Swap pie for a streusel-y square – these fall-festive Apple Crumble Bars are generously spiced and date sweetened, with a coconut flour crust and crumble!
Apple pie. Apple tart. Apple crisp. Apple crumble.
You guys have been awesome with all the apple + some sort of streusel/crunch/crust requests lately, and I have been loving the inspiration. Over-saturation of the pumpkin spice everything market is making apples look pretty damn good these days, huh?
But for real – #teamappleANDpumpkin for life.
So after much thought and fall fruit fridge-stocking, this is my response to all the apple requests. I chose this particular crumble bar form for a few reasons:
1. Pies say save me for a party to share with your minimum of 4 other friends/family members. But bars, bars are approachable. Bars say make me on a Sunday and square me up for from-the-fridge snacking all week long. Bars say you can share me but no pressure. Bars say easy and everyday. And they say it all with just as much yum as any round dish of dessert.
2. Pies and tarts and crisps all require plates and utensils and those sorts of classy things. I like to keep it simple: hand -> face.
3. Crumble is just code for streusel and you know how I feel about streusel.
Okay so the informal form is all sorted out, but now what makes these crumble bars different from the crumble bar recipes of a zillion other people who also are too lazy too roll out a pie crust love simple treats?
Hint: medjool dates.
(And they are grain-free and vegan.)
The dates are the truly unique part of what’s happening here because these bars are fruit-sweetened from crumble top to bottom. Not to mention all the apples in between of course.
To save time, I condensed all the date-blending business into one step. One sweet sticky paste to coat the apples, bind the crust, and sweeten the crumble. Oh, and did I mention it happens to contain an entire apple and a half as well?
This magical paste stuff is made up of chopped apple, dates, almond butter, and lemon juice. I typically use water to make date paste, but in the spirit of fall I figured you’d be cool with apple instead. And the almond (or any nut!) butter addition keeps the crust from being too dry and the crumble from being too un-goldenbrownandtoasty.
The crust and crumble are really one in the same – mix once, use twice. One cup of the date paste combined with coconut flour and sea salt is all this simple double-duty stuff is made of. The remaining date paste goes to coating the apples along with cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla.
Good news! And some of you will probably be more excited about this than anything apple related I have said all post. As per countless requests, I finally included weight measurements. I’ve only been meaning to for about…forever. Now fingers crossed I can remember to keep it up.
So whaddya say – can we leave the pie pan tucked away in the cabinet and just crumble bar our way through apple season? If you’re in, I’m in!
Grain-Free Apple Crumble Bars
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Category: bars
- Method: baking
- Cuisine: american
Description
Swap pie for a streusel-y square – these fall-festive Apple Crumble Bars are generously spiced and date sweetened, with a coconut flour crust and crumble!
Ingredients
Apple Date Paste
- 2 cups (265g) chopped apple
- 12–14 (240g with pits removed) pitted medjool dates
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1/4 cup (60g) nut/seed butter
Crust/Crumble
- 1 cup (300g) apple date paste ((above))
- 2/3 cup (80g) coconut flour
- Pinch of salt
Apple Filling
- 1/2 cup (150g) apple date paste ((above))
- 1–2 (360g) apples, thinly sliced
- 1 tbsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F.
- Combine the 2 cups chopped apple and lemon juice in a high speed blender. Blend until liquified.
- Add the rest of the paste ingredients and blend until smooth.
- In a mixing bowl, combine 1 cup of the paste with the coconut flour and salt. Mix until sticky and clumpy.
- Press half of the dough into a baking pan lined with parchment paper (I used this 7.5×5.5″ glass dish). Set the rest aside.
- In a separate bowl, combine the sliced apples (I used a mandolin to slice them super thin) with 1/2 cup of the paste, cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla. Toss to coat.
- Arrange the apple slices on top of the crust in layers.
- Crumble the remaining crust over top. Press in lightly.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes at 350F or until toasty golden brown on top.
- Remove from the oven. Cool for 10-15 minutes. Slice and enjoy!
