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Sweet juicy apple filling sandwiched between toasty crumble layers, these vegan apple crumble bars are perfect as autumn snacks/breakfasts. They are vegan and also gluten-free for most people to enjoy!
Apples are my everyday food. And it’s also one of the fruits that I like both eating raw and baked. And this apple crumble bar recipe is a good reason to taste some baked apples.
I’ve already made Vegan Apple Crisp so many times that I think I need something a little bit different. So here is the Vegan Apple Crumble Bar recipe.
These apple crumble bars are adapted from my Vegan Mixed Berry Crumble Bars. But I add a few more ingredients like ground ginger and nutmeg, and I change the filling so they don’t really taste similar.
Features of these apple crumble bars:
- Crumbly, nutty, not so sweet: if you know me, you know this is my type of dessert.
- Very easy to put together: basically just some mixing movement.
- Vegan & Gluten-free: As a vegan, it’s no doubt a recipe without any animal products. Also, there are no ingredients inherently containing gluten.
Ingredients You Need
The ingredient list is a bit longer than usual because I add a few spices to enrich the overall taste.
But I promise it’s not like lots of uncommon ingredients. If you bake at home from time to time, I think you’d have lots of stuff at hand already.
- Rolled oats (jumbo oats)
- Brown rice flour
- Arrowroot starch, or tapioca starch
- Coconut sugar
- Salt
- Baking soda
- Ground cinnamon
- Ground ginger
- Ground flaxseeds
- Walnuts
- Extra-virgin coconut oil
- Apples
- Ground cinnamon
- Ground ginger
- Ground nutmeg
- Applesauce, store-bought or Homemade Applesauce
How to Make Vegan Apple Crumble Bars
Preheat the oven to 175ºC/350ºF. Line an 8-inch loaf pan with baking paper.
First, make the base and crumble topping:
- To a large bowl, add all the dry ingredients: rolled oats, brown rice flour, sugar, salt, baking soda, walnuts, ground cinnamon, ground ginger, and ground flaxseed). Use a fork to mix them together.
- Then add melted coconut oil and water to the dry ingredients. Mix all the ingredients together evenly to form a crumbly mixture. The overall texture should be a little bit wet and when you press it, it should be able to stick together. If it’s too dry, add a tad more water to help binding.
Then make the apple filling:
- Add all ingredients for apple fillings to a big bowl. Use a spoon to mix all ingredients together.
Then assemble:
- Transfer about 2/3 to 3/4 of the mixture into the prepared pan. Use the sides of the baking paper to press it down firmly to make sure the mixture sticks together.
- Spread the apple filling evenly onto the base, leaving about 1 cm of space from the edges.
- Add the rest crumble mixture and use your fingers to crumble it on top of the apple filling.
Then bake:
- Bake it in the preheated oven on the lower 1/3 rack at 175ºC/350ºF for 35~40 minutes. It should be golden on top and you can smell baked apple/oat flavor coming through.
- Transfer the loaf tin onto a wire rack to cool down completely. Then cover it and put it into the fridge for 2 hours. This will make sure it doesn’t crumble too much when we cut it. Then take it out by grabbing the sides of the baking paper. Cut into big chunks and enjoy!
How to Store Vegan Apple Crumble Bars
Store the apple crumble bars in an air-tight container in the fridge. It should last for 3~4 days.
Questions You Might Have
I don’t have coconut sugar, can I use another type of sugar?
Yes, you can use another type of vegan granulated/castor sugar, like raw sugar or organic cane sugar. I personally prefer the taste of coconut sugar though.
Are there other substitutions for extra-virgin coconut oil?
I’d say no for the same taste and texture. But if you don’t mind a slightly different result, vegan butter should work fine as well.
Which type of apple can I use?
Here I just use regular eating red apples. I’d say any kind of apple should be fine, as long as you enjoy the taste.
Final Words
These vegan apple crumble bars are nutty, perfectly sweetened, and full of autumn flavour thanks to the cinnamon and ginger. I hope you like this recipe as much as I do.
If you have further questions, welcome to let me know by commenting down below. Happy baking! – Nora
More Vegan Recipes:
- Upside-Down Spiced Apple Cake (Vegan, Gluten-free)
- Vegan Victoria Sponge Cake (w/ gluten-free)
- Vegan Strawberry Bakewell Tart (gluten-free)
Vegan Apple Crumble Bars (Gluten-free)
Ingredients
For the base and crumble topping:
- 78 g rolled oats, (jumbo oats) (1/2 cup + 1/3 cup) use gluten-free if needed
- 115 g brown rice flour, * (1 cup)
- 20 g arrowroot starch, (~2 Tbsp) or tapioca starch
- 45 g coconut sugar, (heaping 1/4 cup)
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground ginger
- 1 Tbsp ground flaxseeds
- 30 g walnuts, chopped (a scant 1/4 cup)
- 60 g extra-virgin coconut oil, melted (5 Tbsp)
- 45 g water, (1/4 cup)
Apple Filling:
- 160 g chopped apple cubes, 1-2 medium apples
- 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground ginger
- 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
- 60 g applesauce, (4 Tbsp) store-bought one or Homemade Applesauce
- 1 Tbsp coconut sugar
- 2 Tbsp coconut flakes, optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 175ºC/350ºF. Line an 8-inch loaf pan with baking paper.
First, make the base and crumble topping:
- To a large bowl, add all the dry ingredients: rolled oats, brown rice flour, sugar, salt, baking soda, walnuts, ground cinnamon, ground ginger, and ground flaxseed). Use a fork to mix them together.
- Then add melted coconut oil and water to the dry ingredients. Mix all the ingredients together evenly to form a crumbly mixture. The overall texture should be a little bit wet and when you press it, it should be able to stick together. If it’s too dry, add a tad more water to help binding.
- Then make the apple filling:
- Add all ingredients for apple fillings to a big bowl. Use a spoon to mix all ingredients together.
Then assemble:
- Transfer about 2/3 to 3/4 of the mixture into the prepared pan. Use the sides of the baking paper to press it down firmly to make sure the mixture sticks together.
- Spread the apple filling evenly onto the base, leaving about 1 cm of space from the edges.
- Add the rest crumble mixture and use your fingers to crumble it on top of the apple filling.
Then bake:
- Bake it in the preheated oven on the lower 1/3 rack at 175ºC/350ºF for 35~40 minutes. It should be golden on top and you can smell baked apple/oat flavor coming through.
- Transfer the loaf tin onto a wire rack to cool down completely. Then cover it and put it into the fridge for 2 hours. This will make sure it doesn’t crumble too much when we cut it. Then take it out by grabbing the sides of the baking paper. Cut into big chunks and enjoy!
Notes
- *Brown rice flour: I use this store-bought one which is a mix of white rice flour and brown rice flour.
- Storage: Store the apple crumble bars in an air-tight container in the fridge. It should last for 3 ~ 4 days.
