This is necessary to help the dough set and be firm enough to be filled with our moist filling.
While our crust is pre-baking, we’ll work on the filling:
Gather the following ingredients:
- Fresh apples: Peeled, cored and either sliced or cubed. I honestly recommend a firm apple that has a bit of tartness to it and can stand up to being cooked without getting too mushy. My two personal favorites are Granny-Smiths or Fuji.
- Lemon Juice: Fresh is always best, the bright citrus flavor that the lemon adds to the filling is also a wonderful layer of flavor.
- Butter: Salted or unsalted is fine. If using salted butter, adjust the salt to suit. For a dairy-free option, you can use ghee.
- Coconut Sugar: A low-glycemic index sweetener, coconut sugar lends a wonderful caramel flavor profile to the apples.
- Salt: You can use either a Pink Himalayan or a Sea Salt.
- Spices: Cinnamon, nutmeg are my preferred spices to use, but you can use any other wonderful warming spice or combination of spices you like such as clove, cardamom, ginger, etc.
Before we begin any cooking, toss your apples in the lemon juice. This adds a little extra bite of tartness and fresh citrus flavors that adds another layer of flavor to the dish, plus it keeps your apples from going brown by stopping the oxidation process. Honestly it’s not totally necessary, but for the sake of pretty apples, I highly recommend not skipping this step.
Once you’ve tossed your apples in lemon juice, melt some butter in a skillet. Regarding the pan, honestly cast iron is best for creating this dish so if you have it, use it since it is much easier to control the heat and if you have a well-seasoned pan, the flavor profile will be deeper. However, I opted to use my heavy-bottom stainless steel skillet and the end result was just as delicious.
Once the butter has melted, add in your peeled and cored apple pieces and toss to evenly coat them in the butter. Allow the apples to cook for a minute before you add in your coconut sugar. As the sugar dissolves, continue to cook it on low heat until it begins to thicken and creates a syrup that sticks to and coats the apples. If you’re impatient with this step you can always create a small amount of slurry using water and a touch of tapioca or potato starch and adding it to the pan, being sure to stir it in to incorporate it into all the liquid so that it thickens evenly.
Finally, add in the spices (nutmeg, cinnamon) and salt, and mix to incorporate it. Continue to cook your apples, turning them to coat them in the syrup and prevent the syrup from burning. Remove your apples from the heat and allow them to cool down a bit.
Make the Crumble Topping:
While our apple filling has been made and set aside to cool a bit, and the pie crust has finished pre-baking and has been removed from the oven and left to cool, we’ll make the crumb topping.
Using the reserved 1/4 – 1/3 cup of the crust’s dough that we set aside earlier, we’ll be adding more almond flour and some maple syrup (as well as extra spices – I recommend cinnamon and nutmeg – if desired) to it. This will make just enough to cover a 9-inch pie while still giving a reasonably thick crust coverage.
Add all the ingredients for the crumb/streusel topping together and work it with your hands or a fork to combine it. Once combined, break it down into crumbles. If there isn’t enough, you can always add a touch more almond flour and/or maple syrup. Set it aside in the fridge to chill.
Create and Bake your Pie:
This is our final step. With our prebaked pie crust cooled down a bit and our apple filling made, thickened and cooled down….
…all we need to do is pour the apple filling into the prebaked crust…
…and to evenly sprinkle the crumb/streusel topping over the top of the pie.
Another addition to your streusel topping can be to add in a handful of chopped pecans to the top of your pie as well. This gives a great depth of nuttiness and toasted crunch to your pie and the pecans pairs well with the warm and gooey apple pie filling. 😍
After a quick bake in the oven once more to set the pie and cook/brown the crumb topping, we’re done!
Enjoy this pie topped with a dollop of Coconut Whipped Cream or just enjoy a slice by itself. Simple and delicious, this is our spin on the traditional apple pie that celebrates all aspects of the pie from the crust to the filling! From our sunshiny kitchen to yours, we bid you happy eats!
If you’re looking for more seasonal pie inspiration, you can also give our Gluten-Free Pumpkin Pie recipe a try!
Homemade Apple Pie (Clean Eating, Gluten-Free, Paleo)
Ingredients
For Pie Crust:
- 1½ cups blanched almond flour
- ¼ cup organic coconut flour
- ⅓ cup organic coconut sugar
- ⅛ tsp Himalayan salt
- ⅛ tsp Ground Nutmeg optional
- ⅛ tsp cinnamon powder optional
- ¼ cup salted butter melted or coconut oil for a dairy-free option
- 1 large egg room temp
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
For the Apple Filling
- 2 large apples Fuji or Granny-Smith peeled, cored and sliced.
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 2 tbsp salted butter
- ¼ cup organic coconut sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon powder to taste
- ⅛ tsp Ground Nutmeg to taste
- ¼ tsp Himalayan salt to taste
For Crumble Topping:
- ¼-⅓ cup Almond Flour Pie Crust Dough (ingredients listed above)
- 6 tbsp blanched almond flour + 1 more if needed
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
- ½ tsp cinnamon powder to taste
Instructions
Make the Pie Crust:
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Combine the almond flour, coconut flour, coconut sugar, salt, and nutmeg and cinnamon (if using) in a bowl until thoroughly combined.
- In another bowl, mix together the melted butter, egg and vanilla. (Ensure that the butter is cool to the touch so as to not cook the egg).
- Combine the wet and dry ingredients together and mix until a soft dough forms and no almond flour is left dry.
- Reserve ¼-⅓ cup of the dough and set aside for the crumble topping.
- Press the remaining dough into a lightly greased pie tin and dock it (poke it) with a fork before baking at 350°F for 12-15 minutes. Remove and allow your crust to cook for 5-10 minutes.
Make the Crumble Topping:
- Combine the reserve ¼ - ⅓ cup of pie crust dough with 6-7 tbsp of blanched almond flour, maple syrup and cinnamon powder.
- Once combined break down into smaller crumbs using your fingertips or two forks. (note that your crumb will be slightly moist and sticky but should crumb easily). Keep your crumble topping chilled until ready for use.
Make the Apple Filling:
- Toss your peeled, cored and sliced apples in the lemon juice.
- Melt the butter in a skillet. Once melted add the apples and cook for a minute.
- Add the coconut sugar and allow the sugar to cook and melt on low heat until it has thickened into a syrup that coats the apple pieces and the apple pieces begin to soften. (approx 8-9 minutes).*
- Add in the spices (cinnamon, nutmeg and salt) and toss to coat them.
Put together and bake your pie:
- Pour the apple filling into the cooled and prebaked pie crust and sprinkle the crumb topping evenly over it.
- Bake for 20 minutes at 350°F until the topping is toasted and cooked.
- Allow your pie to cool for at least 20-30 minutes before slicing and serving.
- Bring the pie to room temperature and store covered with foil or in an airtight container for up to a week in the fridge.
Notes
- A shortcut method of thickening the apple filling is to add in a small amount of slurry made from either tapioca flour or potato starch with some water.
- A good time management method is to make the apple filling while the pie crust is pre-baking and to prepare the crumble topping while the crust is cooling which gives the filling time to cool off a bit before being added to the crust.
Nutrition
Did you try this recipe out? If so, feel free to leave a comment below or reach out to us on social media (@kitrusycleaneat and #kitrusy) and don’t forget to snap and show off your pics by tagging us so we can celebrate your delectable creations together! 