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 bar
- Calories: 302
- Sugar: 44g
- Sodium: 37mg
- Fat: 7g
- Saturated Fat: 1g
- Carbohydrates: 59g
- Fiber: 11g
- Protein: 6g
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Oh my word I feel the same way about pies! I made one to test out for Thanksgiving and it took my family of SIX a week to eat it! And we eat dessert daily! LOL! I’m loving these bars, definitely more approachable and easier to enjoy than an entire pie! <3
Bahahaha!! Pies: the dessert that keeps on giving…even after you are tired of it and want it to stop😂 Thanks for checking them out Laura!
Can’t wait to try these, they look amazing!❤ I was questioning if I can substitute the coconut flour with Oat flour?
Much love ♡
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I was wondering same thing, if I don’t care that it’s grain free?
Oat flour makes for a really chewy dry crust, which is why I don’t really use it for crusts anymore. But two other options would be:
This almond flour crust: https://www.feastingonfruit.com/blueberry-magic-cookie-bars/
Or this coconut + rolled oat crust: https://www.feastingonfruit.com/chewy-coconut-berry-crumble-bars/
Hope that helps!
Sooo…I TOTALLY JUST made this oat flour (all I had) before reading the comments…and yes, slightly chewy crust (never crisped up)…but honestly still AMAZING regardless. It was a bit more of a cobbler…heck I should have just baked it for like 20 min to get the full cobbler effect…LOL! I’m definitely going to be making this again with the coconut flour!
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Sooo…I TOTALLY JUST made this with oat flour (all I had) before reading the comments…and yes, slightly chewy crust (never crisped up)…but honestly still AMAZING regardless. It was a bit more of a cobbler…heck I should have just baked it for like 20 min to get the full cobbler effect…LOL! I’m definitely going to be making this again with the coconut flour!
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YAY!! I am so so happy you liked them despite the slightly funky crust, yep oat flour really isn’t suited to oil-free crusts. But that just means the next batch will be even better🤗 Thanks for the awesome feedback Lana!
The toasty brown streusel topping looks perfect. Thanks for the recipe!
Thanks for reading momma <3
Wow! These look delicious! Seriously, I’m convinced that you make the best vegan desserts on the internet! I love how you don’t use oil or refined sugar; that makes you so unique! Keep up the good work 😉
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You are so sweet, thank you Colleen <33
I couldn’t agree more.. These do seem like the best desserts on the internet 😛 The no oils, no sugar thing is a big plus also clearly.
I am just about to try out my first recipe from your site. Although I’ve been following you for some time, I never got the chance to try out one recipe. Fingers crossed, today is the day and I picked this recipe :D:D:D
Keep up the good work, it’s a great work, very inspiring!
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Oooh yay, what an exciting day🤗 You picked maybe not the simplest one, but one of my fruity faves and favorite vehicles for ice cream too! Can’t wait to hear how it goes and thanks for the support❤️
I miiiight have exclaimed “YES!!!!!” multiple times reading your 1-3 arguments for bars over pie, seriously SO true. I have several pies on my to do list for Thanksgiving and I’m like, already trying to mentally prepare, haha. LOVE the simplicity of bars, forever, and you’re so right – apple definitely deserves equal the amount of spotlight as pumpkin gets this type of year. And this recipe will help, it looks mouthwateringly beautiful!!
Pies are so traditional this time of year, but honestly they are just kind of a pain. I’ll probably still make a pumpkin one eventually, but perhaps I’ll just transform that into a square form too 🙂 Thanks Sara!
THESE LOOK AMAZING!!! I love how thinly you sliced and layered the apples. Makes me want to go apple picking ASAP!!
I want to go apple picking so bad too, but not really an FL thing sadly. As dangerous as they can be, mandoline slicers are nice for times like this 🙂 Thanks Kaila!
Those bars are very pretty! I like fall desserts with apples. And thank you so much for including measurements in the recipe!! That will help a lot.
I have to admit weighing everything felt so weird and foreign to me haha, but I’ll get used to it 🙂 Happy the extra info can help and I hope you love these bars too!
Natalie, these bars have it all apple, coconut, dates and a crumble top. Love how you made the crumble top. I made applie pie galette the other day and still have apples from my apple trees so a great to try something different!
Natalie, these bars have it all. Apples some coconut, dates and a crumble top. Love how you made the crumble top. I made apple pie galette the other day. There are still apples left from my apple trees so a great way to try something different!
Send me a slice of galette please🙏 I’ve never had one, but yours looks STUNNING! And how lucky to have your own trees inspiring all these apple treats🍎 Thanks for checking these out and the kind words Mireille!
Natalie, I would if I could 😀 ! Yes organic apples are the best. So great to see so many apple treats everywhere at the moment like these apple bars making inspiration come easily. Thanks Natalie
I love how you manage to put what seems to be a truckload of apple slices in that dessert and considering it’s my favorite fruit ever, is so amazing! Apple and cinnamon desserts are just as delicious to me as chocolate, for real. I make apple crisp each holiday and I swear it is my favorite above all the chocolatey things. I guess it’s because it’s so seasonal and not something you eat every 5 minutes….like chocolate, haha! It looks so good Natalie and I know how good apples smell while they bake so I can imagine the amazing aromas that were happening while these babies were baking! They look so good. I have SO many things I want to bake and post but this book is killing me and zapping all my time, so getting to live vicariously through your posts will have to suffice for now, LOL!
Totally lol-ed at the “truckload” part…that imagery😂 I tell you that mandolin slicer thing makes 1.5 apples seem like A TON once sliced. I’m not sure I can go so far as to rate apple + cinnamon treats above chocolate but I definitely share the love for them! And yes, seasonality does make any food more fun–I feel the same way about pumpkin pie🤗 Omg I cannot imagine how time consuming that HUGE project must be. I feel the same way when I spend a bunch of time on freelance stuff I get sooooo anxious to get back to baking and my own blog! I hope it is going well though❤️
OMG, I LOVE that you used only fruits to sweeten these bars. They look absolutely amazing and yay for coconut flour which I love so much as well. And haha I loved reading your caption about pies and bars lol. So adorable!! 🙂
The apple blended in with the dates was a last minute decision, but the more apple flavor the better if you ask me 🙂 Oh coconut flour–it’s a love hate relationship lol. Thanks Ela. P.S. Still dreaming of that CAKE!!
Now I know what to do with all my apples! Love that the crumble uses coconut flour. Delicious Nat!
Are these freshly picked or local apples by chance? If so, send some of that apple abundance this way please😋🍎 Thansk Jess!
Hey Natalie !
I wanted to thank you for sharing those relly cool recipes !
I have acne and i need to “control” what i eat. I can’t eat sugary things… and it’s so cool that all your recipes are sweetened with fruits, it helps so much to stay healthy !!!
Oh and by the way, this crumble looks yumy 🙂
Melody ♡
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Melody!! I am so so happy to hear that the recipes work for you and your life. And I can totally relate to the acne struggle too girl, not fun. But better with cupcakes 🙂 Thanks for taking the time to leave such a sweet comment <33
☺️☺️♡
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The apple layers are dreeeeeeaaaaammyyyyyyy!
That sexy side shot means I will never regret buying a mandolin slicer. Ever.
I’m curious how many pounds of apples do you use for the filling? Looks yummy!
I didn’t weigh them in pounds, but I did include the gram weight measurements so if you convert it the layering part was about .8 pounds of apple and the date paste was about .6 pounds. Hope you try it out Cheryl 🙂
Just baked this! So excited to try!!!
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I’m so happy to hear you tried these🤗 So what’s the verdict?!
If I don’t have coconut flour, how do you think replacing it with all-purpose or whole-wheat would turn out? I’d really love to make these!
I haven’t tested this crust/crumble with wheat flour, but it will likely be quite chewy and not brown as well since it’s oil free. If you do want to experiment, it will probably require about double the amount of AP flour compared to with the oat. Good luck!
I just made this and it is really yummy…so amazing that there is no refined sugar or oil in this!
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Magical isn’t it!? And by “it” I mostly means dates, but apples too. I am so so happy you liked them🤗 Thanks for the feedback!
This recipe sounds amazing! I am thinking of bringing it to my in-laws for thanksgiving, however they are a nut-free house. I was wondering if you have an alternative for the apple date paste? Thanks!
You can use a seed butter instead, like sunflower seed or pumpkin seed butter, that would be the best alternative. Or 2 tbsp of coconut oil would work too. I hope it goes well and everyone enjoys 🙂
What variety of Apple did you use? Cannot wait to try this weekend. I am hosting dinner for two vegans. They will love this, me too!
I used a mix of Fuji and Envy apples here, but any sweet and crisp variety is fine. Or you could even do tart apples like granny smith for almost a caramel apple inspired flavor now that I think about it. Oooh fun, you’ll have to let me know what they (and you!) think 🙂
I did it too times already! So tasty! First time it went too thick (somehow I made to much paste :), but more crunchy, the second time perfect size, but more moisture and less crunch.. probably I needed to add more coconut flour for the second time. But anyway, both times very tasty and even better on the second day 🙂
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Woohoo!! Yep it can take a little experimentation to find that perfect texture balance, especially when working with whole imperfectly sized ingredients like dates and apples. But I am so happy you liked them🤗 Thanks for the feedback Irina!
Oh yes, dates and apples are so hard to measure properly, so I gave up this idea and next time will just follow my intuition based on your amazing recipe 🙂 Thank you again for the inspiration and for the truly new world of sugar-free delicious treats 🙂
Whoa I think I may have overlooked this but this recipe is awesome! Can’t wait to try to make it as soon as I get home haha 🏃🏻♀️What size of dish did u use?
Thanks
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It’s from a little bit ago, but still delish and very holiday appropriate I think. Plus streusel <3 The dish I used is actually a pyrex glass storage container so it's not quite a loaf pan size but that would work too. It's technically 7.5x5.5" though 🙂
I’m pretty sure I have that.. thanks!!
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It looks delicious but my crumble didn’t crisp at all!!! It came out mushy and totally soft, both the crust and the cramble. Any idea of what could I’ve done wrong? Did it happen to anyone else?
Hi Dafna! Since the crumble is oil-free and uses fruit (which has a high water content) instead of refined sugar, it’s not going to be crispy since sugar and/or butter is what makes things crisp. It’s supposed to be softer, more like a streusel or fruit crumble than a crisp. If you want a crispy topping, I would suggest this recipe instead: https://www.feastingonfruit.com/almond-medjool-date-tart/
I have some unsweetened apple sauce I’d like to use up… Could I just sub that into the date paste and if so, how much? Thanks!! I’m eating clean the entire month of December but there also happen to be 3 family birthdays so this will come in handy!
I made this last week and it was delicious. A bit dry since I made too little paste but still so darn good. My 3yo and husband loved it 🙂
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Aw yay, I am happy you all enjoyed it! Next time around hopefully you won’t have the dryness issue and it will be even yummier😊 Thanks for the feedback Joveana!
Thanks for the recipe! 🙂 It turned out great, but I was wondering how many days does this last before it gets ruined, soould I keep it a place cold or in the fridge? Or can I freeze it?
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I am so happy you liked it! Yes, keeping it in the fridge is best. They will last for at least 4-5 days, since there is so much fruit in them with time they will become more mushy. I haven’t tried freezing them, but you can certainly give it a shot 🙂
Really tasty and easy to make, thank you so much!
One thing, though, the measurements in grams don’t really add up. The recipe says we shoud use 300g of apple souce for the crust and another 150g for the filling, but I ended up having only 300g of the apple souce to begin with….
Otherwise, super-happy and excited that you added the grams in the first place! 🙂
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Hi Liz! I’m so happy you liked it. I measured mine on a scale while making it and those are the weights I got. Small variations happen you likely just had less apple or dates than I did. As long as it turned out delicious that’s what counts 🙂
I just love love love all of your recipes, Im a dietitian and Im constantly referring my patients to your blog for the obvious reasons of zero refined sugars, vegan options, etc etc. Plus Im on here every other day seeing what I can make too! Im prolly the only person to ask this,